Series60 detroit need imfo

hello all thinking about purchasing a western star with a series60 ddec 3 but these new stuff are slightly confusing.
anyone give me any imfo good or bad, would be most appreciated.
or does anyone know of a good mechical motor[4stroke]w model or western star. thanks again

you cant go past a series60 mate for fuel economy and reliability. the 14ltr engines had a liner problem which was sorted out under warranty.
as with any engine, as long as it has been serviced regularly and had a tune up every 200,000ks you should have no problems with it. on the whole electronic engines are very reliable. you may have the odd sensor problem here and there but very rare. if your looking to step up from a mechanical engine to electronic then series60 is the go. you will have to change your driving habits though, these engines are low rev, high torque. let them lug down to 1200rpm they will pull all day. upshift at 1500-1600rpm. resist the temptation to change gears when she lugs. it will take a bit to get used to.

thanks paul404 your imfo is much appreciated. i had another look today and noticed alot of oil at rear of motor was told by mech friend that could be loose flywheel housing, around $4ooo with new clutch to fix. is this acommon fault and are there any others to look at.

mate it could be something as simple as the sump leaking or a rear main seal. the sumps are made of plastic and held on with eight bolts from memory, the same as the rocker cover. they usually dont have too many troubles with leaks. to do a rear main seal, clutch and machine the flywheel would probably cost $2000 for parts at a guess. i havent heard of flywheel housings coming loose and i have driven alot of trucks with detroits fitted. is it a 12.7l or a 14l? what diff ratios and gearbox has it got? how many rpm in top gear at 100k?

g'day p404 engine is a12.7@470....gearbox is a 16718 with a o/d....diffs are 46ooo lb rockwells@4.11 giving 100k @ 1600rpm.

roadboss82 - Take the truck for a run and check for tailshaft vibration. An out of balance tailshaft will cause enormous damage to transmission housings, flywheel housings, clutches .. and even engine accessories.
I have even seen starter motors and alternators fall off engines where a tailshaft vibration situation was ignored.

An out of balance tailshaft will fracture transmission or flywheel housing, loosen bolts, make internal components in transmissions and clutches fall apart.
Check the flywheel housing carefully for any signs of cracks or loose bolts .. or signs of repairs, including bolts having been replaced.

The Detroit is regarded as shorter life engine than many of the bigger engines, but they are a little cheaper to overhaul.
I was recently speaking to a furniture delivery bloke who was running a Detroit in a Sterling, and he said he rebuilt the engine at 500,000 kms, and it cost him $30,000 for a total rebuild. He had no major complaints about the engine.

roadboss that should go along ok on single trailer work. the 12.7 were a good engine and alot better on fuel than the 14l. i drove one pulling 64.5t a a b-double, it was a bit steady on the hills but over a ten hour trip it took 15minutes longer but used 40-50ltrs less fuel per trip. it had 4.56 diffs and ran along at 1800rpm at 100- 102k. check out what onetrack said about tailshaft vibration, i have seen a flywheel housing cracked in half on a cummins because the bloke dropped a tailshaft, and bent the yolk on the diff and tailshaft. he managed to get a uni back in it somehow and drove it back 100k to the workshop thinking he was up for a tailshaft only to find a bigger mess.

thanks onetrack/paul404 took truck for drive and it runs well no vibes, but underneath is a pig stye gearbox covered in dripping oil, grease points haven't seen a gun in quite awhile. front diff yoke been loose a while[leaking seal, wear on washer face] engine temp 80, oil pressure 400 , 230 @idle[hot] oil leak around oil cooler/ rear of motor, bit fumy out of breather,air con /heater/jakes dont work, says heater turned off as need shut off tap in water line was causing pressure in header tank????? i smell a bomb!!!! what do you guys reckon?

run..........................

What Ozfarm said .. but run fast, and run far away .. :'(