Lmackattack

Some of the dump trucks had that big rock gard overhanging the cab. Had to have a short 90 or weed burner. Also fumes were an issue to both you and that poor guy with his window down at a stop light LO.L

I run straight stacks on a turbo 6cyl and it is not loud in the cab. If you want to reduce cab noise you will have to insulate it with foam rubber and sound deadner. The sheet metal acts like a drum head when nothing controls its resonance. Fire wall and floor has the most vibration.

When i put power steering on my truck I had to cut down the shaft and then re weld it. If you can find any used shaft that is in good shape I think you would be able to have it milled down and re welded . the guy that made mine drilled a hole in the shafts where the new weld was and then was able to get better penatration for added safty. It will likely be cheeper than getting a new part. just my .02 Trent

To be honest... I dont like the looks of the Volvo... suprise! That said I dont really dont like the looks of the new mack models. I just cant seam to get into the sloped hood look and bubble style. there is not much exterior parts that says "im a truck". I know The interior is nice engines seam to be good but the exterior styling is crap. Even the rear cab wall looks like that volvo,it has no style. If I was looking to get into over the road and wanted a truck that still had some style to it I would be looking at KW.even their aero trucks still have that truckly look to them. Shoot me if you want but there are not that many truck MFG left that consider putting classic style into their new models. that said I think Pete is a bandwagon truck, just like most of your Sunday Harley riders. its cool because everyone wants one. but they atleast they are keeping the classic looks around. ok... flame on!

The one thing that I have noticed is that these older spring ride macks all seam to have that vibration from 30-40mph.. I hear lots of r model owners say the same thing. I think someone even said that a bad power divide can cause vibrations...my RS likes to buck when empty. The no air ride cab makes it worse. I tried new cab rubbers and shocks with no luck.. it seams that the spring ride and no air bags on the cab just makes for a harder ride than the newer trucks???

Mack had a good file for the electronic motors but the epa put a stop to it 5-6 years ago. pissed a lot of owners off when a dealer reflashed the ecu without asking about it first. There are black boxes that claim 30% increase but the are pricy and moat times are just fooling the computer into thinking the engine is doing something its not..they do work bit you will have to watch the gauges to make sure the engine is not to hot

No, that's way low.18-23 psi is normal boost.21 is about avg. turned up pump is 25 psi...Check the turbo like said above. I had a housing melt away allowing exhaust to bypass the blades and thus no boost over 14 psi could be made...

Yea Mack lost a lot of sales in the 90s to other truck mfg due to poor warranty standards and limited truck models. The 12 speed was imo the best trans for a maxidyne.like you said...drive it like a 5 speed empty or split the last 2 holes when loaded. It had overdrive in 5th hi, or that deep deep reduction in that low hole gear on the dash switch... only thing that was a problem was the range selector clutch packs..always let the feats grind.

If you do plan to run the truck to make side cash. I would see if your state has mileage tags. This plate costs about 2/3 less problem is the insurance. Regardless of how often the truck is working if in a wreck you need the coverage. I wad quoted 5.5k per year here in Chicago.

Yep...34k has no rods.38k and up will. Air ride will have a rod for each axel. Can't comment on what to look to see the weight rating. I would count the spring stack and that may give a clue? I don't think putting a rod on the forward tandem will do much. The trunion is bushed to limit the axel walk. The rear rod ties that axel to the frame and furthermore keeps the axel walk in check. Yes a 2nd rod will tie the forward axel and keep it in line but if any of your brushing are bad it will wobble. Look for a bad bashing or pad and if you can't see any issues the add the rod to the forward axel... Just my .02 Trent

You have 38k rears?... if so you only need one track rod. Yes a 2nd rod will help keep things in line but its not needed. Check the brushings,tire wobble, and spring/pad ends if any of these are bad it can cause the rears to walk and fight the road causing a wobble..

Every state differs. I have my 77' plated with antique tags with gulfway insurance. Only thing I haul is a sled pulling truck on a low boy when going to the county fairs/ show . Never been bothered. You can pull your own stuff around to shows and in my opinion pull any trailer if its are being used to bring show related stuff to a show.

My 77' was letting water in from the cowl where the top drivers side corner of the hood had rubbed through some body sealant. It was in that little aera where the side and top of the hood meet the cab. There is a gap in the sheet metal and then sealant was used to smooth it out. This gap channeled rain to any spots with bad sealant and water could make it in and drip on the floor mat.I found this by chanc one rainy day. I Also found that rust near the rain gutter will let rain get under the skin and will leak down meet the floor vent

to add a little more to this story. The blue 1972 RS now has air ride with alum rims. It was factory with 4.17 0n spokes. I found out last week that those spoke rears are now in a Tanzillo Contractors RD Glider kit. I used to drive that RD when i was on vacation from my full time job...small world!

Sorry for the poor spelling LOL..I'm typing from my "smart phone".......

My 285 does ok with 65-70k but 5th gear is a dog. I can stick with a 427 until the top of 4th buy then it'd game over. I pulled a few 963 cats with it and 55 mph was difficult to maintain. Hit any sort of grade and you were full throttle and groping speed fast. The previous owner was a produce hauler and he said he had to removed the 3.87s and put in 4.17s to get it geared better for out west. Said that it was hard to keep her going with the taller gears.

My 285 does ok with 65-70k but 5th gear is a dog. I can stick with a 427 until the top of 4th buy then it'd game over. I pulled a few 963 cats with it and 55 mph was difficult to maintain. Hit any sort of grade and you were full throttle and groping speed fast. The previous owner was a produce hauler and he said he had to removed the 3.87s and put in 4.17s to get it geared better for out west. Said that it was hard to keep her going with the taller gears.

Yea with any load that put you to 60k + gross3rd was just a little to low of a gear and 4th was way to high. Needed that "3 1/2 gear" so you could at least maintain about 35 mph. Now after saying all that I would like to try this new 505 HP maxidyne with a closer stepped 8 or 9 speed and see how the big HP will let you pull a hill...

About 15 years ago I passed a yard with one of these things .it kinda looked like a scrapper. Was parked near rt14 and rt31 in crystal lake il. Never seen another one like it.

The 5-6 speeds are great for the Midwest and some eastern states. I love mine..but..if you have long grades its nice to have a few more gears just to keep your speed up. I notice my egt temps get to hot when I have to pull a good grade at slow speed and low rpm. It may be in the torque range but sit there to long @1100 rpm and she gets hot. I think every 5 speed owner says at some time or another..."I wish I had a gear between 3rd and 4th". I drove a 350 with a 9 speed From Chicago to Boston once and loved how it pulled the hills on ny. It was able to pull most grades at 45 mph and could keep her around 1500-1600 rpm with normal egt temp.

I dont know.... every time my truck was clean they were trying to get under it. every time it was dirty it was never looked at.

Cabmate makes/sells them new but they are pricy. May have to fab one up. or call global truck parts...but get in line im still waiting for my air ride kit!!!!!

I was at the conexpo show a few years back when the Maxx force engine was first shown. I chatted with the sales rep a little and even he was wondering how it was going to perform. Heck you could not see the engine block with all the crap that was bolted onto it. It looked like it was from an alen space ship!

the 8ll is a great trans parts are easy but a little pricey mack 9 speeds are good but have known clutch pack issues. first think I would do is replace that clutch pack. 13 speeds will have all the gears you want but not as deep reduction in the lower gears as a 8ll. any of these transmissions will put you around 75MPH+

I like it. i did see that pic somewhere before but had forgotten all about it. Would be intresting to hear what and why it was done. regardless a sharp truck that stands out.