Self-Teaching Through Trial And Error

You already know which way bolts turn. If you know basically how internal combustion engines work then a service manual for the engine you’re looking at and a box full of wrenches you should be good. Just be aware the manufacturers have been trying to keep us out of these engines for years. Newer engines it’s software. The mechanical fuel system engines it was “service tools”. You’re going to run into those roadblocks. I’ve had nothing but Cats since the early ‘80’s and have most of what I need to work on them. There are work arounds. I still get the guy at the shop up the road to come down and cut liner decks for me. I can’t justify the cost of the tooling for the amount of use I’d get out of it. You’ll encounter things like that. There’s going to be questions you need to ask, and advise to hunt down along with a certain number of tools. But, if you don’t need it to go to work with in the morning, best way to figure out how it works is haul it apart.

 

Unless you plan to drive it yourself it'll probably be a money losing venture. Not unless you plan on buying 7 or 8 right out of the gate.

 

No computers in those. The E6 and E7 Mack’s were awesome engines. They had a Bosch fuel system on them. Worst case you pull the pump off it and find an injection shop with a Bosch sign. They weren’t rated at anywhere near their max from Mack. You could find a 237, 300+ or early 350 with more miles on it than a space shuttle that runs fine and you wouldn’t need to touch it.

 

That’s a monster of a tractor. But not the one to buy sight unseen. I see a heavy front axle and it has a wet line on it. Somebodys lowbed tractor or on end dumps I would guess. Just gives you an idea how it’s been worked. Go look. And honestly, that E9 means taking someone with who has worked on Mack’s, or even hiring a Mack dealer guy to make the call on that engine. There could easily be the purchase price of the truck in repairs to make that engine right. I’ve driven one quite a bit. You’ll love that engine to death if it’s right. But I’ve seen them cause an awful lot of expensive tears too. The buyer beware factor goes up a couple of notches with that particular engine.

 

Or run a hydraulic neck lowbed. Where it is there’s a chance it was out in the woods with a self-loading log trailer. Nobody builds a tractor that heavy to baby. That said those were solid trucks. The SuperLiners were pretty much heavy spec R models with a big hood. Hard to find a better truck than those. That one in particular is heavy spec in the extreme. Lots of them still work every day. Just the E9’s cost potential would scare me and I doubt the 12spd would be a cheap rebuild these days either. That same truck with a 4 valve E7 would have sold before it hit the classifieds.

 

I bet it pulled B train buckets in Michigan. That was when a Mack was a Mack. I have heard getting parts through Mack on E9 is getting tough. The truck is probably better suited to retire pulling a sled 300' at a time!