Mercedes diesel in Freightliner

[Clayton]

I am in the process of getting a 2005 Freightliner FS 65 school bus with a 6.4 Mercedes diesel. It has about 200 000 miles. What Are your thoughts on this engine. There is little info out there on this engine. Thnx!

[Tango]

Insanely expensive to maintain and seems to take a lot of it. The MB engines, sadly, do not have a very good rep.

[cowlitzcoach]

What Tango said!

Unless the price was basically free it would not be my first, second, or third choice.

[AlleyCat67]

It's not that the Mercedes engines are bad engines, as such..... but as was said they ARE expensive to maintain, and also tend to use a lot of oil so you will want to keep an eagle eye on oil level.

I have one in my 2005 Thomas... it's been a good engine up to now, haven't had any problems with it but then I haven't run it very far either.... though it did make the 300 mile trip home with no problems.

[Clayton]

I don't usually back out of deals but I am considering it now, yikes. Might just find a older International.

[M1031A1]

We have about 15 MB Freightshakers in our fleet at Katy ISD. They are underpowered, and expensive to repair. The one I drive currently is ok, but I'd pass on it because everyone else leaves me behind off the line. Top end is ok, but not outstanding. She works hard to get to 60 m.p.h. empty.

Just my two cents.......

M

[cadillackid]

alot of the issues with the MB engines come in the form of oil consumption... while all diesels seem to leak a little oil.. the MERCs tend to leak a LOT or consume a LOT of oil.. so many failures come about from people who dont keep close eye on their oil and run them low and damage them.. and as mentioned trying to get said oil consumption issues fixed is quite expensive...

others have noted in regards to power.. ive never driven one..

also if im not mistaken anything 2004 and newer started coming equipped with the EPA emissions BS phase 1... phase 2 in the 2007 regs is worse.. but I thought I read 2004 started alot of it on busses... making the engines more complex..

-Christopher

[AlleyCat67]

As regards the power in the MBE engines...... I used to have a DT466 way back when, seems like the MBE doesn't have quite as much oomph as that 466 did, but the power seems adequate for what it's in. Takes a little bit to get up to full steam but nothing too unreasonable. Of course once it's fully converted that might change, depending on how close to the 30k GVWR I get, but at the present 20k weight it's not too bad.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by AlleyCat67

As regards the power in the MBE engines...... I used to have a DT466 way back when, seems like the MBE doesn't have quite as much oomph as that 466 did, but the power seems adequate for what it's in. Takes a little bit to get up to full steam but nothing too unreasonable. Of course once it's fully converted that might change, depending on how close to the 30k GVWR I get, but at the present 20k weight it's not too bad.

of course indeed thats one thing to remember.. im guessing alot of people compare "amount of power in a bus" to the personal car they drive everyday.. and only a few of us have experience driving more than one bus.. so when someone says 'a bus is gutless' are they truly comparing it to other like-vehicles or are they comparing it to the 400 horsepower Pickup in their driveway... I look at power asl ong as the bus gets me down the road at the speed i feel comfortable at for the conditions then it has enough power... some on here want to go 80... to me that seems unreasonable and unsafe in a school bus..
-Christopher

[AlleyCat67]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

some on here want to go 80... to me that seems unreasonable and unsafe in a school bus..
-Christopher

Right you are.... buses simply aren't designed for that speed. Mine is governed to 65 and I'm content with that.... anything more is gonna suck the MPG right down the toilet.... not that the mileage in these boats is that great to start with. And I doubt I'll run mine much over 55-60 anyway, to try and stretch my fuel dollar.

[cadillackid]

ive done alot of experimenting... my DEV will run 68 flat out at 2700 RPM.. and gets 6.5-7 MPG running it like that. its a shortie but a heavy bus GVWR 27500 and is a high top so its a brick on the road..

if I run that bus at 55-58( runs 2200-2300 RPM) I get 10.5 - 11 MPG in it... considering my purpose for it is road trips and not speed-routes I'll take the nearly extra 4.5 - 5 MPG any day to slow down a few...

of course that doesnt include the trip I just made last weekend from florida to ohio through snow, ice, 60 MPH winds in the mountains.. I had a tad bit of driver fatigue so a little more idling than normal to relax on that ride meant for lower MPG's...

-Christopher

[Clayton]

I bought a different one. That Mercedes reputation was bugging me. I bought a 1996 International 3800 with the DT466E engine and automatic. I know for certain that motor is awesome!

[Bon Voyage]

Clayton,

I'd like more info on that bus if you don't mind. please email me at kurtrathwell@gmail.com
I'm in Alberta looking to get a bus

[05FrieghtlinerThomas]

just bought an 05 Frieghtliner Thomas with a MB motor w/Allison trans - 170,000 miles and 6,000 hrs - made it from Florida to Virginia, over 1,000 mies, no issues, passing trucks on hills. it's been in my barn now 2-3 weeks and not a drop of oil on the concrete and the driver added no oil on the way up. I am going to assume I got a good one, perhaps I got lucky.

[sigreddasparks]

Originally Posted by 05FrieghtlinerThomas

just bought an 05 Frieghtliner Thomas with a MB motor w/Allison trans - 170,000 miles and 6,000 hrs - made it from Florida to Virginia, over 1,000 mies, no issues, passing trucks on hills. it's been in my barn now 2-3 weeks and not a drop of oil on the concrete and the driver added no oil on the way up. I am going to assume I got a good one, perhaps I got lucky.

I just won a bid on a short 6 window Mercedes Engine Thomas Freightliner 2005. Hoping to have no issues getting it home although I may need to leave my car there to get the bus.

[BarnYardCamp]

Originally Posted by Clayton

I bought a different one. That Mercedes reputation was bugging me. I bought a 1996 International 3800 with the DT466E engine and automatic. I know for certain that motor is awesome!

I wonder if you got scared off the MBE engine and into a bus with the dreaded Allison AT545 tranny.

I've had my bus over 2 years...no oil leaks.....yet...but it hasn't been driven more than a few miles since the 400 mile trip home.

[cadillackid]

I know a guy that swears by those MBE906.. sounds like the oil leaks aren’t terrible to fix for the most part..

They sound cool.. they are pricey to fix majnly because it seems the software is hard to get for diagnosing them

[Ronnie]

I found on a school bus fleet forum very good reviews for MB906. Hope they are right, I have one now. No leaks runs great.

[sigreddasparks]

I just picked up my bus today!! I have a 2007 Thomas Freightliner, 6 window, with wheelchair lift, OM 924 Mercedes Diesel engine. Drove from Northern GA to Northern SC, no problems. I couldn't get up over 50 mph, but maybe I had it in the wrong driving gear. There's one before the one I was using, a D in a circle. Not sure what that one is for or if it will allow me to get up over 50. We'll see! It had like 5/8ths of a tank and when I got home it's down to a little less than a quarter tank!

[cadillackid]

congrats on your new Bus!!
use circle-D thats overdrive .. you were probably running against the rev limiter in 4th gear.. circle-D should give you 5th gear which will get your top speed up a bit