H series Macks

[mowerman]

OK, thanks for that. Maybe a part of it was able to hang on.

[Vladislav]

On 5/4/2026 at 5:58 PM, james j neiweem said:

Did the H-65 look like the H-63? What was the difference/upgrade?

Do you like this?

Just go to the top of the page.

https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/collections/item/867-h65/?tab=comments#comment-194

[mechohaulic]

On 5/2/2026 at 4:26 PM, mowerman said:

Also, I was wondering what year tow drivers started removing the driveshaft

actually there wasn't a year involved with the removal of driveshafts. dropping a shaft had more to do with each individual situation. 

[mowerman]

I heard a long time ago alotta transmissions don’t get oiled in neutral  … a couple years ago we saw an import pickup on a car dolly … rearend locked up somehow burnt both back tires clean off and was scraping both rims when the guys  pulled over I’m not sure what happened there 

[mechohaulic]

2 hours ago, mowerman said:

I heard a long time ago alotta transmissions don’t get oiled in neutral  … a couple years ago we saw an import pickup on a car dolly … rearend locked up somehow burnt both back tires clean off and was scraping both rims when the guys  pulled over I’m not sure what happened there 

driveshaft drop during tow done not only lack of transmission lube in neutral , front end up in air on hook took away even more lube . disconnected shaft eliminated all issues of burning up transmissions. there were times (foul weather -rain/snow) when decision to drop shaft or not was challenging. B-81's/DM's don't have a light driveshaft . crawling on the wet ground hoisting that .*^_+><?<:" shaft !!. can look back now a laugh ;except when back /body is concerned. stay in school kids get a real job!!

[mowerman]

Ha ha, touché on the real job my parents trying to tell me the same thing and my pup was a union Freight hauler. They used to preach the same thing.

[Brocky]

I remember in the early 70's as a dispatcher for Matlack supervising a recovery, the shop foreman told me to be sure the wrecker driver removed both of axle shafts on the same side of the R-600 maxidyne / 5 speed and capped them with cardboard. I have to assume this did the same as dropping a driveshaft???? And a lot easier on a snow bank!!!!

[tjc transport]

i was talking to a younger "mechanic" a few years ago about tow/push starting cars with auto trans. he said no way, cant be done!!!

he just so happened to have a 59 Pontiac Catalina as a daily driver. so i challenged him. "take the battery out, and have your wrecker driver push us up to 35 MPH."

they both accepted the challenge. at 35, i told him to turn the key  to run, and drop the trans from neutral to drive. 

he was amazed when the engine started. 

back then, the auto trans had a live pump connected to the output shaft of the trans unlike cars today with the pump connected to the input shaft of the trans. 

[Geoff Weeks]

3 hours ago, Brocky said:

I remember in the early 70's as a dispatcher for Matlack supervising a recovery, the shop foreman told me to be sure the wrecker driver removed both of axle shafts on the same side of the R-600 maxidyne / 5 speed and capped them with cardboard. I have to assume this did the same as dropping a driveshaft???? And a lot easier on a snow bank!!!!

Really you want to remove all the 1/2 shafts, If you only remove one side, the spider gears in the diff get quite a work-out and no lube.   You can chain up the front drive  if you pull from the front, and just pull the 1/2 shafts in the rear drive as long as the front drive tires don't touch the road, it will be ok.

[mechohaulic]

the wrecker always kept a few plastic axle caps (courtesy of the new deck sets which came in to dealership).till they went to HD plywood . ..hooking a tandem . front drive chained up to frame before raising with wrecker ; axles removed from rear drive then caped with plastic covers. NOT every hook needed all the extra work, every job was different. driveshaft(s) down or axles pulled ;;;; rain/snow /dangerous location ::: did a road call I=84 dealing with loaded gas tanker ===what rule book!!! fortunately it was many years ago<  won't find my a-s-s out there today. don't remember ever hooking a H model :::(back on topic=LOL)

[mowerman]

Brocky I remember when I used to do that with the new ones a few years ago I haven’t really noticed that practice lately I’m sure pulling the driveline is alot cleaner

[mowerman]

TJ I did the same thing with a 62 impala years ago I had someone push me just out if curiosity… just like you explained… it worked 

[Geoff Weeks]

I don't know when all mfg stopped putting rear pumps in the automatics. Chry I think was around '66, I know my '65 had it. Don't know about Ford or GM, Mercedes had them way longer, may still have them IDK.

You need pressure to apply the clutches/bands for it to work, no tailshaft driven pump, no turning the engine.

[tjc transport]

Ford was in 64 with the introduction of the "green dot" C-4 trans.

GM was around the same time.

[mowerman]

I just assumed it was a torque converter, spinning fast enough to turn the engine over but then again I guess something has to spin the converter I have rebuilt a few myself. I can only remember one front pump on all of them one Cadillac three Fords

[Vladislav]

A pump needed to fill up the torque converter. Normally the front one does that driven by the crankshaft of the engine. I'm familiar with Mercedes auto trannies only and there's (was) additional pump put in the rear of the unit driven by the output shaft. So when you make a rope start getting the car rolling about 25-30km/h you need 30-50 meters for the oil to fill the converter so spinning of the wheels gets transmitted to the crankshaft. 

As long as engine gets fired up and the front (main) pump develops pressure that pressure pushes a plunger shifting off the additional pump drive deactivating it.

That was a handy setup Mercedes kept in production unitil 1990-1991. Than they eleminated the pump putting just a cover in its place. I once had a funny situation when I test drove a freshly rebuilt tranny. After driving fine for 2-3 km I got to a wide paved spot to make a U-turn. Had to stop to pass traffic and when pressed gas pedal found no car movement. Figured my shop guy mismatched front pump drive coupling when was installing the tranny and ruined it. We had that done multiple times with those cars (W126 S-class of 80's-early 90's). Usually a car doesn't move initially after transmission installation but there were 2-3 times when it drove for some while and quit later. That was one of those cases. The spot I used for the U-turn was at a top of a hill and my way back to the shop was downhill. So I bit the bullet managed wide enough interruption in the traffic (needed to cross he opposite lane), pushed the car by hands a bit to get it slightly rolling downhill and in a hundered or so meters switched to D. I was rolling about 25 km/h at the moment and the engine was running. Pressed gas and felt good reaction. Drove 3 km back successfully and luckily needing no stops. The first one turned out in front of the shop gates already and there we had to push in by hands. Transmission removed front pump swapped.

[mowerman]

That sucks my first rebuilt. I put the hill holder in backwards, so it would only go in reverse. Luckily, it was all in the tail shaft. I did not have to pull the entire unit apart just the tail section.

[mowerman]

I think somebody took us off track it used to be H model Mack’s lol oh well Joey let’s hear it