There was a day—most of those who read this will remember—when the million-mile truck was obtainable and B50 life was virtually unknown to most of us. It now also has become something of the past. The B50 phrase referred to those components that lasted 50% of some sort of life. In our world, it was a million truck. The late Pat Patterson, retired Slim Roberson, Steve Shuster and many TMC peers taught me and we enjoyed the “EGO” (egotistical) and economic results engines, transmissions and rears that traveled over one million miles. We still enjoy high mileage transmission and rears that provide a satisfactory life. But we asked for was the B50 life of engines and that was told to us 750000 miles, B50 meant that 50% would achieve at least that many miles. An engine to us included fan to flywheel—excluding alternators and maintenance items, belts and hoses. Although we did triple the life of those items.

So now what is the B50 life, the world lies below for the top 10:

1. Turbo chargers: B50 life 750000 miles, now maintenance item, B50 now 350,000 miles, maybe?
2. Injectors: B50 life was 750,000 miles, now maintenance item, now B40 life 400,000 miles, maybe?
3. Injector cups: B50 life, 750,000 miles, now seems to be a maintenance item, B20 life 500,000 miles?
4. Water pump: B50 life was 750,000 miles, now seems to be a maintenance item B20 life is 500,000 miles, idlers?
5. Exhaust manifold studs: B50 life, forever?
6. Intake manifold bolts: B100 life, forever. Seems to be a maintenance item now?
7. Intake manifolds and gaskets: B100, Forever, who knows why they now fail?
8. Exhaust gaskets: B50, 750,000 miles, now a maintenance item?
9. Camshafts: B50 life was 1.5 millions miles, now a maintenance item?
10. Liners, Pistons and rings: B50 life was 1 million miles, still for the most part, B50 of 1 million miles, they still last, not a maintenance item yet?

Take a look at these top 10 items, do the arithmetic, get the maintenance analyst and plug in your own numbers into a spreadsheet and calculate your own CPM, add to that emission cost of about at least .0395 CPM—almost more to operate fan to flywheel as it did prior to maintain the whole truck. Tinkerbelle’s magic wand does not work anymore. Hold on, more to come, the fact is these items are not cover under warranty, which is not free, nor included in the cost of the vehicle anymore as it appears. The “B(x)” life is just over the engineered “W(x)” life, “W: being warranty life.

My position is that I am on the side of the B50 life that lives, fulfills the engineered life, not the side that doesn’t make it to the engineered “B” “LIFE”. Pat Patterson would roll over in his grave, the father of the million-mile truck. Sorry Pat we have failed you, it is as it is. We got what we asked for, cheaper, lighter and Uncle SAM demanded soot free! (Sam was not a TMC member).

For more information, visit www.darrystuart.com or email comments or questions requests to Darry at: [email protected].