RowdyRebel

I never understood why we celebrate the "working man" by taking the day off...seems like it'd be more appropriate for everybody to work a double...

You could get the MP8 as a 505E, 505C, or 505M if you wanted. The 505E+ was the only 505 HP version to carry the "+" designation up until now. I'd like to see the 505M get it, though...

Pulled it out & took some measurements this morning... From the center of the u-joint @ the transmission yolk to the center of the carrier bearing SHOULD be 34"...it is 36" on the new shaft. From carrier bearing to carrier bearing is 38"...which matches the length of the middle shaft from center of the u-joint to the center of the u-joint. Both the new shaft and the middle shaft are 6-1/4" from the carrier bearing to the center of the u-joint that gets bolted on. Overall length of the new shaft from center of one u-joint to the center of the other is 42"...I'm thinking it SHOULD have been 40". For what they charged to get it WRONG when ALL they had to do was match the dimensions of the one I dropped off (yolk was damaged, but not TOO badly, and the tube had a small ding in it) and make me a new one. New tube, new yolk welded on, I supplied the carrier bearing and new u-joint (got 'em from Mack since NAPA charges twice as much for those)...they had better not expect me to pay for their screw-up. Hopefully they'll get it in & done today. At least now I can measure & check their work before I leave with it again. I assumed they'd be able to get the measurements right the first time since they had the old part there to measure. I'm SO not happy right now...

Not short...2" longer than it should have been. Apparently the tube got dinged and they replaced it...don't know how they measured it or where they took their measurements from...all I know is that the carrier bearing doesn't bolt up and is 2" further to the rear than it used to be. If I were to figure out a way to make it work, the next one might be just as far off...and the last shaft might not go in. Sure, the last one has the slip shaft, but when the airbags are dumped it is compressed. I'd like enough slack so that the shaft can still be installed with the bags down so that it isn't bottoming out every night when the air leaks out or every load when I dump the bags before raising the bed. Just seems like it would be hard on transmission parts if the driveshaft was pressing forward every time the suspension had the air let out. Anyway, I want some answers from the shop prior to my attempting to redneck engineer a fix. Truck has already been down since Friday morning...4th week of work I've missed this summer and that ain't good for the budget. Was HOPING to be back to work tomorrow, but still waiting on an air valve to come in, too...should be here tomorrow morning.

Correction...2" too long.

Well, got my drive shaft back today. Went to put it in and the damn thing is about an inch longer than what it was when I dropped it off...1/2 inch too long for the carrier bearing holes to line up with the slots on the bracket mounted on the cross member. So, looks like this ENTIRE week is shot to hell...

...and the scary thing is, that ain't even the BIG mud hole in the back yard...

Backed up so the wife could park. I knew the mud hole was back there, just didn't realize it was so deep! Heck, the Mack rolls through no problem all of the time, but I had to lock the hubs on the F250. And to think it's only half full right now...

I think the cop was racist. Prolly wouldn't've bothered you at all if it'd been WHITE smoke....

We grease 'em the same way up here...

Went together same as every other u-joint I've ever installed...

Driving down the road & heard a "pop"...thought I saw some debris fly up from the catwalk out of the corner of my eye, so I slowed down and was trying to make it to a gravel pull-off a little ways away...still had power, just didn't want to use too much of it until I could see what was going on. Still had oil pressure and I wasn't losing any fluids, but when I poked my head out the back window and looked down, I could see the shaft wasn't turning as smooth as it should have been, so I slowed down even more hoping it would hold together. Came up about a mile short before it grenaded completely. First u-joint on the drive shaft...transmission yolk. Luckily, the carrier bearing caught it so it didn't hit the ground and cause significant collateral damage, but it still took it's toll on the truck. Ruptured the fuel return line (fuel quit leaking when I shut off the truck) and broke an air fitting from the air dryer. It also ripped the electrical wiring from the back of the socket at the back of the cab (where the truck end of the pigtail plugs into), so I get to rewire that. A new carrier bearing, a few new u-joints (going to change the other 2 now as well) and probably a new yolk for the front of that first section of drive shaft. Fun. Set 1/2 in the grass and 1/2 in the road on a 2-lane for about 2 hours waiting on the wrecker to show up...had the truck prepped & ready long before they got there, though. When I'm paying 'em by the hour, I just can't see sitting on my hands for 2 hours waiting for them to arrive and then watch them work for 20-30 minutes doing the things I could have had done before they arrived...securing the broken driveshaft, disconnecting and securing the other end of the shaft in front of the first drive axle, tying up the steering wheel, disconnecting and stowing the blue airline and electric to the trailer, having the adapter they'll need to plug the red line into my air tank, etc... By the time the wrecker shows up, all he should have to do is run his red line to my tractor tank, blue line & electric to the trailer, put the forks under the steer axle, chain it up, and roll. Cost me $877 to get towed back to the house...not exactly what I needed right now. Wife has already been complaining about how expensive the truck is to keep running, but when it IS running, it brings home more in a week than she'll make in a month. She never remembers THAT part, though. Oh well. Anyway, I've NEVER had a u-joint fail this quickly. Usually the start making noise or at least get loose as they wear giving you some warning that they need attention. Heck, I've pushed a worn u-joint quite a ways before without failure. This one was still tight with no play whatsoever (which would be expected seeing as how it was JUST installed in June) last weekend when I last greased it. Oh well...$#!t happens.

What is the current record for the length of time since installation for a catastrophic failure of a u-joint? I got 2 months out of this one:

Hell, gotta save up for a radiator anyway. Patched it with a little solder and a washer. I figure do it all at once and be done with it...hoses, radiator, etc.

The problem with duct tape on this particular "fix" is the nature of the tape itself. With little room to work, wrapping the tape neatly around the pipe would have presented a problem since the tape would be sticking to itself and everything else, thereby reducing it's effectiveness. On top of that, the pipe was leaking at the time and duct tape really doesn't stick too well to wet surfaces without extra care in it's application which just wasn't possible given the space constraints I was working with.

...good point. You just saved me an hour or more (depending upon how much more I tore up trying to "fix" it)

Good news: Found my coolant leak. The metal pipe from the lower radiator was rubbing on a tab on the side of the engine block. It was dented & a hole knocked in it...thus the leak. Bad news: I had a run to make. ...and it was going to be a mediocrely decent day. Nothing to write home about, but profitable nonetheless. Good news: I had stuff laying around that could be put to good use...namely 1/2 tube of ultra-black RTV, an old blown-out piece of hose, some zip ties, a bungee cord, and a shop rag. Smeared the RTV on the scrap piece of hose & wrapped it around the pipe. Zip ties (120 lb break strength...the good ones) held it in place & clamped it tight. The bungee wraps around the hose and frame rail to keep the hose off the tab on the side of the engine that caused the leak in the first place. The shop rag? Put that on just to be a visual indicator as to whether or not it was still leaking when I'd check it during the day...dry rag = happy me. Haven't lost a drop since. Debating if I should pull it off and try to weld a patch on or just leave it since "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be a good general rule. I suppose I'll put a magnet on it tomorrow...if it sticks, I'll fire up the welder...if not, I'll leave it as is 'til I can get a new pipe.

http://www.sanger.dk/

If the vacuum operator looks anything like the one here at the house, following her around all day wouldn't be a chore at all...

Drop-ins would be the EASY route. Drop-ins are made with parts, and the gears are the parts that decide the ratio, so I would imagine if you find someone who knows how to put all of the pieces together, they can do the job with less new-to-you parts. Drop-ins are factory reman, though, and come with a warranty. Will the shop stand behind their gear swap?

It isn't available for my phone or else I would...that's the ONLY problem I've had with Blackberry...all of the retail & banking establishments that I frequent have apps available for iphone and android...and some even for windows phones...but all those phones are crap.

I thought the cams were different...?

If he placed YOU oos for not having a log book, he can't do jack $#it to stop you from leaving in a personal vehicle. He also can't do $#it to stop a driver who has not been placed oos from driving that truck for you. If the truck was placed oos, as soon as that oos defect is corrected, you are free to leave and there isn't a damn thing he can do about it. That is what the paper, tape, and marker is for...write the company name & DOT# on the paper and tape 'em to the doors. You leave in the car your buddy showed up in. He shows up with a current log book ready to roll. You're both out of there legally, and the cop can't do a damn thing to stop you without jeopardizing his own career.

I would have told the officer "You're out of your flippin' mind if you think I'm sitting at that rest area any longer than it takes for another CDL holder to get in a personal vehicle and meet me at that rest area with a couple pieces of paper, a marker, and some tape. Don't believe me? Stop by there in an hour and a half and you'll see our tail-lights, @$$hole. My lawyer's gonna have a FIELD DAY with you!"

I carry one of those, too...but can you back-fill the truck's tanks through the glad hand in the event of a disabled truck that needs to be dragged out of the way? This is where the fitting right to the tanks is more beneficial.