Dale Hamilton

Its very quiet- Not like a Lexus understand- but damn close. You can enjoy the music playing at normal volume. SOUNDOWN also absorbs vibration too- a big factor in noice propagation.

Thad- I have a big powerful system in my B67- you would like. But FIRST- you have to put in many pounds of Sound Down (or equavalent) marine sound/heat insulation. Mine is 1 1/2" thick outside firewall, 1" thick insode firewall, and all around cab, including ceiling and doors. CD player and CB mount in fabricated ceiling console, big powered sub woofer mounts behind driver sear, small tweeters and midrange speakers mount behind head of driver/pass in the cabin bulkhead, larger woofers mount in kick panel at your feet, righr and left. You can do this upgrade even in an old Mack- but you must be scrupulous in eliminating noise.

Mike- I have towed a 38' 5th wheel RV with my B67 Mack successfully all over the country. In fact, were it not for the RV, the Mack wouldn't have a thing to do in life. Roaring into a camp ground at night in a semi really gets their attention too- Pin absolutely same thing. Dial up www.stovebolt.com, select features, select saga, select "Hauling with the Big Dogs" and reall all about it. In fact, read "Hi You Silver Rides Again" and read about the resto of this Mack. Good luck Hauling with the Big Dogs Hi Yo Silver Rides Again

I took my B67 to Mack of Nashville because it had a freeze plug leaking between the two heads of the 673. The heads would have to come off, a PS and an AC pump would have to be unbolted. Big job for me. So dealer gives me $1500 estimate- and later says it might be more. So anyway, bill turned out to be $4121.05. I contacted Corporate Mack. Asked them to review my itemized bill, and if they thought it reasonable, I'd pay it. BTW- I also contacted Mack of Florida and Mack of Texas (Houston) - both said around $2500 including parts. Well, their district service manager just called and said it was reasonable. Here are some of the "reasonable" items. Labor $2214. An engine nut: $5.56- I needed 10. A washer $17.25- I needed 12. I'm going down today and pay them. I have no choice. But I will demonstrate my dissatisfaction with Mack at every opportunity. Starting with their leadership- they need to know. Any other ideas out there?

yes agree- the real answer is marine lead- foam insulation- all over. It is a remarkable difference. Until then however, maybe you can consider a wireless, infered headset, like from Boise. Think they are about $130- and your problem hearing anyway- is solved.

This experiment to see if Mack CF's method works

well alots happened since my first post. I had the truck towed in- I never saw a printed estimate- Service mgr called me on phone with estimate. Anyway today I asked for a itemized invoice-which they produced, It was evidentially the job from hell- head bolts were seized, valve guides worn, etc. And the exhaust manifold, cooling manifold0 allthat stuff had to come off. By still- 4 grand way outta the park/ So I dialed up Corporate Mack: Customer service- sent them a picture of the truck, told them what had happened, and sent them the 4 page invoice. I asked them to have their shop guy look it over- and if he thought it was reasonable- I'd pay the Mack dealer immediately. Not 30 minutes passes- and I get a call from Mack. First thing the guy says is "I think I've found my new screen saver". (the pix in the BMT calendar). We smooze about the truck awhile- he agrees that the charge is too high- and he then turns it over to the District Service Manager for review. So, I think I'll just let Mack of Nashville keep the truck a few days longer and see what happens next. BTW- Corporate Mack number is 800-866-1177

So I had this topside coolant leak on my 673 ENT. I knew there was a freeze plug between the two heads which would necessitate pulling the heads, exhaust and cooling manufolds. Big job, so I sent it to Mack of Nashville. Sure enough it was the freeze plug. They gave me an initial estimate of $1500 but warned it could go higher. Well it took 2 weeks- they complained they received the wrong parts twice- and finally today they fax me the bill. I can't believe thet are asking $4121.05- which breaks down $ 1,031 Parts, $339 misc (probably the tow) and $2214.00 LABOR!! Even at $100 per shop hour- that means 22 hours to do the job. Anybody think this reasonable?? Anybody suggest any course of action other than to pay the bill?

Rob- right most B's. But this B has alot of stuff added which must come off- AC,PS, etc. Then too its a studded head which has not been pulled in many ,many years. I have air tool- but the possibility of stripping a headbolt is pretty high. I didn't want to, but in the end I thought the dealer would be better.

water gushing from between the heads of a ENDT 673. I sent it to the Mack dealer because the whole top of the engine had to be pulled. Sure enough, there at the butt ends of each head was a freeze plug, Damn damn. Naturally I had both plugs replaced and a new head gasket- but this is going to cost big money.

thanks guys- I'm back now (from weekend travel). I'll pull the valve covers tonight and see if I can find either a rubber connector or a freeze plug. Will let you know- as I'll have to put out a call for the part(s).

I had just fired her up to move her from one shop to the other, and as soon as I had air pressure I noticed a pool of green coolant on the shop floor. I shut down and inspected all the usual things without avail. Absolutely no history of leaks or running hot- this all of a sudden. Really good size leak too. I finally trace it to the top of the engine- where the two valve covers meet in the middle of the head- there is maybe a quarter of an inch space here- and the fuel infector lines run thru the top of this space. Water seems to be hemorrhaging between these valve covers. Anybody seen this before?? Does it mean I've got a head gasket blown (no other indicators of that-yet)? Is ther a freeze plug in this location I can't see? Any help would be appreciated- I'd really like to run this thing to Cookville later this month. Dale

There must be a spring in the outside door handle that returns the handle to the flat horizontal position after you release it- so that it does not flop. Anybody have an idea where to get one? Dale

I'd forget about this one lad. Later when your a little older and have a steady source of money, there will be plenty of trucks to buy. Also, I'd suggest thst you go after a truck thats already done- finished. Its alot cheaper than doing it yourself.

So the other day I notice I have 4000 miles on the B67 (with ENDT 673) since I restored it and put it back on the road- time for an oil change. The owner's manual (the original BTW) says crank case holds 15 quarts of oil. So i drain the crank case (yup, it needed an oil change), replaced the filters and started pouring in oil. 4 gallons dosn't even register on the dip. 5 gallons, still not wet. 6 gallons nadda- it took 26 quarts of oil to bring it up to the full mark. So, whats the explanation- well, I scrapped the original lubrafiner and added two maxi- spin-on cartridges, then I added an oil cooler with associated 1 1/2" hoses. I can say that my oil temp never gets beyond 140 degrees and water temp never goes over 155 degrees- and I've run it on some 100 degree days down here. So, the cooler must be working- works too well in the winter- hard to get much heat. Well I guess its a good thing.

Yup- it used to be that I'd check several times a day and new treads would appear all day long. Now its so damn compartmentalized you have to check several categories and even then the general discussion has only a new thread every day or so- AND THERES NO DISCUSSION. Anybody else disturbed> Any chance we could go back to the on category "serves all" style?

That would be Sept 23 and 24. Stan?

Trent- The wiring diagram no use to me because I never intended to restore the Mack system. BUT if a guy wanted to restore as original, he would need this diagram.

I have an original B model wiring diagram I purchased from the dealer a few years back. I don't need it because I scrapped the factory set up. Will sell for $20.00- same price I paid.

Regular readers will recall the story of the resto of my 1964 B67 tractor and its re-introduction to the original owner. Well, the original owner, who lives in the next town, has kept in touch with me. In fact, the other night we had dinner together. The truck of course, was our conversation. He told me he once had a contract with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, to move a piece of rail equipment over the road from Nashville to Etowah (Chattanooga)- and it weighted 180,000 pounds. The Mack had a turbocharged 673, the original duplex and a 450 ratio in the live axle rears. He was a young trucker at the time, and the trip over Monteagle mountain must have been a harrowing affair. He made it without incident and the old truck never complained- moving like a glacier. I guess I probably lost touch with the fact that this was (is) one hell of a hard-working truck. They all were- earning their keep before the days of 500 hp motors, sophisticated transmissions and creature comforts. God bless the guys who preserve this heritage. Well worth the doing.

Bob- I had the same problem with my B67. I first went to the truck junkie and bought 2 Bostrom seat bases- they checked out ok but the seats were shot. Then I went to foreign car junkie and bought two seats from a late model high end Nissan- or maybe it was a Honda. Had those reupholstered to match truck and mounted them on the Bostrom bases. Bonus is they had power lumbar. Very comfortable, don't take up alot of room- look great.