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kicking tires on a new cxu 613


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Hey all. I am new to the forum, and new to Mack. I am an owner op of 10 years. I bought a 379 new back in 04, then in 09 I bought a loaded up t660. A friend of mine has had 2 Macks and I have grown to like them. I am currently in the works of specing a new CXU 613 at my local dealer with the new 505c I think it is? It's 1860 torque in all gears. Now here is my question. I can save a little money by putting in a Mack tranny vs the Eaton 18 spd. I see in the past there have been complaints of somewhat stiff gear selection, as well as some synchro issues. My Fullers have been maintenance free in both trucks for the last 1.2 million miles. Anyone have any input on these brand new Maxitorque's? Any opinions on the Mack diffs vs Meritor's is also welcome, as I am considering those as well.

Thanks.

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The trouble is mainly the driver forgets to pre select and overtime the sychros will burn up. Stiff shifting is caused by the 3 countershaft on a Mack vs two on competition. If you are mainly on the road I would give a hard look at the M Drive with the performance shift pad. A F1 transmission in a truck chassis. We have had no trouble as of yet.

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Thanks for the replies! I was only entertaining the idea of the maxi torque to save a little bit over the Fuller. The M drive is way high compared to either. For that price, I don't mind shifting. Anybody running their differentials? They claim an extra couple points on efficiency etc.....

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Congratulations, that sounds like a great combination.

We just ordered a new axle back 60" midrise. 445C engine, Maxitorque 13 speed, 3:11 Mack rears, twin Y suspension. Over the road hopper bottom.

I spent almost 6 months specing new trucks before we ordered this one last week. We are a small business and a 130K investment has to be spot on. I feel pretty good about our purchase. I liked everything I could find about the Mack drivetrain and the price was slightly better. We seriously considered the M-drive but decided against it at the last minute. We went with high speed rears to try to create the M-drive like rpms at cruise speed in top gear (1206 rpm@64 mph). This keeps 12th very usable (1440 rpm@64 mph) for cruising the hills.

The deciding factor on the Maxitorque vs Eaton was the standard (not extended) warranty. Mack offers 750K warranty while Eaton was only 500K. We have had good luck with our Eatons but wanted to try the Gold Bulldog on for size.

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  • 1 month later...

Glad you chose the Eaton. 160,000km and my Mack 18spd has been rebuilt twice and finally replaced with a re-Macked one, which is no better than the original. Mack diffs are still pretty reliable but they need to get rid of the crappy electronic over air system that controls the p/d and cross locks. Lousy little wires that break and corrode.

As for the twin-Y, it might be alright with a wider spread than 52", but their claim of less torque wind up is BS unless you're bobtailing across flat ground. And it's definitely not the suspension to have if you haul liquid or livestock!

If there ever is another Dog in my future it will NOT have a golden hood ornament. Since Volvo took over, Mack has become the ugly step sister.

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I just pulled the trigger on a '12 CHU with the M Drive. I've only had it a couple weeks, but as of right now I'm not all that impressed with the M Drive. I think it would be good for over the road, but I pull tanker and dump and think I should have held out for the Allison. It's darn near impossible to find a good used Allison, and if you do they are crazy expensive.

And I actually like the way my '98 CH steering felt better. This new one just feels different like an old Volvo I had, which makes sense since they are trying to make everything universal now.

I do like the power of the 445 MP8. I Orininally wanted the 505, but heard the the 445 power wasn't much off the 505 and that the 445 would get better fuel mileage.

I really wish that Mack would offer a glider kit. I know you can get a fully dressed cab, so I called corporate office to see if you could get a fully built rolling chassis to try and make my own glider kit, but they of course said no.

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