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BlondeBulldog

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  1. The seller sent me some pics and it seems to be in decent overall condition. He said he rebuilt the engine himself when he bought it in 1995 or 96, which definitely raised my eyebrows! I've rebuilt a few engines but I don't think I'd want to tackle a Mack V8 without some professional assistance. However if it was gonna blow up I guess it should have done it by now. How do you guys know it's an aluminum frame? I'm guessing there must be something in the model number that tells you this, wanna enlighten me? Also, did Mack offer an airride system way back then? Most old R series I've ever seen were camelback suspension. This air system sort of looks like one on an '80 Western Star that I used to drive for a construction outfit. If I remember right there was a label behind the air dump control that said it was a Rockwell suspension. Did such a thing ever exist? Thanks! Marc
  2. I'm looking at buying a 1976 RL700L Mack with a grain box and hoist on it. It is advertised as having the Mack V8 and a 10spd Maxitorque transmission and air ride suspension. 223, 000 miles supposedly inframed 7500 miles 650 hrs. ago I have owned a 1997 Mack CH613 427E7 13 spd for a few years now and am overall quite happy with the truck, but I don't know much about the V8's. What should a person watch out for on these old dogs? The old man is dead set against the idea of buying any kind of a truck, especially one with a V8 but for the approximately 1500 kms I put on one a year I kind of find it hard to believe that if it seems to be running well that a person could go wrong. The seller is asking $16,000 for it. I realize that it's an almost 40 year old truck and that it's bound to have an issue or two, but are there any places that I should look at and inquire about specifically? Thanks! Marc
  3. Hello all. I'm looking for opinions on a truck that I'm interested in. It's an '86 or '87 Mack R688ST E350 engine, Mack 10spd and camelback suspension, with air ride cab. I've been looking for a body job grain truck for awhile and this one popped up in the classifieds recently. It's supposed to have had a new clutch and rebuilt motor @ Redhead Mack in Saskatoon recently. I currently own a '97 Mack CH613 with an E7 and 13spd converted to 18spd as a tractor unit and am overall fairly satisfied with it. Is the 350 Mack engine in the R series the same basic design as the E7 in my CH? What specific areas should a person be looking at on an old R series? (Known problems) The truck had the box & hoist installed in '07 and from the pictures the entire unit looks to be in very nice overall condition. They are asking $35,000 negotiable. Unit needs new drive tires. Also the truck will require an out of province inspection, it's Saskatchewan plated and I live in Alberta. Does anyone know what an average out of province inspection costs on a unit like this? Any and all opinions are welcome! Later, Marc
  4. LOL!! My last encounter with a parts guy at the local Mack dealer was for a set of oil filters for my '97 CH613 E7 427. Pretty basic request right? WRONG!! I was cheerfully informed by the 20 something dork, (I'm only 30 myself) that it would be impossible to find me the filters without my VIN #. To which I replied "look, aren't all mid 90's E7's gonna use the same filters?" To which I was clued in to the fact that "E7's could be different displacements based on their HP numbers". Really?!?! Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of calling them all E7's?? Luckily a more experienced parts boy noticed the homicidal glint in my eye and interrupted with the correct answer and the filter part numbers before I jumped over the counter and did the human race a favor by eliminating this twit from the gene puddle. It still took him four trips to the filter shelf to get it right, 'cause he kept forgetting the numbers!! It's all who you get though: when phoning around for a price on the rubber connectors for the intercooler plumbing I got some Paki fuck who refused to quote a price without the VIN #. When I called back I got someone that could speak english and he said "hold on, I'll look at my shelf to make sure we've got them, the computer says we do, but let me check." WITHOUT having to go into all kinds of explanations of what I wanted and why I wanted it. There's still some good people out there, but they are getting fewer and fewer between the dumbasses. Later, Marc
  5. Everything seems back to normal or almost normal now. I'm making about 30lbs of boost @ wot pulling a hill at around 1500-1600 rpms, egt is around 900 degrees. Seems to be low on boost by a couple psi, but no big deal really. Guess it was the leaky intercooler plumbing. After 15 years, it'd be about time to replace those rubber connectors, no doubt! Thanks for the help gentlemen. Later, Marc
  6. I think I solved it! Built a tool to pressure up the intercooler with an aircompressor and heard some leaks at the intake manifold side of the engine. Got new silicone type hoses for the turbo and manifold side of the intercooler. I also pulled the floor plate and built a strut to hold open the exhaust flap, the piece of wire that the Mack dealer used wasn't far from coming loose. While I was crawling around, I also found that the bracket holding the air dryer on was broken, welded that up and reinforced it, and changed the cartridge in the dryer. Now I know why most truckers are broke, if I had kept my appointment at the dealer I'm sure it would have been a couple of thousand dollars to troubleshoot and repair. That's not to say it would have been repaired properly either............ Took 'er for a short test drive yesterday and it seems to be back to normal. Gonna take another load down the highway today and we'll see for sure! As a sidenote: does anyone know what the diagnostic program for a laptop pc costs? I'm thinking that could be useful in the future for checking on electronic faults. As this truck ages the sensors are gonna fail, and it's gonna be a real PITA to track them down............ Later, Marc
  7. I've posted a detailed description of my problem in the engine and transmission part of the forum, check it out! (please) lol Thanks for the welcomes Later, Marc
  8. Hello! I've got a '97 Mack CH613 with the E7 427 (V-Mac II) and 13spd Mack transmission. I've been having an off and on problem with low boost and high EGT for about a year now. The truck has 350,000 original KMS on it (about 220,000 miles) and I'm the second owner. I have owned it for about 5 years now. I use it on my farm to pull a hi-boy hay trailer and to pull a tandem axle grain trailer. The last couple of weeks I have been delivering grain on a 320 mile haul round trip, with about 20 metric tons (44,000 lbs.) On one trip last week the engine wouldn't make much more than mid 20's for boost, when it's usually over 30 lbs. and the pyro was running between 1000 and 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, when it usually never tops 900 degrees. After driving about 55 miles I was able to stop and shut the engine off, and check for any intake/exhaust leaks. None found, grabbed some lunch and fired up again and everything was back to normal, over 30 lbs of boost and exhaust temp. below 900. Made a couple more runs that week and everything was fine. Loaded up and pulled out a couple of days ago and was back to mid 20's for boost and exhaust temperature approaching 1200 on a long hill. Again stopped after 55 miles, had lunch and let the engine cool off. Checked for plumbing leaks, pulled the aircleaner element, removed the aircleaner elbow and spun the turbine: no obvious rough spots or any sticking, put everything back in place. Fired up and delivered that load all the way there and back with low boost and high EGT. Earlier this winter I was coming back from the truck wash and the truck lost all boost and was making some pretty terrible noises while trying to accelerate. Called the Mack techline and was informed that I had probably bent a connecting rod due to "filling the intake with water" or else had a major electronic fault. In a panic I had the truck hauled to Redhead Mack in Lloydminster Saskatchewan the next day. They called me around noon and informed me that the truck was fixed and ready to go. The stealth exhaust brake had failed in the closed position thus closing the exhaust off and not allowing the engine to make any boost. Since parts are no longer available to fix it, they wired the exhaust flap open with some mechanics wire. What has me scratching my head is: why does this problem seem to be intermittent? If there's an air leak, I.E. loose clamp, air compressor feed line worn through, cracked intercooler etc. it should be consistently low boost. NO?? Also if the engine is "de-rating" shouldn't it be cutting fuel which would in turn limit boost AND EGT temperature AND produce low power? The truck doesn't really seem to be short of any power when it's low on boost, but the exhaust temperature is much higher than normal, leading me to believe that it's getting the proper amount of fuel, but not enough air. Lastly, the electronic malfunction light only came on once during this timeline, when the truck was running normal, and empty about 20 miles from home. It shut off when the ignition was turned off and hasn't come on since. Any and all comments/advice welcome! This is getting a little frustrating. I've made an appointment at Redhead for Monday morning, but at $135 an hour, I don't want them taking days and days trouble shooting this thing!! Thanks!! Later, Marc
  9. Hello all! New to the forum. I've got a '97 CH613 with a E7 427, 13spd Mack, and 40,000 Mack rearends. (Hence my name it's got the Gold Dog on the hood) I've joined this forum seeking a solution to an intermittent low boost and high EGT problem. Not sure if I should post here or not, think I'll take a look around first. Later, Marc
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