Hi all and a happy new year
Have my eyes on a Mercedes 1017a truck any thing i need to look out for from people more clued up than me, where would one get spares apart from the obvious Mercedes dealership,also second hand spares, what are the main things these trucks suffer from ie weak points if any. Average fuel consumption ride quality, and best tyres.
As the other site has crashed this must be the best place to ask.
To all travellers on the road or not have a safe year
Thanks

the main issue the 1017A has are the turbochargers, leaking oil and loss of power - if the turbo goes then the engine output is greatly reduced, But Ive driven a few 1017A's some had endless turbo problems, some had no issues at all. If the turbo has been replaced and the mating surfaces are not completely flush it will cause issues. Other than that, watch for the usual things - wheel bearings over/under tightened and electrical glitches as they are getting quite old now - wiring insulation gets brittle and cracks causing shorts and make sure brake packs are not leaking and compressor is working ok with strong pressure.


If you take a vehicle out for a test drive take make sure the gearbox changes up and down smoothly - if it doesn't want to change gear easily (when fully warmed up) the synchroniser ring is probably damaged and make sure the range change works correctly. Take an infra red thermometer and check the hub/brake temperatures on each wheel - make sure they are consistent - If I was buying it, Id also jack up each wheel and make sure the wheel is turning ok with no issues - its a PITA but worth doing and you can check the rear diff lock whilst you are doing this.

Ride quality - well there's a reason you need an air sprung seat - if they are not carrying much load its a firm ride, but no worse than any other leaf sprung truck, fuel consumption is nothing special, though the straight 6 is better than the V8's
Tyre wise, where are you planning on going ? will you keep the dual rear setup or switch to a larger size X 4 wheels ?

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Cheers Grif As you know there are so many things to check and consider when buying something of this age, but ideal for me as it has no nasty electronics, i intend to keep as is, at the rear i can't see the reason to change to super singles, at least if you have a puncture or blowout the truck can still be driven to a safe place.
Plenty of places to travel to in the near future but will keep to the Uk for a year till the plan comes together
Thanks for the info

Mods, can this get moved to heavy vehicle tech ?


please and thanks

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca