Marangoni Tread North America has begun construction of its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Madison, Tenn. It will produce the company’s RingTread spliceless, precure tread for retreading truck tires.
Michelin’s Bib Net site, www.michelinb2b.com, has been redesigned for better appearance and performance. Although originally designed for Michelin dealers, the online service is now available to fleets for viewing invoices, shipping notification, warranty claims and pricing.
Detroit Diesel Corp. announced plans for emissions certification of its 2007 Series 50 urban bus engines. The company hasn’t yet decided whether it will use EGR or SCR to bring the engines into compliance.
Peterbilt will offer the Dana Spicer E-1202I steer axle series as standard equipment for its North American Class 8 trucks and tractors.
Index Sensors & Controls has improved www.indexsensors.com with more user-friendly navigation and new content, including more in-depth product information, parts descriptions and numbers, white papers and trade magazine articles about the company.
Martin Marietta Composites has manufactured its first composite trailer at its Sparta, N.C. plant. The 48-foot, live-floor transfer trailer is constructed of glass fiber reinforced polymer materials, with the exception of the kingpin, landing gear, axles, wheels and brakes and miscellaneous fasteners.
By now, you’ve probably heard about – or experienced – “rust jacking.” It’s the process whereby brake shoe tables rust enough to cause pronounced surface irregularities. Then, as the brakes are applied, the linings are repeatedly pushed against the drum with uneven pressure across the shoe table, causing the linings to crack over the edges of the high spots.
The problem is primarily attributed to new chemicals used to melt snow and ice on our roadways. While good old salt does a good job melting ice and snow (and corroding metal), highway departments have discovered that other compounds – calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, for example – do a better melting job and are far cheaper. They are also far more corrosive.
Rust jacking also has been exacerbated by the introduction of long-life brakes, since brake shoes spend a longer time exposed to the elements. And while the damage is more often found in shoes that have been relined without being properly prepared and painted, it can occur in OE shoes as well.
The problem has become more than a nuisance. It costs fleets money. According to Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems, associated costs are often a result of downtime for more frequent brake inspections and shoe replacements, penalties for late deliveries, loss of core acceptance for brake shoes and out-of-service citations for cracked brake linings at roadside inspections.
What to do? Other than avoiding states that use rust-accelerating chemicals, here are some recommendations from Haldex and the Technology & Maintenance Council:
- Specify new and relined shoes treated with a corrosion-inhibiting coating – such as the new protective coating developed by Haldex for its remanufactured shoes (see photos);
- Visit the shop that produces your relined brake shoes. Make sure they are properly measuring shoes for conformity and discarding those that don’t make the grade. Look at surface-preparation, painting and riveting techniques. Shoe tables should be smooth and protected from corrosion before linings are installed. Rivets should be tight and linings firmly and uniformly in contact with the entire shoe table, with no movement possible;
- Wash vehicle wheel ends thoroughly and regularly, especially during winter months;
- Try fitting brake dust shields to keep the corrosive chemicals out;
- Petition state DOTs to change snow and ice control policies.
ROUND AND ROUND
Fleetguard has released a new Centriguard centrifugal lube filtration system that it says provides maximum soot removal efficiency. The CH41111 centrifuge with SpiraTec technology has a 1-liter capacity. It reduces wear rates of key components by spinning the oil, thus using centrifugal force to remove extremely small contaminants that act as abrasives. For example, the system reduces cylinder liner polishing and valve bridge/rocker arm wear caused by these particles. SpiraTec technology also can allow extending full-flow service intervals (depending on severity of duty cycles) while improving oil viscosity.
KENWORTH CONVERSION KIT
Kenworth is offering an OE kit to convert its AeroCab sleepers to extended day cabs, making them more valuable in the resale market. The Kenworth Extended Day Cab Conversion Kit is now available for T600, T800 and W900 models.
According to Kenworth, the kit uses highly tooled production parts to ensure the highest quality and reliability. The conversion can be completed to production specifications at Kenworth dealerships and requires no major modifications to the cab structure. The sleeper is unbolted from the cab, and the one-piece back wall assembly is attached. Contact your Kenworth dealer for more information or to order the conversion kit.
EQUIPMENT PUZZLER
Last month, we asked how changing air filters too frequently can be detrimental to engines. Danny Wynn of the Kansas DOT was the first to come up with one of three correct answers.
He wrote, “Changing filters too often could damage the filter housing lid gaskets and/or the filter sealing surfaces, thus causing the filter to be ineffective in cleaning all of the air being sucked into the engine.” Right on.
The two other correct answers are:
1. Every time an air filter is handled, there is an opportunity for dirt to fall into the clean (engine) side of the housing. The more frequently the filter is changed, the more likely that the engine will wind up ingesting some dirt.
2. New air filters become more efficient (trap more dirt) with use. That’s because a porous cake of dirt builds up on the medium, reducing the size of the filter passages and catching more particles. Changing an air filter before this dirt-pie forms will allow more dirt to pass into an engine, causing faster wear.
Congratulations to Danny, and remember, you can be a winner, too, by being the first to e-mail [email protected] with the correct answer to this month’s Puzzler. You’ll receive a CCJ Air Brake Book, a chrome pen engraved with the CCJ logo and a mention in March’s Equipment department.
This month’s Puzzler:
Most everyone knows that when air is compressed – be it in a compressor, turbocharger or engine – it gets hot. Why is that?
