Lmackattack

Been a while since my old dog had a friend to run with 20200412_133138.mp4

Nice view....Wait!!! is that near where the Fits went under??? We had some high winds down here in Chicago yesterday and today. hear the storm was moving across NY tonight. Only ship I have ever been on was the Queen Mary out in Long Beach. It was impressive to see how so much steel can float. and thats not all that big of a ship these days. Down here we see a few boats near gary IN but not the kind of traffic that was present when all the mills were running

Around here in chicago they had both single axle and tandem. most all were on camelback but the last batch had air ride tandem. they did bounce up and down badly. I can only imagine having to drive one daily... Ever notice how most of them MR trash trucks are always going slow around town. I dont blame them

I think the postal service had lawsuits from its drivers that had sustained neck injuries from these trucks. I recall many were Tractors used to move Mail trailers from city to city. not a ideal truck for highway speeds

I have driven a Pete with 425 6nz cat with 8LL and currently Im driving a 350 mack CH with 8LL... the mack does 65 at 1900 rpm but it sucks the fuel down pretty good and the gear shift is pretty quick with its slower rears. but its just gutless with that electronic E7. The pete had faster rears wider shifts but did not suck the fuel down nearly as bad. the pete was a great truck to run and was one of the best speced dump trucks I have wheeled. I could do 65mph at around 1700 and it had the power to pull it. the mack takes a mile just to get up to top speed where the pete was doing it in 1/2 mile... comptetly diffrent from each other The 8LL is good for off road use but the rear end ratio and HP of the engine will make it either good truck or one you will hate to drive... I have to say the pete was set up right the mack is not.

Seen most of them sigle axles out west in CA pulling pup style trailers

There was one in Northen IL last fall. I think it was on facebook market place. not sure if it was sold or not

And I cant tell for sure bu they also look like the smaller Dia tanks offered for better ground clearance

anyone notice it does not have standard R model Tanks on it? love the paint job

Its odd to me that Mack is offering these heavy rear ends yet removed themselves from the big HP market. in most cases the heavier the GVWR of the truck the more HP is speced under the hood. it like saying Mack has heavy rears to carry the load but we fall short in the HP to move it ( when compared to other MFG) not the idea way imo

WTF..... get back in the kitchen!!!🤣

My Truck was wired so it only comes on with the switch. how ever as the truck was old I decided to run a wire down to the battery as the gauge was reading lower than what the Alternator was putting out. I think the old wireing has to much resistance it it to read correctly. I was seeing a full volt lower without the new wire added.

I have been saying this for years. Mack no longer has a Dealership presence. they are simply a name mentioned when a truck center advertises who they make repairs for. Even when you go to Dealers who have that Bland Mack sign out front you will see nothing but volvos and others out front. might see 1 or 2 new macks on the lot if you are lucky. Volvo spends millions to keep Mack alive and yet invests little into promoting the brand name.

Learn something new every day. I always figured it was worn rubber pads down to the metal. all the Mack roll off trucks or scrap yard trucks had the heavy rears and would make that noise.

I thought that was odd as well. I think this would make for a great 6 wheeler or tractor for dump truck use. But by them showing they are going after specific vocational markets that tells me they want to make sure the truck can be set up for everything. not just a simple tractor or straight truck applications.

check your grounds at the front and rear. It almost seams like there is a bad wire or bulb.

I would fill the radiator with water and then put dish soap and then run/ Drive it so it gets good and hot for a few hrs then drain it. you will need to do this a few times to get the brown color out. that slime you see can be alge. I would flush it a few times like this before you re fill it with Anti freeze. they make a chemical that you can add into it as well if you dont think dish soap works good. Valve cover gaskets are super easy. pull them off and the gasket is right there. I like rubber gaskets as they dont leak as bad. the speedo cable just screws into the back of the gauge. some pliers is all you need. Same deal near the trans output shaft yoke at the adapter. If the cable is still good you should add some sort of oil or graphite into it from up by the gauge and let it soak in the cable to help prevent rust. it will also help keep the gauge from jumping if the cable is binding a little .

my question is what did the cam lobe look like if its wiped out that can be a big repair bill on a truck you bought that has not even turned a wheel yet.

Now that we know you have a RL685LST we know the truck should have had a mack trans installed from the factory and the frame is set up for mack mounts. Rob is spot on with his notes of how eastern and Western R models will have different rear mounts due to the difference in frames. The RL/RL685 trans mounts will not be the same as a Eastern R685. I suspect the current RL frame mount is going to be correct and the trans side of things is of a eastern Mack as you noted the trans is not original to the truck. the untrained eye may have not seen the difference in mounts and was easily overlooked when installed. Rob provided us with photos that you can clearly see what is what between east and west coast R model mounts.

IF you have pictures it will help us see what issue you are looking at.

Here are pics of the steel timing cover for a eastern R model not sure if that would be the same parts as a Western RL as they used aluminum front crossmembers /engine mounts

Take a pic of the passenger side of the engine. let me see the injectors and valve cover.

From what I hear its from 2 things. Extreme down speed of the gearing. they put in 2.xx rear ratios, run in direct, and drive at 60mph. it is impressive however half of it is from drivers attention to MPG. they dont idle them either. a owner operator may see these kind of MPG but the avg company worker wont. I dont see why volvo cant do the same as the engine rears and trans is all the same

what does the truck vin start with? RL685? if so that calls for a 237hp maxidyne and should have a mack maxitorque transmission. if the truck was built with a off breed trans that may be the reason the mounts are off.