Bought a 98 Mack road tractor to pull my Lowboy, has a 10speed tranny, 425 hp Mack engine, 3.96 rear end ratio. it has several rear end switches of which I am uncertain of how and what they do. Anyone shed some light on how to use them properly?
Looks like the left one locks the interaxle diff and the other two do the side-to-side lockers in the front and rear driver as labelled.
I'm can't help you with a Mack but we used to have an International with full locking rears. IIRC there was a sticker on the dash that basically said to come to a complete stop before activating the full locking rears. I only actually drove that truck a couple of times but was around to witness it in action a few times. Honestly, for the most part, it seemed like that truck was just able to get a little more stuck than the ones without full lockers. I wasn't too impressed with them. Just my $.02
Full locking rears. You can lock both diffs so all 4 wheels have full traction and power. Great for of road or snow. in my opinion you are very lucky to have that option.
Make sure no wheels are spinning when you engage the locks. Only use at slow speeds. No sharp turns. Just like locking diff on a tractor or backhoe.
that's a hard to find option on any road tractor but a great one to have :scool
Great looking Mack. When stuck, use the far left switch first. If still in trouble, use the next two switches together, but only if straight line travel. If you were empty/ no trailer, you can try to turn locked up (try it on gravel so a wheel can spin). The truck will just want to go straight, and push through the steering. Loaded heavy and turning (when all locked up) is where it gets dangerous, something has to give, and if a wheel can't slip when you turn, something driveline related will. Jakes/ full lockers/ Mack- looks like a great combination in a clean truck. From the oilfield? That's where I just got my western star from, I got jakes, but not the full lockers.
Thanks all. I found it in Coucil Bluffs, Iowa on Truckpaper. Was owned and bought new by a grain farmer that I was able to talk too about it prior to purchase, he traded 2 in for 2- late model Freightliners. It appears to not need anything, which is not the norm for anything used I buy. We will put it in our shop and do a complete service and through check over. We are going to install a wet kit on it also
Anyone know a good place to buy a wet kit from, used or new?
I see them here on the Dallas Craigslist quite often. In fact, I bought one off craigslist 2 years ago. I would search the Craigslist postings in your area.
Full lockers have been all the rage here in the north country for a number of years on the log trucks. They sure save a lot of heartache crawling along in snowy semi rough logging roads. As has been said, use care in better traction situations to avoid breaking axles or more expensive parts. I would not buy a truck without them for off hiway use.
Man she sure is perty!
I bought this wet kit from a truck junkyard just east of springfield mo on I-44, close to strafford. Pump, gearbox (don't have a picture of it), and tank. I made the hoses up, I think the tank was from a garbage truck. This pump is a two line, dedicated lowboy pump. My other truck I have set up with a pump like a dump truck would use, with a secondary return, I can pull my sliding axle roll back trailer (needs 2 lines), or you could run a dump trailer also. I decided I didn't need the built in return on my new truck, I don't plan on a dump trailer. I only plan on running my lowboy, or my sliding axle trailer with it. I'd check your local Craigslist, I usually see quite a few on there, unless I'm looking for one, then there's none for sale.:Banghead
I guess I didn't ask- what kind of 10 speed does it have? If its a eaton/fuller you shouldn't have any trouble finding used, if its a Mack transmission, you may have to look a little harder.
Thanks crane operator. It is an Eaton Fuller tranny. What is a good used wet kit worth? I got a 3000.00 price for a new one installed from a local repair shop I use.
I see a lot of used one's from $1,000-1500, sometimes only $800, rarely less than that. It makes a difference how much is coming with it. Some of them are just selling pump, some have pump and gearbox, best is if you can get pump, gearbox, tank and all the hoses, and the dash switch . The $3000 price installed sounds like a good price to me, I think they quoted me $3,200 for just the parts, last time I priced a new one . I probably have around 1,000 in mine between buying the pump, gearbox and tank, then adding hoses and fittings. A guy who does some hauling for me, had a new wet kit put on a pete, told me today he paid $6,000 for it installed.