# L10 cummins



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Anybody have any experience with the L10 Cummins? I've found a truck just about for the right price with the L10 and a ten speed, 44,000 lb rears and double framed. Its a tad short to drop one of our twenty foot beds on so before I spend the time splitting the frame or adding more frame to the rear and moving the tandems and adding a steerable tag I want to make sure the L10 will reliably handle 700 bushel loads.

Handling 630-650 bushels now with a 3208 cat and a 13 speed. The cats a wee bit short in the poop climbing long hills but otherwise does alright.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

If the L 10 is turbo'd it should be in 300 to 325 hp area. Had one in a single axle yard tractor, reliable, not hard on fuel but seemed not to pull as hard on the hills as our 3306 powered tandem . I have yet to buy a 10 speed i like compared to a 13 speed or even an 8LL. i like a low gear for soft fields/heavy loads. Might want to take it for a spin and check if it is geared right for you. Ray


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## kyfred (Dec 23, 2009)

I am a truck driver for the Post Office and about 25 yrs ago they replaced a bunch of truck-tractors with the Volvo-White road expeditors that had the L10 cummins 240 hp. Those trucks had the crap ran out of them. Some had 2 and 3 drivers in them a day,they ran around the clock, city driving pulling all different loads wts. Very little problems with the engines that were not taken care of. Most of the problems were mechanic inflicted. Post office replaces trucks at 10yrs. When they sold those trucks most had between 550,000 to 650,000 mi on them. A lot of those tractors are still running. I know a guy that lives near me bought one to pull a pull drag trailer to haul his bulldozer. He always brags on how good the truck runs. The L10 Cummins powered trucks that I have driven had been good running trucks with very little problems.
L10 is turbo charged, thats the way they were made. They were made in several different Hp. 240 hp on up. Good engines.


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## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

I worked in the garage at a trucking company in the mid 80's to the early 90's. They had about 150 trucks almost all Cummins mostly Big Cam 3 and Big Cam 4 for the over the road trucks. Had about 5 or 6 local trucks with the L10 they never give a lot of problems. Seems like they had 270 H.P. Like Carcajou said I don't know about the 10 speed transmission for any off road because they don't have a good low gear in them like a 9 speed or 8LL or a thirteen speed unless the transmission has a deep reduction which makes it a 15 speed or has a 10 speed overdrive with low rear end gears. I think the horsepower ratings on an L10 goes from about 230 to 330. There is a tag on the left side of the timing cover that tells the horsepower rating and the CPL # of the engine. IMO a lot better engine than the 3208. Like your don't see the resemblance poster.


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## kyfred (Dec 23, 2009)

Not to run down all mechanics in my earlier post, cornshucker. They had some where I work that would screw up the engines trying to do valve adjustments. (tune ups) They have one that still works there that had worked at a Cummins shop. He would tell us to write the truck up per him and he would get the truck and correct what others tried to do. He would make them run like new.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

carcajou said:


> If the L 10 is turbo'd it should be in 300 to 325 hp area. Had one in a single axle yard tractor, reliable, not hard on fuel but seemed not to pull as hard on the hills as our 3306 powered tandem . I have yet to buy a 10 speed i like compared to a 13 speed or even an 8LL. i like a low gear for soft fields/heavy loads. Might want to take it for a spin and check if it is geared right for you. Ray


I'll have to check on the ratios, but it's rarely we need the bottom 3 gears out of the 13 to get out of our fields. Right now the truck has a 14.5 foot flat bed on it with a beaver tail, original owner drives a 25,000lb dozer right up the bed.


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## 02HD677 (Aug 20, 2014)

L10 - 240 (turbo) with Fuller 8-speed and Hi/Lo rear in International S2600 ... all anybody really needs.

L10 is stronger than a pound of plastic under the biggest dang stump you have! Ha!


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## Jharn57600 (Dec 23, 2013)

Had to put a cam and can followers in our L10 but it was an old waste management truck, who knows how many hours. Our 240 L10 is pretty comparable to the 225 3208T they are both coupled to Allison autos in white expeditors with 45 yd silage boxes. The L10 has pulled many 16-19 ton loads of mulch up hills, just doesn't do it in a hurry. Coupled to a roadranger I'd much rather have the L10 over a 3208. If you are looking for 300+ HP I'd look elsewhere, there is no replacement for displacement.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I have one in a tandem dump. 300hp, grosses right around 51k on the scale when loaded with grain. Does OK on fuel and is OK for power. Definitely not a boat anchor engine, but not real powerful, but should be better than an NA 3208.

Rodney


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