Bollweevil

Remove the door lock cylinder by pulling the retainer clip toward the edge of the door. Remove the three screws securing the latch assembly. Roll the window all the way down. Remove the screws around the outside edge of the panel. The panel, along with the window regulator, door latch mechanism will all come out together. Don't get rough with it. On reassembly, loosen the two screws securing the latch to the panel, Tighten these two last, after you have the panel and latch reinstalled. After the first one, you will then be an expert. Put enough lube on the regulator teeth, latch, and contact points at the bottom of the window. Don't get sloppy, dust and grease together will make a fine grinding compound. Be sure to get some grease where the outside door release rod contacts the latch. Good luck, James

A 1/16 in to straight ahead with radial tires, works good for me. So does a block of wood with a nail for scribing the tires. But, the truck needs to be at ride height to set the toe in. If you set the toe in with the suspension hanging, any wear you might have in the tie rod ends, king pin bushings, or even a loose wheel bearing, will compound any error in measurement. If you will take a couple of milk jugs with a little water to keep them from moving around. Set one at the rear of each tire, then measure across the top of the jugs. Your tape measure will be at the same height on each side. Do the front side the same way. When you are satisfied with your adjustment, move the jug to the rear of the tire. With a tire crayon, or some white out, or whatever, mark the sidewall at the top of the jug, then move the jug to the front, and roll the truck forward until the mark lines up with the jug. Check the toe in again, Your measurements have to repeat their self, if not, go through the whole procedure again. If your measurement still won't repeat, then you will have to figure out why. Sometime, a trip to to the frame shop is a good investment. If the steering geometry isn't right to start with, you sure can't make it right with a tape measure and a block of wood with a nail in it. I hope you get this problem resolved, James.

Sierra Blanca Texas, I had pulled off the interstate onto a graveled area beside the highway. I had arrived here about 4:30 AM, and passed out. Now, something had startled me awake. I thought I had felt the truck shake. Did someone open the trailer door? What time is it anyway? As I sat up and parted the curtains, I could see the hood of my truck standing straight up. What's going on? Well, it didn't take long to get my jeans on. As I slid through the drivers seat, on my way out the door, I could see someone sitting on the drivers side steer tire. When my feet hit the ground, I slammed the door, prepared to do battle. Maybe next time, It was my best friend Robert Ware aka Peg-Leg. He was sitting there with his head bobbing, humming a tune. umm umm umm. Realization began to sink in, he wasn't humming he was eating. Before turning in I had wrapped a couple of burritos up in aluminum foil and left them behind the turbo to keep warm. Robert, I asked what are you doing? Eating breakfast he replied. Just whose breakfast I asked? Well, mine I reckon, I could smell them all the way across the highway. It's a good thing I got here when I did, you're getting careless, another 30 minutes and they would have burned up. You know where those came from I asked? Yeah, Not YO Mama's, they were good too. Robert, you're being mean, I think you are still upset because I didn't save you a piece of that lemon pie your mom made for me. That wasn't my fault, there wasn't but one piece. Now I'll have to go home hungry, and you'll stop at Leroy's and pig out. No, he said I'm parked right behind you, lets go we'll find something somewhere.

" Lots of folks stop at truck stops, they just naturally think they should. Cause they figure any place that a truck driver eats, well the foods just got to be good." Thats the way the song goes, but the reality is, if you're driving a truck, and you want to stop and eat. You have to find a place where you can park the truck. One of my all time favorites, was located off the main highway, in Goodyear Arizona. "Not Yo Mama's Down Home Southern Style Mexican Restaurant", Was owned and operated by Leroy Johnson, Leroy and his brother had driven for LS Trucking out of Forest Park Ga. When Leroy hooked up with a Mexican girl from Gila Bend, his brother went back to Americus Ga. to manage the BBQ Restaurant owned by his mom and dad. A lot of the drivers who had known Leroy, got into the habit of stopping, just to be supportive of his new business. A place to park and, and the down home southern style food were almost an instant success. After all, there was not another place anywhere on I-10 where you could get a collard green burrito, or a bowl of refried blackeyed peas.

Heat checking, like this is common. You are probably looking at $75.00 to $100.00, to have it resurfaced. If you are going to fabricate an engine stand to mount the engine and transmission to start and run. and will only use it for something like show and tell. You would probably be better off in the long run, just to clean everything up and put it back together as is. It would be a different story, if you are planning to use it in a truck application. In that case, a NEW CLUTCH, not a new rebuilt clutch, is the way to go. YOU CANNOT BUY ANYTHING BETTER THAN A SPICER. If you just can't find new. Felton's Clutch Service, Chattanooga Tn. can rebuild yours.

Truck oriented people, especially at our level, are a different kind of people. Most are kind, because they remember the kindness shown to them. Most are generous and quick to help, for the same reasons. These are life lessons learned by personal experience, and not soon forgotten. With these experiences comes the realization, that you just can't be any other way. You absolutely can not afford to. Have you ever heard the saying 'What go's around, comes around"? You can never know for sure whats around that next bend in the road. I learned one of these leasons one Sunday afternoon, while on my way to Syracuse NY. for a Monday morning delivery. I was on that short stretch of 81, in W.VA. I had started down an off ramp in search of something to eat, when I heard a squeaking in the right front wheel. I could see right off, a wheel seal blown and no oil in the hub. After asking permission, I dollied the trailer down at a convenience store. and backed the tractor close enough to reach an electrical outlet. I jacked it up and made short order of pulling the wheel and hub. I found both bearings burned up, and the inside seized to the spindle. I carried a lot of tools in those days. I even had an electric die grinder with a cut off wheel. I split the bearing race laid a chisel in the cut and smacked it hard and it peeled off. As I stood up, a man in a pick up stopped. When I explained what had happened, he said , get in and we'll run out to my shop. On the way, I learned that he owned a local fuel and gas company. At his shop we found two usable bearing races and a used outside bearing. Not to worry he said, Then he called the owner of the local NAPA store, had the man meet us at the store, so that I could buy the seal and bearing that I needed. Then back to my truck. He would not accept payment of any kind, either for the used parts or for hauling me around. Just help someone else, that will be payment enough, he advised. My truck was probably down no more than 3 hours, I was able to make an on time delivery, and I have been helping everyone I could.

Alright James, what seems to be your problem? What problem? I don't have a problem. I just thought I might need a check up. Why? Well, I can barely hold out to work 14 to 16 hours a day, my knees hurt like they are on fire, so do my elbows as a matter of fact. And crawling around in the dirt under a truck just isn't to appealing anymore. Alright, how old are you James? I am 16 you Moron, you should know by now, you ask me the same thing every time. OK, OK, how long have you been 16? Well let's see, since January first 1959. Hah, you're not 16 anymore, you're 64, Liar, Liar your pants are on fire. Actually you're not even 64, you're 64 and 3/4. Ahaaaaaaa . Are you sure? Yep. Don't you need to run some kind of test, to be sure? Nope. How in the heck did this happen without me knowing about it? Ahaaaaaaaa.

Do you know the difference in a fairy tale, and a truck driver story? Well, a fairy tale starts with "Once upon a time" and a truck driver story starts with " You ain't gonna believe this s---. The line I like the best, I borrowed from my friends from Louisiana's bayou country. "Now this is a true story." Stories, to follow, James

Joey Spencer, was just a young fellow when I first met him. He had a young family also. If my memory serves me right, there were two or three little girls along with a boy who was about three and a half, at the time. Every time Joey would start getting ready to leave on his run. That little fellow would say " Mama, I'm going to California with Daddy this time." Then every time, Joey would have to get him up into the truck and hold him. After talking to him for a while, joey would pass him off to Mama and leave. Not this time. I'm not staying here this time, he announced. I'm going to California with you Dad. To keep from leaving on a sour note, Joey told his wife," I'm just going over to Athens to pick up a load of chickens, probably won't take long then I'll bring him back by." WRONG. It took all day. That chicken plant actually has a nice break area, and cafeteria. Joey didn't know that though, He and his son spent the whole day on the opposite side of the plant, backed up to a loading dock. The day was about gone, when he finally got his bill of lading and closed the trailer doors. When he stopped off at home he got out and carried a worn out little boy inside. as his mother took him into her arms, the little man said "Mama I'm not going back to California no more" Why son, she asked? " Cause there's no food and there ain't nobody to play with." Good Night, James

I-10 east bound, somewhere around Wilcox AZ. Bring it back over Charlie Marion, said the driver I had just passed. Thanks, I replied. Hey, he exclaimed, your the guy who passed me coming up the hill out of Indio yesterday. I'm sorry I said, I apologize. Yeah, you passed every truck on the hill. Well, I said, I just couldn't help it. Who have we got up there? Call me Bollweevil I said , I'm just a looking for a home. Who am I talking to? You've got the Whirley Bird back here. Well, Whirley Bird, lets make some miles. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and as we talked back and forth the miles flew past. We cleared the NM. port of entry, and were bearing down on Deming. The 112 mile marker east bound will be forever etched in my memory. Whirley Bird, take the left lane and get beside me, don't let anybody around. There is a bad wreck in front of us. I can see a van on it's side, and there's people and junk every where. As we stopped and set the brakes I could see that we were not the first on the scene. There were 3 or 4 Air-stream trailers parked to the side. When I hopped down,and rushed forward, I realized I was stepping in someones hair and brains. There were three children involved , a baby boy about a year old still in a car seat, screaming his head off. A little girl about three, apparently unhurt, and another girl about four with a mild asphalt rash on her arms and legs. A young man was on his knees cradling the injured child. Suddenly he stood up, Where is my wife , he cried. She is still in the van, an older gentleman said. I need to go to her, I need to see her. No You don't, she didn't make it, and you don't need to see her explained the older fellow. Has any one called this in? I asked . We stopped a fellow and sent him on to Deming to call the state police. Thank God for Grand Mothers, there were the or four, just like yours and mine taking care of the children. Is there anything we can do to help I offered. No, we are just waiting now, was the reply. Well, Whirley Bird, let's move the luggage and clothes to the side, and get out of here. Shouldn't we wait for the police, he asked. The police can see what happened, these people have had a bad enough day without having their stuff scattered all over. My wife and I are going to stay. OK I'll see you Later, James

There is a flat pad cast on the passenger side of the differential housing. It is closer to the top than the middle, ratios are stamped on the pad. You can read them from above you don't have to get under the truck.

Aguilar Colorado, just a small place, small fuel stop, small cafe. I sat in a rear booth nursing a cup of coffee, along with a bad case of the Mullygrubs. What's Mullygrubs? Well, it's a state of mind, kind of like the" Can't Hepit's" mixed with the " Don"t Lakit's". I had left Denver earlier in the day, empty again, and was dreading the prospect of having to clear the NM, port of entry. I still haven't forgotten the Alamo. The self important attitude of the port officers, coupled with the fact that NM has an agreement with Colorado to collect fees and fuel tax unpaid when leaving CO. all added to the way I was feeling. Shucks, I would probably head out through the Comanche National Grass Lands, and just bypass the whole mess. As I sat there, looking out of the window, I saw a Tyson truck pull into the lot, and in a few minutes, the driver came in and sat in a booth nearby. The waitress brought a menu and took his order for ice tea. When she came back I overheard him say " I think I will just have a bowl of chili". FLASHBACK, Van Horn Texas, the Chevron Truck Stop Greyhound Bus station. I was a lot younger then and had started hauling produce from California to Atlanta. Just like this driver, I knew I didn't want another cheeseburger, Chili I told the waitress, and about a gallon of iced tea. When she brought my order, I did a double take, it looked like beef stew. large pieces of stew beef and peppers. just like beef stew only no carrots, just pepper no potatoes, just pepper no onions, just pepper. Wow. Red or Green I heard the waitress say. Huh. Red or Green. Red or Green what? Said the driver. Chili said the waitress. WAIT A MINUTE. Where are you from I asked? Alabama, he replied, north of Birmingham. Well, I explained, they don't make chili out here, like we make it at home. Can you bring this driver a sample of red chili, I asked? Just a spoonful? Sure can. Wow, he exclaimed after tasting, I am sure glad you said something, I'll have something else. I guess if a man likes home cooking, he needs to stay at home. I like truck stop food myself. Home cooking tears my stomach up. Hope every one has a good day, James

Late one night, on my very first trip to Reno. I was headed N. on 95 about midway between Vegas and Reno. Traffic was light and mostly trucks. In the distance, I could see a lit up area and as I approached I saw a marquee, advertising somebody's Bunny Ranch. Being the country boy that I am, and a little slow as well, I thought to myself, this isn't much of a place to have a rabbit farm. As I drove past, a womans voice broke in over the CB. " you drivers stop in for a free cup of coffee". Huh, then a young sounding driver broke in " have you guys got showers" answer " well the girls have showers in their rooms". SILENCE

Brian, let me give you an illustration. In my home state of Ga. the maximum gross weight of a tandem dump truck, is 61,000. Thats on state and federal highways, not including interstates. Now, the state of Ga. breaks that down to 20,320 per axle. Federal law specifies, that you can not exceed the load rating of the tires. Thats no problem on the drives, but if for example you are running 11R24.5s rated at say 7200 ea. on the steer axle. That puts you back at 14,400 on the steer. I don't know what the floats are rated at, but just say 9000. That would increase the legal steer axle capacity to 18,000, but it wouldn't increase the legal gross weight. State law varies, state to state, floats would not change your GVW in Ga, but they will keep the Bugger Man off your case, James

Shucks, That Puppy has a lot of life left. I hope you plan on using it some, It sure would look good going down the road with a load of stone. Did I mention RED, Viper Red, Read as a fox's behind. I know you will have fun with this one, James

The six bolts in the center retain the flywheel to the crankshaft. The easy way to get them out would be with an air wrench. If you have to resort to a pull handle, you will have to find a way to block the wheel to keep it from turning. You won't realize just how heavy the flywheel is until you have to handle it. Don't get under it. For the cost differential I personally would not use a rebuilt clutch no matter who rebuilt it. A new Spicer soft pedal clutch would be my choice. A single disc clutch is just not heavy enough to stand the torque load generated by a class 8 truck. Thus you find a second disc sandwiched in the assembly. Keep in mind that both disc's have to be in alignment during reassembly. A new assembly is usually packaged in the order that it needs to be installed. Each disc has a front and rear side. With the clutch and flywheel removed go ahead and replace the pilot bearing. You will be working with some heavy parts, with sharp edges, so be careful. I use a couple of bolts with the head cut off to act as dowels until I can get the clutch mounting bolts started. Most mechanics use an old transmission input shaft to to align the clutch. Let us know about your progress. James

Left alone, any amount of antifreeze is not good. It can have the same effect as sugar. If I had to deal with this problem, I would bring the engine up to operating temp. then without wasting any time, drop the oil pan, and pressurize the cooling system. If you can"t see a leak, you will have eliminated the "does it while running". If you don't see something obvious, go do something else. Let it cool off over night, then check it again. If you don't see a drip, bar the engine all the way through, and recheck. More than once, while rolling in a set of bearings, I have had antifreeze drip right in my eye. In retrospect, it was always with the engine cold. I have found pinholes in cylinders,and most recently a bad liner seal on my friends CH. You need to be methodical about troubleshooting. Just as an illustration, it would be just about impossible to find a liner leaking if you had already snatched the cylinder head off to look at the head gasket. There is a lot of personal satisfaction in finding and repairing a problem yourself. I hope you have a good time working on your truck. James

It's a pretty decent looking rig, are you planning to use it as is? If so, you are going to have to correct the overheating problem at some point. It might be more cost effective to fix it where it's at. The only variables I see are the cost of fuel to drive it home vs the cost to have it towed. State height limits vary from state on interstate, 13.6 to 14.6. At 12.4 that doesn't leave much room for a trailer. IF. it took a couple of bucks per mile, plus maybe some over height permits. The cost to have it moved could eat a $ 1,000 or more of the money you could use to repair the truck. There are a lot's of " if'" involved in this, but you should at least look at them. Do you know why it's overheating? A new water pump, a fan clutch, radiator.whatever. Figure out whats wrong first and then decide what to do. Good luck, James

There is a very fine line between regularly scheduled maintenance and preventative maintenance. Herb as given you an excellent example and schedule for tightening up your maintenance intervals. PM should become part of your mindset. A drivers daily inspection shouldn't end. It should be daily as in all day long. As you raise and lower the dump body train yourself to look at the cylinder. If you step out and walk away for any reason, look under the truck as you walk back. You might find oil puddled up. Listen to your truck, as you become used to listening it will tell you when something is wrong. If your truck said ouch ouch ouch and you have a CD going wide open, all you will hear is the CD. A tire billy or a claw hammer won't tell you how much air pressure is in a tire, but you can sure tell if it's not enough. My point, is to train your mind, if you train your eyes to watch what's gong on, and train your ears to listen. Then you will know when something is wrong. When I first started pulling a dump trailer, I could not leave the yard without my boss saying' be careful'. That only lasted about 4 years, I can still hear him saying ' make sure you are on level ground, and watch over head, don't boom up into any power wires'. Over the Road, and on off, are a little different, YOU HAVE to take a different approach to Maintenance and if anything you have to be more careful. Trucking has been a way of life for me, and if I have learned anything it is, take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you. James

Just the "peace of mind". is worth $185.00. That sounds very reasonable to me. Did you ever find anything about your transmission? I have never seen the inside of a Mack 9 speed. If it was an Eaton-Fuller, I would say that the retaining ring groove had broken out of the main shaft reverse gear, allowing the shifter clutch to pull reverse gear forward, on the shaft. That will leave you still in reverse when you select first gear, thus locking the transmission. When you put it back in reverse it slides the gear back on the shaft. Sometimes it will stay in place, until you need reverse again. If you can catch Herb's attention, I bet he could tell you for sure what's wrong with yours. James

I'll try to call a spring shop in Chattanooga Monday. You might consider an upgrade to the later trunnion assembly's. They are a little pricey, but you don't have to change the bushings every time you turn around. Down time is a major consideration for myself. Of course it is the middle of the summer up here, and our busy season. I'll let you know what I find, James

You didn't mention an engine brake. Any time the valves are set, you need to go back through the engine brake setting also. Go to www.tecbrake.net and look at the file. It will walk you through the procedure. Valves are set the same with or without an engine brake. To find no. 1 on the compression stroke. set the timing pointer at the flywheel at 1-6. Then with the valve covers off, look at the valves and rockers on cylinders 1 and 6. If you have one valve partially open on 6. and both valves closed on 1, then you are at no. 1. If one valve is cocked open on no.1 and both closed on no 6 . then you are at no.6. It does not matter where you start, you just need to stay in sequence, 153624. Adjust both ex. and in. on each cyl. On the back of a business card or scrap of paper, make yourself a small chart that you can tape somewhere to look at while you work, Print 153 and directly under these no.'s print 624. If you get lost look at your chart, Say your timing pointer is at 3-4, look at the valves on 3 and 4. if you have one valve open on 4, then set the valves on 3. As you rotate the flywheel from timing mark to timing mark, be sure to follow normal crank shaft rotation. If you go past the timing mark, back it up past the mark, then pull it to it. That will eliminate any slack or clearance in the cam gear train. Close is good for horse shoes and hand grenades. If at anytime you feel like you are in over your head STOP. GET some help. A good engine can turn into a pile of scrap very quickly. Hope you get back up and going soon, James

Welting, or strapping, that looks similar to a lamp wick, and gummed on one side is still available from Mack. If you can use it, it is sold by the foot. Rubber strapping material is also available from PAI Industries, however they don't sell to the public. They have a huge catalog of AFTER MARKET parts. You can view it on line, after signing up. call during business hours and they will direct you to a dealer near you. Call Your Mack dealer first, they still have a lot of old stuff in the warehouse. If you can come up with a part number, you might get lucky. Mack transfered a lot of their very old parts catalogs to computer. Some of the pages are of poor quality, some are very good. Anyway, you don"t know what you can get till you ask. Biggest problem is finding someone interested enough to help you look. James

Steering geometry is figured with the frame square and level, and at rest. If you want the truck to steer and drive well, then the ride height should be the same on both ends of the truck. Due to age and the fact that the front springs may have been cycled about a zillion or more times, they might be somewhat relaxed. Now, the correct way to set the ride at the rear is to start at the FRONT. If the front looks good, and measures close side to side, then a quick fix would be to just adjust the rear to the front. If you keep looking you can probably come up with some figure as pertains to a spec for this set up. You can do just about as well with a tape measure, and a level parking area. Just measure frame to ground on both ends. If it has a dropped front section, back up to where it's straight. James