Lmackattack

Thanks guys.. hmmm..it is a 3 leaf currently on the truck . and looks stock? will my build sheet show the front spring arangment? truck was built in 1977 so I think the 11 and 12 leafs were outdated by then?

RS786LST32474 3 leaf Front spring can anyone run my vin and tell me what front springs I have? or what they transfer to? Looking to have a shop make me new front parabolic springs for me, have to start with OEM numbers. Thanks Trent

looks like ryco rear suspension and off breed diffs. Over all it looks nice but with some odd options. Dash is plane jane even for a stock R model... Interior level is above stock but has tan panel incerts with the black paint. kinda odd?

Steve I was thinking the same thing at first. when Rob was telling me "wait theres more to find" I was thinking no way it could be bad besides the rear... well he was correct but I do think I cought it in time and its not as bad as it could have been if I waited 5 more years to do this job....To be honest the cab had little rust that could be seen from the out side. I only went after the rust bubbles as I wanted to make sure it did not progress below the gutter rails. Like you said...I figured that I could remove the old skin and add a new one and that was it. Then When I removed the skin, it was in better shape than all the other sheet metal under it???. The gutter was even in fair shape considering its age. The rear cab wall/corners and the front corners showed the worst of it. All these locations cant be sceen from inside or out side the cab with the roof skin on. The roof skin only had come apart at the 90 deg flange that sits in the rear rain gutter. everywhere els the skin was fine. I took Robs advice and bought some rust prevention paint and will be buying this rust fire stuff he speaks of and doing all the cab nook and crannies that I can find. even if I have to drill a hole to get the applacater wand into a tight spot. I think its worth it to coat the seams weather rust is there or not. I know that there is more rust somewhere and buying time is cheeper than just letting it progress. just my .02 Trent

IF YOU CALL AND I DONT ANSWER I WILL CALL YOU RIGHT BACK. IM AT WORK UNTILL 5PM TRENT

Rob is this the Rust free/rust fire your talking about? I cant seam to find "Rust Fire" doing a google search? http://www.theruststore.com/Boeshield-Rust-Free-Spray-P2C1.aspx I may order the 3M applacator gun, 360 deg applacator hose, 3M rubber under coat to help reduce any vibrations. then spray the rust free over it all to really seal it in. What do you think about that? Trent

look for the start solinoid on the fire wall. Should be just below the drivers side windshield. jump the 2 larger terminals with a wrench. if the engine cranks that solinoid is bad or the wireing to it is bad. :Note: dont stand in a puddle of water when doing this :End note:

" a little rust left hand cab corner" not going to fall for that one again!

I did not take a good pic of the gutter where the spot welds are. So far I did the whole drivers side yesterday and did part of the front corners tonight. I drilled the welds out then did some grinding and used vice grips to pull the roof flange out of the gutter. then went back and grinded a little more in the hi spots. Once the welds are drilled out I will start smoothing out the gutter rail and address the metal with rust holes in them. I pulled the windshields tonight and the metal was solid but saw a few places that show it may be starting to spread the seam? wondering if I just drill a small hole above that aera to spray that rust fire or Por15 over the questionable aera? How does the rear gutter stick to the cab? looks as if it has some tabs that weld to the rear skin? any secrets with it? Trent

here is the damage....

Clariben made them for B models and I think LT models. (as well as other MFG) the old Celli Trucking Mack Dealer (near Ohare airport) had a trailer with 10 of them all used. All got junked about 6 years ago when they were claaning up the yard before it was sold and knocked down.... I know of a guy out in CA that has 1 or 2 in misc conditions. Cant recall if he has them on a B or L cab? PM me if intrested and can put you in touch with him....

Roof is off. I death wheeled it off so that I can stand inside the cab and rotobroach thru the gutter welds. No rust in the front corners so thats good news. there was one spot on the passenger side above the vent window that has rust thru to the rain rail. looks like a fairly easy repair tho. the rear part of the gutter rail is shot. Its started to seaparate from the upper cab wall as soon as the roof came off. In this location the 2nd layer of sheet metal behind the roof skin is also shot as it has 3 large holes in it. However I think I can repair all of this when the gutter is off as its looks like it stops where the roof, gutter, and cab wall all meet? I also pulled the rear window and the only sign of rust was at the very bottom of the window around one of the holes that was drilled for the old sleeper boot. so as it sits the cab interior is gutted, passenger seat removed, Im going to pull the stacks off tomorrow, remove both doors and reseal the door channel , pull the windshields to address any seams that need . Address all seals and weld joints before I paint the cab. the only other issues I see right now is with the cab mount stacks....A few of the inner brackets that the stack clamps bolt to have rusted and the nuts are spinning. you cant see them as they are hidden behind the rear door jam. I need cut them the cab and reweld nuts to them. guess what my weekend looks like....

the seam sealer is still like gum so its hard to get it all off. I used a screw driver to get alot of it off the surface but its still stuck on the sides of the gutter and in between the steel. I think these were made by blair? will have to check the package. Bought them from a reputable paint store. Trent

Hi Rob I just got back and have 1/2 the roof off the cab. the roto broaches dont cut as nice as I thought they would. They dig into the glue and then try to take off in a diffrent direction. I may try a diffrent brand as you suggested.. Anyways the whole back half of the roof was held on by paint. rear corners seame ok at the radius. front half of the sides and whole front are solid.... from the out side. I was able to cut into the drivers side and its is almost done so I am almost half way there getting it off. I figure by Sat after noon I will have the roof off and making repairs to the rails. So far I can see that the rear cab wall gutter has some issues as rust is above and below it. I may need to remove the back section to clean behind it and re seal it. Kinda glad I got into this now and not replace the cab in 5 years when it was two far gone.

thanks rob... I just went out and got a 3/8 rotobroach kit with 3 double sided replacement cutters. the auto body shop had some por 15 so I will likely use that to paint the surface that I can see and then find some rust fire spray yo coat the semas that I cant see. all I have to say is Wow... a week ago I was just going to put in sound dead meterial. now the roof is coming off!!! having a guy come out to sand blast the frame, new stainless side box and 1/2 fenders on order as well. Busy few weeks ahead of me here!!!! thanks for all this help Rob!!!

Rob.....I Got the roof skin on order, will be here tomorrow. got one for $399 from a local dealer. What size roto broach should I get? I assume I will need 2 or 3 to do all 150 spot welds? Should I get a new rain gutter as well even if mine looks to be good? how hard is it to replace the gutter with the roof off? Por 15 or rustfire are they the same? I have only heard about Por 15

thats what I was afraid of ...rust in the front. hopefully It will be light and some patches will take care of it. Sounds like I need to get the truck inside for a few weeks and pull the roof off, fix all the little rust issues around the rail and hope it lasts for another 30 years? Figures I just start dressing up the interior and now I need to address the roof!!! When I got the truck I had to put in some brakets to support the newer style headliner with over head console. this was not that hard to do. I guess at that point you pull all the stuff off the cab and just repaint the whole cab and be done with it LOL.. talk about a can of worms!!!! Trent

thanks for the pics Rob. I must have missed that post? On the tan truck...did you cut the roof off first before you went around with the rotobroach and remove the skin welds? I dont think my cab is this bad as there was one small spot above the windshield and the rest is all in the back. Do the skins have all the holes drilled for the horns roof lights etc and have the incerts to retain the bolts to mount them?...?

Rob I should just gut the interior. Drive down to your shop on a friday. Bring a case of beer and some pizza and have you school me as I do the job at your shop LOL. you make it sound so simple LOL

Bringing back a old topic. My roof needs to be replace before it gets out of hand. I went pokeing around the few rust bubbles tonight and its clear that its time. The roof rail is still good and intact but the skin around the rear of the cab just above the window is barely hangin on. I found that there is a section about 6" long that is completly detached. I would like to fix this over the summer time before it gets out of hand. Looks like I need to source a roof skin and start driling off the cab. what is to expect under the skin? is there another interior panel under that skin? will that likely have rust as well? this truck had a roof mount AC unit so im sure that dident help the rust issues? Trent

from the pics I have seen... alot of R models in canada had neway air ride and had large fuel tanks on both sides. alot also have large walk in sleepers installed. items that seam shome what uncommon in the states? I have heard that the old Neway air ride set ups are liked by the heavy haulers due to the articulation and ride control? Never drive on so cant comment. as far as checking them out... the rubber/bushings just need to be checked to make sure everything stays true.

looking for a used superliner cab airide. Single 7" tall bag with 2 shock absorbers on each side. will have a upper and lower Beam/mount. looks like this set up http://www.linkmfg.com/pdfs/cm/MCRS600.pdf thanks for looking Trent

Real nice! Im halfway into the cab on my other truck and those Marengo guys have a sudden sence of ergency to get that air ride cut ready for me. wait what was the intrest rate on my down payment? I figure $100 x 10 years x $.250 a day carry the 1 yada yada yada... oh look in 10 short years you will owe me for your cut off..... Priceless!!!. take your time Brad no rush now LOL! did a little more today. got the foot valve bolted in and trimed up the carpet. But now it will be coming back out so I can have a Mack Logo sowed into the carpet, and some other little ideas I have . I added it all up and the floor has 2 layers of dynamat, 1" of insulation. 1/4 sound dead mat, 1/4 carpet. the fire wall has 2 layers of dynamat and a 1/8 sound dead mat. I will now be making some fire wall panels that can be removed easy for access. took the truck for a quick spin and it did quiet the truck down pretty good. one more trick I may do is to put a 45" x 45" square of 1" insulation and bolt it to the under side of the hood. And then glue some 12" tall sections to the hood sides. the truck has factory insulation on the out side of the firewall but its all ratty. I will likely replace that as well. My goal is to just get the vibrations out so that the truck is more comfortable to drive. Air ride cab will be next as that will also save my back. this truck just rides hard and is not fun without a trailer!

here are the updates on this project new glass installed on the doors. Rubberized paint, dynamat on both sides of door/floor/firewall along with a 1" thick insulation pad on the underside of floor boards. 1/2" Carpet mat on floor and soon to be on firewall. I really hope all this insulation cuts down sound and keeps it cool inside.

a little smoke from a mack...sounds normal to me!