[mbhalara]

As listened from drivers and read on internet, the main key factor of achieving such results is driving the vehicle in the same (low to moderate) RPM band throughout.
(Obviously this is over and above timely services and maintenance).

I found a Mercedes Bus in Turkey with 2.3 million Kms as mentioned in my travelogue.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...y-img_5776.jpg

Also is an interesting video on Scania Youtube Channel showing an old 142H-V8 having 4.1 million kilometers without any major repair !!!!!!

https://youtu.be/eRgjcQycK9k

[swiftnfurious]

Got an opportunity to speak to a truck driver last weekend while both of us were at a puncture shop. Saw him cleaning the air filter and asked him what's the replacement interval - he mentioned 1.5L kms or so and costs some 6K or so.

The truck had done 90K kms in 6 months. It had Michelin tyres too - told he'll get 1.6L kms or something on the stock tyres and then another 30K kms or something on the re-treaded tyres. A set of tyres (2) costs 55-60K and that truck had 6 sets of tyres - 3.5L on the tyres.

The guy usually does Bangalore - Kolkata and this trip was supposed to be done in 46 hours. He said it could be done as the truck does 70-80 kmph easily (as per him) and two drivers keep it running.

He also said the truck costs 25L and another 5L for the tarpaulin etc. This one trip would fetch the owner a profit of 30K per round trip which is completed in 10 days.

The driver takes a 10K per trip salary.

[RGK]

My friend drove his Ambassador fitted with Izusu D1 for 5 lakh kilometers without an engine overhaul.

The engine was an imported one (sealed engine) from Singapore where it had done many kms which he could not assess.

One of the reason is the supreme quality of the iron and steel used by the engine manufacturers.

[parth.jain]

Recently I saw a video review of Tata Prima truck with a 5,00,000 km on the odo with original engine and transmission without any overhauling done till date! (The owner claimed he doesn't do overloading)

10,00,000 kms are even achieved by some Toyota Innovas by cab drivers, trucks engines are far more solid IMO! (Only if too much overloading is not done)

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Very informative and insightful post.

However, are you sure it is 2000km before shut off or 200?

Even a long distance bus (Bangalore-Bombay for example) takes a halt for passenger/operator bio breaks approximately every 8 hrs and at an average speed of 80kmph, that translates into 640km.

While one may argue that the engine isn't shut down during these halts by some buses since they run the ac as well, it still doesn't add to 2000km between shut offs.

It is usually 2000 km. Route is usually something like this 4 buses on Pune Nagpur route + 2 short routes. Bus 1 to start Pune at 5.30 Pm Day 1 reach Nagpur 6.30 Am Next day, idle till 7.30 and go to Amravati by 11.00. Idle with Ac on, Start back for Nagpur by 1.00Pm and reach by 5.00 Pm. Then start for Pune at 8.00 Pm, and reach by 9.00 Am. That is 720 + 170 + 170 + 720 = 1780 km.
Bus which started from Nagpur at 5.30 when bus 1 started from Pune will reach Pune by 6.30 next day, then start for Kolhapur at 7.30 reach by noon start back by 1.00 Pm reach by 5.00 Pm and start for Nagpur by 8.00 Pm.
That is 720+240+240+720=1920 km.
Similarly Pune Mysuru does Mysuru Bangalore, Bangalore Mumbai Mumbai Bangalore and reverse.
A Cochin based silent BHP'ian who has a Scania dealership and runs his own buses Cochin to Hyderabad 1075km in 16 Hrs his buses shut engine down from 7.30 Am to 2.0Pm.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Why do truck engines die sooner?

1. Overloading.
2. Irregular maintenance and jugaad repairs.
3. Bad/rash driving.

None of this kills engines. It is the 8 to 10 Hr unloading halts at destinations, where engine becomes fully cold before being restarted that kills the engine. Overloading only damages axles, king pins etc. Fact that a 2518, 3518 and 3718 share power train except for final reduction in differential ratio says how much it is overdesigned.

Jugad repair is restricted to body parts and electrical components, power train, brakes and tires are always presently maintained by long runners.
Engines rated for 100% output for 48 Hrs cannot be killed however bad you drive.

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Engines that do continuous long distances stay reliable for very long. In fact they do not even need the oil to be changed as per the regular preventive maintenance schedule as the oil would last longer than that of engines that do short distances.

These engines would probably average around 500 kms per day making them ultra reliable.

Recommended oil change in Volvo and Scania is 1 lakh km or 184 days for route operation buses, and only 40,000 km or 184 days for short haul buses. This variation in oil change itself points to stress increase in short haul.

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Rarely would you see a truck parked on the roadside with an engine problem - you will however find them with broken leaf springs, burst tyres, broken axles or maybe just overturned.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Sounds quite interesting! Any proof for that?

Besides, is there any chance our car engines can last so long especially with ridiculous traffic in the city and short trips? I regularly see taxis with 2 lakhs on the odometer. Or are regular cars designed to be junk after 2-3 lakh KM's?

My 2005 Indica engine lasted 8 years and 3.24 lakh km before I sold the car, day before sale my sales staff had done a one day a 680 km Pune Belgaon return and tank was just above 1/4th. A good friend Mr Kedar Kasar who owns KK travels that does Pune to Mumbai airport has even managed crossing 8 Lakh km in Innova, Xylo and Tata Aria, and recently he replaced 170 of his Aria by Xylo and all had crossed 5 lakh km, and only 8 of them had engines opened. He was planning on Hexa XE, but Tata people did not want to give any fleet discount so early in the vehicles life, so he settled for Xylo.



Rahul

[Shreyans_Jain]

I don't see what the big deal is here. You expect this from long haul trucks. It is fairly normal for trucks which are not subjected to overloading. Heck, my 2.6DI Scorpio has done over 4.5L km on it's original engine, gearbox and fuel pump and is still in good shape.

[S.I.N.G.H]

After working with Bharat Benz for 3 years as an engine and electronics diagnostic engineer, I can say that the company delivers quality.



With the kind of precision that these vehicles are built is amazing. There are a few things that a customer needs to take care of to get such an engine life. Driver training, timely oil changes and no overload.


Further, Bharat Benz was the only company which was ready for the BS4 change well in advance as compared to all the competitors in the market.

[scwagh]

10L kilometers in 5 years, if we consider that the truck was operating on all days through these 5 years it means it used to cover 547 kms per day on an average, that is staggeringly high! Consider few days when the truck was stationery and under maintenance, this number will only go higher. Undoubtedly the product is superior than the current homegrown competition's but I have also heard that there are some recurring problems especially in the engine block.

Some of the efforts that Bharat Benz has put in the service side are noteworthy.

1. Driver Trainings: They do driver trainings where a trained driver from the Bharat Benz dealership will accompany the drivers on their regular route and demonstrate on how to get maximum fuel efficiency from the vehicle (without sacrificing the performance). Even if the route is from Bangalore to Delhi, they accompany the driver on to and fro journey and drive it with them.

2. Float Management: Each dealership has some engine blocks in reserve which they can mount on a truck if required. So if a truck is going to be off road for some major engine repair work, they will give you another engine on loan and the owner can get the truck back on road. He can then get the engine block replaced when the original engine is repaired.

3. Focus on Roadside Assistance: The target is to address the stranded vehicle in 4 hours and to ensure that it is back in operating condition within 24 hours.

They are now trying to create the pull through the service.

[vivekgk]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

I remember speaking to some the maintenance guys of one of the big bus travel operators in Chennai when we were doing some gearbox retro-fitments. They claimed Volvo buses (when serviced as per schedule) run 15L km on the original engine before needing an overhaul . I was genuinely taken by surprise hearing this, and hence seeing these trucks crossing 10L isn't surprising any more.

He also mentioned, Volvo sells a half engine (new head) with which the bus can easily do another 7-8L km !

Just a point. Half-Engine usually refers to the bottom end of the engine, i.e block+piston+con rod+crankshaft, since those parts are best assembled in factory. Both Maruti and Tata offer half-engine kits for their vehicles. The top end doesn't usually need replacement until much later.

15 lacs sounds like an impossible feat, but the thing to consider is that these engines are very large capacity and make their peak power/torque at about 2000-2500 rpm, and run about 1300 rpm while cruising at 100 kmph. With long distance Volvo buses, chances of overloading are considerably less than for trucks. Since running at a constant low rpm for extended periods is what diesel engines do best, they should run a lot longer than truck engines.

Considering that our trucks are inevitably overloaded and put through extreme conditions like high rpm climbing inclines in low gears with full load, and rash driving by inexperienced 'cleaners' when the licensed driver is taking a nap, 7 lacs kms would be quite an achievement for any truck in India.

[Sreedharan]

BharatBenz has posted a video on their 10 lakh km marketing campaign

https://youtu.be/bXbEVz8WE8A