Geoff Weeks

My father bought exactly that in 1973, only had a few options, Posi, full foam seat, PS PB. $2700 cash IIRC. It was handed down through my brother and I, but it was a rust-bucket. You could, however do a full tune-up in a thunder storm and not get wet, there was so much room under the hood. It was ok, but of the big 3, I'd say Ford (300/240) and Dodge (225) were better engines. I would have opted for the 292. I pulled a U haul trailer from Ma to Chicago, over rt 2 in Mass, climbing the hills in 2nd at redline.

PDL can't grenade the power train. All they do is lock out the interaxle differential. The only time they could come close to doing damage is they were on a truck with 2 spd rears (I have such a truck) and one rear failed to shift with the PDL locked. The other way is to try and shift it in when one wheel is spinning. Never in my time, did I ever have a problem having both 2 spd rears and a PDL From the factory I believe that they have it set up such that the PDL is only active in low range rear axle. I had mine set up that I could lock in both. Often I would put a set of 3 railers on the back axle and lock the PDL when climbing a snowy grade. A little common sense goes a long way.

I have done it, even have some "dummy" axle shafts cut off to cap off the hub (recommend packing bearing with grease). You need a good PDL and I wouldn't rawhide it with all the power going though the bull gears on the front axle. If air ride, you can cap off the air to the bags and chain the axle up. Then no worries on bearing lube. I am not as up on Mack Bogies do they all have an air operated PDL that can be locked? Rockwell, IHC (spicer) Dana and Eaton all do.

The trolly valve/Johnson bar, is normally plumbed to apply the trailer brakes only. It is independent of the treadle valve, both come together at the double check valve ahead of the tractor protection valve. Whichever pressure is higher gets sent to the trailers blue line.

Most all block heaters are made in both 120 and 240 volt variants, if the plug end still has a USA NEMA 5-15P in it then it would be safe to assume it is still 120 volt, if it has a NEMA 6-15 or British/Irish plug one would conclude it has been changed to the higher voltage. Testing the resistance will tell what voltage.

Being a '91 it should have a Big Cam NT88 so if it has a small cam the engine has been changed. By 1992 I think the N-14 was out. If a NT88 350 it will be a CPL 840, good engine, I had many miles on one. When you get the cab up, post the CPL number off the engine tag, that will ID it. If he pre filled the filter, it will start and clear itself. May run rough until the air is out, but I have changed a few from underneath.

Damn, Jim glad to see you still kickin! I am surprised to see you post here, but I will not tell!

I'm in the group of people who say the worse is already done, so start it and run it long enough to make an assessment of its condition. May be something that was wedged somewhere that broke loose, or it may be more serious. At this point it can't make it a bigger problem. As you said it ran good. If it was clanking and banging before it stopped, I'd be more concerned.

That is why I said to change to the longer ones, Not all front hubs can use them, and some take a different design. Putting 20K on an axle/brake/suspension designed for 12 K is dumb and a good DOT man that know his job will red-line a truck caring more weight on the steers than components are rated for. That said, having a little excess capacity in the front means never loading everything to the max all the time. While the axle isn't likely to break with a few extra lbs the brakes on heavier axles are 16.5 instead of 15 and can be wider depending on the axle. Then there is the tie rod that hs to turn the bigger tire contact area, one designed for 10.00x 20 tire contact turning "floaters" is subject to failure. If Glenn was still with us I would suggest you ask him about cracked steering arms on the front knuckles. He had some stories tell about that. Doing mild "heavy haul" with my trucks, that from the get go had 12K on the steer bobtail, I upped the springs and wheels/tires, more because when turning a big load, the steer would tend to "plow" and the rig go straight. I could drop a bit of air off the pusher axle and load the steer to 14K or so for the turn, then re-set for running down the road. If I was going to load all the time, I would have replaced with 18-20K axle, brake and suspension, along with twin steering boxes or an assist ram on the passengers side.

BTW, I wouldn't bother with 12r 22.5's if I wanted to carry more weight. 295/80x 22.5's can carry up to 7800 or more per tire and are the same diameter as a 11rx 22.5 and just a touch wider. They can be mounted on a 8.25 but then only load to the rims max of 7K lbs. On a 9" rim they can carry the full weight. They are handy because they can be used next to a 11x 22.5 in dual applications after the life as a steer tire is done. Very versatile size, but is not the same as a 295/75.22.5 that is a far more common tire. that is smaller diameter than a 11x 22.5 (it is equal to a 10x 22.5 or a 9.x 20 ).

8.25 rims are generally limited to 7K lbs. Spacer is determined by the cast spoke width and not the rims. If wider/rims tires will not allow enough dual spacing than they can't be used. A wider spacer will push the wedges out on the end of the spoke too far making the joint weak. 4 1/4" spacer bands are common and can be used with 9" (tubeless) or 8" tube-type rims.

yes

wedges with the long "tail" are needed when using 9" rims, if these are what you have now, you would be fine If they are short like this, you would need to upgrade

spokes are the same. the "cleats" on the steer axle may be different for the 9" rim depending on what was used originally. Generally speaking 6 spoke hubs were used where higher axle loads were seen, but unless you are making big changes, you should be fine as axle loading is limited by the axle and brake configuration as well as springs. to go with steer axle loading over 13k-14k you are going to need a whole lot, new axle and suspension duel steering boxes or assist cylinder etc. 9" rims are only a small part of the picture.

Love to see a pictorial diagram of it as it is something I have not run across. Couldn't have lasted too long as it wasn't common to come across.

I don't know, companies are always buying eachother. CR numbers and National are different, or were a few years ago when I was getting them. National used to be part of Bower bearing years ago, no idea who owns them now. CR classic seals have a metal exterior with boretite on the outside. The also market a rubber outside like National does under a different name "CR gold???" Once you find something that works for you, you stick with it. For me, that was CR Classic.

CR and Fel-Pro were both old Chicago companies that made things from industrial cast-offs from the stockyard. Leather has always been used from water pump cups, to shaft seals, CR is now part of SKF. Felt was another product that had many uses.

BTW the oil fill plug on the rear in my K is lower down the housing from where the axle tube height is. Takes more work to make sure oil gets out to the hubs than modern axle housings. That and the fact that it sits most of the time make packed bearings better than oil, but that is unique to that trucks situation. I still use a unitized seal at the hub, even with greased bearings.

I only installed CR classic on my commercial stuff. You do know the "CR" stands for Chicago Rawhide don't you! Fel-pro is Felt products Corp. Unitized seals were a game-changer for the drive axles. Stemco's were more difficult to install, but they were the 1st "oil seal" for the hub area to come out as far as I know. Unless I am mis-understanding what Mecho was saying, what he described was different then the old greased bearings with the oil seal at the axle flange end and the grease seal at the hub-spindle joint. How I understand what he is saying is the outer bearing ran in oil from the axle tube and the inner bearing was packed in grease. I have never seen that, but don't claim to have seen it all. Your description of seals not lasting two brake jobs is why I never complained too much about inboard drums on spoke hubs. That said, I know a guy in Alaska who always pulled the hub/tires/drum as a unit, and on his own stuff slapped back together without changing the seals. He claimed the old Stemco leather seals could have that done and not leak, I was never brave enough to try it.

At this point it is unlikely that we will know the reason for what Mecho described, as I have said, I have never seen a hub where the outboard bearing ran in oil and the inboard in grease. I have seen several ways they hold the oil back, at differing places on the hub, but never one where one of the two wheel bearing are in oil and the other in grease. I am intrigued! Jojo and I both have trucks that had felt wheel seals, with greased bearings. On the drive axle you can install a modern unitized seal in place of the felt, but on the steer axle you would to machine parts to allow for a rubber lip seal to be used. The felt seal is pinned to the knuckle with felt compressed between two washers that are squeezed by the rear bearing, If you remove the washers and felt you need to make a "dummy" wear surface to fit over the pin and hold the bearing is correct alignment, then a seal could be found to be pressed into the hub and ride on the new surface. The original had the seal stationary and the felt road in the inside of the hub bore. The replacement front seal would have to be very narrow as was the original felt. As long as all the original parts are still on the hub, you can cut new felt and throw it back together.

I agree, when we are talking about grease vs oil in the wheel bearings, but that kinda falls apart when you make a set up that has one run in oil and the other in grease. Both greased and oiled bearings have proved successful. It took making a seal between the hub and spindle that could hold back oil in that environment. Once we had that, most elected for oil, just simpler and there is no doubt when you have a leak. That still leaves the question why you would make the 1/2 step of one in grease and one in oil? Trailers and non driven hubs are going back to grease, (abet different grease than the 60's) and in some applications old grease is still preferred. Driven axles have a problem others don't, you have to hold the oil back somewhere, in the axle tube, at the outer end of the shaft or at the hub/spindle joint. It makes the choice less clear cut. When old wheel seals were felt or leather, there was little choice. Stemco came out with the 1st hub seal at the spindle (was still leather at 1st IIRC), but the wear surface was changed each time the hub was off. Rubber was used at the axle flange end as it was away from the brake heat, to keep the oil out of the bearing area. Some of the old felt/ leather seals can be replaced by modern unitized seals, but not all can, depends on how the hub end is constructed.

I can see it as possible if the seal was installed behind the outer race of the outer bearing and sealed on the spindle, but would make the hub hard to install without damaging the seal. The question is why? If going to all that trouble, than why not have both run in oil? I'm curious because I have never run across it. Greased bearing have some advantages, and some drawbacks, but you have to seal the oil in somewhere, and doing either before or after the bearing both have good reason for that method, have one oil and one grease leave you with the disadvantages of both.

Do you have a pictorial diagram of that? I've worked on plenty of greased wheel bearing/full floating axles, but never seen one with a seal between the inner and outer wheel bearing? I trying to imagine how that would work in practice, and I can't see why it would be done? Either seal at the axle tube and grease the bearings, or let the oil spill and seal at the spindle. I've seen a few different ways used to keep oil off the bearings, but never one oil and one greased.

Every truck junkyard has a ton of mounts. If you stick to the same brand, you can keep your 5th wheel and just replace the mount. Otherwise you can buy the whole thing. They are not "adjustable". The mount determines the height off the frame.

With plastic tanks and aluminum cores today, the old radiator shop in every city is a thing of the past. I had one in Omaha that was excellent, custom cores were no problem, recored my 1942, my Marmon and custom cores for my IHC 9670's. Unfortunately, closed a few years back, no idea where to go now.