GearheadGrrrl

Been dealing with similar actuator problems on my VW Dieselcar- did a write up on it yesterday at www.gearheadgrrrl.com . After sitting in a humid garage for the month of June, the actuator rusted shut and the computer put the engine into "limp mode". Got the actuator unstuck with lots of penetrating oil, now when I put my foot into it too hard (foot to the floor at 70 MPH while towing a trailer uphill) the actuator sticks wide open and the computer puts the engine back in "limp mode". Time for more penetrating oil...

Nice lookin' tractor, and excellent specs for heavy haul!

And lotsa old Macks in their fleet! Over at www.GearheadGrrrl.com ...

Got a post up on www.GearheadGrrrl.com about the abrupt increase in trucking casualties last year, and I'd like your opinion.

Actually, sounds like a rare failure. When I drove for the Postal Service they had a whole fleet of MR tractors with 740 series automatics and air throttles, and I never heard of that failure. About the only problems I heard of were occasional out of adjustment shift cables and the low hanging lines to the trans cooler getting caught on stuff and ripped off. Both were easy fixes- you could run an Allison dry and still not kill it!

Give us the full power MP10, offer a full range of sleepers, and they'd have a competitive truck!

When a truck with an automatic with electronic controls won't go, shutting it off and restarting it resets the computer and that usually does the trick. If you've got a pre-electronic HT740, check the adjustment of the shifter mechanism and it's cable. Given that this happened at -30 C it could be that there's some stiff grease in there that won't let you shift all the way into gear until it warms up.

Agreed- the truck market out here in the Dakotas and points west demands 600 HP AND a sleeper cab!

Is up at my blog @ www.gearheadgrrrl.com Plenty of useful and practical advice on keeping tools out of the kitchen, hygiene, and dealing with overbearing relatives with Priuses...

I note no air deflectors on some UPS tractors in the background... Are they awaiting deflector installation, or has UPS figured out that air deflectors are a waste when half their miles are bobtailing to the intermodal yard?

Yes, on Hendrickson air ride which may have only a 20,000 pound rating.

If you're benefitting from a union contract you should be paying dues. Period.

Good to hear, I'll post that information on my blog www.gearheadgrrrl.com

There's no driver shortage, only a pay shortage.

Thanks for the information. How many kilometers are these trucks covering before the transmissions need to be rebuilt?

I've noted the extended warranty, and I'd make sure to buy it with any automated manual transmission. The extended warranties don't cover downtime and probably not "wear parts" like clutch linings either, so you'd be on the hook for those expenses. And after 750,000 miles? If your selling, you'll take a bigger depreciation hit as second hand buyers are justifably nervous about automated mechanical transmissions. A road test of a new truck wouldn't prove much, as I have no doubt that it drives like a dream. What I really want to see is one of these transmissions that's survived a million miles or even a million kilometers without major repairs. So far I haven't been able to find one, and if you know of one please let me know. As far as google research, I contacted Volvo media relations before writing this story and they were quite helpful, though we disagree on the durability of automated mechanical transmissions.

Got a new post over at my www.gearheadgrrrl.com blog about the questionable wisdom of high tech automatics in Volvo trucks and Ford's small cars.

Thanks for the advice guys- the company seemed a underpriced so I bought a few shares.

Miller seems to make just about everything in towing and recovery equipment. They just had an underwhelming quarterly dividend and the stock dropped 15%. I've noticed there's some folks here with experience in the towing biz- what's your opinion of Miller's products?

I'm a retired USPS Tractor Trailer Operator (official title) and used to practically live in MR tractors. USPS bought MC686 tractors in 1984, MR688s in 1991, 1996, and 1998, and may have gotten a few MRs with their last purchase of CX conventionals in 2006. Probably the most desirable were the 1998 models, as they came with the Allison 6 speed electronic transmission vs. the cruder 4 speed HT740 the 1996 and 1991 models had. The 1996 models should have been all sold off buy now, but while the 1998 purchase was mostly conventionals there were a few MRs in the order also, and IIRC Chicago got a bunch of them. Specs on the 1998 should be 300 HP engine, 12k Mack front and 40k Eaton rear axles on Hendrickson air ride with air starters and automatic chassis lube systems.

We've all heard the complaining around gearhead internet forums, campfires, and garage gatherings- such and such is hoarding old bikes/cars/trucks/whatever. Or junking them, or negelecting them, or over restoring them. And the powers that be, municipal or scrappers, are sending them to the crusher, while accusing us gearheads of turning our backyards into scrapyards. So what should our ethical standards be in collecting? I've taken an inventory of my own collecting, both literal and "12 step", but it got kinda long, so I put it in my blog over at www.gearheadgrrrl.com

Sounds interesting, Volvo just introduced a variation on this engine/trans combo with the engine turned down to 425 horses but the same peak torque as the 505 horse MP8 at 1050 RPM. Sounds like it will give incredible mileage, but I wonder how long the transmission will last- beneath all the electronics this is still a single countershaft transmission, and in the bad old days before Maxitorques and Roadrangers those were lucky to last 500,000 miles. I suspect a customer who finds they have to expensively rebuild an automated manual transmission every couple years and can't unload it because no one else will buy it will not be a repeat customer. Wish Volvo would confine these automatic tranny experiments to Volvo and avoid sullying Mack's reputation!

Hint to Mack/Volvo: Bring back the Superliner!

That's the Superliners I was thinking of- the British magazine "Truck" had an article on them. Really missed that mag, was a first class publication and seemed like they liked Macks. There road tests were the best I've seen- they actually tested the trucks with loaded trailers and over a standard route so you could compare results between trucks.

Look likes the Superliners that were sold to a salt operation in Israel.