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I’m collecting the free digital copies of the service manuals on the Mack emedia center website. I noticed there is no Cab and Hood book at all (17-601). Used paper copies are available on eBay but the latest revision I can find is ‘96. Did they make a ~2003 update for that book? I have a 2001 CX and I am messing around upgrading the cab and working on the doors. This stuff isn’t that hard to figure out but it’s always nice to have the book and come up with a plan before you get too far into the work. I suppose I could use the older book. I bet a lot of that stuff stayed the same through year 2000. It just seems odd that I can’t find an updated book. I am going to order the sleeper book which is 17-603. There is another sleeper book for older able-body sleepers which is 17-602. Did they just decide they didn’t need to update the cab book? Thanks

Alright go pop some popcorn its movie time. https://1drv.ms/v/s!AsGeqBVYV5vqhdMH2cg9mk336L24-g?e=NQOihG The video doesn't show everything, and there's no sound, and it's pretty boring, but basically it's an issue with the pedestal. It doesn't seal against the filter no matter how tight the filter is. It does not start leaking until the engine is up to temp. When I apply the throttle you can see the oil oozing out and covering the filter. Then you can tell when I start coasting because the leaking slows down, the oil drips off, and you can see the red of the filter again. I can't believe I spent this much time and effort diagnosing this, but this whole past month I got burned by mechanics, and then burned by customers not paying on-time, and then burned by my own dumb ass throwing parts at stuff so I guess it's better to be sure before buying a new pedestal but yeah I need a new one. My aftermarket PAI dealer says a new pedestal is $800 plus tax. I didn't bother asking the mack dealer. End of story I guess.

You're right what the heck is up with that? I tried the mack filter before when you guys suggested it. It does seem to have a thicker gasket but it still leaked. I had overtightened it so I ended up destroying it when I took it off to do the JB weld. The local truck store here sells all Baldwin stuff so that's what I put back on, but going forward I'll probably just use the mack filters when I do my regularly scheduled maintenance. I didn't get to do the camera thing this week because I had to replace my radiator and a million other things. This "high priority" oil leak can become forgettable pretty quick once other shit starts going bad. You know how it is. I've got a few days before my next trip so I'll try it this weekend. I just hate doing test drives with the fuel prices right now.

Guess that wasn’t it. Still leaking. I stuck a snake cam back there and still can’t tell where it is coming from. This is getting annoying. I suspect my engine might be burning or making oil but I can’t tell because so much is leaking out. The area I JB-Welded is dry. It’s almost like it got worse. Maybe I’ll mount the camera so I can record it while I’m driving. I am at the point where I really just want it gone so I’d spend the money to replace the mount, but I’d hate to replace it and have the leak still be there because it was coming from somewhere else.

FOUND THE CRACK! Right in the armpit. That’s why I thought it was the gasket. Time for some JB Weld

I guess the air dryer isn’t that new. It was installed by the previous owner when I bought the truck because the original dryer seized. That was in November. About a month after it was installed I had a problem with it purging every 5 seconds and that turned out to be a bad check valve on the dryer. Maybe I’ll call the guy and tell him to get his money back. Hah Ill figure out what model I have when I get out there. Could this be another replaceable valve or is it better to just get rid of the whole dryer assembly? thanks

I have a strange air leak problem for you today. My air system is in pretty good condition overall, not perfect, but plenty safe enough. When I’m loaded on the highway and start up a moderate to heavy pull, I will sometimes hear a really loud air leak start up. I immediately check the gauge but the thing is sometimes it’s not losing air, it’s gaining air. This has happened a few times and I’ve realized that the sound and the rate of gain/loss is related to the amount of boost I have. It doesn’t keep going forever. It will fill the tank up to 120psi and then the dryer will purge and the problem will go away completely. if I let way off the throttle and reduce the boost it will start losing air. It has always happens at the worst possible times when I am hurrying so I haven’t tried to see what happens if I let it leak back down below 100psi. I don’t want to know. The compressor intake is connected to turbo air so is it possible I’ve got air leaking backwards through the manifold? And then something about the purge cycle causes a valve to get unstuck? why does it start in the first place? Maybe high boost after the compressor cut out is putting pressure on a weak valve and it gets pushed into some strange intermediate position. It has only happened about 6 times in the past month so it’s hard to pin down. It can start at any pressure between 100-120 psi. One time I was sitting at maybe 118 and it started, purged, and went back to normal in a few seconds. My air compressor is ancient, but my air dryer and governor are NEW. I appreciate any advice or suggestions, thank you.

I didn't always follow the directions exact but I've always put oil on the gasket and the two most recent times I've put a filter on according to the directions. I think the filter is vibrating loose. It is tightened up now and not leaking, but I marked it with a paint marker to see if it will turn after a couple long trips. If I can prove that it turned I'll post a picture, and I guess Ill try mack filters because I still don't know why this is happening. Thanks for your feedback. I'll post another update when I figure it out.

Sorry if I used the wrong terminology. When I said I checked and cleaned the gasket surface I was talking about the filter head base: the part the rubber seals against.

Hey, I am having an oil leak on the drivers side of my engine. It is getting all over the side of the engine and the 2nd/rear oil filter. It also sometimes leaves a little spot on the ground. At this point I am pretty sure it is seeping past the gasket of the oil filter itself. I have ruled out other areas by cleaning and checking multiple times (if you know a better method let me know hah). This has happened with two different oil filters from two different non-Mack brands. I checked and cleaned the gasket surface but it’s fine. Originally I was just tightening new filters as hard as I could with my bare hands like I do on cars, but then I tried tightening it a little more and it still leaks sometimes. If I tighten it any further I’ll probably have to cut it off because it’s so lubed up on the outside by the time I change them. This doesn’t happen all the time though. I think it is when I start cold and the oil is thick. I don’t have a block heater so every start has been cold. I also must admit that I don’t give it more than a few minutes to warm up. I start it up, pack my bags, check the lights/tires and go. When I drive it cold like that, the oil psi is around 60 at idle and 70-75psi at 1300rpm. Is that too much oil pressure for the filter gasket? Am I causing this problem by being impatient? Or is this an indicator of something wrong inside the filter housing? It only leaks from the filter that’s closest to the cab. The other two are perfectly clean. thank you for your suggestions, Jared

I have been thinking about the injectors. I was really hoping the guy I took it to would offer me some more advice but he fixed the code and decided it was all set. I read in the maint&lube manual that you're supposed to pull them all and clean/test them every 150K or so. It is probably due for that. Do you know where I can get nozzles for that price? The mechanic I hired charged me $269 for a single nozzle from the local dealer, and even my aftermarket parts guy is higher than $125. I'd reach for that remack nozzle six-pack but I already paid for that one new so now I only need five. When I get back to town I'm probably going to buy a better torque wrench and go into the head myself. Question for ya: The book says always replace the head cover gasket with a new one. Is that really necessary? its just the cover. The stud hasn't really leaked since I took it in. It was probably just the jake gasket leaking onto it from above. Thanks

I got the problem fixed and I just thought I'd wrap this up. The weather here has been unusually warm and I ran it with no issues for a while, but it got cold one day and I got the lightning bolt again so I went ahead and bought/installed the EUP. As far as I can tell that fixed the lightning bolt but it still sounded kinda funny and I finally got some shop time so I took it in. They did some diagnosing, and replaced the nozzle and fuel line on #3. They also replaced the jake brake gasket on the front head because they said it was leaking. I asked about the exhaust studs and he said yeah they could be leaking too, or it could be the other leak spilling over. Either way he suggested leaving the studs alone because they're pretty rusty and could break off in the block if he tried to pull them out. I'll just keep an eye on it for now. Oh and they added the calibration code too. The motor still sounds pretty clacky at idle, but now that tin-can injector knock is gone. It also starts much easier than before. I'm thinking it's good to go. Thank you for your advice I'm sure I'll see you around, Jared

Okay time for an update! Sorry it took so long but we had historic snowfall in Massachusetts so I had to shovel out the machine before I could work on it. First, the sludge running down the engine in my first picture appears to be seeping from the exhaust manifold gasket. Not the head as far as I can tell. And there's nothing but dirty air going through the manifold so it must just be oil working it's way through the stud? Second, I hit the books a little and found this in the Etech service manual: This is a sort of cut-out test you can do without software. I took a video of myself testing some of them and I almost dropped the camera because shorting #4 caused a small explosion. It was okay afterwards. As for the results of the test... well the sound 'changed' like they said it should but I was expecting most of the clacking to go away when I shorted one in particular. It didn't. It was warm today, never got the lightning bolt or had any blowby smoke. I compared the engine noise in that video to one I took on a cold 8 degree F night when I thought I heard it and.... they sound the same. I'll attach this video too its short. Maybe there's nothing wrong with the motor and I'm just blowing this out of proportion because of a blinking lightning bolt and maybe Mack E7 motors just sound a lot clackier than I am used to. I have never driven a mack E7 before I bought this truck, only the ones with the Volvo engine. I got it for cheap but all the little noises it makes worry me because it is the first truck I've ever owned and I want to get the most out of it. Check out both the videos. They don't sound quite the same as they do in person, but you'll get the gist. Do I have a misfire or am I just losing my mind? Video 1: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AsGeqBVYV5vqhdAeBI7_If4sbEpAVg?e=B28drv Video 2: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AsGeqBVYV5vqhdAdAbMXaNn6720Biw?e=dhLeGJ

Nope clean exhaust while idling. Can't really tell on the highway but I left a trailer looking a little sooty the other day.

Thanks for all the advice. And you all responded so fast too. I forgot that the EUP's needed to be calibrated. I know they'll probably work without calibration but I think it'll make it harder to chase down the issue if I swap them without doing it. Maybe I'll wait until I can get the software to do it. I might have found some software online for free (https://www.diesellaptops.com/products/v-maciii-software) but I'll have to put it on an old laptop to see if it's legit. Gotta get a data link tool too. Looking at this one because it's cheap: https://www.my-grandview.com/store/p1/Grandview_USB_Kit.html. In the mean time I'll clean up the oil and keep it running while watching the leaks. Hopefully it doesn't get worse for a while. Will a miss like this be damaging to the piston over time? I'll post another update here if/when I get plugged into the ECU. Then maybe I'll do the cutout test the right way. Thanks again. Great website. -Jared