I have a few questions about Frieghtliner Centurys with Detroit 60's and Meritor 10 speeds. I realize not all company trucks are alike, Crete's setup is what I am most interested in hearing about. Is the Meritor 10 speed pattern identical to eaton- fuller and does it shift as well as the eaton? Do you like the Detroit, does it rev smooth? How is the turning radius in town, is it easy to get around corners? How about the air ride suspension-air ride cab, does it ride OK, handle mountain roads and curves nice? The older Frieghtliner I drove in school rattled but I liked the truck OK, has Frieghtliner improved with the Century? Thanks in advance!

 

I drove a Frieghtliner Centurys with Detroit 60's however it had a Eaton super 10. So can't say anything about the Menitor.

I liked the Centurys.

Super turning.

Never had a problem with the engine. Except when the dealership failed to put the drain plug in. That caused a real mess. But that was KC Freightliner. Sure made a mess of the engine and the area around the tractor. Didn't cause any problem with the engine. Just had to have it steam cleaned. But the boss sure wasn't happy.

Air ride takes a little getting use to. First few times you think it is going to roll but you adjust.

All in all I wish I had bought a Centurys instead of the XL I bought. I loved the larger sleeper of the XL but the Centurys was sure better when it came to getting around in a tight lot.

I didn't do any real mountain driving. But I don't see where it would be a problem.

Only problem we had was with the self adjusting brakes. The front brakes seem to over adjust and get to tight. I'd take it in every couple of weeks and the shop would back them off a little. When I left they still hadn't solved the problem. That was the only Centurys we had so I don't know if it was a common problem or not.

kc0iv

 

A straight shift 10 speed has the same shifting pattern regardless of brand of transmission. The only time you will run into a different pattern for a 10 speed is on a super 10 as compared to a straight 10.

 

When I worked for Gordon Trucking, the Columbia I trained in had a Detroit series 60 in it hooked to a meritor 10-speed. Engine was great, but the Meritor trans was not very smooth shifting. Also, after getting assigned to a truck with an eaton-fuller 10 speed, I noticed that the eaton had much less noise and vibration transmitted through the shift shaft itself. It also shifted much smoother. Everyone used to say that the Meritors were the cheapies and that's why the newer company trucks had them, but I'm not sure about that.

 

Overdrive 10 speeds (Eaton RTO) used to have the last two holes reversed ("U" pattern) from a direct drive (Eaton RT) but they also made a "normal" version ("H" pattern) as an option (Eaton RTX). Now they call the RTX an RTO and the reversed pattern is an option - go figure? Meritors (and Macks) used to have a reputation as not "floating" as easily as an Eaton but I think the latter ones were about the same?

 

dipstick wrote:


The Meritor 10 is a tight and unforgiving trany, you have to hit the RPMs just right(nothing to worry about though, just takes a little more time for the new driver to master). In my truck the gear shift lever rattles far more than I care for. I often have to hold onto it to give myself some relief from the noise. Quick note here, Meritor is no longer producing manual transmissions, Autos only from now on.

The Detroit is a good engine, but Crete keeps the horse power turned down on them to save fuel,(you won't be flying up any mountains with it).

One thing to remember about a Century, it's a Freightliner and they shake, rattle and leak air around the windows. Many of the ones I've driven leak around the windshield seals(not my current one, yeah) in heavy rain. Etc.

As far as the air-ride cab. If this Crete truck has one, it is not noticeable to me. Bounces just like all the other Freightliners I've ever been in.

I had the good fortune of driving a 2005 Volvo for a little over a year. It had a wonderful air-ride cab. Felt like a Cadillac in comparison. It was so smooth and quite. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it though. Felt like I was swerving all over the road at first. You just have to get used to the idea that the cab is swaying around and your chassis is solid on the ground.

In short, if a smooth ride is the most important thing to you in deciding what company to hire on with, go with a company that runs Volvos or Kenworths and of course Petes. The worse rides out there will be the Macks, Internationals, and Freights.

 

That is a problem with the adjusters themselves and not Freightliner. The adjusters might be Meritor, Haldex, Bendix, Gunite, or who knows what. You just need to find the service manual for them (freely available on the Internet) and redo the setup procedure. Simple.

Birken

 

I had never driven a meritor until I started driving for Crete. Like Evertruckerr says, its very unforgiving. Takes a while to get used to especially if you like to float gears. And I too have a gear shift that rattles like crazy. Have taken to sliding a sock over it to quiet it down (works too :wink: ).

 

i have always had Eaton's and they shift so smooth and are forgiving

 

Thanks for the information everyone. I CDL test on Thursday and am scheduled to go to Crete's SLC orientation on 26th. I test in a 96 Freightliner and I actually like the truck despite the the usual shortcomings. I am sure Crete's Century will be just fine.