Lmackattack

Volvo ownes Mack and they have been playing games both with building new trucks and parts for older trucks. Alot of old R model parts are being made in inda or simply outsourced to cheeper companys. You can still get all the engine parts but they will be a day when it starts to get a little more difficult. Volvo wants to move forward with their buisness plans and really does not want to keep the solid R models onthe road . How bad will it look when a 30 year old truck is still running better then their new stuff??.Right now some of the interior parts are NLA or "out of stock" luckly there is an aftermarket company called PAI that makes alot of mack parts. Trent

I think david is right the superliner II had the same frame as a MH. I stand corrected.. Other dog regardng the hood length and engine. the superliners I drove had the dual air cleaners,twin stacks and bug shelds on the hood. I could hide a full size cadillac over the hood at every stop light. could barely see when backing a short 22-24' dump trailer. first I would louse it in the mirrors then couldent look out past the stack if the trailer waskinked a few feet out of range of the mirrors..unless I was jackknifing it and at that point I could not recover.now try and back around a cul de sac with park cars on both sides...you had to be the one shot king with that truck!... I like the300-350 macks for pulling the low RPM range but the 550 cats will easy out pull them. Maintance wise the Mack will be cheaper in the long run unless volvo Fcuks that up

the RW should have a diffrent frame than the R688. superliners shared a frame with the MH. both will be great trucks. The superliner is considered a "classic" long hood model. If you want something a litte diffrent than go with the RW,however if your working the truck the RW is not the best for tight city spots as that hood hides cars and fire hydrants easy. not as bad as a long hood pete 379 but you get the point. the 4 valve engines will have better part availibility but volvo will screw that up soon. Both engines are great runners just dont expect a 20 year old engine to out perform a new cat 550. Cabs are the same inside. the RW will have more ease to work on as the cab sits higher off the frame and the engine to fire wall clearance is about 12" vs the 2" found on the R688. Again both are strong trucks and you cant go wrong with either model Trent

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LOL I thought he was talking Ontario Ca USA!!! thats just 5 mins from Fontana Ca USA sorry for the confusion. your 2600 miles from that yard !!!

as the guys mentioned those air cyl get gunk in them or the oil thickness can cause issues when cold. A worn orings let oil in and then the cold weather slows the piston movement if dirt got in with the oil. if it has an exhaust screen clean that out also. that would be my first things to look at.

there is a scrap yard in Fontana.. cant recall the name tho... just saw someone post about it I think over at ATHS site???

ye he said it was a wester star. only got his but wet, said had time to get out then get back in to radio the convoy he was of his problem then get back out LOL. shallow water 20' deep. hauling wood on the rear and insulation on the front of his trailer.

Was talking to a guy on a model railroad message fourm. The topic was scale model trucks for layouts. Turns out he is from Canada and did some Hauling onthe ice roads. Here is a few shots of the "fun" he had.

Call a mack Dealer or a Pai dealer they are fairly cheep.. I think a full set cost me less than $300 2 years ago???

open the roof vent..... seriously tho. I have the same issues. I think the issue is that im a 200lb sweathing gorilla sitting in a bird cage. cab is just too small to get the heat out???

the 6 speed is Direct transmission in top gear. with 4.90s you will have a hard time doing 55MPH. you might consider an Overdrive trans or 3.87-4.17s for a play truck. Trent

HK wrote As a side note, if your clutch cable snapped and you couldn't disengage your clutch, would you call a wrecker or would you drive the truck back to the shop? HA HA Herb this is exactly how I learned to drive with no clutch at all. 3rd week on the job and the clutch cable got stuck when I pushed it in. I got the cable unstuck by hand so I could get back on the road to get the load off. had to use low 1st to get moving from a stop and reverse 1st at the pit. workes like a charm in a jam and not real hard on the trans if you can get some movement of the wheels before you hit the gate for the gear. made my boss happy that day!!

you only get 6 forward speeds total. mack says to shift like this "low" 1st- shift to direct 1-2-3-4-5 = 6 gears total some like me do this "low" 1-2-3- shift to Direct 3-4-5 = 6 gears total over view 1st low is the lowest ger you have 2nd low is basicly the same as 1st direct 3rd low is basicly the same as 2nd direct 4th low is basicly the same as 3rd direct 5th low is basicly the same as 4th direct 5th direct is your highest gear this is why you cant really split the gears, evertime you use the aux box it is nothing more than a dowshift or up shift you dont get the 1/2 RPM splits like the old B models transmissions did. s HK said there were a few overlaping ratis but they were so close that they did nothing more than keep your hands busy or let you show off a little. HK should we let him know about geting the truck into gear without the clutch? or how about forward to reverse without the clutch LOL!!! hope you can follow that some?

is your truck plated as an antieque? if it is its easy and the DOT does not come into play at all. Plate and insurace and thats all you need. If not you may have to plate it for milage or truck flat weight. In Il guys with newer trucks that cant be plated as a antieque will put the lowest weight/milage plate that they can buy. ends up costing them around $500. then the issue is insurace. becasue it is plated as a truck you need to have the proper coverage. unless you can find a company that will talk to you and understand your situation. Its a PITA if the truck is not older than 25 years old.

Ya and bring a small paint scrapper and wire brush so you can see the stamped numbers on it!!

Hk has it down for ya. If I can add that this trans is not ment for speed shifting. The engine pulls from 1200RPM all the way to 2100 thus you only need 5 gears to get the job done. its real easy to drive if you know the pricables of shifting a truck trans. In 1st gear you simply bring the RPMs up to 2000-2100 pull the lever out and wait untill the engine falls to around 1200-1300RPM and then hit 2nd do this for the next 4 gears. same as downshifting. As the truck speed slows and engine RPM falls to 1300. pull stick out of gear, raise engine RPM to 2000 and hit the next lower gear. Simple!

2 valve engiens are very strong and good runners parts getting a little hit an miss lately. 4 valve engine just as good as the 2V and parts can be found easy Standard mack engines ran up to 2100RPM there were also "low rpm" engines that were set up to tach out at 1800 (governed RPM speed) some old macks (and many other older diesels)had a power curve that would allow the engine to spin faster yet use less fuel. if you were to be running at 1650 and it felt like it was a dog just split it into direct and it will be back up aroun 1800 and may pull better. I have found with maxidynes that they like higher RPM with a heavy load but will do just fine at 1650 on the flats 12 speed is a great transmission. you have every gear you will ever need. the od trans will give you that get home gear and still have a low low ratio to get started 4.17 rears are very good for the offroad. if you can snap one you likely did something wrong or they were just way over worn. thats my .02

I like it. looks like the cross between a RD800, CH with a R Cab.

my boss ownes one just because he can. He is around 80 years old and not a good driver. I fear for him and the others around him when he is in his not so "smart car"

Pete sound like you have some fast rear ends. Most Macks with a 6 spped had 4.17 for on/offroad and 3.87 for highway. sounds like you have something around 3.87s? the only down side with the 6 speed was shifting the higher gears in the hills. Great all around trans untill you want to keep your road speed up pulling a good hill. 1000 rpm is fine as long as the truck can still accel. most other engine MFG cant touch 1200 rpm and pull a grade. this is why old macks were always good in the low speed offroad market. Many times if im in the thick mud I will put the aux box in low. then shift the main 1-2-3 untill I have the road speed up. at that point I then shift the aux back into direct(leave the main alone)accel through direct 3rd. then make the last 2 shifts in direct 4-5 gives you a total of 6 forward speeds.

nice job larry... how do they like being beat by a station wagon that gets draged around by a 50 year old Mack! LOL

Lousing oil press when its warm is normal. 60-90 psi cold is good / 30psi idle is good. if you cant get the oil press up over 40 after its warm it may be worn out. On the other hand I have seen some trucks run around 25psi at hot idle and then as soon as you give it 100RPM it shoots up to 70psi. What is your hot idle and cold start psi? I think my truck needs bearings soon because it is only 60 psi cold and 40 going down the road. I can hit 45PSI if im @2100 but I still think its too low of oil press.

Hello. I Dont have any real info on those models as they were considered rare. If your looking for pics did you check http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/ they have a message board as well with links to truck modle builders

Yep I bought the same covers Brad. I think they were for an older pete with the standard StewartWarner sized gauges. Only my boost gauge needed a dab of silicone. donaldson had chrome air cleaners. I think they still make them. also turnsignal covers. LED replacement lights. round air horn covers, upgraded bullit Lights. Visors are all easy to find bolt on "flash"