Is a Mercedes a good engine for a DP?
Looking at a DP with a 400 HP MBE engine. Not sure I have seen a DP that didn't have a Cummins engine. Is the MBE a good one? Are there any strange quirks with it?
Forum Discussion
We have an MBE engine in an older Freightliner straight truck, it’s a single axle with 10 speed.
It’s been flawless for 800k and it’s probav one of if not the best in its class for this type of application. It has a very flat power band from 1,000 to 2,000 rpm and the exhaust braking system is outstanding. It’s nearly silent and far more powerful than a Jacobs system since it’s actually designed right into the construction of the engine (a 5th valve in each head) and the turbo (a special sliding ring valve). It can be used in any residential area where you can’t use a Jake because of the noise.
When they first came out people like J.B. Hunt bought thousands of them, when it was time to replace them they bought more of them. That tells me the unreliability stories and lack popularity issues are another ‘Ford Pinto’ story.
UCLA law professor Gary T. Schwartz, in a Rutgers Law Review article, studied the fatality rates of the Pinto and several other small cars of the time period. He concluded that the Pinto was approximately even with the AMC Gremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Datsun 510. It was significantly better than the Datsun 1200/210, Toyota Corolla and VW Beetle.
So don’t drive an MBE engined MH through the woods to Grandmas house, the big bad wolf will eat you!
It’s been flawless for 800k and it’s probav one of if not the best in its class for this type of application. It has a very flat power band from 1,000 to 2,000 rpm and the exhaust braking system is outstanding. It’s nearly silent and far more powerful than a Jacobs system since it’s actually designed right into the construction of the engine (a 5th valve in each head) and the turbo (a special sliding ring valve). It can be used in any residential area where you can’t use a Jake because of the noise.
When they first came out people like J.B. Hunt bought thousands of them, when it was time to replace them they bought more of them. That tells me the unreliability stories and lack popularity issues are another ‘Ford Pinto’ story.
UCLA law professor Gary T. Schwartz, in a Rutgers Law Review article, studied the fatality rates of the Pinto and several other small cars of the time period. He concluded that the Pinto was approximately even with the AMC Gremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Datsun 510. It was significantly better than the Datsun 1200/210, Toyota Corolla and VW Beetle.
So don’t drive an MBE engined MH through the woods to Grandmas house, the big bad wolf will eat you!
