DSCannon

Volvo won't kill the D16 in Europe based on two reasons, FH16 is their flag ship product and Penta uses the majority of D16 engines globally. Cummins can't replace both markets that primarily use staged turbo systems with HP levels way over 600. The single turbo engines in US, Canada and Mack Australia will be replaced with X15. Volvo won't put up the cash to develop those engines for future emissions regulations. The North Carolina crowd couldn't ultimately figure out how to sell big power in US and Canada. Plus Cummins got their hands into the Carolinians pockets and swayed the decision.

The MBE4000 came with aluminum pistons as did all the European transplants. This is a big weakness of the engine! I don't know if later versions had steel pistons once Mercedes learned the American way of building a robust diesel engine via Detroit Diesel.

Actually if spend most of your time in 16th gear on a T318 you'll gain an additional 1% in fuel economy due to direct drive ratio. Same concept as mDrive direct drive box or Eaton 10 spd FR directs. 9th in a 10 spd, 11th in a 13 spd and 16th in a 18 spd are all direct drive gears (of course in an OD box) and will save additional fuel. Volvo has package "take me back home" where you run in 11th loaded (direct) to save fuel and 12th unloaded (OD) for speed. Mack doesn't offer. A good driver can keep in direct most of time with 2 series axle ratio.

I'm surprised the SuperEconodyne package isn't a big seller. We talked with a few of the guys at one of the training sessions and they stated only about 130 were sold last year. Compared to Volvo's XE package which is selling at around 30%. Seems like some owners would want better fuel economy. If you're afraid of a 2 series rear axle ratio use a T318LR in place of the 12spd mDrive. The 318LR has a 16.4:1 first gear vs the 11.7:1 mDrive. Of course the automated mDrive is the only thing offered with the package, however a good driver in a manual can easily out drive the computer by paying attention to engine revs and shift points. Some other interesting items we found out: The smaller Mack cab is 2% more aerodynamic than Volvo's cab. This is due small "A" pillar width and curved windshield. The SuperEconodyne is available with CRD125/126 axles. In-house testing shows 1% less fuel than Meritor. This one surprised me, the Maxitorque transmissions are actually 1% more efficient than an mDrive. Hopefully more owners will take a look at some of the fuel economy benefits Mack can offer.

if you are losing that much water and you don't have milky oil, I would suspect you are burning it. An easy check is too remove your exhaust manifold and look at each port. The port which is burning water will be much cleaner and maybe have white residue. You can also spot check turbo outlet to see if it looks too clean before removing manifold. 300 miles ~ 60 gals fuel ~ 6 gals coolant equates to 10:1 ratio of fuel/coolant, whew!

Dave is still there working on the export side speaking Spanish and learning to enjoy margaritas. There are still plenty of good engineers in the background slaving away at LVO, HAG, GSO. Much of the focus has been on meeting regulatory requirements and working with shrinking budgets. Yea there is an over abundance of "love" from the Volvo mother ship however, if it wasn't for the hardcore Mack engineers in the US (and there are plenty) Mack would not be able to sell trucks. The foreign engineers don't understand the US market and don't really care. FH 4x2 Extended SCR would be the new CX. Take the chains off the US engineers and Mack could significantly increase it's market share.

My experience has been is more of a Greensboro NC issue than it is a corporate Volvo issue. Non truck people making decisions about what happens in the US. Mack Australia does what is needs so there is leeway within Volvo world. You just need the right Americans to drive the US market. We have talked with engineers who are completely depressed about what happened to Titan, MP10, D16. There needs to be a cleansing of non truck folks in NC.

AI internal engines are best from 2002 to 2007. Minimal electronics, no VGT turbo or EGR cooler, in general fairly reliable. Since it's a dump truck I think it's the only option as the AC cooled EGR engines only came in highway trucks. All vocational were AI.

P2453 is a DPF differential pressure sensor plausibility check. There are two parts for the check, key off and a high flow condition while running. It's a sensor check so start by replacing the sensor. It's not a check on how full your filter is.

Yes we just got our announcement SBN17-013 Discontinuation of the Volvo D16 Engine. I posted something on Dec 31st that this would happen. Unfortunately it wasn't clear what was going on with Cummins replacement, now it is. All 550-600 hp VNLs and VNXs will get the X15. Volvo will not kill the VNX as Mack did with Titan. It just may die on it's own. I won't sell a single VNX/Cummins combo. The interesting part is weather the ISX will get the I-Shift. With the introduction of the crawler transmission and the corporate love of the I-Shift, I have a hard time believing Volvo won't put one in every VNX, even if X15. Time will tell. On the Mack side, there is no respect for the CHU so I doubt they'll spend the money on installing an X15. It too will die with the introduction the Obama's Greenhouse Gas regulations in 2020/2021 time frame. Old school trucks will be regulated away due to poor aerodynamics.

We were told it was due to two main reasons. I don't quite understand all the details but here is the gist: There are new green house gas regulations being introduced by the Obama administration starting 2020/2021. They are driving new technology to meet CO2. One technology the regulation wants to promote is automated transmissions. To do this the automated transmissions get a big CO2 credit and the manual gets zero. So the OEM has a big incentive to sell only automated transmissions. You can read on EPAs website which I haven't had a chance to do. So in effect Obama has taken away your god given right to grab a gear. All others OEMS will be faced with the same deal. The second reason was nailed by kscarbel. Volvo corporate is so enamored with the I-shift it's the only transmission the world needs. So much so they want I-Shift and Twin clutch version as only offer. So that means once the manuals are out, Allison will be next on the chopping block. It's so bad we were told new trucks probably won't even be designed with a clutch pedal or a hole in the floor for the shifter.

We heard through our dealership today the next item to be removed from Mack's arsenal are all manual transmissions, both Maxitorque and Eaton. Apparently mDrive and Allison have decimated the manual volumes to a point where they don't want to offer. With the addition of the mDrive crawler transmission and the lack of competent drivers, corporate feels manual shifting is not a value for US and Canada. It wasn't clear if it would take place on late 2017 or 2018 models. If you want a manual, don't wait too long to order.

The dual clutch transmission (DCT) won't power shift during the range 6->7 as stated above in marketing info. You should only have to pay for 10/11th of the price increase. I'd rather have a working Allison 4500 where I can power shift through every gear. DCT transmissions have much more problems than a bullet proof planetary system.

Get a Gatorade bottle, fill 1/3 way with water, punch a hole in the cap for the sensor, make sure it's fairly tight and you'll have nice moist air at the sensor tip. Make sure the sensor doesn't come in contact with water on high grades.

We heard from our senior salesman Volvo will discontinue the D16 in addition to the MP10 which means no 16L VNs and VNXs. Apparently both brands don't know how to sell heavy haul trucks in Canada/US (VT memories). The Aussies have figured it out but they too will get screwed in the future as the European emission engines will need to be upgraded to level 6 which have twin turbos. He told us the twin turbos will only fit in a cabover vehicle so maybe the Titan and Super Liner will be at risk in another part of the world for big power.