[GTO]

On the original engine & gearbox! Is this the norm among commercial vehicles? Wow, either way. What is the usual life of truck engines before an overhaul is required?

• BharatBenz 2523R heavy-duty truck crosses the mark of ten lakh kilometres with original engine and transmission.

• ‘BharatKaBenz’ yatra concluded in Chennai after completing a pan-Indian journey of 10,000 kilometers over 40 days.

• Covered the 10 lakh kilometres in five years.

• The first BharatBenz ‘kilometre millionaire’ vehicle, a 25-ton rigid truck with 230 hp, runs in the fleet of JSS Logistics in Nagpur, Maharashtra for long haulage of parcels between Nagpur and Salem, Tamil Nadu. JSS Logistics is a major BharatBenz customer in Nagpur and a service provider for companies like Safexpress. The truck, which has received only standard preventive maintenance, still runs with the original, factory installed powertrain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9VW9ovy2lk

[directinjection]

Original engine as in without any overhaul? If so, why don't they say that clearly? In late 1970s, 3 Tata 1210 buses of Haryana Roadways had crossed 3,00,000 KMs without overhaul and it was considered newsworthy enough to be reported in Telco Dealer's News, TAMO's in-house magazine. Given the technological improvements over the 4 decades, million without overhaul is quite attainable.

[Kosfactor]

Back when BharatBenz was new in 2012, they released this as per ET news.

"The average life expectancy of engines in India for overhauling is 1,00,000 km. BharatBenz claims its engines are due for an overhaul only after 3,00,000 km."

Fast forward 2013 Tata motors increased HCV warranty to 4 years.

And now? 7 lakh km engine life on rather cheaper non premium HCV itself. This is a 4 cylinder.

BharatBenz improved Tata and it's market share a lot I infer.

Side Note: Mahindra recently boasted about a service touch point every 100Km, impressive considering their lesser market share but Tata had a touch point every 50Kms back in 2013.

[rrsteer]

The video cleverly captures some minor details, like a broken down TATA truck, just as the Bhartat Benz exits a petrol pump.
Also as if taunting, the broken down Truck serves GATI - Safexpress' competitor.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Original engine as in without any overhaul? If so, why don't they say that clearly?

It does say that the truck has only received "standard preventive maintenance".

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

BharatBenz improved Tata and it's market share a lot I infer.

Well said!

Originally Posted by rrsteer

The video cleverly captures some minor details, like a broken down TATA truck

Don't know why everyone is out to get Tata. At the time of a UV launch in the 1990s, the competing brand had placed Tata Sumos with open bonnets by the side of the road at strategic points. Why? To show that they are unreliable.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by GTO

On the original engine & gearbox! Is this the norm among commercial vehicles? Wow, either way. What is the usual life of truck engines before an overhaul is required?

...

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 !

[Rshrey22]

Hasn't anyone heard of million miles Toyota Tundra or Matt Farah's million mile Lexus?

https://youtu.be/TL7fyyUNRmA

https://youtu.be/yWuzBeS5JFA

[GTO]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

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 !

Wow, that is really something. Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Hasn't anyone heard of million miles Toyota Tundra or Matt Farah's million mile Lexus?

Haven't you seen a fully-loaded truck climbing up a ghat ? The engine is running at max capacity. That kind of load is incomparable to the softer usage that a Lexus would go through.

[Gannu_1]

Apologies for the OT post.

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Hasn't anyone heard of million miles Toyota Tundra

Sure we have. You just have to SEARCH for it.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...placement.html (Man drives Toyota Tundra 1 million miles in 9 years, gets a free replacement)

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Matt Farah's million mile Lexus?

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post3945361 (Highest reading on the odometer!)

[honeybee]

Private vehicles are usually cared for better than the commercial ones, as usage is more extreme and regular or preventive maintenance may not be as good.

So this truck was serviced at the authorized service centres only, I assume?

[avira_tk]

Bharat Benz is quite popular among the quarry operators, I don't think they'll manage the same mileage given the abuse. The advantage is that the overloading pays for any mechanical damage, it destroys the roads also.

[Motard_Blr]

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 !

Somewhat related to the topic:

When was the last time anyone heard a Volvo bus straining to climb a slope? Never! If a vehicle is specified with a low power engine, it is going to spend a lot of time struggling up hills in low gear while fully loaded.

Logically, an engine that runs slower and is less loaded is going to last longer than one that's running at full load and speed.

Volvo has designed their buses smartly to ensure that there is adequate power for most normal conditions thus preventing the engine from running frequently near maximum power and speed. This is why 15 lakh km between overhauls is possible.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Somewhat related to the topic:

When was the last time anyone heard a Volvo bus straining to climb a slope? Never! If a vehicle is specified with a low power engine, it is going to spend a lot of time struggling up hills in low gear while fully loaded.

Logically, an engine that runs slower and is less loaded is going to last longer than one that's running at full load and speed.

Volvo has designed their buses smartly to ensure that there is adequate power for most normal conditions thus preventing the engine from running frequently near maximum power and speed. This is why 15 lakh km between overhauls is possible.

True it depends on usage as well, In India largest fleet of Volvos is with BMTC but BMTC Volvos barely last 1.5 L KM before major overhaul. Perhaps the traffic jams and poor maintenance takes a toll.

There was a lot of discussions in newspapers about this around an year back when BMTC discontinued the maintenance contract.
It is not uncommon to see smoke belching old Volvos on Bangalore streets.

[UB_007]

Originally Posted by GTO

. What is the usual life of truck engines before an overhaul is required?

Being in fuel Injection Equipment (FIE) system industry for a decade now, I have seen OEMs requesting for higher kms in engine validation over the years.
Passenger cars FIEs are now validated for 400k km with over 600k stop/start (hybrid application). Most commercial vehicle manufacturers request a validation of 1.6million km.
New engines are designed for longer life with increased service intervals.

-UB

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Haven't you seen a fully-loaded truck climbing up a ghat ? The engine is running at max capacity. That kind of load is incomparable to the softer usage that a Lexus would go through.

I was an intern with Safexpress, although I can't share the finer details; but some are as follows:
This truck belongs to the transhipment department

• If you ever notice, Safexpress follows gentle speed limits and you will seldom find their trucks speeding - actually they can't speed up much due to the type of cargo they carry (mostly the items which can get damaged)
• The average load for trucks in transhipment is near to 70% occupancy and going by the load type, any truck hardly ever gets to see their peak capacity haulage
• Preventive maintenance is strictly followed

The thing is that, comparing this truck to the local vehicles which are frequently overloaded way beyond their capacity and have to cover every kind of terrains is not perfectly justifiable. Its a truck which has probably never seen overloading or bad drivers or poor terrain; look at this giant - it doesn't look beaten up in the pictures too. The truck is a 25 tonne capacity example, but the kind of customers Safexpress mainly has and the kind of cargo it must be carrying - I won't be surprised even if the full container load won't also get to 25T.