mrsmackpaul

Midliner parts are readily available, just not in the U.S. They were sold all thru Europe and Australia, almost all parts can be ordered on line I guess that of risk of sounding rude and offending people in the U.S. and that is not my intention at all Americans are pretty spoilt compared to the rest of the world for spare parts shopping and arent used to shopping for parts like the rest of the world are We use a lot of interpretation of what parts are, we have our own books in languages we will never understand and before the internet we would telephone overseas, wake up at what ever hour to suit the time frame of the country we need to order parts from and then go down the street to the bank and get the money transferred and currency converted to what ever it had to be This was pretty normal once, the internet has streamlined things considerably No I'm not having a go, just trying to point out that parts are available, but maybe not at your local Mack dealer, pretty soon even the genuine Macks we speak like of your new R model will be the same so we Congratulations on your new purchase, nothing like a R model Paul

What are the correct colours of air lines to to the gear stick Thinking there must be proper set of colours A low quality image provided for inspiration Paul

Only problem I see is that it isnt in my yard, yes Im jealou A great looking truck, it looks like a really good start for a project Paul

Im guessing its the same as any other R model, oil pressure, water level are two things that spring to mind In the top tank on the radiator there is a sensor so if you ru out of water it lets you know, and the oil pressure is self explanatory So when the truck isnt running and full of water, you turn the key on, the light and buzzer (bell) come on, you start the truck and as soon as you get oil pressure the light and bell goes off Paul

Sounds like a good reach, I have known armature winders that havent understood the difference between winding a DC coil and a AC coil and it has taken them a few goes before the believe me that they are wound different Grear work Paul

Okay, okay One more of the Road Boss, or maybe a different Road Boss with good load on Here's my Grandfathers EH Mack log truck that started my love affair with Macks Probably shared it here before Pretty cool old jigger in my eyes Paul

well it's been a while so time for a update here Dunno if either of these are Mack, I know one for sure isnt, from Western Australia Dunno how much it weighs but its gunna be a fair amount, guessing upwards of 40 ton I cant read all the writing added to the photo Maybe you blokes can work it out I reckon this says 28 feet long, dunno CLAG 34 feet means but guessing some thing to do with circumference of the truck A white Road Boss with a bit of timber on board Loaded for Diamond chip mill Manjimup WA.142.5 tonnes gross.About 1990/91.. Paul

A couple of things, as already stated, it is most likely a crook connection between the lead and the truck and most likely the lead (99.9% guaranteed) A crook connection causes heat, the heat will cause the spring loaded parts of the plug on the lead end to become softer and put less pressure on the lead, this inturn creates even more heat and the cycle repeats itself until the plug melts off or the breaker trips Now irony of this is the GFCI (ground fault current interrupter) or as we call them in Australia a RCD (residual current device) measures the power going in the positive and out the negitive and as long as those two are the same it wont trip So you can have a dead short between positive and negative and it wont trip as the load is equal on those two wires, so when these values dont match (the values I'll quote are the ones we use in Australia or NewZealand and maybe different were you live but I doubt it) by anymore than 30 milli amps or 30 milli volts the GFIC trips as the power is no longer balanced and is going elsewhere, ie thru a person and these GFCI should trip before you can even feel it So when we test these we check for how many amps and volts it takes to trip and also how long it took to trip once that value was reached, it is no good if it trips but it happens after your dead I didn't go into this to try and sound smart but rather to try and give you a good understanding of what has happened So your problem wouldn't of been the truck or the socket fitted on the truck and would of been the plug on the lead Paul

Well it turns out I missed my calling and I should of been a fortune teller There was quite a bit of colourful language getting the lid back on the box I fully disassembled the range change lid before putting it back on to 100% sure in my mind at least make sure that all is ok It is still no guarantee I'm even close but I believe it is all ok As predicted it took a lot of trial and era to get the lid back on, I have no idea how I did it on the side of the road all those years ago, I'm guessing my arms were younger and more flexible than they are today Anyway after trying for hours and hours it was time for a plan 'B' as plan 'A' was only gunna put me in the looney bin So down the street and got some assistance in the form of a mirror on a stick and a thin L.E.D. pen light Using these with aid of some fencing wire and lots of different thicknesses of little wooden blocks I finally had what I believed was success To prove this I unbolted the tail shaft so I could check it was in fact going in and out of gear as it should Even that turned into a head ache, stripping sockets and the like So next I thought I best fix a few air leaks that were there, some I had caused when getting the on and off so many times Several hours later and wringing wet with sweat I had changed a few, maybe a dozen fittings and was happy enough that air was now been reasonably contained In the end I pulled everything off that was getting in my way lifting the lid on and off The bigger rubber air start hose was pulled out of the way with a ratchet strap The main air line from the compressor was removed The hose it went to ratchet strapped out of the way And the list went on It is still easier than dropping the box out on a conventional cabbed truck All that stuff is now bolted back in So I'm heading in the right direction I feel, a few other things to do and floor and seats can go back in Then one more relay valve to change and a complete service and a good wash and I'll call it done I try to keep the truck pretty clean underneath and on top Even new trucks seem to weep enough to stick dirt and look crappy I figure it may take a while to get it clean each time but if the transport department wheel me in I stand a lot better chance if it's at least clean and not wet as a shag Paul

Sounds interesting, sorry I'll be of no help to you as I don'teven know what a Mack bus from that era looked like I'm pretty sure there is some black and white footage floating around with city type Mack buses on it Good luck and keep us posted Paul

People normally just make a bracket up to compensate for that, Im pretty sure Mack in Australia even sold the bracket for many years, they may even still do Paul

For 380 bucks you could have changed all 4 over to the modern style ones Still, it is what it is I guess Paul

A little bit at a time, thats the way I tackle things, why I'm waiting for something to be done or arrive and pretty soon with out knowing it I have achieved quite a lot while waiting for some other item Great stuff, I'm really enjoying this build Paul

Nope no good for me here either, can only see what Patty shot at, stuff all Paul

Aunt Jemima isnt showing up, if I squint really hard I can almost, nah I'm dreaming 😁 Paul

Good for you, someone has to keep things moving Dunno about this headliner business as I have never even tried to do one Paul

Well all the motor end is back together Time to look at the range change on the box Pulled the seats and rolled the floor mat up ready to pull the floor out Thought I might as well change that air filter and see if it improves the shifting, had no clunk to it no more, as in it didn't go clunk when sliding it into gear I had the new filter on hand so it had to be changed anyway It was black on the inside to look at so I decided to cut it open Yuck, I did expect it to be pretty bad as the compressor was pumping oil fairly well So thru some air in Mrs Mack and worked the high low spliter and it improved quite a bit after a few hundred shifts, I figured I have most of stuff out on the ground to pull the top off the transmission I might as well do it now just to 100% sure the bolt hasnt come loose Turns out the bolts were tight and all was ok I know there will be some colourful language used getting it back together, this isnt my first rodeo I have done this on the side of the road once and fish the bolt out of the box with a magnet So the lid will go back on and put it all back together Changed one of the relay valves for the back end, will change the other It had plenty of oil in it as well All this oil is a concern as it is thru the air system and I probably should of changed the compressor a long time ago So I guess I will slowly change valves and maxi chambers im the near future

Considering that everything was pretty much built for a LHD the conversion covers it up completely, when I fixed the cab and unbolted all the brackets etc off the firewall all the holes for LHD are there but things are so well placed you would never know I know a fella that worked for Mack Australia back when R models were still coming off the production line and has to me they had templates made to place everything just right to achieve this Occasionally we come across this problem were as good as things were done there is just a mess to work around, however it's soon forgotten once everything is fitted back together again Paul

Well I realize this all a bit hum drum boring type of stuff but with not a huge amount going on on the forum I guess I best shiw everyone how not to do it 🤔 So as usual my day never goes to plan, I do question why I even bother with plans 😏 So I woke to find a parcel waiting at the gate this morning, it was my valves for the back end Was having breaky and the phone rings, my compressor had turned up and was also waiting for me So I figure its time to fit the compressor and all the other stuff that hangs off it and surrounds it So I first have to fit couplings and remove couplings off the old one I dunno how compressors are fitted in other parts of the world but we have the added bonus of steering shafts amd treadle valves and clutches and other stuff that makes oh so much roomier So after a few attempts at trying lift and fit bolts and dropping the compressor and going crook at the world I decide I need a plan 'B' So I make a hook, strap or lifting hook or what ever we call it And bolt it to the top of the compressor Chuck a ratchet strap up and over the supports for the radiator and hoist the compressor up and amazingly it slides straight in After that cluster of a job it took the rest of the day to fit all the rest of the stuff around the compressor So the powet steering is all hooked up along with the water or coolant So the job is nearing end, I'm bit frustrated, annoyed at myself as everything is locked down with Covid crap and I have had to make gaskets, normally this isnt a drama for me and would just make them but I'm all out of gasket material and can't just toddle off down the street but we aren't allowed to do that at the moment So for the first time in years I have gone back to a cardboard box Im frustrated as I didn't get better organized Not to worry, hopefully in a few days it will be sorted and I can get the proper gaskets Paul

I have read about a rim thatIm guessing was this style, seem to have recalled it had some photos with the story Had a special jacking doodah that pulled the inner in, maybe it's that style of rim Sure is different than anything I have ever seen Paul

I'm a bit late to the conversation, so dayton or spiders as we call them are quick and simple to change and are stronger, at least that is what is found in Australia I wouldn't let it faze me at all, to me it would be a bonus especially if I was starting out as I dont need any special tools to change a flat tyre Reading back thru the posts here it appears your pretty fixated on how many miles something has done While I understand your reasoning I think it's a bit flawed If you find a truck 25 years old with only a few hundred thousand miles on it to me it would have been around the clock, so it most likely has 1.3 million miles This isnt and shouldn't be a deal breaker, almost every truck of this age will have a huge amount of miles on it and had a lot of work done to it, that's just normal for a working truck In fact I think if it hadn't had a lot of work done to it that it would be of more concern I always look for something that isn't modified in a big way as this makes it so much easier to get parts, especially these days when you stroll on up to the parts counter and they ask you for the vin number first The modifications I think of are drive line etc as in different motors, transmission and assend Good luck and keep the dream alive Paul

Well Swishman I had a go at spanner building and I reckon the results were fine and worked ok Started of with some old hoop iron or flat bar or what ever you want call it Cut some grooves in it, not all the way thru and then shaped, bent and welded it into a hexagon to match the nuts Then welded a short piece of 2 1/2 inch pipe to that Then welded some plate to the end and drilled 3/4 holes thru each side and the end The end one I filed out square to take a 3/4 drive ratchet I also welded a piece of re bar around the nut end to give it some extra strength and ground the end smooth It took a fare while to die grond and file and generally stuff around to get this to be a neat fit on the nut It was after lunch when done So cleaned up the hubs, bearings and brake drums Fitted new seals and refitted the front wheels So I'm still waiting on the compressor to turn up and a couple of air valves for the ass end While I'm waiting I'll lift the lid on the range change bit of the box and check everthing is ok there This involves pulling the seats out and lifting the floor mats I have a hole in the rear of the floor from a previous operation that facilitates this job Lot's of big and important sounding words there that almost make me sound smart 😁 Paul

Sorry Im of no help, it's a long way to modern for me Paul

I'll have a go today at spanner building Swishman