jzack
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Posts posted by jzack
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Personally, I like the National seats. More comfortable and better riding than Bostrom or the Seats Inc from Mack. Plus, they seem to be designed for less (ahem) portly drivers like myself. I got mine for a decent price from Northern Tool but it looks like they no longer carry National. Looks like FleetPride does though.
This one is my favorite (link below), but FleetPride has another National with dual armrests (second below) for only $800 that should also fit in the Mack cab.
https://www.fleetpride.com/parts/national-seating-seat-51100665cb
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On 3/28/2025 at 5:28 PM, Mark T said:
What a nice CH.
Thank you! I've been running this same truck for 30 years now in March. It's never been out of service for more than a few weeks at a time. Our company also has some brand new Kenworths and Petes but this old CH just plain drives better and is more comfortable.
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Well, I've run this new .5 stage turbo from Rochester Diesel for a couple weeks now and I'm really impressed with the performance. It's not laggy at all, in fact it spools a little quicker than my 350 turbo. Boost is now a solid 35-38 PSI and that's with my stock 350 injectors and the Blixxton at 30%. The best part is my EGTs are now 150-200F cooler than before. I haven't seen it go over 800F even on a hard pull. I may put it on the dyno sometime as I'm curious to see what it's putting to the ground now.
It wasn't a "direct" bolt on however as the oil feed line had a different fitting so I had to replace the entire line with SS braided and new fitting like what's on the E-Techs. Cheap insurance though. Comparing the compressor outlet between the two in the pics you can really see the difference in flow. A lot more volume of air is being moved and you can really hear it in the cab now at full boost.
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Not a bad interior for a day cab. Cloth with carpet and wood dash. Lots of foam sound deadening in the headliner and other places too. I think Mack called it the "Preferred". One step below the "Elite". Much better than today's trucks with the snapped together playskool plastic panels that buzz and rattle all day.
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Sure, here are some pics. Just a one stack Mack with a window in the back but it has got the job done for over thirty years now. I could drive a 2024 Kenworth T880 but honestly this truck drives and handles better and has a nicer interior. Just a solid little truck.
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15 hours ago, Bulldawg1981 said:Thank you jzack! I was hoping for something like this.. i appreciate you posting this link.
You're welcome! As an aside, I've been running a Blixxton on my 94 E7350 since 2007 with great results. Having a pyrometer really helps to monitor engine temps in July and August when pulling long hills. Rarely did I have to back off the accelerator but sometimes (very rare) exhaust temps would reach 1,100F. I leave it on 30% most of the time and the advertised power increase seems accurate as I could run side by side with our 99 E7460. While the boost isn't as high as the 460 (30psi vs 35psi) the 350 has higher compression pistons so you don't need as much boost to make similar power. The downside is heat and cylinder pressures. The smaller turbo on the 350 doesn't help in the heat department either. But it does build boost much faster than the 460. Always tradeoffs!
Since I'm on my original turbo at 1.4 million miles I decided to be pro-active and order a new one from Rochester Diesel. I told them my situation with the Blixxton on a E7350 and they said they had the perfect turbo for me. It's a hybrid they build themselves using the exhaust side of a 427 and the impeller/boost side of a 460. It will bolt right on they say. I'm hoping it will lower exhaust temps and give me a little more top end boost. We'll see. I'm sure the boost will build a little slower but hopefully I can live with it. Like I said, always tradeoffs. I'll post back with results in a few weeks.
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On 3/8/2025 at 10:55 PM, Bulldawg1981 said:
Called Rochester the other day and they informed me that the company that went out of business two years ago. What other options are there comparable to Blixxton?
Here is a link to another tuner that looks very similar to the Blixxton.
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Here is a link to another tuner very similar to the Blixxton.
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Yes, but I see they are no longer available. Here is a link to another tuner very similar to the Blixxton.
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Modern 2-stroke snowmobiles will run backwards by pushing a button on the handlebars for a reverse "gear".
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Put a Blixxton on it. That's what I did with my 94 E7350 years ago and it really wakes up the engine. Great low end throttle response just like a mechanical with the puff limiter bypassed.
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Here is a follow up for those who came here on a search for a fix for cracking fuel lines. After going through multiple sets of lines from Mack, all developing cracks in multiple areas, I have since moved on to fuel lines from PAI for the E7. Thier lines actually look like my originals, a full .25" diameter, double nut with vibration damper at the head. So far so good, I'll keep this updated.
Now, with that experience, and an in-frame scheduled for the first week of November, I'm seriously thinking of getting the PAI re-build kit instead of the Muzzle Loader from Mack and probably save some serious money. I've always been a "Mack only" parts guy, but so far, I am very impressed with the PAI fuel lines.
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Thanks for all the tips on the input seal, I'll make sure to look for a groove in the shaft.
I might try a novel way to pry out the seal I saw on a video the other day. The guy carefully drilled a small pilot hole in the top of the seal. He then screwed in a tall screw enough to grab the seal. Then grabbed the top of the screw with a pliers and used the top of the input shaft for leverage to pop it right out. No mess, easy peasy. If that fails, I can try the messy way!
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Well, I'm back at work! All that was done was the re-built pump and replaced all the frost plugs on top the head. Mack said everything else looked good. Fingers crossed I guess. The truck seems to sound and run exactly as it did before except a little stronger. The only issue I have had so far is a leaking input seal on top the steering box. Hopefully it just needs a new seal. Maybe the over-run caused higher pressure in the system blowing past the seal?
I'm also hoping my issues with cracking injector lines could be solved. There is much less vibration on the lines now with the new pump. I've had to replace lines 4-6 several times the last six months.
Oh, and after driving the 2023 KW T880 for a week, I wouldn't trade my 94 Mack even up. Seriously, trucks have not come as far as you would think in the past 28 years. The ride in that KW was horrible.
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Ok, I'll ask about dropping the pan to inspect the cam. The mechanic working on it has been working on Macks for 29 years and really knows his stuff so I trust his opinion.
Even though this engine has 1.3M miles it wasn't showing any signs of being on its last legs. I've maintained it since new with regular filter/fluid changes, did the overhead every 300k or so. In fact, the overhead was just done in Dec. along with new injectors.
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Thanks fjh. I'll make sure and ask the mechanic about the lifters. I'm curious now.
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Well, Mack says it was the fuel pump, no big surprise. Sending it out to get rebuilt now. The oil looked good, no metal. Valvetrain also looked good, other than a couple of frost plugs leaking. The mechanic said he will put the rebuilt pump on and see how it runs. He did start it briefly already and said there wasn't any bad noises. Thinking about putting it on their dyno to see if it can put power down without any issues after the new pump install and go from there.
Picked up the T880 today. Kind of surreal going from a 28-year-old truck to a 28-day old truck LOL!! I can already tell my Mack has a better ride. The KW ought to really go though with a 510HP/1,850TQ and 12 speed auto. Amazing they can get that from a 12.9L.
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Joey Mack, thank you, I appreciate the sentiment. I was literally across the street from our local Mack dealer when this happened, so I thought it was fate to have it towed there. They do have a few old timers left there that really know their stuff and I'm friendly with the service manager there. I wouldn't hesitate to have them do a full re-build but the $$$ would be crazy.
Hopefully a pump is all it needs to get it running, then I can bring it to our shop for a full re-build some time in the near future.
I'll keep you all posted.
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fjh, thanks, maybe I should consider myself lucky here. The tow truck driver said that many times a runaway engine ends with the truck burning to the ground!!
Also, as luck would have it the boss (my sister) is leasing me a brand new 2023 Kenworth to break in while my truck is in the shop. Should be interesting, I haven't driven a new truck since I started driving my Mack in 1995. At that time, it was the best truck I had ever driven. Probably why I kept it so long.
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fjh and LtK, very good info, I'll definitely take into account.
Thank you!
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Joey Mack, thanks, I'll make sure to check the top end and pay attention to the oil.
As far as the turbo, I didn't see oily residue in the stack. The accelerator issue (cutting out) and electronic malfunction light don't seem to point to the turbo. The idle had a slight lope to it right before this happened too.....
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67RModel, thank you, yes I'm local so I could go in baby steps like you said and see how it responds.
Thinking about at least pulling the valve covers and inspecting, send the oil out for analysis too maybe....I would think the shop would have a check list before starting a runaway engine either way.
My mechanic mentioned rebuilding or replacing the Econovance too, but they are NLA and the pump shop said they don't work on them either.
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Well this was an awful experience. Been driving this truck for 28 years with no major issues. Over 1.3 million miles, 45,000 hours all original engine, even down to the turbo.
I left with my second run for the day and the accelerator started acting funny. When I would let up to grab the next gear the RPMs would immediately drop too fast for me to grab the next gear, then they would come back. Like the accelerator lost signal momentarily. Did this twice, then the electronic malfunction light came on and the engine de-rated. Great I thought. So I started moving to the shoulder, pushed in the clutch to grab a lower gear and, BAM the engine immediately went WOT!!! Of course I panicked for a second, turned the key off, no response from the engine. I got it pulled over, remembered reading about runaway engines and what to do, so I grabbed my jacket and stuffed it in the air cleaner intake. That slowed it down to what sounded like a safe RPM but she kept going! White smoke pouring out the exhaust. Now what? Next, I grabbed a wrench and started to crack loose the fuel line to the filter tree. Two or three turns and it finally shut down. Whew!!
Not sure how long it ran like that but probably a good 2-3 minutes at least. So disappointing, I'm sure anything in or attached to the engine will be suspect for failure now. An old mechanic at Mack suspects something gave way in the injection pump. We'll see I guess. They are a week out on service work. Three weeks to re-build the pump maybe. The worst part is, short of a full overhaul, not sure I can trust this engine again. Am I right? Before this, she was still running strong with no issues or symptoms whatsoever.
On a side note, my Old Man, who I love but enjoys Monday morning quarterbacking, said I should have jammed it in gear and side stepped the clutch? Not sure the drivetrain would have enjoyed that experience though.....
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7 minutes ago, Joey Mack said:
a couple of the ones I service had the same issue.. I got pissed and took the little clamp plates out, and the issue stopped. I think the newer lines arent as good as the original lines.
Interesting, maybe I'll try that when I finally get to the end of my rope on this.
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Blixxton box
in Engine and Transmission
Posted · Edited by jzack
Thank you, I have a 3.86 ratio on Mack rears, and an Eaton 9 speed with a 0.73 final. It does pretty good on the freeway, maybe 1550 RPM at 65 mph. When it came time to do the injectors I had always planned to go bigger but at the time (stock turbo with Blixxton) I was pushing 1000-1050F on the pyro in July and August so I chickened out and kept them stock. I have no doubt I could safely run a stage 2 injector now with the new turbo. I should also mention that I run a high-flow muffler from Grand Rock that also helps keep the EGTs down a bit.