I may be in the market for one, second generation.
Any thoughts on the model? Common faults, pro’s and con’s etc…
Cost of spares…?
Ta!
One of the other owner drivers who does work for the same co. as i do uses one for deliveries in the city centres, mainly Madrid and Barcelona its a 6x2 with air lift tag axle rated at 26tons with the 300hp engine and he rarely has anything done to it apart from servicing and usual consumables. Apparently it pulls well enough, fairly good on fuel and comfortable enough for distance work…
AndrewG:
One of the other owner drivers who does work for the same co. as i do uses one for deliveries in the city centres, mainly Madrid and Barcelona its a 6x2 with air lift tag axle rated at 26tons with the 300hp engine and he rarely has anything done to it apart from servicing and usual consumables. Apparently it pulls well enough, fairly good on fuel and comfortable enough for distance work…
Cheers Bud. I’ve heard volvo’s can be a bit thirsty; and parts can be pricey…but does that pay off with a generally better build quality and drive etc? Max gross front axle weight?
Not sure what you will be using it for, but we had an 8X4 tipper. Not as robust as an FM10 for this type of work. Diff in rear axle gave trouble and new one cost a fortune from Volvo. Breakers did not have any as it was not similar to ratio etc to any other Volvo models. Got rid of it when diff was replaced
skelly:
Not sure what you will be using it for, but we had an 8X4 tipper. Not as robust as an FM10 for this type of work. Diff in rear axle gave trouble and new one cost a fortune from Volvo. Breakers did not have any as it was not similar to ratio etc to any other Volvo models. Got rid of it when diff was replaced
General haulage mate.
Our firm used to use a lot of them on bagged feed deliveries; mostly 6x4 300’s with Moffett capability. Took a lot of hammer and came back for more, excellent on farm lanes but not the best on fuel. Mine was a bit of an odd-ball, 6x2 with a steering mid-lift axle, brilliant little motor, did me well for 3 years. Was the first i-Shift at our mill; all the Jonah’s said it’d get stuck as soon as it went off-road, but I only got caught out once and to be fair that would’ve defeated a manual as well. 15.5 tonne payload but with it being a short-arse you had to split 2 pallets in half and double them up over the rear axle.
Most of the others were more like this; big singles on the front which slightly restricted the lock but gave a higher front axle loading. They’d handle 15 tonnes without the Moffett, only 12 tonnes with it which is why they’ve been replaced by FM12’s and Renault 8-leggers.
As you can see I’d just nipped home for a crafty cuppa! 
Faults? ABS lights coming on was a common one, few turbo’s, I did have the gearbox pack up on mine once but apart from that they were pretty reliable. Lot of farmers round here use FM9’s as cattle lorries, and farmers tend to go for stuff that will last. They don’t like long hills fully laden though; the i-Shift ones are better than the manuals cos of the extra gears.
el_presidente:
AndrewG:
One of the other owner drivers who does work for the same co. as i do uses one for deliveries in the city centres, mainly Madrid and Barcelona its a 6x2 with air lift tag axle rated at 26tons with the 300hp engine and he rarely has anything done to it apart from servicing and usual consumables. Apparently it pulls well enough, fairly good on fuel and comfortable enough for distance work…Cheers Bud. I’ve heard volvo’s can be a bit thirsty; and parts can be pricey…but does that pay off with a generally better build quality and drive etc? Max gross front axle weight?
Ive run quite a few trucks over the years and at the moment have a FH12 500 and although not having it very long havent (touch wood) had anything go wrong as yet and dont find Volvos any more expensive to maintain than other makes.
Ref the FM9 i refer to it also has the big singles on the front axle,this will save (generally) having to shift the load about if on multi drop work. I think the newer versions are available with a 340hp engine, obviously depends on how new you want to go/ your budget…
Just remembered one other fault which used to come up, not too often but I’ve seen it on more than one motor; propshaft centre bearing, you need to keep an eye on it.
Sidevalve:
Just remembered one other fault which used to come up, not too often but I’ve seen it on more than one motor; propshaft centre bearing, you need to keep an eye on it.
I drove a midlum the other week, real strange vibration (almost like a ‘wobble’ of an unbalanced wheel) coming through the chassis from the rear of the truck, only ever on acceleration - would kick in about 40mph and disappear at 50…
Very odd…
Anyhow, I thought it might be a prop shaft issue, but if so surely it would be permanent, and increasingly noticable with more RPM?
The FM9 centre bearing…what’re the signs? Nice metal screeching sounds?
From the few times I’ve driven a smaller engined lorry I don’t think I’d bother with the fm9 ,like I’ve said before there’s no replacement for diplacement,my 11 litre 405 does between 10 and 13.2 mpg depending on what body iam using and the terrain also I weigh 12500 empty with out a body on ,I know some of these smaller engines are better on fuel but really I’d go for the fm 12 .
el_presidente:
The FM9 centre bearing…what’re the signs? Nice metal screeching sounds?
Can’t say for sure, never had one on mine; it was the longer-wheelbase double drive ones which seemed to suffer more which I guess is predictable.