dds92780 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Anyone know the weight difference between a 44000 pound spring for the tractor vs a 34000 pound spring? Can it be swapped? I ask because last year i had my trunion bushing and spring packs replaced and my dad advised me to go with 34000 pound springs because he said it would ride nicer and be lighter. At the time i asked mack and my mechanic and they both said either you cannot or its not a good idea, i forget which. COULD it have been done? What would be the disadvantage or advantage? i haul 73280 with this setup too. Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakebrake86 Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Do you have rubber or bronze trunnion bushings? Are you sure you have 44s now or do you think they're 38s? Quote Jake Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181683 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 4, 2013 Author Share Posted May 4, 2013 I have rubber bushings and i am sure i went with 44s because i was talked out of going to a 34 or a 38. My dad said it would ride nicer and be lighter but the mechanic and mack said either we couldnt do it or it wasnt recommended so im not sure why they would of said that or what the advantage or disadvantage would have been. I have seen other trucks or truck paper and rbauction sell and they had 38s on almost 90 percent of them have 44s i never knew why though. I am not complaining about my comfort of the ride i just wanted an answer to this mystery. Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181733 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick harper Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 You can swap 44 to 38 or to 34 or in reverse order. The only thing you must do is get the correct u bolts.. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181734 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick harper Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Camelback anti-sway part#'s. 34's are 4QK4001A, 38's are 4QK4003A, 44's are 4QK4005A. For the ubolts they are 34/38 springs are 7QK3148P3 and 44's are 7QK3148P5. Nuts are 21AX131 and washers are 35AX1435. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181737 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 4, 2013 Author Share Posted May 4, 2013 Yes that helps if i were going to do this project or if anyone else is, i really want to know what the weight difference is and what the difference is between a 34 38 44, advantage and disadvantage? one ride better? one lighter? if you get too light a spring will it not ride right? I was told i should stick with 44s because i only haul gravel and do construction and i needed the extra support? Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181745 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 4, 2013 Author Share Posted May 4, 2013 I guess if you guys had a choice of changing out your 44k rears to a 38k or 34k would u and why would you? Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181756 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog13407 Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 id stick with the 44 housings with the 44 springs. why would anyone wanna change them around? the weight you save will only be a few pounds and why bother period? you have 44's and thats it. any camelback rides horrible empty anyways and there wont be that much of a weight savings to even matter. not only that if you change to 38 springs on 44 housings and you break one, you will wish you left it alone. not only that but the door tag is probably stamped with 44's and if you change shit around it wont be legal anymore Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181823 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Doesn't it save a few Hundred pounds? Do you know from experience what a 34 38 44 all feel like in a tractor trailer setup empty vs loaded? I never thought about it being legal anymore though. Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181865 Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 My old sales book show a RD600S with 44k standard. If you spec multileaf 34k springs and axles, a weight reduction of 465#. If you spec multileaf 38k springs and axles, a weight reduction of 443#. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181875 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Holy crap, im kinda disappointed that i didn't go with the 34k like i wanted to then. I had it all apart, isolaters , trunion bushings, and spring packs, I would of left the axles the same though they told me no though Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-181876 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog13407 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 every camelback i ever drove rode rough empty 34 38 and 44's. its your truck, do what you want but i wouldnt be stickin 34 springs with 44 housings. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-182025 Share on other sites More sharing options...
e9500v8 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Being it ts a tractor I would not at all be afraid to put 34 springs under it. You know what YOUR truck is made of so don't overload it. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-182037 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 But how much weight does it even save? So maybe that is why they told me i couldn't make the switch was because i would have to change the housing too? I think, because it was just easier to say no. Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-182078 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog13407 Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 they will bolt up. not sayin its right, but they should bolt up. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-182167 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 ...not only that but the door tag is probably stamped with 44's and if you change shit around it wont be legal anymoreI highly doubt there are any laws prohibiting altering the suspension. When I broke a 12K leaf on my steer axle, I would've had to wait for any spring I wanted to put in there to be ordered...so I upgraded to the 16K front springs. I'm not sure why anyone would want to downgrade their suspension...especially in a rock bucket...but to each their own. I've got 38K rears on air ride right now and WISH I had 44-46K at a minimum. I'm usually heavy on my drives (35.5K neighborhood), and although still under the 38K, I just hate running weights that close to the spec'd maximum, and certainly wouldn't put springs on a tandem that were only rated to 34K.For what it's worth, the ride is much smoother with the 16K springs up front as opposed to the 12K springs. I used to have a pair of clean spots on the underside of the frame rails where the bump-stops made contact when I'd hit a dip in the road or ease over a speed bump...but they haven't touched since I upgraded the springs. You've got to make sure you have enough spring to not only hold the weight, but to catch it when you go over a bump in the road. When they aren't strong enough to do the job, hard parts start smacking together and that is a heck of a lot rougher than any bump that can be absorbed by the suspension. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-182191 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 So i found out the weight differences of the 38k and 44kThe 38k is 312 pounds per spring pack making a pair weigh in at 624 poundsThe 44k is 353 pounds per spring pack making a pair weigh in at 706 poundsThe 38k is 6 inches tall of steelThe 44k is 7.5 inches tall of steel.So if i was kicking myself for not getting the 38k instead of the 44k to save weight, now i feel better!!! Its only a 82 pound savings! Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-185751 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I saved half that when I removed everything A/C related from under the hood... Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-185789 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dds92780 Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Did you remove everything ac related from under the hood just to save weight? Quote Slow and Steady Wins the Race! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-185806 Share on other sites More sharing options...
storkmack Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Did you remove everything ac related from under the hood just to save weight?Rowdy removed it cuz he knew it would be $500- $1000 per year to keep it working. Thankfully he isn't a panty waist. - Bradps. I hope I didn't offend anyone that is a panty waist, but A/C systems are a real pain. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-185841 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabby Vice Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Just pipin in on a rainy day, don't know who's doin your a/c work.....U may want to find someone else . I rebuilt my a/c system in my R modle about 8 years ago , spent about $12 or $1400 ( new comp,evap.cond,dryer, lines, the whole kabang) I put a can of gas in it for the first time this year . I figure that to around $175 a year so far + 1 can of gas and it will freeze you out of the truck in South Mississippi. Not a bad investment ,its hard to keep the inside clean with the windows down anyways. My first truck was a 1969 IHC fleetstar 2000d tandem dump with a 250 cummins between the seats. I still have it. Get in that little jessy on a site job by the hour ,never get out of the low side in august. you will appreciate a little air. I'm shure most will agree with me on the weight issue,'' Get a Freightliner'' if you are interested in weight savings Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-186126 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Did you remove everything ac related from under the hood just to save weight?Rowdy removed it cuz he knew it would be $500- $1000 per year to keep it working. Thankfully he isn't a panty waist. - Bradps. I hope I didn't offend anyone that is a panty waist, but A/C systems are a real pain.Close...The bug screen behind the grille was loose and had rubbed a hole in the condenser before I ever bought the truck. After 3 years of not getting around to fixing it, it was going to need a condenser, compressor, dryer, lines....pretty much everything north of the firewall, as well as probably some of the valves and lines behind it. It was going to cost WAY more than I was willing to spend fixing the AC. When I got the new charge air cooler, I left the condenser out....no point in placing a broken part back into the truck. Once that was out, I decided I may as well pull the rest of the parts & pieces that were needing to be changed....and then the brackets and such looked out of place without the components bolted to them, so I removed them as well.After listening to the big boss at the company I'm leased to going on and on at the safety meeting about what all they are doing to cut tare weights and the importance of maximizing your loads each and every trip and what it adds up to, I decided to weigh the parts & pieces I had removed. The next safety meeting when the big boss was carrying on in the same manner, I mentioned how much weight I saved by eliminating the AC. He laughed and said if he tried that, he wouldn't be able to find anybody to drive his trucks. Guess there are a lot of panty wastes in this industry.Long story short, I removed it because it was broke, and I'm too much of a penny-pinching tight wad to fix it. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-186382 Share on other sites More sharing options...
slpwlker Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 like clock work my a/c took another dump. not going to fix it. Well not factory. looking into putting a reddot unit on. factory air in the truck sucked and times it just never cooled right. when we get home next month if I do not fix it I am thinking of leaving the dog home for the first time in 8 years. To hot for him in the truck. But we are sleeping in motels at night for the most part unless we are lucky enough to have temps in the 50's at night and sleep in the truck. Quote Link to comment https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31042-spring-weight-differences/#findComment-186401 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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