My next project is going to be redoing the air brake hoses and converting to spring brakes. We only have service brakes on the rear. When we bought the truck last Nov/Dec, the air lines to the tiller trailer were just cut off. I had to disconnect and plug them so we could charge the air tanks and see if the brakes worked, which they did. Since then, we found leaks in the fuel tank so took it off and sent it out. Well, my thought was, with the tank off, why not clean up the j-brackets holding it and the frame rail. Well, in the process of getting the forward bracket off, I cracked the flex hose supplying the brake treadle valve. Now we have a air leak that I can hear, even with the engine running. Side story, when I was in Mack Trucks quality group doing audits on how the trucks were built, the young auditors would walk up to me and say, "Hey Tom, you have an air leak". They would walk over and eventually find it. Well, I would have to get my ears right next to it to hear it, where they heard it from yards away (note, our building was very quiet). So, if I can hear the leak with the engine running, it's a good leak.
I want to replace the compressor discharge hose (101 line to you hard core Mack mechanics), that flex pipe to the treadle and all the rubber brakes hoses to the wheel chambers. Also want to check the check-valves on the air tanks, and the compressor unloader (called the compressor governor now a days) and clean or rebuild if needed. I already started compiling parts. Need to measure hoses and order them. I'm thinking of using the Plastic brake lines to run the park/emer brake chamber lines (I have experience with them, I got while working at the Macungie plant). It's easier to work with and the copper prices are rather high right now.
One thing I was wondering, is that treadle supply flex line suppose to be flex or would it have been copper in 1957 ?? All the other line coming out of the treadle are copper.