Rob

Since we're on the subject of air dryers: I've got this air dryer on my truck and don't have an idea as to what series it is other than Bendix. It does not stop bleeding air until the air compressor kicks in to make more air. The air bleeds down from the reserve tanks, (both of them) and sets the brakes within 10 minutes when the engine is not running. There are no leaking fittings. I've got all of those stopped. Thanks, Rob

Hey Herb: My RL-755L has the hood that is displayed in the last picture. How common was that? I've never seen another long hood truck with it. I've seen several of the "Econdyne" series R 600 trucks with that hood. My R-795 is the standard long hood that is flat in the middle as all of the other R models I've seen. Rob

Now there is some good news!! Sure glad it was something simple even though difficult to locate. Rob

I can believe that Adrian. Trucks and automobiles produced for export must comply with the destination country's mandates. Your truck being marketed outside of the USA very well could be equipt with hardware that was mandated changed in the USA. We have safety issues out the ying yang here. Both my 77, and 78 have the new style latches. My 73 also had them but they were in place prior to my ownership. Rob

Trent, I think, (but could be wrong) that the new style double pawl locking set was mandated for the 1973 model year. I remember when I was a teenager, (many years ago) retrofitting the older style latches to the new style. It would have been about that timeframe. Rob

I would not disagree with anything said so far. I always tend to be a little "leary" of unfinished projects such as something with new paint, and missing small items. This can be indicative of someone in over their head, or loss of interest due to timeframe and/or monetary obligations. The ornamentation will be very expensive to acquire if it is totally missing. This truck, (to me) appears to be dolled up for a quick sale with the classic "Dupont Overhaul". It is also located at a dealership of sorts. A person that wants to sell something that they have a personal interest in goes out of their way to inform you of what the truck looked like before the paint was applied, and why it was repainted. They surely would not want to market the item missing a lot of the small parts. Even poor originals are a postive selling point and beat nothing. The ad as I remember lists nothing about any missing parts. Looking at the pictures of the truck posted, and thinking of the price asked for it: It would not be in your best interest to purchase this item without your own eyes on it, or someone trusted in the evaluation process. As an example: I charge $60.00 per 1/2 hour to evaluate used, or second hand vehicles for prospective buyers in my locale. Most dealerships and resellers do not like me straight out. I find problems, some intentionally hidden, some legitimately wear items. I then give the prospective purchaser a signed form of the evaluation listing all deficiencies found. Also listed are positive attributes. It would be prudent before laying down the funds, (and the prospective future funds to complete the project) to hire a third party inspector at a reasonable price to do the inspection if you cannot. If I were closer to this unit, I would "donate" the inspection to help support this hobby. Ultimately, the decision is yours. The asking price is not out of line if this unit is an honest truck, and it is what you are looking for. New paint can hide a lot of flaws to the untrained eye and I like to think my 33 years in the autobody repair business has taught me a couple of things. Best of luck with your decision! Rob

Wonder why in the hell someone installed older style doors on your truck? Rust possibly? You can modify your door with some skillful cutting of the "D" shape and the bolt layout (as can be seen from the picture(s) are the same. I do believe you would need to use the newer style pull rod and stiker plate on the "B" pillar to make it work. Those old round latch assemblies tended to round off internally after several years and presented the problems you speak of. You can purchase new parts for under $60.00 new. They can be acquired through Mack, (Preferably Watt's) if you go that route, or several aftermarket suppliers have the same new style latch available. If you get down my way in the near future, I'll help you. Rob

Which latch assy do you have Trent?

What, No Culture Club, or KC and the Sunshine Band fans here??????? And who could ever forget the "mesmerizing" sounds of the BeeGees? Simply amazing to me how many "Faggot Bands" there were out there that sold what passed for music at the time. Me, I have in my limited audio collection; Made in Japan, Deep Purple, Kiss, Alive, UFO, Strangers in the Night, Peter Frampton, Frampton Comes Alive, and of course, Bostons' first album. I just about forgot Alice Cooper, Greatest Hits. My wife says I have selective hearing. Funny thing is that she is the only thing I don't hear too good! Rob

Hi Paul, I'm only wanting to go with used parts as much as possible to keep the costs in reason. I don't require something new for my personal use. The trailer will only be used to haul and park my antiques on. I do want air ride so I can "dump" the air on the rear axle to save on tire scrub to prolong their service life. I may even design a lift axle as the weight will be minimal compared to capacity. I purchased nine 9RX17.5 lo boy tires from a tire shop where they were obsoleted. I do not have rims so Budd, or Dayton style hubs are not a factor as either will work. A friend of mine has a Muvall trailer and runs 8.25X15 tires and swears by them. Reluctantly, he has to purchase Korean manufactured tires as the size is obsoleted in this country, (for the most part). Running tube type tires never really mattered to me but I got these relatively inexpensively. If I could locate a furniture moving van with a sliding tandem, it would make a great donor for both a storage shed, and running gear. As I mentioned earlier, I've never seen one set up like this and don't know if it's a viable request. I've looked at all the usual places to find a used stepdeck or single drop trailer and the prices even for ones that are worn out seem quite expensive, (to me). I want something built that I can count on for 20 or so years given my limited usage, with a 25 ton capacity. I spoke at length with a manufacturer in N.C. and they would build the trailer for me it I supply the undercarriage. Time is an increasingly difficult commodity for me to find and I know this would take more of it than can be afforded. Thanks, Rob

Has anyone either seen, or heard of an air ride, drop frame van with a sliding tandem? I'm wanting to purchase a used lo profile sliding air ride setup for building a trailer. I could also use a bit more storage hence the request. I've never seen such an animal myself and do not know if they exist or not. Thanks for any input!! Rob

en welkom hoor!! Damn, that sure looks like it could be "loosely" translated into "And Welcome Whore", even though I know different. Nothing derogative meant here. Welcome to the site!! Rob

It is possible that Noid is referring to total toe in which 1/4" would be correct. I agree that a bad shock absorber could add to the dilemma if the problem is more pronounced on only one side. Worn bushings, and spring schackles can also play into the mix. Usually outside chopping on a tire can be traced to something worn, or loose. I would raise the steer axle off of the ground and support the tractor at the frame to let the front end hang free to shake and jack at different points to locate any loose or worn parts. Just some of my useless thoughts. Rob

Hi Herb, I was under the truck this afternoon and inspected the area(s) you advise. Fortunately, there is no fatique or damage of which you mention that I seen, and all bolts were tight and present. On the driver's side of the truck, the rearmost insulator rubber, (lower) is virtually non existent, with the forward insulator severely cracked and deteriorated. The upper insulators were also deteriorated severely, but there. Sometime this next week I will try to find time to install the new mount kit. Maybe this will stop the chattering upon releasing the clutch pedal when loaded. I would think that with everything mounted securely things would not have any movement. Rob

Hey there, thanks for the help. I was able to open the "cold storage locker", a.k.a. my brain, and found both kits. I had actually purchased these prior to owning either of the R models I now have, and thought they would work on a B model but they are physically smaller for that series. The part number for the complete kit of needed pieces is 204SX216. This is the complete kit including all bolts, washers, biscuits, and locknuts. I paid $22.97 for each kit on 7/27/2000. Probably a little more now. Rob

You are correct Thad. A diesel compression tester gauge is of a higher reading, (usually 1000 psi) also, as opposed to the gauge used for a gasoline engine. I'll post a picture of mine later this evening when I'm back at the shop. I paid 169.00 for a kit to do most heavy diesel truck engines by S&G Tools from a wholesale tool outlet about five years ago. It has about eight different adapters for different engines. Rob

Hi there, I'm wanting to chrome the valve covers on my ENDT 865 Mack engine and would like to borrow a set, (if possible) while mine are in the plating shop. I would be willing to bead blast and paint either mine that are in very good condition, or the borrowed set before returning them. The lead time for plating is currently four to five weeks and I don't want the truck down that long hence the request. If you are able to help, send me a pm as I check here several times per day. Thanks, Rob

Hi Herb, I was thinking along the same lines as you stated as far as the power divider releasing due to torque bind but wasn't sure if there was a disengagement spring or not. The one thing that was consistent with this tractor is that the rear rear differential did not slip one side or the other loose. Both sides stayed driving the tires like a posi traction differential. This tractor being an "oil field" spec unit, could have had some type of traction enhancement differential installed, but I have no proof, as the truck does not appear to have been built with one, (according to the line set ticket). Thanks again, Rob

This afternoon I wanted to test the power divider in my R model that has an air lock power divider. I nosed the truck up to a large tree, placed the transmission in lo lo, eased the throttle while releasing the clutch and the tires on both sides of the rear rear started to dig into the gravel driveway. I then engaged the power divider and repeated the sequence and again both sides on the rear rear went to digging, and the left side of the front rear also started digging. After flipping the dash switch to unlock, I again applied power and let the clutch out and the same thing happened with both rear axles. My questions are these: Does a power divider not release until the truck is driven for awhile after releasing the air pressure? Is it normal in a Mack differential, (drop in type) to power the left side wheels as opposed to the right on conventional, (single reduction) axles? Thanks, Rob

Hi Adrian, I don't know off the top of my head about the routing of the wires. The electrical print I have and sent a copy to you is for a Caterpillar engined truck so it does not list Dynatard as it is Mack only. From memory: Terminal 30 is constant DC voltage, and terminal 86 is postive DC voltage to the coil relay. I also believe that terminal 85 is ground, or earth. If the convention is correct when terminal 85 is grounded, postive DC voltage will be applied through terminal 87 will supply the voltage to the solenoids. Rob

Last evening I went to a friends/customers house that is a grain hauler and "borrowed" one of his bottom dump trailers that had a load on it for testing and what an experience this was; The trailer had nearly a full load of corn and the V8 pulled it really well to my surprise! Until this experience I'd never had a trailer latched into the fifth wheel so it was completely new to me. I found out in short order that my transmission mounting biscuits are shot as the the shifters really move to the right side under power and there is a noticable clunk as they rub the mounting bolts upon upshifting. Several years ago I purchased a transmission isolator kit from the Mack dealer I used to deal with and now if I can just find them........ The Dynatard works well and as it should. I've never driven anything with a "Jake Brake" so there is really nothing to compare it to. I had Andy, (owner of the bottom dump) drive the truck if for no other reason to listen to him cuss a Mack and as anticipated, he did effectively. I found it irresisitable to not "badger" him about thinking he was a truck driver, as I could shift that transmission much better than he could. Fortunatly, it was a short run and I only lost a small portion of gear teeth but had a great time. I'm going to send the nozzels into the shop for testing/rebuild as this truck really smokes black under a pull with 25 plus psi showing on the boost gauge at about 2250 rpm. The pyrometer was showing about 950 degrees but I wasn't into the throttle long enough to know if it was still going to keep climbing or not. All in all, it was an exciting experience as this truck is going to be my daily driver if I can afford the fuel!! Rob

If you are going to get away from a hex head bolt in this application, put some serious thought to using a Torx head instead of socket head. I've found that the Torx head bolts are easier to remove after usage and the socket headed ones have a tendency to round out defeating the original purpose. Fifteen bucks seems a bit steep for bolts of the size you require. Rob

The terminals at the rocker covers only have power when the engine brake is on. This statement got me to thinking, (dangerous thing you know) about how difficult it is to shift my Dynatard equipt V8 with the six speed transmission. It turns out the moron that I purchased the truck from wired up the Dynatard "hot" all the time. No wonder the engine struggled to idle smooth, and was very difficult to up, or downshift the transmission. It's always had a strange "Kackle" in the exhaust that sounds nothing like a "Jake Brake". With all wired/hooked up normal, and with the Dynatard working as it should, the beast is a different animal. I could get to like the six speed without too much effort. With the dash control switch turned to the "on" position, the Dynatard works quite well and really slows the truck. I've never pulled a load with it, but again it seems to work well. Shifting the transmission is quite a different experience too. The exhaust "rumble" sounds normal also. The reason for referring to the seller as a "moron" is that this truck has been a "real piece of work" for his efforts and I was shorted two transmission PTO's that were paid for in the sale above the asking price for the truck. They were needed, and quite costly to obtain from another source. The seller is a participant on this website. Rob

That would be a new one on me since that switch reduces or limits air pressure application to the front steer axle brakes when in the slippery selection. When in the dry selection, full reservoir air pressure application is available. I don't really see how that switch could be the root of your described problem unless someone has possibly plumbed the system incorrectly. If you are absolutely positive that switch is the culprit, I would take it back to the mechanic you paid to install it for repair. Rob

I had purchased three wheels from ebay that were located in Hudson, NH. Having a buddy that hauls seafood from Boston to Chicago on a weekly basis, getting these wheels picked up was not going to be a problem until major engine problems arose. I used the transportation board, (here on BMT) to explore the possibility of having someone else retrieve them for me and Fifth Wheel called the next day. He then drove to the seller's home, picked up the wheels, and delivered them to a freight terminal near his local. These wheels were packed very well and took some effort to ship and I am most grateful. There was a lot of extra effort put into this ordeal and Fifth Wheel went "above the norm" to make this situation shine. Thanks Neil! Rob Swallows