we are looking at 2 57 plate FH13 480s i have been having a read through some older posts about them but just wanted a few up to date views,
i see that the ad blue systems seem to have problems is that the only problem they seem to have and is it easily rectified and for what price,we will get some warranty with it but obviously i want to know if there is other problems to be aware of
cheers mike
sorry if you have answered this question loads before
Turbochargers have a habit of failing around the 550,000km mark, clutch wear is something I’d look out for, otherwise a Volvo of that age should have years left in it.
my 05 had a turbo at about 600ks ,im sure i read on here once that there was some plates on the side of the engine that was a fault on the fh13 but i havnt seen anything else about them just heard of this adblue fault
Check if there are no coolant track on the side of the engine, or preferably if the plate has been updated on the side of the engine, had a couple replaced, very expensive in labor.
Wiring and relays give lots of fun, the wiring is very brittle and when the insulation cracks, the corrosion goes very far up the wire. This causes numerous issues with fault codes etc.
Replace the power relays F1 - F4 + F5 (different relays) as soon as you have the truck and do this every 2 years save lot of hassle.
A Volvo dealer can see on the computer how far the clutch is worn ask for a statement.
Turbo’s 600.000 but not every one, we have some with 1.000.000 on the original turbo
Camshafts occasionally
But in general a great truck, good engine, but let down bij electric faults, check the diagnoses on the dash if empty, be aware, doesn’t mean everything but i would like to know why they cleared it.
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Cheers for that mate …what are these plates? And what actually goes wrong with them?
Cheers
#scotty#:
^^^^^^^^^^
Cheers for that mate …what are these plates? And what actually goes wrong with them?Cheers
On the side of the engine block is a hole for casting purposes, this is in the cooling system and a closed with a steel plate, bolts and a seal.
These plates deform and start leaking coolant.
Sometimes only the seal give away, but for cost purposes you may as well upgrade the plate.
it’s about 8-9 hours labour to replace them.
I’ll follow this thread, I’ll be buying something almost identical in a month’s time, I’ve never owned one so anything I know is based on the ones I’ve driven as an employee. I looked at Renault, Iveco, MAN and all of the cheaper options but I really don’t think you can go far wrong with a Volvo.
Harry Monk:
I’ll follow this thread, I’ll be buying something almost identical in a month’s time, I’ve never owned one so anything I know is based on the ones I’ve driven as an employee. I looked at Renault, Iveco, MAN and all of the cheaper options but I really don’t think you can go far wrong with a Volvo.
Your right there Harry, if I had to pay myself it would be Volvo.
If I see the abuse our fleet vehicles get than I can have only have respect for our Volvo’s
But history is important, good maintenance and in time oil and filter (also for the gearbox and diff) will give you great rewards.
We sell our used ones to south America, and they even buy the written off ones.
They bang constantly on our door, and not because the Volvo is a bad truck.
I run an 08 and 56 plate fh13 480 only major problem is with that engine side plate. It’s a big long plate on the side of the engine behind the exhaust manifold and turbo etc. check for coolant traces in bottom corners (dry yellow green crusting). Clutch wear not a problem if an I shift, got an 03 I shift still on original clutch. Not had any ad blue probs yet but have owned trucks since new so I know they haven’t been contaminated.
Vented disks on the brakes on that year don’t last as long as solids, but can be retrofitted with solids when replacing.
All in all they are very reliable trucks
The 480 is a good truck pulls much better than the 460, I-shift box gives the best driving experience. VEB+ engine brake is very effective and if used correctly pads should last 3 years.
Ad bule system in general is fine, the exhaust will fail at some point as they are are wearing item 4-6 years 3k for a new one, change the Ad bule filtter every 2 years.
Change the engine oil every 6 mths and air dryer fillter every 12mths.
Side plate gasket is a pig, as the others have said look for staining on the block on the turbo side, if it leaks get Volvo to do it 5 hrs labour plus parts will take them at least 8 hrs but the book says! And you get a two warranty on it!
Also make sure the coolant is YELLOW as the old green coolant for trucks with a coolant fillter is not suitable for later Volvos, it can cause major problems.
On the whole a great truck electrics on all modern trucks can cause problems,all the Volvos we have had never done a clutch or a turbo or a box the odd air valve here and there just service them well.
Jwalker78:
The 480 is a good truck pulls much better than the 460, I-shift box gives the best driving experience. VEB+ engine brake is very effective and if used correctly pads should last 3 years.
Ad bule system in general is fine, the exhaust will fail at some point as they are are wearing item 4-6 years 3k for a new one, change the Ad bule filtter every 2 years.
Change the engine oil every 6 mths and air dryer fillter every 12mths.
Side plate gasket is a pig, as the others have said look for staining on the block on the turbo side, if it leaks get Volvo to do it 5 hrs labour plus parts will take them at least 8 hrs but the book says! And you get a two warranty on it!
Also make sure the coolant is YELLOW as the old green coolant for trucks with a coolant fillter is not suitable for later Volvos, it can cause major problems.
On the whole a great truck electrics on all modern trucks can cause problems,all the Volvos we have had never done a clutch or a turbo or a box the odd air valve here and there just service them well.
Is the sort of post that makes a forum good.
well in 3 weeks we should have these on the road so thanks for the advice some have you have given
oil change every 6 months…thats a bit too long isnt it…
cheers
We bought 7 57 plate ex innovates fh13 480’s. Spent £40 in 1 year on ad blu, turbo’s clutches, cat’s, break downs etc etc. We sold them all. Fh13 in my opinion is a terrible truck and I would stay well away. If the turbo goes there is a 50/50 chance it fills the cat up with oil. If it does a new cat is £4k + the cost of the turbo.
The newer ones are better. Stay away from the 57/08 plates.
WhiteWhiteWhite:
We bought 7 57 plate ex innovates fh13 480’s. Spent £40 in 1 year on ad blu, turbo’s clutches, cat’s, break downs etc etc. We sold them all. Fh13 in my opinion is a terrible truck and I would stay well away. If the turbo goes there is a 50/50 chance it fills the cat up with oil. If it does a new cat is £4k + the cost of the turbo.The newer ones are better. Stay away from the 57/08 plates.
must admit i’ve been a volvo man for years, but i dont rate these 13 litre engines one bit, what with side plates leaks,injector sleave faults,loads round this area have given major trouble, and poor fuel consumption to boot.
in fact the version 2’s have never been the truck the version 1 was by a long way!
i have run a 460 v2 myself for 6 years + and that has been a v good truck, but i dont know myself what i would buy next!
moose
im glad there are some positives lol
I have all ways changed the oil every 6 mths, Volvo do say if use a different type of oil you can extend to 12 mths like the newer facelift FH, which in my opinion is far to long for the turbo and oil ways.
Moose:
WhiteWhiteWhite:
We bought 7 57 plate ex innovates fh13 480’s. Spent £40 in 1 year on ad blu, turbo’s clutches, cat’s, break downs etc etc. We sold them all. Fh13 in my opinion is a terrible truck and I would stay well away. If the turbo goes there is a 50/50 chance it fills the cat up with oil. If it does a new cat is £4k + the cost of the turbo.The newer ones are better. Stay away from the 57/08 plates.
must admit i’ve been a volvo man for years, but i dont rate these 13 litre engines one bit, what with side plates leaks,injector sleave faults,loads round this area have given major trouble, and poor fuel consumption to boot.
in fact the version 2’s have never been the truck the version 1 was by a long way!
i have run a 460 v2 myself for 6 years + and that has been a v good truck, but i dont know myself what i would buy next!
moose
+1…I regularly see MK1’s going through the workshop knocking on close to two million kms…fantastic trucks. I notice several 06/07 MK 2’s with camshaft failure @ less than a million kms. Its early enough days on the MK 3’s but they do seem to be a huge improvement on the MK 2’s…wiring issues seem to have been sorted,as well as all the other niggly bits that left the MK 2 down. Fuel consumption is still a little on the heavy side though