bbigrig

I spec'd and priced a Granite daycab tractor and was surprised that the granite was quite a bit heavier then a similar CXU and Thousands more then the CXU. The Granite just has a real tough look about it and really wanted something different then the Pinnacle which we already have a few. I was told a story that a Canadian heavy hauler fleet wanted to spec a CXU with heavy frame and a 16K lb front axle with a lift for moving large concrete overpass girders. (I know the fleet and they have been buying Mack since the 50's) The customer needed the 16 fronts and wanted the CXU as they have over 100 of them between the 2 fleets they operate. Mack engineering would not approve a 16 front axle and the dealer had no choice but to switch the quoted trucks to Granites (with the exact same specs as the CXU's) that were available with 16 fronts. The pricing shot the quote up so far they lost the deal for 6 or so units. They have ordered more CXU's since then and saw a few on the line at Macungie in June. The Granites ended up more expensive then the WesternStar's they ended up taking with DD15 power. The Salesman was pissed!!! and Very disappointed in Mack's Eng. department. (He could get that axle on a VN Volvo by the way)

Remember when hauling tri-axle loads with an E6-350-4V did the job??? Now we do it with 505's!!! Are we going backwards or forwards with specs these days?

The SuperDog float is owned by Condor float service. Phil Condello owns it. He branched off from the family dump truck business in Woodbridge near Toronto. The Condello's own a beautiful fleet of Mack's that have included B models, R,RD,DM and now Granite. I have pictures of their trucks and need to post them some day. They have a DM they painted the 2V 350 Red and chromed the snot out of everything on the motor. Huge Mack Guys up until the early 2000's. The dumps are still all Mack. Phil bought that RW back in the late 90's and it was originally E9 powered. They had to many head and head gasket issues with the E9 and repowered it with a 3406B 425. He also owns some Petes. They keep their trucks spotless. That Pinnacle will do the job it was intended to do. Nice truck! Glad to see another Paccar owner has gotten schooled on Mack function over Paccar fashion.

Happy Birthday neighbor!

I would avoid the really fast gears for an M-Drive. I would spec an overdrive Trans and a 3.36. I have no interest in anything faster then that as it just puts more torque load on the drive shaft and trans components. These M-drives are single countershaft and the last time I checked we spec slower rear ends to make easier work for our engines and transmissions among other reasons. I fear huge vibration and premature drivetrain wear with all of these super fast rear ends for fuel economy on flat land. Sure the truck will save fuel with the faster rears on a flat but for every incline it will have to work harder to crest the hill. With the spec you are thinking about you would need a direct drive with those rears. You would be cruising at around 1300-1350 with those numbers for 62mph. (approx) The 445C and Fuller 13 with 355's 22.5 rubber is getting over 8mpg for 62mph. I double checked and its running 1400rpm at 105km/h I think its the best of both worlds.

Happy Canada Day Eh! In the Spirit of All things Canadian today, we have decided to add another project to the fleet. Another Canadian Built Mack. More Pics to follow soon. (Even the serial plate is affixed with Robertson screws......It doesn't get more Canuk then that)

I had one of the small wires to the starter relay break inside the heat shrink tubing. It was one of the eyelet connectors to the small relay mounted on the starter. The truck is a CXU 2013 and the wire was rotted and broken already.

I too got rid of my 2006 CHN for the lack of fuel mileage and went back to older and newer Dogs. Every ASET engine we had was a huge disappointment. I loved my Rawhide but couldn't stand the lack of performance that truck was costing me just to look that good. That is a nice WS. Congrats. I love stories of the poor younger drivers that have no idea of what it was like to drive rigs before or without A/C. LOL.

All the MP8's are pretty much the same. The torque curve starts around 1100rpm and drops off just under 1500 rpm if i remember correctly. somewhere around 1400 is the sweet spot. Anymore then 1450 is wasted fuel. These MP's pull like hell right down to 1000rpm. I tell the guys not to bog them down that low but they handle it well. (All of the newer MP literature I have are missing the graph's for some weird reason???) 445 and 505 act very similar in torque etc. except for needing to feed more horses. Keep in mind you get into a whole different animal with the 505E+ (Econ-boost) There is a big difference in performance that I and my dealer have noticed with regards to weather or not your MP8 is an Econodyne, Maxicruise or Maxidyne. We have found and our dealer agrees that the Maxicruise is getting the best all around performance results for grunt and fuel economy. The best performer we have is the MP8445C (Maxicruise) Our 505E (Econodyne) should be the fuel miser that it isnt and in performing has fell flat on its face. That is the engine we reflashed to a 445C. It has gained in fuel mileage (almost 1/2 an MPG) and pull on long grades as reported by the dedicated driver. The stock trucks the dealer is ordering in are predominately Maxicruise.(C Engines) Our 445C with 13 Fuller and Eaton 355's on 22.5 rubber runs 1400rpm at 105km/hr

Westport, Cummins former partner in NG engine development liked the Diesel ignited NG engine design against the spark ignited versions like Cummins uses. Only issue is the Diesel/NG engines I've seen has an SCR system to compensate for the Diesel. Seems a waste. I hear Westport will be teaming with Volvo instead of Cummins now. They are interested in the D13 and have given up on the ISX15. If you ever see the test unit have a look to see if it has Westport's name on it anywhere.

If the power divider is almost wore out it will bang in and out almost constantly when put under almost any load. I had the same issue when 1 of mine was on its last legs. The divider was engaging and disengaging without a whimper while I was using it daily. But with the wear, it became very noticeable within a few days of use.

Nope. Will need to pull the Trans. There is also an updated shaft that needs to be changed with that snap ring. It's the weakest part of the Mack T200/300 series of Trannies. Don't put to much blame on the driver. The worst thing most of us do is pre select the range shift and make the shift under torque load while progressively shifting for fuel economy. We are suppose to pre select but wind that gear out so its not pulled out of low range to high under torque load. I made the mistake of putting one of my Mack's with a T200 trans into heavy regional use. With the updated shaft and ring it does a lot better. The shaft is another $400 on top of the labor to pull it out and pull the rear housing off. It's the last Mack in daily use I have with a Mack Trans for that reason. Its to expensive and unreliable for the heavy regional use. No issues with my Fullers with over 1 million kms.

Tranny Aux box??? What seems weird is that from the sounds of your description it only happens in forgive the term "under direct" (Orange Fuller button in low position). But it should happen in every gear position with the button in that position in high range???? Something via high RPM"s in the trans is disconnecting your drive train from your power plant??? Can't say I've seen that one.

The 460XT was also rated at 487hp and is pre ASET and non EGR. Both ASET and E-tech were available with similar horse power ratings. I owned both a 2006 CHN with an ASET 487 and a 2003 CH E-Tech 460XT wasted gated turbo non EGR. A friend had a 2001 CL with the 460xt That E-Tech 460XT was a much better engine then the ASET. I've sold all of my ASET Mack's and noticed how much better the fleet is for it.

Didn't notice a lick of difference between our ASET 487hp and our ASET460 hauling the same gross weights as you at one point. Just the 487 sipped on more fuel.

Tri drive is also replacing some of the old uses for lift axles here in Ontario. You can't lift axles on corners here anymore and the self steer liftables are very problematic. Most are going with the fixed axle that gives more traction in our wonderful winters. I'm starting to see tandem steer cement mixers with tri-drive axles on the rear in downtown Toronto. (Metrix ready-mix) That Tri-drive Titan is for Trimac in Western Canada. Same Trimac as you see in the US. There were a few trucks for John Grant Haulage on the line over the weekend. (cab and hood half blue and half white) I was a mechanic there. They ordered Air Disc brakes but had Mack engineering approve those brakes with steel hubs not aluminum. The aluminum hubs get to hot and cause bearing race issues over time. (As with some of the Freightliners they have) With the 120,000-135,000lb gross weights Grant Hauls, those discs were going to get to hot for those hubs.

I have a 14,600lb front with those Mack unitized hubs. In one year and 210,000kms I've had that truck lined up 3 times because of tire wear, wander and stiff steering in comparison to my 12,000 fronts with the same hubs. Think my 2013 CXU is in line for the same bushing issues???

I would keep the 445hp. Its done just fine for Me. Stay away from the Direct Drive. Keep the rear end gears slower. It minimises the possibility of drive line wear and vibration over the long run if you plan on keeping this truck for a while. It also decreases torque load on the rear ends. A lot of this "Super Econodyne" spec to me is "Flat Lander" or "Prarie" spec. Make sure you personally know some one with the "Super Econ" spec before you make the purchase and take the time to get the real world fuel mileage results from a similar speced truck and its owner. I've run into a few and say the spec is good in some circumstances and crappy in most circumstances. All depending on Gross weight of load, terrain, climate (winter driving etc), routes (Traffic) blah, blah. If you need fuel economy and good old fashion pull on hills my 445-13Fuller-355rs works just fine for over 8mpg for 80k gross. My drivers love leaving guys on the hills with over 80k gross in the south and up here with over 110k gross in The Great White North. Your Super Econ spec would end up being one of them left somewhere in the middle of ANY hill. Think about it........ I was going to spec that set up next but decided not to. My highway units get over 1 million kms in less then 5 years. Nobody wants to buy an M-drive with tall rears at 1 million Kms. That will effect your pocket book too, and is usually over looked.

The 2013 MP8 I own had cups and injectors done at 20,000kms approx. It only had the shuttering issue under heavy load and hot. That truck never produced the loss of prime or hard starting. I have had another of my MP8's do the shutter and hard starting. Seems you can get multiple characteristics for the same problem with MP series engines.

That Firewall fuse panel was a BAD idea on engineering's part.

If its an E-Tech E7 (1998-2002) with a plate type oil cooler (stack of metal plates over oil filters) its the Oil cooler. Crappiest Coolers ever.

"Beer Assistant!!!!" Yes it pumps it back....But your crystallization issue is the biggest issue I'm seeing. Its never going to go away. We are stuck with it. Ugh. Can't wait till my new ones are out of warranty. Yikes!

That is a nice R-Model. Congrats.

DEF pumps are a problem....