MONEY PIT.

Boatcat · Sep 4, 2017

MONEY PIT. This truck is worse than a boat!
Bought an 07 M2 a year ago as a first truck to get started with and this thing is eating all my profits...
I'm an owner operator who found the truck through a fleet owner I briefly considered working for.
The guy missed his calling, he should have been a scumbag used car salesman...
Liar, liar, pants on fire, but buyer beware, right?
At what point do you think it is time to stop pouring good , hard earned money into an old , poorly maintained truck?
This has the MBE 900 and the 6 speed manual with 640k on it.

Are you curious about all the stuff I have had to fix on it?
I can post all the dirty details...

ajakapari · Sep 4, 2017

Please post I'll let u know if it's worse then the latest unit I bought .
With the MBE 900

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FlyingVan · Sep 4, 2017

Boatcat said:
MONEY PIT. This truck is worse than a boat!
Bought an 07 M2 a year ago as a first truck to get started with and this thing is eating all my profits...
I'm an owner operator who found the truck through a fleet owner I briefly considered working for.
The guy missed his calling, he should have been a scumbag used car salesman...
Liar, liar, pants on fire, but buyer beware, right?
At what point do you think it is time to stop pouring good , hard earned money into an old , poorly maintained truck?
This has the MBE 900 and the 6 speed manual with 640k on it.

Are you curious about all the stuff I have had to fix on it?
I can post all the dirty details...

It is up to you to figure out when enough is enough.

I bought my 2004 M2 with the
MBE900 and 6 speed manual in March 2016 to get my feet wet in the straight truck market. I bought it cheap and if it lasted 6 months I would have been happy.
I bought it with 550k miles and now, 1.5 years later it has almost 640k. Nothing major so far, only a wire here, a light there, brake chamber, etc. almost everything I was able to fix myself. At this point I will keep it until something major goes. I am sure if I was to take it to a shop they would make up repairs worth thousands of dollars. Honest shops/mechanics are few and far between.

I am curious what issues are you having with it?

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

BigStickJr · Sep 4, 2017

You should have driven for him.

When should you stop putting money into a truck ?
When someone says "Do you want to buy a used M-2."

Boatcat · Sep 4, 2017

Well, within a month it needed front wheel bearings, shocks, exhaust, air dryer, wire harness repairs, climate control switch, wiper motor..
5 months later it started to overheat and developed a bad air leak.
I made it home ( barely) and pulled the hood and radiator off to flush, or replace if necessary, only to find that the rotary air valve on the fan clutch had snapped off and damaged the core. Then I found the water pump shaft had excessive play, so I kept digging. That meant a new pump, thermostats, gaskets, belt and belt tensioner, new air valve on the fan clutch and new alternator as well because the bearings were toast.
It's tough getting the pump installed, several things have to fit together and all line up at the same time. The plastic cooling line that runs from the pump outlet back to the compressor snapped off at the front banjo fitting, so that had to be replaced as well.
It's all back together and running, but has to go into the shop to find out why it's missing and running rough, getting crappy mileage, not to mention needing rear brake chambers and a new clutch.
Oh yea, forgot to mention the cab/sleeper mounts rusted out so I had to jack it up and put an aluminum box beam under it for support. Did I mention replacing several hinges on the rear cargo doors?
Did most of the work myself so far, but the clutch, brake chambers and possible injector work will be done at the nearest Freightliner shop 150 miles away from where I live.
It's been a fun summer! WOW.

ajakapari · Sep 4, 2017

ya sounds like the previous owner did not take care of it good.
I was having problems with mine also but now its all fixed
after about $12000 I dumped into it in the past 3 months to get it on the road I feel like I fixed most so it should be a good truck for a while fingers crossed.
I am way too much money in it for repairs to back down now.

Boatcat · Sep 4, 2017

I'm in the same place with mine. I feel like after all the repairs and time spent fixing the issues, I can go back out with confidence knowing that most of the major stuff will be good for a while.
I need a year or two out of this rig so I can upgrade, or buy new.
As far as driving for someone, nope, been there, done that when I was driving class A and got screwed over and not paid more than once. The guy I did consider working for driving a straight truck was an Anal control freak, so I dodged a bullet on that situation.
I like where I'm heading and will do whatever it takes to get there.
The goal being a small fleet owner, one of the good ones.

ajakapari · Sep 4, 2017

Ya sometimes we just have to keep pushing forward no matter what obstacles is ahead of us.
to get to where we want be.

davekc · Sep 4, 2017

Tough call with that setup. Might be able to get a couple of years out of it, but in the end, you will likely lose money.
One plus you do have is doing as much work as you can yourself. Major savings if you can keep that going. I do like your ambition though. Good luck.

greasytshirt · Sep 4, 2017

What the average mileage people are getting on MBE900's before giving up on them? I don't know if this has been answered in here..

davekc · Sep 4, 2017

greasytshirt said:
What the average mileage people are getting on MBE900's before giving up on them? I don't know if this has been answered in here..

You can get some high mileage 8 to 900k out of them. The disadvantage here is the buyer wouldn't know the previous service and driving habits of previous owners.

greasytshirt · Sep 4, 2017

davekc said:
greasytshirt said:

What the average mileage people are getting on MBE900's before giving up on them? I don't know if this has been answered in here..

Click to expand...

You can get some high mileage 8 to 900k out of them. The disadvantage here is the buyer wouldn't know the previous service and driving habits of previous owners.

So, 150-250k before it becomes a smoking crater. Hmm.

ajakapari · Sep 5, 2017

I had a neighbor that had one with 1.5 million miles still running
It was the 330 hp. MBE
He told me he replaced the head gasket at 1 million.
He moved so idk what happen to that truck he seemed happy with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FlyingVan · Sep 5, 2017

I met a fellow expediter the other day with an MBE900 with 950k on it. He changed the egr and cooler and a head gasket. Still running strong.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Boatcat · Sep 5, 2017

davekc said:
greasytshirt said:

What the average mileage people are getting on MBE900's before giving up on them? I don't know if this has been answered in here..

Click to expand...

You can get some high mileage 8 to 900k out of them. The disadvantage here is the buyer wouldn't know the previous service and driving habits of previous owners.

greasytshirt said:
davekc said:

greasytshirt said:

What the average mileage people are getting on MBE900's before giving up on them? I don't know if this has been answered in here..

Click to expand...

You can get some high mileage 8 to 900k out of them. The disadvantage here is the buyer wouldn't know the previous service and driving habits of previous owners.

Click to expand...

So, 150-250k before it becomes a smoking crater. Hmm.

FlyingVan said:
I met a fellow expediter the other day with an MBE900 with 950k on it. He changed the egr and cooler and a head gasket. Still running strong.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Good to know, Flying Van.
Hopefully that will be the case for my coal eating beast. My cooler was done about 50k ago at 580k so I will have the head done ASAP just because I'm a big believer in preventative maintenance and taking good care of my equipment in general.
Besides, doing the head should give her a second lease on life and if that turns into rings and bearings also, I'm fine with that.
Too bad the previous owner did not do the same.

greasytshirt · Sep 5, 2017

One big problem with this engine is that it doesn't have replaceable cylinder liners. It's not easily rebuilt at the end of it's life.

Recognize the point when it starts to go downhill and sell it while it still has some value.

Sent from my XT1585 using EO Forums mobile app

skyraider · Sep 5, 2017

Sounds like driving for someone else might be the better play, after all, is said and done..

FlyingVan · Sep 5, 2017

skyraider said:
Sounds like driving for someone else might be the better play, after all, is said and done..

Driving for someone else is not for me. As an owner operator I take on more risks than driving for someone else, but the reward is also higher. And the added bonus of doing what I want is also a big plus. Whenever I am close enough I get to go home if I feel like it. And I decide what close enough means, not the owner.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Moot · Sep 5, 2017

ajakapari said:
I had a neighbor that had one with 1.5 million miles still running
It was the 330 hp. MBE
He told me he replaced the head gasket at 1 million.
He moved so idk what happen to that truck he seemed happy with it.

FlyingVan said:
I met a fellow expediter the other day with an MBE900 with 950k on it. He changed the egr and cooler and a head gasket. Still running strong.

I'm guessing both these owners bought new, were the only drivers and properly maintained these trucks. Buying used, especially from a fleet where many drivers had their way with a truck, is certainly a gamble.

ajakapari · Sep 5, 2017

Yes it's a gamble. I know my neighbor bought his when it had 600k
But ya maybe he was lucky .
Even buying new is a gamble might be a Lemon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk