New MF13 owner here

[montrose818]

New poster here. Spent a good month researching which truck to buy to get my feet wet in the business, and despite hearing a lot of bad, I went with an International with an MF13. 2011 truck, 250k miles, lot of parts replaced - turbo, cat, EGR cooler / valve, doser, etc.

I am (have been) part time mechanic and comfortable working on european cars, so this couldn't be worse. Having spoken to a few knowledgeable people, they confirm that the only real problem(s) on the vehicle is the emissions (as it is most of the newer generation diesels, light duty included). I had figured that with most (all?) of the problem prone parts replaced, it should get me through 100k miles without any terrible expenses.

Considering how cheap these trucks go, it just made sense. I would have to spend at least twice as much for any other engine, and it would have at least 500k miles, so I could easily end up with major repair bills going that route too.

Looking to hear from people who have MF11/13 engines, preferably ones who are a little more intimate with the truck than dropping it off at the shop and calling it a POS. I see there is m1m EGR coolers, roadwarrior cat / DPFs, as well as annual cat/dpf cleanings, and of course tunes. If the truck grenades that is OK, I am certain I can part it out and get my money back from it. But I like it overall and would like to run it for a few years.

So, if you've got an 11/13 and have found a way to live with it, I would love to hear about it, via PM or here. Will an m1m cooler fix the leak issues? Take apart EGR annually for cleaning? I do plan to take it for a cat/dpf clean within a week or two as preventive maintenance, at 600 bucks that seems like a reasonable thing to do.

Thank you

[Unilevers]

you sir are in for a world of hurt. I say that knowingly aswell as i have worked on and tuned many of them.

Their only issue is not just the emmisions.

[montrose818]

I would love to hear specifics..

[the missing link]

I friend of mine has avg 12 grand a month in his , he bought it 9 months ago. He just told me he just cracked his head now ...

[marek4792]

They are a crapshoot either you get lucky and you get a good one, or you get one that will bankrupt you which is about all of them.. Since you already bought yourself one I would look into getting a cummins isx cm871 to do a swap with when that motor inevitably lets go. I have heard on this forum I think it can be cheaper to do said swap then buy a prostar with a cm871 from factory but times change (pricewise) and I could be wrong.

[montrose818]

(05-24-2018 )the missing link Wrote:  I friend of mine has avg 12 grand a month in his , he bought it 9 months ago. He just told me he just cracked his head now ...

What work gets done every month that's costing him this much? What was the reason given for the head cracking? EGR cooler leaking and air pocket in the cooling system / low coolant or something?

(05-24-2018 )marek4792 Wrote:  They are a crapshoot either you get lucky and you get a good one, or you get one that will bankrupt you which is about all of them.. Since you already bought yourself one I would look into getting a cummins isx cm871 to do a swap with when that motor inevitably lets go. I have heard on this forum I think it can be cheaper to do said swap then buy a prostar with a cm871 from factory but times change (pricewise) and I could be wrong.

This definitely crossed my mind. I paid "glider price" for the truck, the engine basically came free. I heard people complain about ISX issues as well, but you are correct if this engine turns to be a problem, it is getting swapped.

[tree98]

(05-25-2018 )montrose818 Wrote:  

(05-24-2018 )the missing link Wrote:  I friend of mine has avg 12 grand a month in his , he bought it 9 months ago. He just told me he just cracked his head now ...

What work gets done every month that's costing him this much? What was the reason given for the head cracking? EGR cooler leaking and air pocket in the cooling system / low coolant or something?

(05-24-2018 )marek4792 Wrote:  They are a crapshoot either you get lucky and you get a good one, or you get one that will bankrupt you which is about all of them.. Since you already bought yourself one I would look into getting a cummins isx cm871 to do a swap with when that motor inevitably lets go. I have heard on this forum I think it can be cheaper to do said swap then buy a prostar with a cm871 from factory but times change (pricewise) and I could be wrong.

This definitely crossed my mind. I paid "glider price" for the truck, the engine basically came free. I heard people complain about ISX issues as well, but you are correct if this engine turns to be a problem, it is getting swapped.

I'm not sure your understanding. It's not a matter of "if the engine turns out to be a problem" it IS a problem, even international can't get those trucks to run right. If you plan on using this truck to make a living do an engine swap now and don't look back. Once you start down the rabbit hole with that maxfarce you'll deeply regret it. Now if the truck is only used here and there once in a while on a farm or something of that nature you could probably suffer through it.the isx problems you've heard people complain about are like comparing a toothache to a heart attack.

[Chamberpains]

Run it for max profit till the 1st huge bill grabs you and have your demandated swap engine prepped and ready to go to minimize down time. Toss it to the scrap yard for beer money the 1st time it's AIDS ridden block starts thinning your bank account.