New International A26 12.4L Engine

Btw, I recently spoke with an International rep and he said that the engines haven't been out long enough to really comment about reliability.

 

Until you tear apart and repair engines for a living, you might want to consider what I have to say with some weight. So you send in your oil sample, and they tell you it's good, and that is all you need to believe them? These are the same wear specs the OEMs are using in the first place to get the extended intervals to look good! Do as you feel is right. I believe from the wear I see on bearings and cam lobes in the last few years is due to extended intervals. Never saw that 10 years ago before all this non-sense started. 25 years ago it was still common place to do bearing rolls every so often. 15 years ago is was pretty much abandoned as a waste of money because bearing always looked great. Now, the story is changing and bearings are starting to look poor again well before it is time to even think about an overhaul.

 

Pretty much. Even the Maxxforce 13 nightmare looked great that first year. Then stuff hit the fan! Have to wait and see. It's a double whammy right now as the A26 simply doesn't have the same sales numbers the Maxxforce had due to ISX availability and over all lower sales for Navistar still.

 

That's interesting because up my way here there are still many specing the A26 in their fleets over Cummins power in their new Internationals.
But like you say, still pretty new.

 

Maybe because Cummin has such good fuelpumps.

 

Actually that sales rep hinted that many Canadian International fleets were sticking with Cummins. I think Erb and Kriska are still Cummins powered (I could be wrong.)

 

Everything is going well so far. I’m consistently getting around 9.1-9.2 here lately. Truck is solid, nothing falling off or rattling around. I’m very pleased with it.

 

That's good. I've heard some strange stories - like levelling valves falling off new Macks.

 

The A26 is still a bit smaller than the ISX15 and getting better mileage. Like mentioned, A26 are hitting 9 no problem. I don't know the pricing, but I would say the A26 and extended factory warranties are also cheaper compared to the Cummins options. I'll have to ask sales next time I see them.

 

Been a little while but I had a run from Rogers, AR with 4 stops to Brooklyn, Flushing, Farmingdale, and Garden City. I was routed off 80 in PA 3 times on the way out there due to accidents, taking a scenic detour each time. Spent two days getting them off, both days hitting 1700-1800 hour traffic, horrible. DH back into NJ and get a load to Richmond, again tied up in morning rush hour traffic Philadelphia. 72k to NY, 78k or so to Richmond. Still got 8.8 MPG. This was a lot of traffic, and I mean a lot. Also, lots of stop and go.