The International DuraStar is a range of medium-duty trucks that Navistar built from 2001 to 2018. Known as the 4000 series until 2008, it was developed in a joint venture with Ford, became the company’s Class 6 and 7 workhorse and also supplied the cowled and cutaway chassis for IC Bus school buses.
International DuraStar at a glance
| Maker | Navistar International |
|---|---|
| Production | 2001–2018 |
| Names | 4000 series until 2008, DuraStar from 2008 |
| Class | Class 6 and 7 medium-duty trucks |
| Position | below the 8000/TranStar, above the TerraStar |
| Joint venture | Blue Diamond Truck, 50/50 with Ford from 2001, at General Escobedo, Mexico |
| Models | 4200 (2002), 4300, 4400 and the one-year 4100 (2006) |
| Body styles | straight truck and semitractor |
| Engines | T444E, DT466E, DT530, VT365, DT466, MaxxForce 7, MaxxForce DT, MaxxForce 9, Cummins ISB6.7 and ISL |
| Bus chassis | cowled 3300 and cutaway 3200 |
| Replaced by | International MV in 2018 |
Based on one source (English Wikipedia).
History of the International DuraStar
Blue Diamond and the new 4000 series
In early 2001 Navistar formed a 50/50 joint venture with Ford called Blue Diamond Truck, which assembled medium-duty trucks for both companies at General Escobedo in Mexico. The two ranges looked different but shared a chassis: the medium-duty Ford F-Series, on the road since 2000 at the same plant, used the cab of the F-Series Super Duty. Navistar’s new 4000 series, launched in February 2001 as the “High Performance Trucks”, was the first completely new International truck line since the 1979 S series and the debut of the NGV cab structure. It carried over the company’s own T444E V8 and DT466E inline-six diesels (later the VT365, DT466 and MaxxForce engines) and shared other commercial drivetrain parts with Ford and other medium-duty vehicles. The windshield was made more than 60 per cent larger for visibility, and ventilation was improved. Ford sold its stake in 2015, and medium-duty production moved from Mexico to Ohio.
4000 series (2001–2007)
At launch the standard 4300 and the higher-GVWR 4400 replaced the 4900 series, retaining the DT466 and DT530 diesels of their predecessors; automatic versions were retuned for better throttle and shift response. The lower-GVWR 4200 followed in 2002 as the replacement for the 4700, introducing the VT365 engine, and the 4100 of 2006 briefly took the line into Class 5 for a single year. The 4200, 4300 and 4400 were built with standard and low-profile frames, and the 4400 was also offered as a semitractor, sitting four inches higher and the only version available with the DT570 engine.
DuraStar (2008–2018)
For 2008, when the ProStar and LoneStar arrived, Navistar renamed its truck lines on the “xxxxStar” pattern and the 4000 series became the DuraStar, a change completed for 2010. Emissions rules brought new engines: the 6.0-litre VT365 V8 gave way to the 6.4-litre MaxxForce 7, and the DT466 and DT570 became the MaxxForce DT and MaxxForce 9 with four-valve heads and exhaust gas recirculation. Externally the numbers were played down and the series name was written on the truck instead. The TerraStar of 2010 replaced the 4100, sharing the DuraStar cab on a lower frame with its own hood. From 2015 Cummins ISB6.7 and ISL engines were phased in, the first selective catalytic reduction diesels in a Navistar medium-duty truck, and after 2016 they were the only engines offered. The DuraStar was replaced by the International MV in 2018.
Design and features
- Crescent headlights: the most recognisable feature of the 4000 series and DuraStar front end.
- One cab, many jobs: emergency vehicles, towing, flatbed and box trucks were all built on it.
- Ford connection: the chassis was shared with medium-duty Ford F-Series trucks built in Mexico.
- Bus chassis: the 3300 cowled and 3200 cutaway versions carried IC Bus school and commercial bodies.
- Emissions overhaul: MaxxForce engines from 2007, then Cummins ISB and ISL units from 2015.
International DuraStar versions
- 4200 (2002): lower-GVWR model with the VT365 engine.
- 4300 and 4400: the standard and higher-GVWR trucks, in normal and low-profile frames.
- 4400 tractor: semitractor version, four inches higher, with the DT570 as an option.
- 4100 (2006): Class 5 model built for a single year.
- DuraStar (2008–2018): the renamed range with MaxxForce and later Cummins engines.
- 3300 and 3200: cowled and cutaway bus chassis.
The DuraStar supplied the chassis for the International 3300 school bus and sat below the Transtar; its heavy-duty stablemate was the WorkStar. More trucks are in the International collection.
Sources
- International DuraStar, English Wikipedia: development, models, engines, joint venture
