Re: 404/446 generation engines and their exchange

["John Stricker" <jstricke@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think Greg mentioned this already, but IIRC the only two displacements
were the 404 and the 446.  I don't believe they were in the heavy duty, just
the medium duty, but they may have been offered in something like a trailer
spotter or something.  I can't imagine it surviving long in a heavy duty
application based on my experience with it.  Read more below on that.

Greg, I have never seen the back of the 7.3 Navistar Diesel block as used in
the Fords, is it an SAE pattern?  If not, then that part is not the same as
the 404/446.

I have an MV404 in my '81 S series 1700.  Got it new in '82.  Farm trucks
don't get used much off season so it has less than 50,000 miles on it.  From
the day we brought it home, it was down on power.  I mean sick.  Seriously
sick.  We had it back at our IH dealer numerous times and they finally just
said that's the way it is, tough luck.  Wrong.

We called regional and got a customer service guy to come out to our farm,
with the shop foreman.  We loaded the '81 and our '73 1600 Loadstar with
grain sorghum, took both of the trucks to the elevator, moved milo by
buckets until the trucks were within 20 pounds of each other.  We then told
the service manager that if he though his truck ran so well, he could just
follow us and see if he could keep up on Interstate.  We headed west with
the '73 (345 2 bbl 4spd/2spd) and they with the '81 (404 5spd/2sp)  We had
over a half mile on them within 5 miles.  12 miles away, there was an
interchange so we pulled off and waited, telling them on the radio where
they were (we couldn't see them anymore).  They pulled up behind us and dad
asked them "well?".  The shop foreman said "well what? we were driving the
speed limit, we didn't want to get a ticket."  He said "bulls**t".  "You
drive as hard as you want, if you get a ticket, which I doubt since the
truck won't run that fast, I'll pay for it.  Now you go back to the elevator
and see if you can beat us there"

We left again, them in the lead.  I stayed right behind them until halfway
there where there was a fairly steep hill.  I passed them going up the hill,
slowed down so they went by me, then passed them again at the crest of the
hill where they followed (quite a ways behind) back to the elevator.

We got back, dumped the milo, and the service manager said "You have one
sweet running 345 there"  Well, it does run good, but it SHOULD be no match
for a 404 with 2 extra gears and a working 4th.  They wouldn't do anything
about it until they said "we'd just have to put both trucks on the dyno and
compare them."  We asked where a dyno was and nobody knew.  They left.  I
made some calls and found that Diesel Equipment Company had a chassis dyno
just 30 miles from us and these guys used it regularly.  Didn't know my a$$.

Now dad was more than a little annoyed.  He called the service manager and
told him and the regional manager that both trucks would be at the dyno the
next morning at 9:00 am, if they wanted to watch they should be there but if
they didn't show up, we'd send them the papers and if it turned out like we
thought, he either wanted a new truck or the motor fixed to put out at least
20% more power at the wheels than the '73.

Next day we took them over to the dyno.  The '73 with a 345 had 128hp at the
wheels.  The 404 had 92.  And in all honestly, it really did feel that sick.
They didn't show up.  They didn't respond.  Dad called our lawyer.  Letters
were written.  They came and got the truck.  At first they were going to
tear the motor down and find out what was wrong and fix it.  Dad said fine,
but it's not going back in the truck.  I want a new one.  They did get us a
new one.  Put it in.  Took it to the dyno.  104 hp.  They took it back,
pulled the 2 barrel off and put a 4 barrel Holley on.  132hp.  They said
that was it.  They weren't doing anymore.  It had more power than our 345 so
we should be happy.

14 months after that, I was pulling a combine home behind that sick POS and
about 60 miles from home lost oil pressure and tossed a rod.  No warranty.
We're on our own.  We put a rebuilt in it from a local rebuilder and it ran
the best it had so far, but we never dyno'd it.  One day I was cleaning the
oil bath air filter and while I had it out of the truck, my wife (who was
cleaning the cab) accidentally let the truck roll over it and pretty much
destroyed it.  A new air cleaner assembly from IH was around $350.  I bought
a "high performance" one (it's even chrome!!) and put a K&N filter element
on it with a foam wrap.  I swear to God, the truck picked up 30 hp at the
rear wheels.

All in all, you couldn't give me a 404/446 again.  I still have this one and
it's one too many.  I fully expect every time I drive it to be it's last
time the engine makes it.  One of these days, I'm going to get rid of it and
get a truck with a real motor.  Like another 345.

John Stricker