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Old 03-19-2018, 10:07 AM   #1
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Is it bad when.........

Is it bad when you go to international dealer and they say dont buy it,lol. Went to get a lineset sheet and talked to them. Great guys in the office there and talked to them a little about it and with the maxxforce dt I'm in better shape than the maxxforce7. Went over my plans for the motor and they kinda gave nod of approval,but did not go anyfurther into it. But was excited to get the lineset it was 5pages and looks to have most options other than 3way seat and on demand snow chains. It also has a 4:88 gear dont know where that puts it with 2400 gov. Now the insanity of waiting for the auction.

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Old 03-19-2018, 11:06 AM   #2
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I would avoid that engine at all costs. All Maxxforce engines are unreliable garbage and expensive to fix.
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Old 03-19-2018, 11:17 AM   #3
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I feel confident in my ability to maintain it. It will have a "bare bones" treatment but kinda pricey at $1500+ for the re-write. All fails I see come from one part or another of the emission system.
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Old 03-19-2018, 11:22 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Miles O Roads View Post
I feel confident in my ability to maintain it. It will have a "bare bones" treatment but kinda pricey at $1500+ for the re-write. All fails I see come from one part or another of the emission system.
Be mindful that school districts are selling those buses early because of the cost of maintenance.
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Old 03-19-2018, 11:33 AM   #5
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Roger the above. Many districts are dumping low time/mileage buses due to the excessively high maintenance issues associated with all the EPA crap that was slapped on around '94-'95. That in itself should be a major red flag for anyone looking to build for the long term. Maybe one day they will get the bugs out, but for now...I woulldn't touch one. I talked to some fleet techs at Stewart & Stevenson who told me nightmarish stories about trying to keep the damned things running and buses that were back in their stalls once a month. Too many sensors and computers that failed in ways that made diagnosis almost impossible even with all their high tech gear.

Thanks but no thanks.
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Old 03-19-2018, 11:35 AM   #6
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Be mindful that school districts are selling those buses early because of the cost of maintenance.
Yes that or repowering them. But like I said I have seen alot of places wanting to do what I plan to do but there hands are tied do to commercial legality or dot. I truly feel I can fix issues with it. As long as I dont have a visible inspection I should be fine. Im hoping that no state messes with rv's like that. Indiana has no inspections or smog. Supplier also claims it will pass echeck fine .
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Old 03-19-2018, 11:45 AM   #7
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the maxxforce 7 incurred alot of issues yes.. however there are still lots in serviuce... they sold a ton of them...

did the maxxforce DT have mnore issues than the DT-466E? to some extent yes.. but again there are still tons of them out there..


the issues are that as noted many of the problems are emission control related.. many aftermarket scan tools wont touch emission systems because of the EPA being hawk-eye on diesel emissions controls.. that means a trip to the dealer.. which is $$$ ..

school busses put emission diesels in a bit of a different service ppoint than any other application.. in cold weather states there are many times the engines are never fully warmed up - this spells disaster for DPF and EGR.. cold running means more soot and a dirtier burn.. clogs filters, blocks EGR passages.. dirtier oil kills EGR and oil Coolers (clogs em up..) ... short trips - lots of heat being pulled form the engine by heaters..

Severe duty service to say the least....

the way we drive them as Skoolies is likely much more friendly to them.. long road trips, most here are sticklers about pil changes and maintaining coola t after reading about the stories of those who dont..

a Maxxforce DT in good operable shape (checked out by shop) would be a no-brainer for me.. a Maxxforce 7 checked out clean in a shorty? id probably chance it if the bus is cheap enough..

that said. there are still lots of pre-07 busses out there to be had with good engines.. so id be inclined to seek those if I could..

if you do ruin a a Maxxforce engine a reman is MUCH more pricey than the previous models.. my guess is because most are still in service.. where previous engines are on the used market due to the busses aging out and being scrapped for rust or other reasons by schools..
-Christopher
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Old 03-19-2018, 12:10 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
the maxxforce 7 incurred alot of issues yes.. however there are still lots in serviuce... they sold a ton of them...

did the maxxforce DT have mnore issues than the DT-466E? to some extent yes.. but again there are still tons of them out there..


the issues are that as noted many of the problems are emission control related.. many aftermarket scan tools wont touch emission systems because of the EPA being hawk-eye on diesel emissions controls.. that means a trip to the dealer.. which is $$$ ..

school busses put emission diesels in a bit of a different service ppoint than any other application.. in cold weather states there are many times the engines are never fully warmed up - this spells disaster for DPF and EGR.. cold running means more soot and a dirtier burn.. clogs filters, blocks EGR passages.. dirtier oil kills EGR and oil Coolers (clogs em up..) ... short trips - lots of heat being pulled form the engine by heaters..

Severe duty service to say the least....

the way we drive them as Skoolies is likely much more friendly to them.. long road trips, most here are sticklers about pil changes and maintaining coola t after reading about the stories of those who dont..

a Maxxforce DT in good operable shape (checked out by shop) would be a no-brainer for me.. a Maxxforce 7 checked out clean in a shorty? id probably chance it if the bus is cheap enough..

that said. there are still lots of pre-07 busses out there to be had with good engines.. so id be inclined to seek those if I could..

if you do ruin a a Maxxforce engine a reman is MUCH more pricey than the previous models.. my guess is because most are still in service.. where previous engines are on the used market due to the busses aging out and being scrapped for rust or other reasons by schools..
-Christopher
Thanks for the reply. I have found alot more of the issues are with the MF7. And with all the issues all runs of the maxxforce motors get a bad name. They all have issues but as said there from emissions not from bad machining or quality. Only other thing I see is injectors need seat (or something)replaced from time to time. I kinda wonder if cyl pressure from clogged dpf or leaking cooler has anything to do with it. That being said its not a in stone buy. I have still been looking but its in state for me and will help keep travel cost down. And had emailed the bus director and he said that they had never had an issue out of the bus. I do believe it was mostly a road bus as its a mfsab.
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Old 03-19-2018, 12:18 PM   #9
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Thanks for the reply. I have found alot more of the issues are with the MF7. And with all the issues all runs of the maxxforce motors get a bad name. They all have issues but as said there from emissions not from bad machining or quality. Only other thing I see is injectors need seat (or something)replaced from time to time. I kinda wonder if cyl pressure from clogged dpf or leaking cooler has anything to do with it. That being said its not a in stone buy. I have still been looking but its in state for me and will help keep travel cost down. And had emailed the bus director and he said that they had never had an issue out of the bus. I do believe it was mostly a road bus as its a mfsab.
coolant related issues can definitely cause the injector cups to fail (most often they leak)... the injector cups seemed to fail more on the 7.3 (T-444E)(earlier variants).. and the 6.0 (VT-365) the injectors themselves seem to start getting weak or performing less than optimum on average at 150-200k miles.. on a school bus im guessing maybe 8500 hours or so?
that seems to be the case with all the HEUI engines.. injector replacement isnt cheap. so it causes people to give them all a bad rap at times..

-Christopher
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Old 03-19-2018, 12:33 PM   #10
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I stumbled across an outfit selling emissions equipment delete kits for Maxxforce DT's. There website was targeted toward exporters.

I know that it is illegal to operate a vehicle on public roads in the US with modified emissions equipment. I live in an area where emissions testing is not required and see many diesel pickups and ag equipment with emissions equipment deletes. Up to you if you want to take the risk.
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Old 03-19-2018, 01:05 PM   #11
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I stumbled across an outfit selling emissions equipment delete kits for Maxxforce DT's. There website was targeted toward exporters.

I know that it is illegal to operate a vehicle on public roads in the US with modified emissions equipment. I live in an area where emissions testing is not required and see many diesel pickups and ag equipment with emissions equipment deletes. Up to you if you want to take the risk.
The kit itself I will make. Its mostly black plates. The expensive part is the software or people that do it. Most my street cars were deleted and the turbo ones had enough dp to get to the oil pan. I honestly think it will be fine. As long as it not smoking like crazy.
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Old 03-19-2018, 01:21 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post
I stumbled across an outfit selling emissions equipment delete kits for Maxxforce DT's. There website was targeted toward exporters.

I know that it is illegal to operate a vehicle on public roads in the US with modified emissions equipment. I live in an area where emissions testing is not required and see many diesel pickups and ag equipment with emissions equipment deletes. Up to you if you want to take the risk.
I hadnt seen it for the Maxxforce DT... I know the EPA was targeting the ones doing class-8 truck emission deletes.. I also live in an area where there is ZERO vehicle testing of any sort.. its friendly towards building custom anything... if it is rebuilt salvage it has to meet road laws.. (basically, lights, wipers, emergency brake, and engine)... if its not salvage. you pay the money for plates they give em to you..
-Christopher
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Old 03-19-2018, 01:22 PM   #13
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The kit itself I will make. Its mostly black plates. The expensive part is the software or people that do it. Most my street cars were deleted and the turbo ones had enough dp to get to the oil pan. I honestly think it will be fine. As long as it not smoking like crazy.
around here "rolling coal" is popular so they dont even call people out for smoke..
-Christopher
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Old 03-19-2018, 01:33 PM   #14
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Yea,I say if your rollin coal your wasting fuel. Some them guys are ridiculous. A little puff taking off all you need.
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Old 03-19-2018, 01:36 PM   #15
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If the people who work on them regularly are telling me to walk away, I would cease looking at any model with that motor.
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Old 03-19-2018, 02:26 PM   #16
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If the people who work on them regularly are telling me to walk away, I would cease looking at any model with that motor.

That was before they looked it up. He said there are issues but not as bad with the dt. And they would have a hard time fixing it the way I plan.
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Old 03-19-2018, 02:38 PM   #17
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That was before they looked it up. He said there are issues but not as bad with the dt. And they would have a hard time fixing it the way I plan.
Sounds like I'd still look elsewhere. I wanted to jump right into this Skoolie, but find the more I wait and learn the better off I'll be in the log run. Haste makes waste.
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Old 03-19-2018, 04:04 PM   #18
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Yes I do agree. The price needs to be right to make this happen. And another thing with work starting back up I will be working dark to dark and dont like to miss work amd the bus less than hr away. I would be interested if I can find one close to what I am looking for in decent shape. I mainly picked the one due to options,distance,and has 70k miles. And the bus barn director said they never had any issues with it. Ohhh and the 285hp kinda appeals to me also. But time will tell.
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