7.3 idi regasket questions

[towcat]

I need to put forward a differing viewpoint on the suggestion these motors need rebuilding at 200k/mi. If I was to rebuild at that interval, I'd go broke on my fleet. A majority of motors I put into my towtrucks have 150k to 200k miles. if the blowby and compression tests out good, the motor is regasketed, get a reman'd injection pump, and new injectors, new water pump, thermostat, and fuel pump. to date, I have gotten consistently another 200-400k/mi out of the motors that are run hard and 150k/mi out of motors that spend time idling. IDI's imho are the best motors that have been put out for some time that rivals the SBC or the GM6.2/6.5. fleets love an abundance of relatively cheap used motors or surplus motors that don't need major machine work when they are in service. In a perfect world where it is economically feasible to run new/re-manufactured motors in a fleet, i agree....put in the best. but I'm faced with the realities where if I can repower a truck spending less than $1k....I'm sure as heck going to do it.

 

[RLDSL]

I need to put forward a differing viewpoint on the suggestion these motors need rebuilding at 200k/mi. If I was to rebuild at that interval, I'd go broke on my fleet. A majority of motors I put into my towtrucks have 150k to 200k miles. if the blowby and compression tests out good, the motor is regasketed, get a reman'd injection pump, and new injectors, new water pump, thermostat, and fuel pump. to date, I have gotten consistently another 200-400k/mi out of the motors that are run hard and 150k/mi out of motors that spend time idling. IDI's imho are the best motors that have been put out for some time that rivals the SBC or the GM6.2/6.5. fleets love an abundance of relatively cheap used motors or surplus motors that don't need major machine work when they are in service. In a perfect world where it is economically feasible to run new/re-manufactured motors in a fleet, i agree....put in the best. but I'm faced with the realities where if I can repower a truck spending less than $1k....I'm sure as heck going to do it.

Bingo ! these engines were designed as commercial duty engines, they aren't hondas. Commercial engines are designed to be run hard and have only the NEEDED repairs performed on them and then be put back into service. It is NORMAL practice to only service one piston or valve on a commercial diesel . Fleet service products are an entirely different game than consumer products. If commercial fleets went through and completely rebuilt engines every time an engine needed something minor, they would all go broke. THis is the reason many Cummins engines cylinder heads only cover 2 cylinders at a time, thats so you can easily service a single piston in frame and only have to disturb a small head, it cuts down on unneeded repairs.
The International version of our engines is designed for larger engine compartments and trucks with solid front axles with tons of room and they have teh oil pump swapped around with a front sump so our engines can easily have single bank piston repairs performed in frame *without* overboring to a larger size ,in a flip front hood commercial truck or bus