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| wondering if anyone has info on the c-12 cat? power and torque any common problems and how it would compare to my n14 500 thanks for any input in advance kyle
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The C12 has multi ratings.You have to read the ecm for the programing. But the ones we was working on was at 430 and 1450. I know they are higher than that now. I dont have any info from cat but the N14 will be more torqe but again the engine there is multi rated and can go to 550.The ratings are programed in the ecm and you need some kind of a reader to find it.
glenn akers
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| thanks glenn, the one iam looking at is a 2000 model set at 410hp. the haul iam intrested in using it in is a few months a year and lightweight is beginning to be an issue. thanks kyle
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76KW I bought a new C-12 410 HP in Sept.98. It had good power and fuel mileage did not use excessive amounts of oil that said. I analyze oil about every other oil change and my C-12 would show minute amounts of anti freeze in oil analysis.Cat was good about warranty with it but downtime was awful. My Brother likes the yellow engines and with the previous other Cats 3406 -425 -475 -500 - 550 no big problems. Our Cat dealer in Penna. Cleveland Brothers said they were above normal for warranty work. Maybe it was just mine as I have a few friends that run them and no issues that they told me about. Joe D.
"Spoke wheels rule."
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| The good part about the C12 and i am talking about the later ones but they are light in weight for the hp and do get good fuel mileage. they can drag 80000 lbs gross all day.The C12 has many different seiral# changes so its been here for awhile. It will be some more of a slug compared to the 500 hp cummins.But alot lighter.Many fleets use them for cross country running but are real good for vocation trucking because of their weight and can be used under a shorter hood.Most fleets i would say trade them after warranty is gone. The bad thing i have seen and i only see the bad ones come in but would crack a piston and the shirt would come apart and lock under the crown and lock the piston in the liner on its way up. This will in some cases push the side of the block out after the piston has beat the rod into.I think this happen when the driver is trying to get to a good place to shut down after the piston failure. And also the rocker bolts would break and cam shaft was going bad on hi mileage engines.Warranty could be up to 300000 on them from cat and some times the truck manufactory would go in and help with more to sell them.
glenn akers
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Standin' Dan ATHS Member
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We had a '97 C12 410 and an '06 C13 430. Both were excellent engines for me. I bought the '97 with 900K on the odometer and put 200K on it without doing anything except changing the oil and filters. The '06 had a few minor warranty problems, but were quickly taken care of after hours by Fabick Cat. I ran them against E7 427's, N14 525's and C15 475's. They performed very well, especially with their lower weight. I would buy one again in a heartbeat. From everything I experienced, the big bore engines are great, but trucking is getting to be a really shrewd numbers game where every penny counts. I can't see doing anything but aerodynamic tractors and 12/13 liter engines now. We'll see $5 per gallon diesel again sooner than later.
Danwww.stlouisdumptrucks.com
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| Company I worked for bought 20 trucks with the C12's and had nothing but problems with them. I don't think any of them made it to 200K w/o major engine work. This company had an execelent maintenance program too. But the 430/445hp C12 would keep up with a 12.7L DD set @ 470hp on the hills. I think everybody that worked for that company got stranded by a C-12. I had one lay an egg on 127 in Death valley in july I sat out there for 6 hrs waiting on the tow truck. 4 of those hours were spent trying to get a cell signal or CB radio contact. Those 20 trucks got traded in early and the company went back to Detroits.
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| Kyle, Just my opinion, but if you want a lightweight Cat I would step up to an '04 or later and get a C13.The C13 had more updates than just the twin turbos, pretty reliable engine.Ive only run one C12, a 430 hp with 1,550 ft lbs.Never felt as strong as its rating, always felt kind of sluggish even empty. http://ohe.cat.com/cda/components/fullArticle?m=101242&x=7&id=304397&mode I ran for a fleet that had C13s with 10 overs and 3:70s running at 100,000lbs gross.Nice little engines, they were '06s ( '04 emmisions ) set at 470 hp and 1,650 ft lbs.Didnt feel like a little engine, felt like a full size and ran with them too.Whole differant animal than the C12, no comparison in performance. http://ohe.cat.com/cda/files/1270724/7/LEHT8892-00.pdf?mode We averaged right around 5.8, not bad for 2,100 rpm upshifts on most every loaded gear.Drove easy once it was empty, but loaded was a real strain.Only issues we had were some top end pieces that were taken care of under warrantee.Ive heard of quite a few C12s kicking rods, the one I drove had a twin that sat in the back of the yard for parts, it kicked a rod 22,000 miles after the warrantee ran out.John
John Costley
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John some times the reason those 430 hp engines felt weak was they were in some cases not set to 430 on the gas pedal but only in cruze. When you think about it if you have a 1000 hp engine it dont fee good because if you cant run it with your foot it dont feel right but if it is set to full horse with the gas pedal then you have somethying to feel. When the multitorqe program first came out it was hard i guess for some guys to accept.But one driver told me with his 600 hp engine you know you have power when you are running in cruze in the mountains and the jakes keep coming on going up hill.
glenn akers
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| Glenn, That was the first thing I asked, but he swore it wasnt set that way.Never ran it on the interstate to check the cruise, and the two lanes up here have too many blind hills and corners to run cruise control.The whole multitorque way of thinking doesnt work worth a damn up here, most local runs are a 50/50 split of interstate and two lane ( or all two lane ), so when youre on the two lane where you really need the power, you dont have it cause it wouldnt be safe to run on cruise, slows down youre reaction time too much.Just one more "feature" thought up by a non-driver, lol.Only thing worse is Soft Cruise, first thing a man needs to have shut off when he buys an electronic Cat.John
John Costley
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I've driven a handful of C12's for a farmer before I got my own ride. They are all between 300-550,000 miles. Local shop here called them a 500,000 mile engine. The one he has with 550,000 on it doesn't carry much oil pressure at idle and has a lot of blow by. I suppose they are ok for what they are. I've only driven 10 speeds behind them, I think a 13 would make it a better motor.
I've run N-14 trucks, that C-12 is going to feel like pup compared to that. I don't know what the weight difference is. I wouldn't buy one personally, but I'm not concerned about running legal most of the time. The N-14 will run twice as long and cost a lot less to rebuild when its time.
1978 W900A Extended Hood, 3408, 5x4 Spicers - Sunday Driver / Work in Progress
1978 W900A Standard Hood, Day Cab, 400 Cummins, 13 speed, pulling a 28' end dump or 42' hopper
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I left Cat in early 2002. I didn't see very good service from the C-12. Some local ones I put up to three head gaskets in. Cam followers were another problem. Get into the ECM and look at the load factor % of that engine compared to a larger one. Anything run at its max is going to have longevity issues. With that when I was at Cat I obviously only saw the bad side of things. I also replaced ALOT of cams in E-models, oil leaks before they got "refined". I haven't kept up on the C-12 since then, work on 3406's mainly, maybe all the failures have been taken care of and they will keep downtime to a minimum for somebody. I personaly I wouldnt have one, but my last working truck had a KTTA @900+ so how practicle is that?
Scott Waggoner
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Its very useful... for kicking a$$ and taking names.
Tony, Roaring Gap NC. 1980 W900 Any advice from me is worth what you paid for it! What other people think of me is none of my business.
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