2001 MACK E460,18spd, 3:70.

Why are they any harder to work on than a PETE , KW or and old FORD T800,

 

The cam problem with Macks is still an issue, however, if the truck has alrady had a rebuild done, most likely it's a newer cam and it shouldn't be a problem.

The only reason Macks are harder to work on is that in some parts of the country there are fewer Mack dealers then other parts of the country, and some of the Mack dealers (Colorado Mack Sales and Service) are not exactly known for being upstanding people. That said, the company I work for is almost entirely Mack. When I started in '97, they had 3 Mack CH sleepers. In '00/'01 they bought 9 CH day cabs and one CH sleeper. All of our Macks are autoshifts. The only crappy Macks were the 2 '04 Visions they bought, they were returned to the dealer as lemons. Currently, we have 1 Mack CXU Sleeper (mine), 2 CXU daycabs, and 6 CH daycabs. My old CH sleeper had 978K on it when we traded it in, it's still on the road and running fine.

 

Availability of parts / dealer attitudes is and always have been a MACK problem.

However my ? was directed to the fact that it was stated / implied that it was HARDER ( physically or complicated ) to work on a MACK than the PETE / KW .

 

parts have not been a issue for my 2001 Mack if you needing parts for a 68 B61 or a early R yeah that could be a issue, I would rather have my Mack dealership than the other brands in my area I've had pete's and kw, do not see one thing that was way easier to fix on them than the vision

 

Let's play..."Where's the Engine".... here's a Bulldog...


I THINK I see it... all I have to do is remove those 15 lines...about four filters and thing-a-ma-jigs....a couple more brackets and i THINK I can see the valve cover...yep...there it is!!!

So how much time do you think it takes (#$95.00 per hour) to run the overhead on this engine... time is money folks.

Have you ever done a clutch job on a Mack? My local shop charges around $500.00 more in labor than with a Farmall, Pete, Freightliner... a KW is tuff enough with all the air control valves mounted on top of the transmissions.

Here's a Pre-emission ISX in a 379...



Which would be easier to work on?

 

overhead by the book is a two man job timing marks are on the flywheel, about $300-400 at my Mack shop

 

That is pretty cheap... they must do it at a flat rate price.

My CAT dealer quoted me $500.00 to do the overhead on my 3406E... I said "in a 379?"... Oh... a Pete 'hood' is only $275.00...

 

Nice PICS , wheres the view from the RH SIDE's .

I have / had MACKS , FREIGHTLINERS , KWS , Western Stars and the allmighty PETERMOBILES , they all cost $ to get anything done to them.

 

First we'll start with another left side... the guy who designed this should be shot! yes, it's a Mack...



Here's right side shot...



Here's a Pete with an N14... another pre-emission engine. ISX pix were kinda scarce...


And another not so good...



I think Stevie Wonder could tell which engine is easier to maintain let alone do major service on... with all apologies to Stevie Wonder...

I am NOT knocking Mack trucks as a whole. What I AM pointing out is the difficulty of servicing them... if you do your own work be prepared to deal with the maze of wires and hoses and brackets, etc. that get in the way. These new emission engines are a nightmare to work on in the BEST of situations... tuck that last 1/3 of a cylinder head under the cab and you will be paying dearly for someone to repair and maintain the engine.

Look at where that N14 #3 head is... you can take it off the engine without removing anything else...now look at the Mack... see that head?...I didn't either!

 

your top photo is of a 04-07 ASET Mack filters are not all on the left side of the motor, and with the EGR valve its more difficult to service than a pre 04 ETech I have owned N-14 and E7 's the Mack is just as easy to service than the N-14 god forbid you have any computer troubles with the Cummins because it doesn't matter how easy the motor is to get to their mechanics will never be able to find and solve the problem also put the N-14 into a 9200 IH shorter hood and under hood airfilter then tell me how easy it is to work on a N-14