Opinions on Mack CXU613

I have the old CH613 with the 427 and 15 speed transmission. Its not very powerful and I will not haul anything into the mountains with it. But its very dependable.

My sorry Peterbilt with the 500 hp will climb through the mountains just fine if it doesn't break down

 

The pre-egr Mack's were a safe bet. Tough as nails good on fuel and reliable. Until they started with emissions in 2003 or so. I remember driving to Allentown and seeing them broke down along the road all the time. They couldn't even make it from the factory to the dealership. Total junk. Once they started building the DEF engines, I think it got better. At least I don't see them broke down along the road. As far as the cab, it's a Mack. They has a reputation of being rough and less than pleasant to the driver. I can't say my experience in a Mack was bad though. That was a 95 CH613. Rode great, had good power for what we did, and never gave a problem.

 

Drove Pinnacles in the past. Daycabs and sleepers. Mack engines, 10 spds, and mDrive 12 spd autos. They ran strong and rode like crap. The sleepers were very basic midroof with a single bunk.

 

@cburner what engine will the truck have?
Both will have issues. I don't have any experience with a Mack. But if it happens to have the MP8 wich is a Volvo D13. I have plenty of experiences with that motor. I also owned an ISX but other can comment on that power.


So 2011 is the first year of Def. Most will argue that the first year of anything is not an ideal choice for a first time O\O. With 400k its hard to say if it was given the upgrades.

First the biggest issue with the D13 are the injector cups. From factory they came equipped with copper cups. They upgraded to stainless steel cups. It is a band aid fix. Cups at the dealership run 5k to 6k with a 1 year warranty or 100k. Nondealer shops do it for 3.5k to 4k and no warranty. I have done cups at 500k 535k (warranty) then again at 650k. I am sitting at 923k and getting the symptoms of cup going bad. Basically the issue is they use Loctite to bond the cups to the cylinder head. Bad design. And no other solution exist. I love the motor and unfortunately live with that fact Cups will be a regular issue for me.

The oil cooler cover leaks and a redesign cover fixes the leak. Not a huge deal but beware. 800 to 1200 fix. (Was 3 years ago)

The Ventri pipe and delta p sensor redesign. 300 or so for the parts.

Hope this helps. GL

 

I run a 13' pinnacle. I think it rides nice, quite, and reliable. I've got 498K on an MP8 445 with M-drive. All the injectors and cups were replaced under warranty, that is one of the things you defiantly need to look out for. Other than that the only real problems I've had were two sensors on the engine that went bad no biggie. I average 6.7 MPG hauling decks loaded to 79K. Pulls great for a 13 liter engine, I wish the sleeper had some more options to it, it's very basic 70". Overall I would definitely buy another, I am looking.

 

I drove a 2014 Mack 613, it never left me stranded, did breakdown once at terminal bob tailing around it to get a load, def system quit and truck would only go 5 mph, towed to Mack shop Memphis tristate and it was there for 3 1/2 weeks, I was glad it was a company truck, 20,000 grand repair.

I had to deal with a Penske rental, well 2 rentals one broke down 2 hours away and they towed another out.
Watch your head if it's a regular cab standup sleeper, always an eye opener.
445 mp8 with mdrive 12 speed, I did like the performance button, I always kept it on, it had a firm ride, but my chair was worn out, so that's a lot there, nothing more fun than hitting a bump, getting thrown to ceiling then bottom out and fly back to the roof.

 

I will back up @Socal Xpress said. I have an 08 mp8 and the updated cup design is actually worse then original copper design.