2005 460FH12 iShift, 500k on the clock, How much life left in such a vehicle and what to look out for, and what to expect before 800k.
I’ve been looking at s/h 460 Merc’s, but their residual seems to be holding steady. A comparable Actros to above Volvo seems to worth another £5k 
i ran mine to 800k with no problems except for the airdryer packing in , trouble is when your airdryer packs up you lose all your air pretty quick and are then sat at the side of the road till volvo turn up and blow air into it to get it out of gear so you can start it !
apart from that it was a great truck and i would reccomend one to any one , i was getting 8+ mpg ,
Big Joe:
2005 460FH12 iShift, 500k on the clock, How much life left in such a vehicle and what to look out for, and what to expect before 800k.
I don’t have any experience with the I-Shift, but my Series 1 FH-12-460 (which has basically the same engine and other ancillaries) went to 1.8 million clicks before I got rid, and it was still running sweet when it left! It had a turbo at around the million click mark, and the compressor, air dryer a few airbags were all changed at various times - but other than that the only time a spanner was near it was for routine servicing and normal wear and tear items like brakes and steering joints.
Big Joe:
I’ve been looking at s/h 460 Merc’s, but their residual seems to be holding steady. A comparable Actros to above Volvo seems to worth another £5k
I run 2546 and 2548 MP2 Merc’s, and whilst I accept the Merc may be a bit dearer, I personally think it’s the better truck. The used values on Merc’s are always kept high thanks to the export market - but the reason the export market love them is because they generally have bombproof reliability!
My eldest MP2 (a 2004 2546) currently has 1.4 million clicks on it (I bought it with around 450k) and in all that time it has had nothing major go wrong other than a gearbox actuator (which admittedly was a £1500 repair). The interior still looks like new, it still drives tight, and still does 7 days a week without letting me down! I fully expect to keep it for another 2 years.
I have a 2002 fh12, with million and half kms, only problems ive had in 3 years was the injectors playing up got them changed and now going great, also doing 8 mpg, fh12 a good buy…
the v 1 fh was put together far better than the v2 as some of the parts used on the v2 are cheaper ie - a frame bushes,mirrors,seats,dash plastics, that being said i run a 52 reg 460 with 840000 ks on and its been a v good truck its had a clutch and a turbo
the solid brake discs on the earlier v2s are far better than the vented ones on the later trucks allthough i think the solids can now be fitted to the later trucks
some electric probs can often be found on the loom from cab to chassis (1 each side) as these are poor on the v2 as they are muli single core cables and not insulated from the eliments v well (the cables break)
from past experience the brakes on the merc will be far sharper so much so the discs dont last long at all and a like for like (standard) 460 merc wont outpull a 460 volvo, and round these parts the dealer back up and service dpts cant be compared as volvo wins every time by light years also the merc will be cheaper to buy new and around the same s/hand in this area
for me volvo would be my first choice merc second but i do think the merc is a good truck
moose
bought my 460 v2 on an 04 plate with 500,000 km on the clock and she’s been going to and from albania with some very heavy loads, shes been as good as gold id send her anywhere
Just about run in at half a mill, wiring loom problems now & then & always carry a spare relay or 2 other than that BJ they seem OK,
Both are excellent trucks…the Mk 1 Fh12 was a superior truck in every way to the Mk 2…bad wiring and gear shift cables on the Mk 2 and they consequently gave gerarbox trouble in the hands of a rough driver…the I-shift is a better option. The FH engines are bombproof…seen several units make 2,000,000km without any issues.
The MP2 Actros is a superb truck and a vast improvement over the MP1. Whatever flaws were there for the MP1,they were ironed out and improved upon…mercedes listened and returned to the build quality of older generation Mercs…and the thing with a S/H Merc is there is always a queue at your door to buy it for export…the older it get,the better it gets,and more valuable it becomes…like a fine wine…and is good for a couple of million kms as well
My oldest V2 FH12 460 is an 03 plate and done 750,000Km through to newest 09 plate done 200,000Km… Owned since new, main problems are:
3-4 years old - V stay bushes (ball joint) on drive axle/mid lift - if they won’t take a repair kit then it’s a new V stay - expensive from Volvo.
4-5 years - air driers tend to pack up (electronic ones)
We tend to get about 4 years from brake pads on early V2 with solid disks, but only 2 year life on brake pads on later trucks with vented disks, and more wear on disks too.
I’ve heard of problems with wiring loom, but not seen this problem on mine.
I don’t agree that v2’s are worse build quality than v1’s - they are both good
I shift gearbox, as with engine is pretty bomb proof unless your unlucky. In excess of 1m Km should be possible without major problems. Make sure you;ve got a service history so you know oils + filters have been changed when they should have been.
i dont see how the v2 fh are as good as v1 in the respect of
v bar bushes,as you quite rightly say if they are allowed to wear to much they wont take a repair kit and also they need that ad on quick fix bkt over the top to stop them poping of if they get to warn this was not the case with the older type as even when warn they would drop down rather than lifting of alltogether and letting the axle go!
the older type air dryier with the cartrage filter rather than the later screw on jobs allthough more expensive
had no electrics to go wrong
the mirrors were also of stronger build/quality(not all brittle plastic) and in my opinion the rear vision was also better
there were also no gear cables to go stiff or snap, but also there was no i shift g/box so not all good!!
the in cab plastics/dash area were also of a better quality
the head lights allthough not as bright as the newer type were far more robust in regards of the beam aim setting screws and also no silly multi pin plugs that rot away intime
the drum brakes never gave a problem and the engine brake worked better/had more power on the older v1 fh12
i will admit that if running up and down the m/way on rdc work some of these things may seem like nit picking but up and down the hills around this area at max weight some of these things matter
after all that i still like my v2 and would buy another !!!
Sorry, still don’t agree that V2 are worse than V1.
V stay bushes on V2 last longer than the rubber bushes on V2 in my experience, and I’ve not had one pop off yet as they’re repaired/changed before they get too bad.
The older Haldex air drier on the V1’s brackets that hold the cannister on tend to crack when your trying to change the cartridge. Or worse, crack down the road somewhere giving a huge air leak that’s got to be fixed. Had some that lasted 5 years, some only just out of warranty that cracked. The V2 screw on cannister type air driers just keep blowing off every 20 seconds when they go. At least you can get them back home to replace them.
I’ve also had problems with wiring harness to headlamps on the V2, but I’ve also had problems with loom going to front indicators and front fogs on the V1 too…
I’ve still got one V1 left, and I still enjoy driving it as it’s the only manual I’ve got left (other than the FL10 shunter).
I agree, these small problems are important to me too as a small haulier running at max weight up and down the motorway with no RDC in sight. It’s a pity Volvo don’t spend more time talking to people like us to know what goes wrong with their products so they can fix the problems sooner!
some good points made there coiler it just goes to show how different operators can have different problems with the same type of truck!!!
i dont think you can argue about the mirrors tho!
moose
Coiler how the hell do you get 2 or 4 year’s from a set of brake pad’s■■?
I get 80k’s from a set on my Actros,with 300k’s on the clockim for a set of disc’s aswell this time around.
I found that the solid discs on the older v2 were good for 800,000 k plus but the vented ones were no where near that by a long way i also find that if the pads are in to long they go hard and brittle and the edges flake off so they dont cover all the disc so for what they cost @ about £65 per axle i cant see the point in them stopping in to long.
mercs tend to be far sharper on the unit brakes so much so the discs tend to crack far to soon in my opinion also the ones ive driven dont hold back downhill anything like the veb on a volvo
apart from the discs,and the silly stalk that does evrything on the steering collum i do like them as a truck as inside the cab they are far better put together than the v2 volvo
the only thing that puts me off merc is the crap back up parts and service from the local dealer in this area, if price was the main factor merc would win every time as they are far cheaper to buy new than a volvo by as much as 20k and 30k plus for a scania!!
just look how many mercs are now in derbyshire lomas at buxton for a start and why price!!!
and they also tend to hold value as well
moose
Moose:
I found that the solid discs on the older v2 were good for 800,000 k plus but the vented ones were no where near that by a long way i also find that if the pads are in to long they go hard and brittle and the edges flake off so they dont cover all the disc so for what they cost @ about £65 per axle i cant see the point in them stopping in to long.
mercs tend to be far sharper on the unit brakes so much so the discs tend to crack far to soon in my opinion also the ones ive driven dont hold back downhill anything like the veb on a volvo
apart from the discs,and the silly stalk that does evrything on the steering collum i do like them as a truck as inside the cab they are far better put together than the v2 volvo
the only thing that puts me off merc is the crap back up parts and service from the local dealer in this area, if price was the main factor merc would win every time as they are far cheaper to buy new than a volvo by as much as 20k and 30k plus for a scania!!
just look how many mercs are now in derbyshire lomas at buxton for a start and why price!!!
and they also tend to hold value as well
moose
You need to find a fresh Volvo dealer Moose if they are £20k+ dearer than Merc, had quotes week before last for FH 500 light weight v 2448, and the Volvo, was £1,700 cheaper.
a mate of mine priced some 8 wheeler chassis cabs up last year and merc were 33k cheaper than scania for a start, mercs do seem to be being pushed in this area at the moment as prices are v keen i do know 1 thing and that is as things are local operators wont be buying them because they’re more expensive, as a volvo man myself i’ve got to admit some of these newer ones are giving more trouble even the i shift in some locally (15 as i know of at one firm) these are 08s not old ones and also these crappy side plates on the 13 litre engine, mind a lot are up and down at full weight all the time and arn’t being driven by hourly paid drivers on shopping trolley/rdc/m/way work if you get my point!!
time will tell how mercs stand up to this type of work ( tanks bulk tippers @ 44t )
dont know about a fresh dealer lol… have you been quoted right on the merc?
moose
Hi moose, have you had a lot of problems with the engine side plates on the 13 litre Volvo’s? Just started having a problem with a 56 plate, weeping coolant when cold. Not happy as Volvo replaced the seal on the side plate18 months ago, and are now saying the repair isn’t under warranty as it will be the plate that needs replacing for £500 + labour. Can’t get them to move on prices or give any help on prices.
Just wondered if you’d had any experience of this.
ellies dad:
Coiler how the hell do you get 2 or 4 year’s from a set of brake pad’s■■?
I get 80k’s from a set on my Actros,with 300k’s on the clockim for a set of disc’s aswell this time around.
I run my own trailers with (mainly) meritor elsa225 disk brakes with EBS, so the brakes on the tractor unit and trailer are well balanced (same size disks). I aim for running temperatures for trailer disks approx 20 deg C higher than on T/unit. Doing all this means we can get 4 years for t/unit pads (350-400 thou Km)and 3-4 years for trailer pads (280,000-330,000km). We’re carrying steel 95% of the time, so running at high weights, but no sharp braking!
coiler
not got any 13 litre v2 yet!, but have a mate with problems as we speak, the plates been off and re sealed once now theres water in the oil and also a missfire and the plates back off again
these 13 litre side plates are causing major problems in this area, another mates 520 08 plate unit had the plates done last week with only about 200k on the clock,i cant comment on cost tho!
volvos do seem to be losing favour in this area of late and as i posted merc are v keen on price and have been finding there way into previous volvo/scania fleets
after years of improved reliability we now seem to going the wrong way again what with ad blue and other things!
moose
after running version 1 and version 2 version 1 wins hands down i can only comment on 8 wheel tipper work but what an brilliant truck version 1 for me everytime.