ciw65

Different...... but damn clever. As the saying goes, " there's operators and there's OPERATORS"

Hi Tom, the answer to your question is YES! In fact I have an Allison HT series transmission from an old Oshkosh airport crash truck. I've kinda slated that for my daughters' B-61 in the future though. She demands an automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, locks, cruise, etc...(keep this quiet). It is a divorced type transmission. I'm pretty sure it would handle the torque as it was powered by my D343 from the Oshkosh.

I'm going to try my RTO-12513 and see if it does alright. I don't plan to be hard on it and certainly won't work it as it was designed so hopefully it won't destroy itself.

Rob

Rob, those 125 series eaton boxes were pretty strong. I had an RTO 12515 in my White behind 400 cummins that put out around 1150 ft/lbs stock, but as mine was "tickled" up a little would have been closer to 420 and 1250 ft/lbs, which is max rating for that series box. I used to pull 35 tonne containers around with it and never had a wimper out of the box. The ol' detroit 2 strokes weren't big on torque so quite a lot of the 8V92TTA's at 475 only put out about 950 ft/lbs. We had a saying at one place I worked, "constant noise, variable power". If you're not gonna pull heavy loads and make the engine make full power, the 12513 should survive just fine. There used to be an old W model running from Melbourne to Sydney about 10 years ago that was imported from the States back in the late 70's. It was looonng wheelbase by our standards, 42 inch bunk, 4 tanks, and a 12V71T up the front. Sweet sound it made too. Very unique. I think it was only putting out around 600 hp tho.

P.S. When you get here to Australia, I am pretty sure I can get you a trip in a road train, just be aware that alcohol is the alternative currency. Lol.

I can only hope Mack honor their warranties better than Volvo. Our FH16 had a new engine in March as per Volvo recall (see my previous post), and since then has been back to Volvo 3 times for different things. Last week the starter jammed on, so they came out and replaced it, and sent a bill. They also mentioned the water pump was leaking. When questioned about warranty they said no, truck is over a year old. When reminded that the engine was new in March, as in an out of the crate brand new engine, same reply, no warranty! The boss then questioned them about a second hand truck he had just signed for with a new 520 (yep brand new crate engine), and got told the same thing, no warranty as truck is second hand. He then took great delight in telling them to rip up the sales contract and stick their truck where the sun don't shine!!!

Hi Monty

('tis the better half here ) Yes, really enjoyed the weekend, I didn't expect so many tractors but they were great to see. My favourite was that old Lanz Bulldog belching flames in the tractor pull. And the ford V8 was an eye opener! Hubby got all inspired and went out yesty and dragged an old fergie TE20 home. I'm gonna have to find a better hiding spot for the cheque book.

The trucks, cars and bikes put on a good display.It was good to see people put the effort in to bring their cars and bikes along.

As for constructive critisism, well, a more active input from the trucks would be good, e.g, truck pull, b-model drag race, (ok only kidding on that one) driver skills test, reversing, parking, driving through witches hats etc, and I was a bit disappointed in the final parade as many of the trucks had already buggered off. Also day two was a rerun of day one. Still this was only the second or third year? so a great turnout

I did hear a rumour that public liability insurance becomes a nightmare once the trucks become mobile though. So that takes a bit of fun out of things

Yeah, bloody insurance is ridiculous, and the restrictions on activities in relation to public proximity is so restrictive, it's hardly worth it. We have a steam and traction rally near here (Booleroo Centre) every couple of years, and any time there is a display of working machinery, the barricades are so far from the display, you nearly need binoculars. Except for the ploughing display between 2 massive steam tractors. Could see those monsters from the space shuttle.

Hi Chris. Fortunately my wife does not read this board and has very little interest in my trucks, hobbies, or for the most part, my personality! She thinks I"m "gross", (imagine that)!

This trip is to be an aniversary gift and I want to include my mother in law as she has been such a positive influence in our lives, and while getting along in age, is still very adventuresome.

I will be enlisting several persons to guide me along on the trip as to where to stay, eat, visit, and such. Want to make the trip interesting for all but I don't relax doing nothing very well. I think participating with a "road train" for my own relaxation would be great.

On another note, how difficult would it be to get either a permit, or license to drive an automobile in OZ, and NZ? Would it be money ahead to purchase a car while there as opposed to renting? It seems if I were to purchase, and have someone there broker the sale once departed, it might be less costly. I do plan to cover quite a bit of distance on the trip. What do you think?

Thanks,

Rob

Rob, I know when my parents go overseas, they have an "international" drivers licence which they organize here before they leave. Not having driven overseas I don't know the details, but I guess your local motoring organization could help. As for a car, I guess as has been said buying one would be best to see you round for 6 weeks or so, probably the cheapest option. I can't guarantee a drive of a road train, but a ride is pretty much ok, although I should have mentioned a round trip is about 11 hours!!! Maybe if you ask nice, you might get a steer up the road a bit, away from the authorities so to speak. And don't worry about driving here, pedals are in the same position, just opposite side of the car, along with the steering wheel.

Hi Andy, sorry for the delay as I didn't see your post. We're planning an extended outing that will be approximately six weeks in length. We would like to visit a good portion of the country, (and persons) bypassing most of the important "stops" for tourists. I don't really care to be bogged down if traffic and such, but would rather see something as it really is, intermingling with the populace. My brother was into port at Perth a couple of times when in our military. My grandpa was in Oz also during the war.

I would find riding a road train "entertaining", but don't think my wife would care to ride along. My mother-in-law, she would be right there with me.

I'm "keenly" interested in learning to drive a Rt. steer B model Mack, and if the opportunity presents itself, I'm gonna jump on it, (hint, hint)!!

Rob

Hey Rob, if you get to Port Pirie in South Australia, I might be able to get you a trip in that Superliner that's in my avatar, or one of it's brothers. They do double road train acid tankers. Give us a yell if you get this way.

Well no surprises here, diesel is now AU$1.86 per litre. Which converted is around US$7.32 a US gallon. Wanna start a pool to see who hits 10 bucks a gallon first!!!

I don't care what anyone says, that is one DAMN GOOD operator. Used to work with an older fella once who was a gun excavator operator. His favourite trick on construction sites was to freak out the new blokes down the pipe trenches tamping in pipes by tapping them on the shoulder with the trenching bucket. Was a scream to see the reactions.

Welcome Knobby, and your good wife. Think the last B model I saw working was a few years ago now in western Qld somewhere. Still pulling double turd herders around a station. No where as good looking as that one though, time and neglect had got the better of her. Can understand about parking up the Superdog, fuel is ridiculous. Kinda glad I sold my old girl before I went broke when fuel was 97c a litre. Tough decision all the same. I take my hat off to any owner driver who can keep going in this climate.

Oh, yeah, if Rob gets too much, send him my way, I got loads of work in the pit in the workshop to keep him occupied.

Welcome rowdy, and yep, it's got a 'dog on the hood, so you're good in here.

hello all.....first i dont own any mack truck BUT i am the owner of a brand new garrett turbocharger model TV61, it is supposed to sit on an mack endt 673 engine, i bought this turbo with the intention to build a turbojet engine and that is my big project in life but i got a bit interested in what kind of truck this turbo would have been used......any info appreciated...best regards/stephan

Hi Stephan and welcome. A couple of guys in Australia got bored one weekend and did the same thing, but at home with a Cummins big cam turbo, some scrap steel, welder and an LPG gas bottle for fuel supply. Somehow they avoided blowing themselves and everything within 500 yards into orbit. This thing screamed. There was a website around for it, think it was called fulbosjet.net or something like that. Good luck with your hobby, as an ex jet fighter engine tech, I love playing with this sort of thing. Have drawn a few rough plans for a small axial flow zero by-pass engine, but as you say, the turbine gets expensive for materials.

I've never seen or been around one Trent. Is this something that is readily available? Do they run at a certain geared percentage of engine rpm if the trans doesn't need to be in gear?

Rob

Do you guys over there have powauto gear?? They are probably one of the most common names in pto's here. Not too bad on price and huge range. Most of the gear here runs countershaft driven pto's. Except cement agitators which now mostly run off the balancer as they don't stop turning when the clutch is disengaged. Better for round town stuff. The gearing is dependent on your input gear to countershaft gear ratio as well as the countershaft pto drive gear to the pto gear.

What sort of diff we talking here. And you said the back of the front diff??? If it's the flange on the back of a conventional front diff, you can pull it out a little and clean it up with spray solvent or degreaser and re-seal it with silicone. Just DON'T pull the shaft out too far, or you WILL drop the diff lock collar into the diff. We are talking 3/4 to an inch MAX movement here.

My 65 B61ST has a kingpin that refuses to take grease even after using an air pressure grease gun. I've resisted trying to heat it since the front axle is off a 91 Mack and may have plastic. The truck sat for quite a while before i got it and steering was awful until i got some grease into it. Turns left normally now, but right turns are a real chore. Thought on how to rectify this issue?

As previously stated jack it up, get the weight off, then pull the grease nipple out and I use an o ring pick to dig any old hardened grease out, then put in a new grease nipple. Get someone to turn the steering while it's still jacked up and try greasing it then. Get them to hold it hard on each lock too, as this puts sideways pressure on the steering knuckles and may move them enough to get fresh grease in. Only ever had one king pin I could never get grease into, and had to strip it down. Was stuffed totally and rusted, so nuthin' was getting in there. I used to have a grease gun (til someone needed it more than me), that was dual action. High volume or high pressure, you just pushed the pivot pin for the trigger on the handle across one side or the other. Great for dry spring pins and shackles.

You're getting more like me everyday.......

I agree with your diagnosis. Most times I've seen oil in the coolant, it has been related to an external cooler failure. The higher pressure of the oiling system overcomes the lesser coolant pressure and attempted equalization takes place with the transfer of fluids.

Most everytime I have seen coolant in the oil, it has been related to the cylinder head(s). This is of course due to cracking, or blown head gaskets. Never seen an air compressor cause this symptom myself, but I'm certain someone with more experience has several times.

Rob

Yep, our E-tech did it. When I did the in chassis rebuild down the pit doing the bearings I felt dripping down my neck, figured it was oil so ignored it. Then got a drip on my glasses and could see through it so gulped and went Oh dear, this doesn't look good. You know that feeling, sump off, heads off, liners out, cooling system drained and you still got water dripping. So investigated and found water dripping from under the cam.

Now this just isn't right! Near climbed inside the crankcase at this point and found it coming from a "hole" in the block. The compressor mounting hole that is. Got fingers in there and found water in the compressor drive adapter housing. Pulled compressor head off and found water tracks to both cylinders from water jackets in the head. Was a first for me, but lesson learnt, Never say never!

Don't think my truck has thermostat? Uses only the shutters to get heat, like Tom mentioned. If the shutter stick open(first time out), it won't get warm at all(maybe 140), but once you smack them closed they will then open/close and keep the temp around 170 running down the road(with load).

Ok, I'll stick my hand up in the ignorance field here. I guess they use the radiator shutters to control the engine temp. See you can learn something at my age. I still don't like the idea of compressor coolant lines being blocked off. Only one word comes to mind - EXPENSIVE-

In the states Mack has 4 different 460's a 460p made 487peak hp if you had a all mack and was lucky enough to get the xt program ie 460xt peak hp was closer 490

why does mack set aus. up more from the factory emissions would be my guess, they cranked the e9 up to 600 down there topped out at 500 in the states the new MP8 is set at 500 in austalia but only 485 in the states

They advertised the output here at 610, but I can tell you one reason they never put them that high in the states, economy, or lack of. AFD in Alice Springs were running them in the first of their Titans, pulling Quad road trains ( 4 trailers), of fuel tankers and were getting an average of 0.8 km per litre. That's 1.88 mpg roughly. They converted their fleet to Signatures at 600 hp and doubled the economy. When the E-tech 470 came out here in late '98 we were only on euro 2 emission spec as well. I agree that it must have something to do with emissions though. Not sure what the official peak output of the 470 is, whether it's 470 peak or a touch more. Like getting secrets outta the CIA here getting info out of Mack.

Well, I don't have anything long enough to put on my 3/4" breakerbar so I borrowed a 600# torque wrench. I pulled and pulled and pulled...........til I was blue in the face. It was tough holding that monster UP as I pulled it. I got to 450# and gave up. Don't think it will ever fall apart. I just got home from few hundred mile round trip with no issues, so I think I'm good to go.

One thing I notice is it's a bit more bouncy(not rough, just bouncy) now then with the old springs. It sat for 4 days with the trailer on it, so it should have them set down a bit now. It road a bit better coming home tonight then Thursday going out.

What? No lengths of pipe lying around??? LOL. You got the idea though. Just forgot to mention though, after about 500 miles with a load on, is a good idea to get that big sucker out again and heave away. Makes sure the U bolts are tight after the springs settle. We check all our U bolts on spring suspension once a year. Is surprising how much turn you can get on some of them, especially the low loaders doing dirt work.

Gday all. Im wondering if anyone has any ideas or had experience with making or refurbishing name plates and tags. Ive got a few on my Flinstone that Id like to fix up. One is the engine operating range plate on the dash for a V8 -1700-2300RPM. Also the TRQ7220 shift plate. On the engine there is a plate on each front valve cover with Thermodyne Diesel and patent numbers. Id like to get them done in black an white again, and the same goes for the pump timing and valve clearance specs plate on the top of the auxilliary drive. And does anyone know what the piece is that fits into the block just above the flywheel housing on the END864, My guess is a breather, but it has breather pipes on the valve covers. Anyway this little piece also has a decal on it, but it has been rubbed off. Does anyone know what it said? Any advice on any of this stuff would be great. Thanks everyone, Best regards, Skip

We had a machine when I was in the RAAF called a pentagraph. Basically it was an oversized version of a sketch-a-graph like were around in the 70's. Every second kid had one. Except it has a motorized tool tip in it for cutting brass, steel, plastic etc. If you can find one and give them the original decal plate, they can make an exact copy out of the original material. The black with white writing type plastic plates are actually 3 layer laminated plastic, white sandwiched in between 2 layers of black. The guys made a brass plaque for my Daughters grave in Darwin with one. Very professional job. Try hunting around the yellow pages for signwriters or something similar. Guarantee if they know what they're doing you won't pick the difference between a copy and original.

This is a 3" x 1" plate on a presentation plaque I got when I left the RAAF. It's actually black plastic laminated with a brass finish plastic. Anything can be pentagraphed though. Sorry about the clarity of the pic though, only had my phone to use.

Well, I built it...

1994 Mack CH with a 12,000 front and mack taper leaf suspension in rear. we were going to put the air behind the taper leaf, but the power divide lock ended up not giving any suspension travel under the trunion tree, so we had to move the tandem back and redrill all the holes. we then proceded to mount a mack air suspension ahead of the taper leaf with its own leveling valve. the truck had a push axle on it when we got it, so I used the existing air controls for the air axle, I hooked the leveling valve to the down line (regulated) of the push axle, (so we could limit how much pressure the axle would have when loaded, i figured the taper leaf suspension would settle under a heavy load, and i didn't want the air axle leveling valve over compensating and taking too much weight off of the tandems) I hooked the push axle's lift line to the dump line of the leveling valve and also to the front power divide (via a check valve) only, this way if they want (for lord knows what?) they can steer on the back tandem but not have the front drive spin. We also have the option of lock all 3 axles with the front 2 having power divides.. the truck has an apron chain silage unloading box built in Ringle, WI, 24 feet long. We run a dry valve hydraulic pump off the front crankshaft. The truck is not fully completed, but is operational.... I will be posting pictures as soon as we are completed with it.. (I'm taking a much needed vacation this week in Vegas,) and they wanted to use it on "2nd" crop hay... If this works good we will be building a second one like it this fall.. :banana: :SMOKIE-LFT:

Well done fella. I have been following this topic with interest. Am keen to see the pics.

Its obviously not bringing up a code? Our Qantum was goin like a dog and the local mack blokes put an intercooler in it, but every now and then it would flash up with an injector code. So obviously the intercooler didnt work. We later found the gear drive in the fuel pump was floating around and not giving it enough fuel. Something to check. Also maybe check the speed sensor on the back of the box.

Nail on the head Skip. This snotter came standard with an intercooler. I gave up in frustration today as only thing coming up was an intermittent inactive oil pressure sender electrical fault which I know about. I couldn't find diddly on the internet, so I rang Mack head office in Brisbane with a little story about truck being stuck in outback NSW on its way to Brisbane. They put me through to the workshop at dealership down the road and in 5 minutes on the phone to this bloke I got more info than in 5 months from Mack in Adelaide. Pulled the fuel pump and hey presto, the drive gear is spinning merrily on its own, completely disengaged from the brass centre. Think only by the grace of God this thing was running at all. New pump be here tonight. Talk about going backwards in technology. I remembr as an apprentice doing the fibre timing gears in Holden red motors! Thanks for your input though, appreciate your time. Be glad when this bucket is burnt to the ground.

OK, things went well yesterday. I dropped parts off 8am, picked up 4pm!

Total: $571 for 3 new leafs each side and new bolts.

As of 9pm last night it's all back in one piece besides torquing ubolts. Still looking for torque specs(anyone?).

Freightrain, never torqued a spring pack u-bolt in my life. Just one tension for them, F/T. F*&%ing tight! I also use a smear of never seize on them too. Last spring pack i did was on a tri-axle trailer, and final tension was done with a 3/4" drive socket and a 4 foot bar.

Since you already have a 427HP, to go to 454HP if you have a VMAC2 fuel pump engine (which I think you do) or 460HP if you have a ETECH engine. Just the download is all you should need, the 427 and the 454/460 use the same injectors and turbo in most cases. I dont know what the download will cost, I have seen some that were free from Mack but you never know. Best thing to do is go to your local Mack dealer and fill out a Horsepower Change Request Form and the dealer will fax it to Mack and in a day or so Mack will fax the dealer back with the parts that need to be replaced (if any) and the cost of the download (if any). If you tell the dealer" upgrade me" the dealer signs the request form and refaxes back to mack where they turn on the download(in a day or 2) The dealer should do this paper work for free or at least we do this for free for the customer because if customer wants the HP we can at least get an hour labor for the download plus parts/labor that need changing. Most of the time Mack will want you to upgrade/replace the clutch to a larger tourque rating unit. We have never done this and have never had any problems. On ETECH engines 350 or 400 HP upgrading to 427 or 460 HP Mack will want you to change the cam keyway to an offset keyway to retard the timing,(unless you have an ETECH CCRS or ASET engine) you must do this or it will run hot in the summer, trust me ,we tried it. Hope this helps. P.S. ETECH 427's already have the offset camkey. Around 2001 the CCRS engine and in 2004 the ASET engine came out, these were easy to upgrade due to the engines all being the same regardless of HP (except for turbo and injectors and download) these engines all had straight cam keys and big balancers so the turbo and injectors and download were the only difference between a 250HP and a 460HP engine. On the MP motors all parts/engines are the same regardless of HP only the download is different.

Just outta curiosity here, how come in Australia the E-tech came as a 470hp but in the states it was a 460??? Wonder if you could get a download to bump it to Aust. spec 470. Just a thought....

And yes, if your engine is running cold it will smoke! Sounds like the previous owner may have removed the thermostat too if he has done the rest of the work. Bad idea as your engine will never get up to operating temp with no thermostat, unless it's a day where it's 110 in the shade. No coolant running through the compressor can cause it to cook the head of the compressor and crack. Also with all the other plugs and blockages you run the risk of airlocks in the engine heads and block due to bad coolant circulation.