Quote:
Originally Posted by GMAN
I don't think I have ever heard of a CAT not lasting longer than 300,000 miles, but the brand doesn't matter if the engine is abused and maintenance thrown to the wind. I think I have heard of more Cummins not lasting as long as Detroit and CAT. But if gunk builds up in the engine it will not properly lubricate components resulting in failure. Frequent oil changes will help prevent or at least prolong component failure. That is why I don't always use mileage as the indicator as to whether a truck is in good shape or not.
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My dad had a 3406E CAT (425hp) that went 800,000 before he did an in-frame on it. He finally sold it at 1.2m and it is still on the road hauling lumber and probably has atleast 1.4 on it now. With that being said... he is religous about PM and has oil analysis done at frequent intervals to keep a check on things.
These new generation CAT engines have a long way to catch up to the old 3406's. The new EPA laws and low sulphur diesel doesn't help it though.
IMO, it is a pretty big gamble to buy a truck without some kinda idea to what is going on with it. You consider most of these engines cost atleast 12-13k to rebuild and an oil analysis makes alot of since! Just my .02 though!