ThaddeusW

I also would like to know when you turn and that lift axle is down, does it scrub allot? I mean it looks like those tires take a beating and I wonder why I have never seen a self steered single tire lift axle on that setup. Don't some guys run twin steer dumpers?

Hmmmm. That actually makes sense as everyone says that CAT is the odd man out. Mack stopped offering CAT a while back I believe late 90's or early 2000 when they signed a contract with Cummins to be their exclusive supplier of big bore power. PACCAR is readying their MX engine and they are also rebranding cummins ISB and ISL engines as PX6 and PX8 engines. International is also readying their MAXXFORCE 12 and 13 but will still offer CAT engines. Freightliner still offers CAT engines in all of their brands (Sterling, Westernstar) but is going to push their Detroit DD15 engine. I used to think it would be cool if CAT developed their own truck and now that might be closer to reality. It only makes sense as they not only have engines but also offer constant torque automatic transmissions for all of their on highway engines. And that is directly competing with Allison but Allison doesent have a big 8 speed to handle the C15, CAT does. And CAT is one of the only vendors to offer a 2050 foot pound engine aside from Volvo's D16 and soon Mack with the MP10. An people have said Volvo got the D16 design from Cummins. CAT has the world wide dealer and service network. Marketing a truck wouldn't be that hard for them.

Ducky, As far as I know its boils down to mainly your suspension and axle capacity. Engine and transmission play a big role as well as your chassis. Some suspensions allow for a high Gross combination weight compared to others. Take these two different suspension from Hendrickson: HAS & PRIMAXX. 46 rears on HAS are allowed 68 tonnes or 150,000 lbs. On Primaxx 46's are allowed 180,000 lbs or 81 tonnes and higher weights are permissible as long as the suspension manufacturer allows it. Spring ride will get you a higher GCW than air. Since road trains and B double/triples dont present a high pin weight the pull force depends on the torque rods or arms that the axle is mounted to. Your R600 most likely has camelback and the 44's can handle the weight. But the 260 isnt up to more than 70 tonne. But still 70 tonnes or 154,000 lbs is still allot for that 260. The F model has more torque coming out of that V8 and the 12 speed is a good gear box for heavy hauling.

Check this thread out!

Yea I wonder too since the D16 when first bought to the states was rated at 625HP and 2250 ft/lbs! EPA 2007 killed that rating but it might make a comeback.

Hey Bullhead, I saw your truck on the International owners gallery. Very nice ride.

Both Hotrod and Chris are right you will need at least a 60 gallon tank. IR sells surge tanks to fit your needs. If you could chain 3 20 gallon tanks you need then to all have 3/4 ports to enable them to supply air to a 1 inch manifold to enable you to get enough air. That unfortunately leaves you with allot more connections to leak. I have 3 GALI air starters and one has a pinion and mount that fits my 673 but it is not easy to find parts for. Plus since its European all the connections are metric and I would have to fabricate my own supply port as its is an odd square four bolt flange. Here is an IR on ebay. Dont know what it fits but you might be able to replace the flange and pinion for a Mack one. Its one of the newer turbine type motors so it doesent need the fuel return lubricator. This PDF has information.

I will be there! Hope to actually meet up with some of you guys for once!

Haha that engine is all over the place! India has been big on casting for years. Just about ever sewer grate and cover I have seen was made in India. Oh and by the way everyone the Euro is now at $1.57! If the dollar keeps going down I would invest in the Euro as it looks like it might go up further. It was at $1.44 back in January and keeps going up. The British Pound is doing pretty good too although it is dropping a bit. Russia had 90% of their oil money in US dollars and now its down to 40% with 50% in Euros and 10% in British pounds. Foreign investments are dumping the Dollar in favor of the Euro.

Its a similar layout I believe but the 672 is the Lanova design using indirect injection via a pre-combustion chamber. The 673 used Scanias direct injection open combustion chamber design. Totally different heads. I would stick with a 673 manual.

It amazes me how Volvo can charge dealers, companies that market and distribute their products, $5000 for a friggen wire harness. Corporate BS at its finest! VCADS? If Volvo were commited to their products they would realise that their products need to be serviced and if I were then I would try to give dealers the tools to fix the trucks at eithe no cost or low cost. And seriously The ASET debacle looks like weak engineering which really goes to show either they have poor engineering talent or not enough funding/materials/engineers to properly design engines. What happened to Mack's leadership in the diesel engine market? ASET = Absolutly S&%$ Engine Technology The Maxidyne blew people away with a 237HP engine that could pull 80+k with a 5 speed! Holy crap you couldent even do that today. Its a shame it all ended with the horrid ASET before Volvo came in and bailed them out with the D12/13.

The illegals are the problem. If you come here legally, I have no problem with that. Three of my friends are immigrants. All of their families came here legally and all of them are doing very well. Its the stupid politicians like Spitzer who wanted to give drivers Licenses to illegals but thankfully that moron was caught and now is out of office. You also have special interest groups that try to defend the illegals and want the government to provide them with the same services a citizen has. They should F^%& off because everyone deserves a chance but only if you come to this country the proper way like so many others. Rejected? Too bad try again. As for my political stance I take no sides. I am a democrat but wanted to vote for Ron Paul. A TRUE Republican who knows all about the BS going on here and wanted to put a stop to it.

You can use the start position for a solenoid or a dash mounted push valve. I think the dash valve looks cool .

Doh! For to add that one.

Here. Its Watts Mack so I thought that info might be accurate.

Something being made in Great Brittan? Thats a new one to me. Well all of our manufacturing is moving to china where substandard yet cheap materials and manufacturing processes exist. I believe its can be up to ten times cheaper to make something in China. Plus the EPA has created a huge problem when it comes to setting up steel mills and possibly foundries so guess who has no environmental laws? China. So thats why most of our scrap metal is shipped there. Who do we blame? The corporations who have been trying to increase profits to satisfy share holders with no care for quality. And we all know ALL politicians are easily corruptible when it comes to money. And don't forget the weak dollar thanks to the central banks (Federal Reserve) who have been creating debt for us since 1914. And since oil is traded in dollars the price of oil has been increased to compensate for the weak dollar. This has caused oil countries that have their financial reserver in dollars to dump the dollar putting more dollars back into the economy thus further lowering the dollars value. Unless something is done soon we are headed for big trouble.

Cant wait to see a TD Titan tridrive here in the states .

Ok air starters are very reliable. They will out last an electric by a factor of three and can be rebuilt easily. Reguardless of temprature you have plenty of starting power. As long as you ensure your plumbing is tight and sealed good you shouldn't have any problems. You can get jumped by any tractor because next to the air starter tank you would fit a glad hand to accept a trailer supply line. The only concern is a cold climate an engine can be stuborn to start and an air starter doesent has a much shorter crank time. Sometimes only a few seconds depending on the tank size. They were and still are used extensively in Australia because they were much more reliable then an electric and you can jump yourself in the middle of nowhere. Jump yourself you say? YUP! They would have a hose or two and use the air pressure in the tires to fill the starter tank. Cool huh ? Then after they get jumped they just take the hose hook it to the trailer air supply and fill them back up. So yea air starters are better

Well a non turbo Mack diesel in a B model would be an END673. EN is for engine D means its a diesel and 673 is the displacement in cubic inches. There would be a T after the D if it was a turbo. There were also a few letters that came after that denoted the generation of the block. For example I have an ENDT673 with no trailing letter which is the original turbo block that only allowed for a bypass oil filter. Newer 673 blocks had the ability to use a full flow oil filter. Look on top of the gear housing above where the injection pump bolts and look for the engine ID numbers stamped on. Also you can look at the passenger side of the block toward the front where the tach cable runs to the compressor shaft housing and there is the engine plate.

I would love to see how they shoe horned an ISX into that chassis under that cab.

Sounds like a really nice project. Why not use a rear self steering tag like coach buses do to enable you to turn tighter and still maintain the weight capacity? That should also help with fuel economy as there won't be that much drag on the drive line. Also if your looking for comfort spec the truck with the Hendrickson airtek front suspension. Also look into air disc brakes as they are easy to service and have better stopping power and fade resistance. Dont know if Mack could help you with air disc brakes but Meritor and Hendrickson do offer them.

I am still confused as to why they now have a little Mack logo in the corner of the grille instead of the big logo in the middle. Reminds me of the little White GMC badge in the corner of the grille on Volvo/White trucks. I still think they are making room for the Volvo slash on there.

Hey aaron welcome aboard! "some of you might know me from hanks truck pictures" Yep sure do!

As chris said everything is pretty much the same. They just took the whole gauge cluster, pedals and steering wheel and moved it to the right side and mirrored the rest of the dash. The gear shift pattern is even the same as here in North America.

Damn fine looking truck! Is that a big radiator or what for the bumper to have a grille on it. Must be for the new 07 engines.