The 10 Best Truck Engines ( EVER)! 

I’ve worked as a Cat dealer mechanic for 30 years and the 3406 was one of the best engines Cat ever built...

Series 60 Detroit, 3406B Caterpillar, and a 6NZ block C15 Caterpillar. You can keep all the rest of them.

60 series detroit is my absolute favorite

I prefer a 99’ N14 Red Top Cummins. Very reliable motor. I got over 2 million miles on mine and she’s a great motor.

In my years of driving- the 12.7 liter 60 Series engine is my favorite. I spent many years sitting behind (and over top of) them. I was never the first to the top of hill with a Detroit... but they were very reliable engines. The fuel economy was excellent, parts readily available and you could always find someone to work on them. Horsepower is nice, but it doesn't pay the bills.

Yes sir. The 1693 was a beast. I started my apprenticeship with Caterpillar (Peterson Tractor) in 78 and there were plenty of them still on the road. In my opinion it was the 3406B. That engine dominated the truck market in the eighties and nineties. It broke my heart when CAT stopped putting engines in trucks.

I'm surprised that the 6-71 and the 8v71 Detroit diesel's didn't make the list. They were pretty reliable engines and weren't that expensive to work on. The 6-71 was used in trucks for 50 years!

I love this guy trucking stories, They're the best and reminds me of my Dad trucking stories...RIP pops

Cummins N14 Celect Plus 525hp. Even Cummins reps say it was the best motor Cummins ever built.

I earned my CDL with the Detroit Series 60, and its what I have in my own truck. Hard to argue with something that simply works.

The old Detroit 2 stroke engines will be forever engrained in my head. I grew up with those 2 stroke Detroits in Crown school busses and my favorite part of field trips was listening to those engines scream! When I became a driver I fell in love with the CAT 3406B! When I quit my company job to be an OO I downgraded to a truck with a newer Detroit and hated the lack of power compared to the 3406B.

I've driven CAT 3406/C15, Cummings 350/ N14/M11/ISX and Detroit S60's 11.1/12.7/14.0 and my overall best is the Detroits series 60 when it comes to efficiency, maintenance and durability. I've told guys if tuned properly you can get CAT power and still maintain efficiency, I've owned the 12.7 and currently the 14L and wouldn't trade for the world (Detroit S60 to life)

Just bought my 1st truck - 2007 International 9400i. I know International has probably the worst reputation these days, but this older model is actually pretty damn solid. It has a Cat C15. So I'm glad to see it mentioned here by someone who's been in trucking way longer than me. 1.25m miles, no rebuild, still running strong.

N14 Cummins. 60 series Detroit, 6NZ Caterpillar are definitely the top 3 pre-emissions engines to come out in the last 20 years. The newer ISX Cummins is a great engine once it's deleted. Next do a video on the worst engines. I'm sure the Maxxforce would be near the top.

Wasnt around for long but the Cummins Signature 600 is a beast of a motor, C15 and C16s, N14, 3408.

I've been driving almost any engine out there and Volvo D12 is my favorite. The best reliable engine ever! More than 1m miles and never replaced a single injector yet.

International truckie here. In NZ, the C-12 was the undisputed "king of the hill" (C-15 as well, but that is a big engine for NZ). C-13/C-16 didn't get the love for reliability reasons. Haven't been there for 10 years, so don't know how the 60 series DD motors have taken. Japanese gear has always had a following because of it's reliability, and continues to do so. In Australia, the 3408 is a road train engine and, together with the Mack e9 motor, is still in use. C-15s are rare birds these days on the east coast, there are more DD-15s flying around these days than anything else. Paccar (DAF) motors are a hit-n-miss affair. The 510hp units keep dropping the cylinder linings on number 6 cylinder, rapidly and catastrophically over-pressurising the cooling system and blowing hoses in random places. Cummins ISX/Signature/e5 are a bit of a mixed bag. The series 2 twin cam wasn't bad, but the rest of them get niggles. The turbos reliably fail after a period of time, their shafts are only about 6mm thick at the typical point of failure. As in NZ, Japanese gear has it's fans. In Russia, 60 series DD is the American motor of choice. Out of the Europeans, Volvo is the most reliable, Scania runs second to them and the new MB Actros with it's Daimler straight six is said to be fairly good too. Out of the local engines, the KamAZ 740 motor is probably the most numerous, but has weak big ends. The YaMZ 236/238 engines are hands-down probably the most reliable of the Soviet/Russian line-up, though they are quite thirsty. YaMZ also produces a copy of a Renault motor under license, which is used by Belarusian truck maker MAZ, but they have been problematic with emissions gear (I don't know what it is with Russian manufacturers and electrics). Keep 'er shiny side up!

Love the 60 series The truck i learn on was a 98 freightliner classic .. that thing would pull on any truck on the hills 🚛 .. it had a great eaton 13 speed ... only bad thing was the mpg 😂 ... it lasted about a million miles .. then rebuild the engine ... everything else was stock .. it lasted about half of million more.. diffs and trans never changed 👍👍👍👍

I agree. I have three Detroit 60s on the road today. Today, nothing beats them.

Cat 3406 b is a great engine and has no electronic components to give you grief .

My favorite still is the 92 series Detroits.... off the line grabbing gears like Mario Andretti! So much fun to drive....6v and 8v were the ones I played with the most, but the 6-71 was fun too. 60 series and 3406e are up there too and the N-14. Mack 350 was a beast. No power in the one I had (cam snapped, never was the same after) but couldn't kill it no matter what!

Detroit Diesel 2 strokes are the best in my opinion. Swapped a 8v92 in a 1994 DAF CF75 logging truck. That thing is insane.

I have drove a truck most of my life but now with health issues can't pass the medical exam so my wife says be happy with retirement but watching your videos takes me back to west coast runs. Thanks for videos.

We have a 3406 550 1850 yellow motor.engine has 4 +million miles on it.it is in a 379 which I bought new..same block same crank. Overhauled twice,I have been in this industry for 47 years! That truck and that engine put me on the map period

In Australia, the series 60 is very good. But the DD15 is giving lots of trouble. Engine harness, rocker box leaks, holes in pistons, cracked exhaust manifolds.

I absolutely love his stories

"Keep the rubber side down" is solid advice. Would be cool to see a similar video here in the good 'ol continent. Wonder how Mercedes, MAN, Scania and Volvo would stack up.

3406 was a great engine, despite the small issues. If taken care of they would run forever and pull like crazy. I drove a t800 with 3406E put 500,000 miles on it, after someone else put 400,000miles on it. Someone else has put another 500,000 on it and it is still running great. Only one in-frame and a few minor things ever done on it. The engine will probably out lats the truck the way it is going.

The Mack E7 series is one of the best not widely known engines and certainly a favorite.

Mack E7, 60 series Detroit and the old two stroke Detroits, big cam Cummins, iron lung Cummins

I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Detroit 71 and 92 series. A 71 series was a lot like my grandma... noisy as hell, smoked whenever she felt like, drank like it was going out of style, and yes, even leaked a good bit as she got older. But in the end, she would work with me all day long without complaining. How can you not love that?

You have your list on engines spot on! I have ran all those engines you have listed, & never had a problem. A couple more strong & durable engines I have ran with no issues, were the Cummins Red Head, Detroit 8V92 silver, and the Mack E-7 400hp. Thanks again, be safe!

Drove a 3406b for years and still think it’s the best overall engine I’ve ever driven. Always had good luck with the series 60, also. My last truck had the 485 hp X-15 and it was ok but nothing special. Still love the 425 with the 15 speed!!

I have never clicked on a video so fast! Learned to drive with a 300 Mack, spot on with the whole list. I also loved the E9 Mack V8 but they leaked oil like a sieve!

I'm an Australian i had 444 Cummins which did ok for nearly a million. 4 km about 900000 miles. But the best motor ever was my 12.7 liter Detroit that did about 3 .5 million km on one rebuild that was done at 1 .7 million km and was finally replaced with a newer dd4 after 18 years

Great story about the Lettuce King and the Detroit 60 Series, outstanding.

Yes, the Mack engines are great! The E6-300/350 are my favorite

I dont know much about big rig engines but love trucks since I was a boy looks like the top from comments are : (1)Cummins N-14 (2) Cat 3406 (3) Cummins 400 big cam

I love my pre emissions cummins signature, it's based a lot off of the n14 and the earlier models, 2000 to 2007 are badass motors that can usually outlast the driver like an n14. I love both

I like Scanias dsc14 from the 3-series. Loads of power, great sound and awesome reliability

My favorites are the series 60 Detroit’s, 3406b cats, 6-71 Detroit’s, 8v92 Detroit’s, and 12v71 Detroit. Sure those 2 stroke Detroit’s don’t have an abundance of power, but they are reliable as heck. They also sound great, especially with straight pipes.

I worked at Detroit reman in Emporia Kansas the place actually closed down this year , they had a really high turnover rate but I can tell you they really put a lot of effort into maintaining quality

You are great with the stories, your mind is an ecyclopedia of engines trucks and places , i enjoy listening to you thanks alot

I loved my 300 and 350 Macks, Honorable mention to the 238 Detriot in the wrecker we used to do tractor swaps for Yellow Freight.

from the perspective of an owner operator who works on his own equipment I have found the PACCAR MX-13 to have served us well both as a driver and as the diesel technician who has to maintain/repair them. I sure do like the CAT c-14 and 15 as well as the 3406 however, they cost an arm & leg to own.

I agree with all your choices DAVE. The Series 60 Detroit was the best at the end of my career-that’s what’s in the Day Cab behind me in the picture. The days of Great Diesel Truck Engines is OVER thanks to the greens.

Great choice sir. Thanks for sharing this with us. I always enjoy your videos. Great guy

Was glad to see some Detroits on the list, and loved the Lettuce King story. Those engines are monster when they're tuned right.

drive a 14.0L series 60 glider 550hp. Truck goes excellent. It's not quite even with a dd16 as far as pulling but some of them can't pass me. Pretty impressed with it. Best part is it's eld exempt cmon

I never liked cat. They just simply thought to highly of themselves and when it came to buy parts, you had to refinance your house to do it. Cummins has always been my favorite. Won't break the bank when its time for repairs. I have always been afraid of Detroit because my experience, if it ain't leaking oil, it's because there ain't no oil in it

You talked at the beginning about the 300hp Mack from the 70's in the old DMM trucks. We have a couple that we still drive for agricultural use in MN. They are f'ing tough. We had one of the engines rebuilt finally and now it's good for another million miles or so. They just take a lick'n and keep on a tick'n. We have what call our "new Mack" which was built in '98 and we like that motor too. It's just as tough as the older ones but has more HP. I think it has 350hp or 375hp. It has an intercooler that the old ones don't have. If you change the oil and filters when you're supposed to, they just go forever before needing anything done to them. And like you said, they start right up in cold weather.

Not a truck driver but I was a truck mechanic for the Cityof Los Angeles for about 10 years working on trucks. I really like your videos. I especially like that you get right to the business of the video and don't waste time . One suggestion, when you give a list of things you like or dislike it would be good if you ranked them fro either best to worst or worst to best.

thanks for sharing dave, the story at the end, priceless made me giggle, my all time fave is the cat c-15 6nz

im a detroit guy. ive had several trucks but i value the 60 series and particularly the 14 L.. right now im running a 6nz and even though it has tons of power i would still trade it for the fuel economy and reliability of a detroit

My Uncle had a W900 Kenworth with a 12V71 Detroit. It would pull anything! Loved to hear it run. He had a 13 speed Road Ranger transmission and it would fly! Screaming Jimmy!👌

I have the 3406B Cat in my 88 Frieghtliner. I love the Cat engine. When I bought the truck a year ago, it had sat in a field for almost 8 years. My mechanic put 3 new batteries in it and drove it out of the field.

I prefer the older cat and Cummins engines with good power. My all time favorite is the 3406e when they’re turned by someone who knows what they’re doing. A couple of jobs ago I was running logs for an ex-cattle hauler who had 3 3406e 1 c15 6nz and an n14 select plus. 2 of the 3406e trucks were at 650hp and the third 3406e was 750hp. The c15 was also at 650 and the n14 was stock since that was the spare. They seemed to hold up good at 650 with a decent driver in them and the 750 was a total animal but seemed to lose a lot of engine life over the 650. At 650 he claimed his records showed between 700 and 800 thousand miles between rebuilds but the 750 seemed to only get around 600k. All turned up by the same guy. We could haul around 32 ton like a freight hauler at legal weight and that was an awesome feeling. Now I’m back hauling logs in a truck with the isx Cummins at 550 inbred hp and really miss the big power when pulling hills on the road. Especially the back roads that we get on. Plus the older turned up trucks doing the same work we got between 5-6 mpg versus 3.9-4.5 with the inbred emissions motor that’s supposed be so much more fuel efficient

Any of the old NTC Cummins Engines. Work Horses.

I worked in an engine machine shop for a while, saw more than a few dd60 and mack engines go through there. Usually they were just way up there in miles and didn't have many unusual problems

In the 90's in Alaska I maintained a couple of trucks which ran the ice road. Electronic engines were just starting to hit the market and they had a lot of problems with them. For a time, a good mechanical 3406 cat was really in demand.

Mercedes Actros Year:2004 Transmission: single clutch manual Horse power: 440 Cylinder: 6 The engine and transmission are so reliable. It has 1 Milion Miles. And still running like a clock.

I got a 2006 freightliner classic with Detroit 60 series pushing 550hp and I love it...have owned it for 3 years and no problems...

Thank you for the good information and experienced.

Never owned one but loved the 3408 Cats. No one is talking about the 600KTA? Had a couple of friends with them and they had been "Breathed-on", so heaven only knows what they put out. They were doing heavy haul with them. If they could have gotten traction, could have rotated the earth with them!

Still drive a old econodyne Mack roll off with the 300. I'd have to agree as far as a work horse in the construction trades, Mack definitely is the measuring stick.

I've always been a Detroit fan since I was a kid. Respect for the others who like cat or Cummins. But my favorite is the 8v71 Detroit reliable and loud may not be as fast as the others but gets the job done. I'm driving a 1967 Peterbilt 352st cabover and has a 318 8v71.

I bought a brand new 2007 Pete with a 475 Cummins ISX, and once the warranty was off, I did a tune and emissions delete. No more check engine lights, 600 horsepower and 2000 fpt, I still own it, and still love it! Amazing engine break! Just rolled 700000 km on the original brakes hahaha

We used R Model Mack’s for off-road spotting trucks. We would crank them first and use them to jump all the Detroit powered logging equipment in the winter time. Those old 2 stokes were hard to start in cold weather.

Great story Dave! I still like the big ole noisy stinky Detroit 12V71..the jake brake would wake the dead. 👍

Love that series 60 Detroit .So reliable fuel efficient and industructable Made me a believer.

I truly appreciate the content that you put out

Loved the Bakersfield, CA Story. Thank You.

Best motor in my opinion is the 290 Cummins. Growing up on the farm we had one in a 71 international Single axle with a 13 speed eaton Fuller behind it. even though it was naturally aspirated she had all kinds of power.

Detroit Diesel 12V92 with a 18 speed was insane. Fully loaded over 100mph in the desert...back in the day. Boss wanted me to open er up and see what she’ll do. She still had plenty o throttle. Giddy up go. Fav engine I think was Cat 3406B. Pull up the mtns all day long.

I have a 13 Cascadia with the DD15, after a PDI tune last year this thing is awesome. We are putting down 600 hp & 2000 lbs of torque it’s all legal & trouble free. 7.0 mpg FYI

I drove the old 350 and big cam 400 for years....still love them. Then I bought a 2000 International with a 60 series Detroit. I don't know how it was set up, but I could run with just about anything out there and still averaged over 8 mpg. All I ever did was change the oil and one alternator. I don't know how long it would have run, because I came off the road and sold it a few years ago. I drove almost everything ever made over the years, and the 60 series is still my favorite.

Always liked the 855 Cummins motors the N14 - even the M11. Then got in a W9 with a B model cat, and it worked and worked and worked. Dragging 105,000# cow wagon up Sherman or Elk measures up a truck pretty fast. Like to try that 300 Mack in a steiger.

I like the NTC 350 Cummins as well as the Big Cam 400 Cummins. Also I like the Cat motors. However I’m not a Detroit fan because the earlier ones screamed real loud.

I started my driving career in 08 so I never got to drive a truck with a CAT engine but I have drove 3 with 60 series Detroits. When I went solo with Swift in Early 09 my assigned truck was a 2008 Frieghtliner Columbia with a Detroit 60 and a 10 speed Eaton Fuller. Later took a local job for a company running end dump trailers and they put me in a 2000 Frieghtliner Classic then later a 2006 Classic both with the Detroit 60. Very reliable engines.

Wow, great episode!!

I’m a big fan of the c15 cat.. love the torque down low, slide your foot of the clutch and pull! I recently ran a 12.7 Detroit for a friend and was not impressed with the power. Similar hp rating... just a Dog under 1400. I’ll take a 12.1 Volvo over that Detroit any day.

I'm a big cam Cummins and Cat man. Got a special place in my heart for the four and a quarter Cat

My dad ran coils out pittsburgh, and lumber back home. His 1980 359 with Aa 700KTA was his favorite truck

I love my 565 HP Cummins ISX. I replaced a 530 ISX with it. Loved that engine as well. Now my 2005 Volvo 780 has 2.2 million miles on it with over 1 million on the current 565 and still going strong. No emissions bs, EGR. Love this motor. I run AMSOIL synthetic with an OPS-1 bypass filter so she gets plenty of TLC. Pulls great, lots of power, great on fuel, 7.2-7.6 mpg.

wow, you named all of my favorites except for the KTA 600 Cummings. My father had 4 million with several bottom ends on a 903VT. I thought he was going to cry when they quoted him 20k to rebuild.

The newer x15 are doing pretty damn good. Best motor you can get in a new pete/kw. Buddy sold two trucks with the mx-13's in them. Went to x-15s and he's had no down time... other than doing regular pms.

Cool Story. Thank You for Sharing !

Owned a 60 series Detroit and a Cat 3406. Both engines were great, just had to lean each engines power sweet spot. Sold each truck around 750k miles.Never touched the power train other than regular service. I did use an APU on each truck.

The old Big cam 350 and 400 Cummins were very reliable and super cheap and easy to work on but my favorite engines are the 3406B and 3406E Cat's.

3rd had to have been the 290 Cummins i ran in a Ford Cabover. No matter how cold it was she'd start, and i took TONS of abuse

That's awesome Dave, I don't have experience with truck engines , but glad they got the lettuce king running

Excellent Narrative...I'll watch it again

The best new motor Cummins X15 only been out since 2018. The best I always like to drive Cummins 350 or the big cams. I also agree with. The Mack 300 had one in a dump truck it was very reliable.

IMO, the best engine of the last 40 years in the 60 series Detroit from 87 until EGR came in 03. Near bulletproof and would last forever. Cats were good until ACERT came in

I always loved the 3408 Cat. Good power and a sound of its own.

Great video and love the story about the Detroit /lettuce King... Lol

Loved this 10 Best truck Engines! My ALL TIME favorite was the 1693 CAT back in the day. Going from a 318 detroit to the 1693 was a dream come true. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Ran with them “BIG AL’s” Those 335 Cummings were bad. The Big Al’s didn’t last long . They were “BAD” but They wouldblow the cranks out the oil pan. then the 335’s would melt down when you turned them up.I guess thats why they put the pyros on them. But the 1693’s were awesome. The only draw back was you couldn’t put a JAKE on the 1693. A BAD draw back! An old time friend of mine put a bulldozer industrial tubo. on his engine. He was the TOP DOG!! When The 60 series Detroit came along it took 1st place. It was bullet proof and had Plenty of power.

Love the lettuce king story!

great video I loved the story about the king lettuce..👍👍

My favourite is the 3406b. Had one swapped into my 79 freightliner cabover.