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Old 05-07-2018, 06:08 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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2004 Freightliner with MBE 906 engine

Does anyone know anything about this bus model? There is one available for sale at a decent price, but I'm a bit hesitant because of the engine. Obviously even with a good price I'm going to be sinking money into the conversion, so I'd like to make sure I buy the right bus.

Is the MBE 906 engine decent or should I shop around more? Did the emissions controls come in 2004, and is that a good or bad thing?


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Old 05-07-2018, 06:13 PM   #2
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Does anyone know anything about this bus model? There is one available for sale at a decent price, but I'm a bit hesitant because of the engine. Obviously even with a good price I'm going to be sinking money into the conversion, so I'd like to make sure I buy the right bus.

Is the MBE 906 engine decent or should I shop around more? Did the emissions controls come in 2004, and is that a good or bad thing?

It's not emissions controls you have to think about here.

That is a very good engine, generally favored by Thomas, and Daimler owns both Thomas Built Buses and Mercedes Benz.

Mercedes have been building diesel engines since God was a boy.

The problem is what you do when they break, and it's an engine so breaking is always a possibility.

Parts, and the mechanics to fit them, are priced very high. With a Navistar or Cummins engine, there is a mechanic at every truck stop and diesel shop that can fix it.
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Old 05-08-2018, 02:05 PM   #3
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Thanks for your reply! I read Mercedes has special diagnostic software etc. But the bus is such a good price - I haven't been able to find another for nearly close to the same price - so I'm leaning toward it. Obviously my biggest concern is if we get stuck somewhere and have to go to a mercedes dealership specifically. Eek.
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Old 05-09-2018, 11:12 AM   #4
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Personally...I would not own one. When I was shopping engines I spoke with a whole bunch of OTR engine techs and they were pretty much in 100% agreement that the MB's were great while they were running but just "too damned complicated and difficult to service".

I wound up going with an all mechanical Cummins based on my personal needs and vehicle considerations.
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Old 05-09-2018, 01:49 PM   #5
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I own one, 2004 pre EGR, love it. Do some research , the expensive stories are most hear say . If it runs, does not make bad noises, does not show leaks, or smokes then it is all good. It is a mercedes engine supported by detroit.
If it brakes like bearings camshafts, pistons and so on then any repair on any engine is going to be more expensive then buying a whole bus and tearing an engine out.

Good luck, later J
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Old 05-09-2018, 04:09 PM   #6
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I looked into Mercedes service in my area. There is one shop 70 miles away from me. It is the only one I could find within 100+ miles.

There are at least a dozen shops that will work on Cummins and Navistar in the same area. Two of them within 3 miles of me.

That discouraged me from pursuing Mercedes powered buses.
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Old 05-09-2018, 08:32 PM   #7
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Not a bad engine. If you can fix it yourself and find parts, then you are good. If now got for a Cummins or International pre emissions.
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Old 05-09-2018, 08:51 PM   #8
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I've had to tow a bus to a Navistar dealer. The repair price sent me packing. I couldn't imagine the sticker shock at a Benz service center.
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Old 05-10-2018, 07:24 AM   #9
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Exactly EastCoast. If any engine gets anything serious this bus stuff is to expensive for normal working people. The Dt466 have these known problems, The cummins 5.9, the death pin and cracks in castings, he list goes on, all engines have something, the shop repair would be more then you paid for the whole bus. This forum is full of engines that are to expensive to fix by a real shop not even counting the ripoffs you will experience doing it the shop way.
The fear for suffering is more then the suffering itself.

Later J
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:35 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by joeblack5 View Post
Exactly EastCoast. If any engine gets anything serious this bus stuff is to expensive for normal working people. The Dt466 have these known problems, The cummins 5.9, the death pin and cracks in castings, he list goes on, all engines have something, the shop repair would be more then you paid for the whole bus. This forum is full of engines that are to expensive to fix by a real shop not even counting the ripoffs you will experience doing it the shop way.
The fear for suffering is more then the suffering itself.

Later J
**THIS**

ALL engines have some achille;s heal..

some are not worth pursuing.. ie 53 block cummins or a MaxxForce 7.
maybe a CAT-C7 is on this list.. but even those dont break as much as perceived...

others like the VT-365 end up going cheap enough that the parts to make it SOLID are still cheaper than going for a different "supposed better" bus..

sometimes the bad reputation works in your favor.. everyone and their brother bids the $$$ way up on the DT466 and cummins 8.3 busses.

the MBE and the CATs have a good solid reputation for running well when you get Pre-EGR / Pre-Emissions.. they are more expensive to repair **IF** they break...

and really here on this forum. id say for the age of the busses being bought that the percentage of people actually having to take their busses to a manufacturer shop to repair is quite small..

-Christopher
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Old 05-10-2018, 12:40 PM   #11
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**THIS**

ALL engines have some achille;s heal..

some are not worth pursuing.. ie 53 block cummins or a MaxxForce 7.
maybe a CAT-C7 is on this list.. but even those dont break as much as perceived...

others like the VT-365 end up going cheap enough that the parts to make it SOLID are still cheaper than going for a different "supposed better" bus..

sometimes the bad reputation works in your favor.. everyone and their brother bids the $$$ way up on the DT466 and cummins 8.3 busses.

the MBE and the CATs have a good solid reputation for running well when you get Pre-EGR / Pre-Emissions.. they are more expensive to repair **IF** they break...

and really here on this forum. id say for the age of the busses being bought that the percentage of people actually having to take their busses to a manufacturer shop to repair is quite small..

-Christopher
I'll avoid any C7 or Benz, but that's just my personal preference and fear lol.
My uncle in law is the maintenance manager for a fleet and says the C7 is ungodly expensive and problematic. He likes the 3126.

I'll not buy emissions buses ever. 04' is the end of the line for me.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:05 PM   #12
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Thanks for all the replies - gives me a lot to consider! If an engine breaks, it can be expensive to replace no matter what, but if it’s a minor problem maybe it’s better not to have a Benz because parts expensive. Yet this one is a really good price, so maybe it’s worth taking the risk rather than paying more for a different bus. I don’t have a huge amount of options in my city. Three hours away there are more options, but twice as expensive! This isn’t going to be a full time home so I can keep the interior cost *somewhat* low.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:14 PM   #13
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Thanks for all the replies - gives me a lot to consider! If an engine breaks, it can be expensive to replace no matter what, but if it’s a minor problem maybe it’s better not to have a Benz because parts expensive. Yet this one is a really good price, so maybe it’s worth taking the risk rather than paying more for a different bus. I don’t have a huge amount of options in my city. Three hours away there are more options, but twice as expensive! This isn’t going to be a full time home so I can keep the interior cost *somewhat* low.
Don't talk yourself into buying that engine with the view that "parts are expensive but how many will I really need".

Even on an easy to work on engine, with plentiful parts, a member here was recently quoted $8000+ just to replace the timing cover gaskets.

As all have said ... working, the engine is great. Broken, it's either an expensive nightmare, or a boat anchor.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:40 PM   #14
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Don't talk yourself into buying that engine with the view that "parts are expensive but how many will I really need".

Even on an easy to work on engine, with plentiful parts, a member here was recently quoted $8000+ just to replace the timing cover gaskets.

As all have said ... working, the engine is great. Broken, it's either an expensive nightmare, or a boat anchor.
It was actually over 9 grand but that was a much bigger job than just gaskets. nearly $4000 just in parts, IIRC.
Expensive- but you gotta pay to play. Sooner or later.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:46 PM   #15
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It was actually over 9 grand but that was a much bigger job than just gaskets. nearly $4000 just in parts, IIRC.
Expensive- but you gotta pay to play. Sooner or later.
Yeah, and it was just bad luck that could have happened to anyone. The bus was driven 1000 miles before the problem surfaced.
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Old 05-11-2018, 05:29 AM   #16
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Yeah, and it was just bad luck that could have happened to anyone. The bus was driven 1000 miles before the problem surfaced.
Yep. Any DT from 99-2006 or so can have this problem.
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Old 05-17-2018, 07:54 AM   #17
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I bought a 2005 (pre-emissions) MBE906 just a couple of weeks ago and I can echo much of what was said here. ANY engine can be problematic and expensive to fix but from my research it seems that MBE's are significantly less likely to have problems than others. I've read multiple instances of fleet manages saying that they would change over all of their buses to MBE's if they could. Just my 2¢
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Old 03-21-2019, 05:19 AM   #18
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I bought a 2005 (pre-emissions) MBE906 just a couple of weeks ago and I can echo much of what was said here. ANY engine can be problematic and expensive to fix but from my research it seems that MBE's are significantly less likely to have problems than others. I've read multiple instances of fleet manages saying that they would change over all of their buses to MBE's if they could. Just my 2¢
So you've only had that bus a couple weeks?
Are you just trying to flip it for 55 grand?
A couple weeks isn't much time to base much of an opinion on.
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Old 03-21-2019, 06:16 AM   #19
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So you've only had that bus a couple weeks?
Are you just trying to flip it for 55 grand?
A couple weeks isn't much time to base much of an opinion on.



considering this is 10 months old now and only 2 posts from the OP im guessing he sold the thing or ate his words lol
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Old 03-21-2019, 06:20 AM   #20
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considering this is 10 months old now and only 2 posts from the OP im guessing he sold the thing or ate his words lol
Sorry, its early and I'm still waiting on coffee.
They're selling the bus in another thread. Thought this was recent. My bad.
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