RowdyRebel Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 So this past week, with the dip in the temperatures, my truck has let me know it ain't too happy. I'm HOPING there's nothing major wrong in the transmission (2180B)...sometimes in the low range it won't go into gear...the SHIFTER will, but it'll be like I split the gears and it came out of gear but I haven't yet matched the RPM's to catch the next gear....even if I didn't touch the split lever. If I'm rolling, it's easy enough to let the RPM's match up and it usually catches...but sometimes if I'm stopped, it doesn't want to find a gear. I can go to high range and start in low (essentially starting in 4th in the low range)...which is fine if I'm EMPTY...but under a load & on an incline, it's not too good. Sometimes if I sit there long enough trying different gears, I'll find one that will work...That's the problem I'm worried most about. The rest are just minor things. The block heater, for one...I seem to remember it working BETTER last winter. If I'm remembering right, the temp needle would already be starting to rise & hot air would be blowing out of the vents moments after it fired up...this year, not the case. The batteries are another potential problem needing attention. I had to jump it the other day...charger said batteries were only at 80% (which SHOULD have been good enough to start IF the block heater was doing IT'S job) However, today, the charger said they were at 100% when I went out a few hours before leaving to plug in the truck and make sure it'd go when I was ready to leave. Got up to the yard to get the trailer washed out and let the company grease their trailer and let the truck sit in the shop thawing out for a couple hours. At least THAT got my air horns working again (we'll see if they STILL work tomorrow ). The hydraulic pump makes a god-awful noise when I move the switch to raise the bed...cold hydraulic oil...so instead of giving it a little throttle to speed the dumping process along, I just let it idle up. Doesn't seem to do any good giving it throttle anyway, as it isn't making the bed go up any faster. That and the air leak...FINALLY found it. It's in that panel on the firewall, engine compartment side...where all of the air lines are coming through. One of the connections is leaking, but I couldn't (i.e. didn't feel like freezing my fingers off trying) get it to stop leaking air.Anyway, truck is plugged into the block heater. I also put the batteries on the trickle charger (it is one of those automatic ones that "float" to maintain full charge) so HOPEFULLY I won't have to jump it again tomorrow. After it sat inside for a few hours at the company shop, I pulled it outside & raised the bed all of the way up to let it finish drying...and shut the truck off. It ALMOST didn't want to start. I'm thinking the starter may have issues, too...as the batteries SHOULD have been fine from the drive up to the yard.If it were summer (and not raining ), I could do MOST of the work myself. Hell, in a couple years when I have my shop built, I'll be able to do more of my own work. But, being single digit temperatures outside and my extreme dislike of the cold, I'll probably call down to the Mack dealer on Monday and see if they can get me in...want to at LEAST get their opinion on the transmission issue and test/replace the starter/batteries...and if there's time, get that air leak fixed too. If they can't get me in, I'll just make do with it for another month or two until I take a 4-day weekend to go to the cycle show in Chicago...planning to have the overhead run and see if they can't rebuild the jakes. Hopefully they can get me in...otherwise, I ain't shutting the truck off anywhere BUT my house until it quits acting up. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HK Trucking Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Sounds like your transmission has the infamous range shift problem which was prevalent on the T2090, T2130 and T2180. Mack has updated parts that are supposed to be stronger than the originals. I had a T2130 do that sh*t too.Also had another T2130 that had bad O rings in the range shift cylinder that would leak air through from one side of the piston to the other when cold, resulting in no range shift until it warmed up. If that is the case, you can pull that range shift cylinder apart without disturbing the rest of the transmission, just remove the 4 long bolts that hold the cap on the end of the cylinder (located on the rear of the trans just above the output shaft), and pull the cylinder off exposing the piston. Check the piston and the inside of the cylinder for excessive wear and replace them if necessary, otherwise just replace the O rings and reassemble it.. Quote "If You Can't Shift It Smoothly, You Shouldn't Be Driving It" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambi80 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Are you talking about the range shift or the splitter shift(gray button)...?I have the Mack 18sp also...the one with the god awful slow reverse, not sure on the number of it. The splitter quit working on me (stuck in 'high', hissed air on the low side)...ended up being 3 o-rings bad in the air cylinder that moves the fork back and forth. It was a pretty big pain in the ass to fix, but I did it myself. It also makes a hell of a growl the first time I shift ranges in the a.m. After that it works fine. The hydraulic pump growl you hear is the cold cold oil...it's so thick that the pump can't draw enough in vs. what it puts out...when you run up the rpm's you should notice the trailer actually going up slower. Usually I'll put a half gallon or so of diesel fuel in the oil tank to thin it out.I had a starter issue too a couple months ago...ended up getting one of those Mitsubeeshee (can't spell Japanese) starters put on it. A while before that I put batteries in. It never ends does it...? Quote Ever wonder how a blind person knows when to stop wiping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Sounds like your transmission has the infamous range shift problem which was prevalent on the T2090, T2130 and T2180. Mack has updated parts that are supposed to be stronger than the originals. I had a T2130 do that sh*t too.Also had another T2130 that had bad O rings in the range shift cylinder that would leak air through from one side of the piston to the other when cold, resulting in no range shift until it warmed up. If that is the case, you can pull that range shift cylinder apart without disturbing the rest of the transmission, just remove the 4 long bolts that hold the cap on the end of the cylinder (located on the rear of the trans just above the output shaft), and pull the cylinder off exposing the piston. Check the piston and the inside of the cylinder for excessive wear and replace them if necessary, otherwise just replace the O rings and reassemble it..I had that problem last summer...wouldn't stay in low range. Apparently, I had the old style multiple piece unit and the nut backed off and bent something. They replaced it with the newer, updated, one piece unit. While it is SIMILAR to what it was doing, it isn't the same. Whereas before it felt as though it was jumping out of range, this just seems like the splitter is the source of the problem. Like I said, if I'm rolling, I can adjust the throttle and it'll catch....wouldn't do that last time. It only happens in the low range, though...Last time, we decided to change the o-rings (cheapest way to open up the transmission to get a look to see what the problem may have been) and that's when they discovered the other problem....not sure if they actually CHANGED the o-rings, though Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Mitsubeeshee (can't spell Japanese)It never ends does it...?Grampa used to call 'em "Mitsupieceof$#!t" ...and no, it don't. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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