jzack

Maybe I'm a glass half full guy, but I think Volvo really does know and respect Mack to a certain extent. I mean here we are some 12 years into this and Mack is still here. A guy can still spec a "Mack" truck that has a Mack hood, cab, interior, transmission, axles, and an engine tuned and programmed by Mack engineers. These aren't just re-badged Volvos as some would say. No one in this global economy can go it alone anymore and this marriage has gone better than many others. In fact, if Volvo owning Mack "is a crime" than what GM did to Saab should be considered man-slaughter! Remember the "Trollblazer"? Simply a re-badged Trailblazer for the SUV shopping Saab faithful. No wonder Saab is dead! Could Mack have been better without Volvo? Who knows? Maybe, but it could also have been worse than it is now, a lot worse.

Had this problem also with the Holset compressor on my 94 CH. Went through 3 compressors before switching to a Bendix and the problem seems fixed 3 months into it. The Holsets all passed oil almost immediately. BTW, the Holset comp. were Mack grey, while the Bendix is blue/green.

Sorry to hear you don't like the 444's. I really think they are the best drive tire for the money, but I don't go off road either. You may find they'll last longer than the Michelins though based on my experience. About the caps, like everyone else here said, they can be a great value, just be sure to use your own casings.

Found out recently that the service bulletin with update kit has been discontinued for the Holset compressor. Not sure why. As stated above, I'm currently on my THIRD Holset now in 7 months and this one seems to be passing oil from the moment I left the dealer!! Thinking about asking Holset to refund the cost of their compressor and labor to remove it so I can replace it with a Bendix unit.

David, could you find the part# for that filter kit? I'm on my THIRD Holset now in less than 6 months and am at the end of my rope trying to figure this out. Mack has tested everything Holset has told them to check (including the coolant lines) and can't find the problem. Does this kit reduce the boost pressure to the head of the compressor? I heard Holsets can't handle more than 30PSI or they will burn out. This could be my problem. Just searched through Macks Technical Service Bulletins since '94 and didn't find anything about this kit using 'holset' and 'compressor' as my search words........ Thanks, Jeff

America losing its manufacturing base is mostly myth. America still builds more things by GDP than Germany, Japan, and yes even China. Many of the job losses people hear about in manufacturing are do to automation and other efficiencies of a post-industrial economy. Our industial base is still the envy of the world, thats why all the major global players have to come here to compete in the global economy that AMERICA MADE.

I also do mostly stop and go local work. I deliver steel with a flatbed or conestoga trailer loaded with up to 6 or 7 stops per run, so I'm not grossing 80k all the time. I do have some decent idle time though as I usally let the truck run during stops. We've had several E-7 350s with 9-speeds, both mechanical and electronic, and I don't recall any of them dipping below 6mpg all that often. If I had to guess, I'd say your 442 rears probably hurt your mileage more than anything, especially if you do alot of freeway running at 65mph.. Keeping the rpms down is the key, 1,500 - 1,600rpm seems to be the sweet spot for mpg for the E-7 in my experience. I'm not so sure about the electronic E-7 making power quicker than the mechanical. In my experience the V-macs all had a bad dead spot from 1,200-1,400rpm, where as the mechanicals pulled hard right away. Probably something to do with the electronic puff limiter because adding the blixxton would make the dead spot go away.

94 CH600 E-7 350 V-mac I w/ Blixxton upgrade Fuller 9-speed 3.86 Mack rears 67 mph@ 1,600rpm 6.0 - 6.5 mpg winter 6.5 - 7.0 mpg summer

I highly doubt you need a new pump. You said yourself the truck runs fine until it goes into de-rate mode. I would almost bet it needs a new Econovance solenoid. We have had two mid-nineties CH's this past year have the EXACT same symptoms as your truck, same code 35 (timing actuator), and both were fixed by replacing the Econovance. It is that box at the front/top of the pump with the round solenoid and two wires sticking out the side of it.

Code 35 on my 94 ch600 was the econovance solenoid. Took it to Mack that night and was back to work the very next day. Yeah it cost $1,000 but it saves me ALOT of headaches by just bringing it to the dealer and having a guy work on it who knows these trucks inside and out. Mine has 970,000mi and 32,000hrs and is still a very reliable truck.

You mean the GTO Judge, right?

Is the Shutdown light and buzzer coming on? If so (seems you already know this) only oil pressure, coolant temp and coolant level would cause that as far as I know......

You can do a self-diagnostic without a scan tool if that is what you need. Just turn the Speed Control switch to OFF, then press and hold the SET/DECEL switch until the fault lamp goes off. The blink codes will follow with a two digit code, each digit seperated by one second delay. Let me know what you find, I have the blink-code guide.

I just spent three days in Puerto Rico and seen ALOT of great old Macks, new Macks, some Kenworths, but no Volvos that I recall. Drivers seem to take great pride in their trucks down there. People were very friendly and helpful and I enjoyed my time there. Just one complaint, using your turn signal in Puerto Rico seems to be a sign of weekness to your fellow motorists and all but guarantees NOBODY will let you in!!!

I'm having a similar problem with my E-7 350, getting alot of oil in my air dryer even with a new compressor. Where does you compressor draw air from? If it draws before the turbo, while on boost it could be sucking oil past the pistons in the compressor. This wasn't the issue in my case (still havn't figured it out) but heard it is more common on older motors.

3P- Keep it up! Employees like you are what makes "MACK- The Greatest Name In Trucks".

Thanks for the replies. I checked, and my compressor does draw from the intake manifold so that probably isn't the issue here. Maybe something to check-- turbo bearing is going and putting oil into the intake charge? Had a knowledgable mechanic at the local dealer tell me the only way EXCESSIVE oil can get into the air system is through a worn out compressor so this is somewhat of a head scratcher...... David- thanks, I'll check on that filter kit.

Had a new compressor installed in Feb. because of excessive oil in air system. Well it has been 4 mo. now and I still get a large puddle of oil under the air dryer (3" in dia.) after idling about 20 minutes. So, what should I look for now? Could this still be residual oil left in the system? I did change the cartridge once since the new compressor was put in at the dealer and the canister was full of oil. I check the tanks every once in a while and they have some moisture, but no signs of oil. This truck works every day so I guess I was expecting the the system to clean itself out by now. So I'm starting to think there could be another issue here. Anyone have an opinion and or experience with this problem? Thanks, Jeff

Thanks for the advice guys. I feel better about just leaving the extension on now. Keeps things cleaner. A catch can ain't a bad idea either, however I've never seen one on a big truck! The blow-by, while making a bigger mess than usual, isn't too bigga deal YET I think. Maybe one gallon every 4,000mi. I think I was told by a Mack mechanic once to do a rebuild once your in the one gallon for every 1,200mi. range. I'm gonna keep a close eye on it now though. Jeff

MY 94 E-7 with 913,000mi on original motor and turbo has been spitting a little more oil than usual out the breather messing up my tanks and stuff in only a couple days work. So I decided to add a 2ft. extension with a piece of radiator hose that slipped over the breather perfectly. Now just a week later, while setting my valves, a Mack mechanic with 20+ years experience told me I should get rid of the extension because the breather should never extend beyond the oil pan. If it does, he said crankcase pressure will be off and "stuff will wear out faster" in the motor. While I tend to trust a guy with so much experience, what he said just doesn't make sense to me. IMO as long as the size of the opening of the breather tube stays the same, the length of the tube shouldn't matter, right? Anybody have an opinion and/or experience with this? Thanks.

And on top of all that mess, here in Minnesota, a first year DOT audit is mandatory for any newly issued operating authority. Not sure about Jersey though.

I use Mystic, the red high-temp stuff on everything. Usually grease every 3 weaks to a month. 860,000 miles and haven't replaced a drive-train component yet! (knock on wood)

This is probably a long shot but have you checked to see that the air cleaner intake is properly aligned with the intake ducting on the hood? Mine was at least 3 inches off. After rotating the air canister for proper alignment my pyro was noticebly cooler. I also turned my intake louvers on the hood around to face forward for more of a "ram" air effect....every little bit helps. Getting your valves adjusted probably wouldn't hurt either if that was never done before, but that ain't cheap like the first two ideas.

Seen with my own eye's one of those new Fontaines, think it was a Phantom, with one of the beams snapped almost clean in half. The bottom flange gave away. The driver was pulling out of a building with a load of plate on and- BOOM!! Sounded like a pipe bomb going off. Guess the driver said this wasn't the first one in their fleet to do this! I always thought those new extruded aluminum beams looked too thin around the flange. The old welded style flange on my Raven's is much beefier. I suppose some engineer at Fontaine had a fancy "material analysis" computer program tell him that that beam would be strong enough. Computers just can't account for all the variables found out in the real world. 7,800# seems awfully light, even for aluminum. What kind of warranty do they offer?

I hear you there. Definitely slim pickens for flat-bed steel haulers. Many of the steel centers around here have their own company trucks so guess who's the odd man out.