Green Horn Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hey can someone tell me what the speeds per gear are for a 5 speed and the suggested rpms to shift it. Also, I am brand new to this trucking world. Still working my way in. This may be a totally stupid question. I just trained on a international dump. Is an 8 speed fuller an 8 speed fuller regardless ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lmackattack Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 With 4.17 rears .....1st and 2nd are slow ...3rd about 27 mph.4th about 40 In 5 th you max out at 62 mph at 2100 rpm. This is aprox numbers. you have to use the whole rpm range of the engine...rev it out and shift at 2000-2100 and it will fall back to 1200-1300 rpm when you grab the next higher gear. The 5 speed has wide splits but is easy to drive with limited shifts needed.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j hancock Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Sometimes the 800 rpm drop feels a little strange. I have an Mack X107A 6 speed, but on the road you drive it like a 5 speed. It has to go down to 40-42 mph before you can downshift to 4th.If you don't, then it will be above red line after the shift and that will be not a good thing.If you have been doing your training on an 8LL Fuller you will be in pretty good shape because that trans is very popular and the typical spec for vocational type truck use these days.Jim Quote JimIt doesn't cost anything to pay attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slpwlker Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 If this is going to be in a dump 1rst is just to high a gear. Drove a tractor and it was like taking off in 2nd or 3rd in any other trans. The split in the gears took time to get use to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Hey can someone tell me what the speeds per gear are for a 5 speed and the suggested rpms to shift it. Also, I am brand new to this trucking world. Still working my way in. This may be a totally stupid question. I just trained on a international dump. Is an 8 speed fuller an 8 speed fuller regardless ?If you're driving a 5 speed Maxidyne don't even try to downshift it on a pull until the rpm's drop to about 11-1200 rpms. It's a waste of time. They're a pretty neat deal once you get used to them. With the high torque rise engine you can let off it going down the highway- loaded- until the rpm's drop to 11 or 12 hunnert, then just mash your gas and it'll pick right back up. I used to go through Buckingham Courthouse with a 50,000+ lb. load, slow down to 35mph. going through town, and never have to downshift. Just left it in the big hole, when I hit the 55 zone I just put the hammer down, blew out a huge cloud of smoke, and was off! That was in a 300 Mack that had the fuel turned up a little, and it would turn 2400 rpms.If it's an 8 spd, it's an 8 spd. The 8LL is a 10 spd. transmission. 2 Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Dash Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 That's actually a very good question for someone who's never driven a truck with a 5 speed Maxitorque. Many drivers think the Maxidyne/Econodyne engines with 5 speeds are junk when in reality, they are often times not being driven properly. Follow the advice given above. I've found the hardest part was resisting the urge to downshift to soon, but you will eventually get used to it. 1 Quote Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 That's actually a very good question for someone who's never driven a truck with a 5 speed Maxitorque. Many drivers think the Maxidyne/Econodyne engines with 5 speeds are junk when in reality, they are often times not being driven properly. Follow the advice given above. I've found the hardest part was resisting the urge to downshift to soon, but you will eventually get used to it.You're exactly right. I've often said that it takes much more skill to drive a 5 speed Mack than most Roadranger transmissions, you do need a good sense of timing to drive them. Once you get used to them you'll love it. I went from a Transtar International with a VT903 Cummins,13 speed, to an F-model 300 5 speed. The 903 would turn 2,600 rpms, you down shifted at around 1900-2000 rpms. About as far apart as you could get, from a 903 to a Maxidyne! Took a while to get used to the Mack, but once I did, I wouldn't have traded it for anything else we had at the time. Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Dash Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 When I first started with Pitt Ohio I rarely drove the same truck 2 days in a row. At the time we had 5 speed and 9 speed Macks as well as the 10 speed Sterlings. Switching between a 9 and a 10 was challenging enough for my feeble mind. Throw a 5 speed into the mix and it sounds like I'm driving a mobile machine shop down the road when I first leave the terminal. Quote Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnstransport Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Yeah that wide rpm split took me lots of time to get used to in the 300 maxidyne / maxitorque combination especially the timing part since the tach doesn't always work in the truck I drive. Many days I'd get out of the Chevy Kodiak Cat / 6spd Fuller and jump in the Mack for a quick trip and would feel like I had to learn to shift all over again, it just seems so agonizingly long waiting for the rpms to drop down enough before grabbing the next gear compared to a Fuller 6 spd or even an 8LL. If I started the day in the Mack I would be alright it was only when driving something else all day then getting into it in the afternoon that I would feel like a greenhorn grinding my way down the road I must admit it's a powerful combination when properly tuned up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnstransport Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 As for resisting the urge to downshift too soon, I'd recommend waiting for that engine to really start complaining before downshifting, trust me you'll know it when it happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Dash Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 If you get bored while passing through neutral, you can always make a sandwich or read a chapter of your favorite book before grabbing the next gear.Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much! 2 Quote Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 One small lil trick I learned on mine, I just tap the clutch a lil to get out of gear to upshift, but time it when letting off throttle, hard to splain, let off throttle a tad before pulling out of gear, and it will pull rpms down just a lil to go into next gear quicker. Hard to explain, have to play with it a lil bit and experiment,,,,randyp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I like em cause you can drink soda pops, take pictures, dip snuff, relax, enjoy scenery, and rest shifting hand. Randyp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 One small lil trick I learned on mine, I just tap the clutch a lil to get out of gear to upshift, but time it when letting off throttle, hard to splain, let off throttle a tad before pulling out of gear, and it will pull rpms down just a lil to go into next gear quicker. Hard to explain, have to play with it a lil bit and experiment,,,,randypThat's what i'm sayin'- anybody can drive a 10 speed roadranger, but it takes timing and skill to drive a 5 speed Mack! 1 Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I been specting the EPA to pull me over any day now and accuse me of lowering temps around here every time I shift and blot out the sun for a few minutes. It looks like Im burning pure knotty pine between shifts. It clears back up and burns clean pretty quick though. randyp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I been specting the EPA to pull me over any day now and accuse me of lowering temps around here every time I shift and blot out the sun for a few minutes. It looks like Im burning pure knotty pine between shifts. It clears back up and burns clean pretty quick though. randypAny good Mack engine belches smoke between the upshifts.Rob Quote Plodding along with no job nor practical application for my existence, but still trying to fix what's broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 That engine amazes me bout how low it can drop loaded and just chug and belch and recover so fast. Thems dern good tough engines!! randyp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Put her in 1 Lo and she pulls like a water buffalo,,,,randyp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnstransport Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Any good Mack engine belches smoke between the upshifts.RobTrue that, if it doesn't blow a lot of coal through that chimney on the upshift it probably needs attention somewhere. I've discovered that the hard way, for 5 years I was driving this truck thinking it was gutless but figured it was OK since it didn't smoke a lot, turns out that was the indicator of a problem . . . . . fixed a bad control line to the puffer bimbo now we got both SMOKE and POWER, wish I found that five years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lmackattack Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I always thought the 5 speed was easy and the eaton fullers were hard to shift. The macks altho rough around the edges had a positive feel to them when they were going into gear or not going. the eaton fullers will only go into gear if timed correctly of scratch/bang into gear if you were off. I would rather feel the scratch and not go in than it fall in with a bang! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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