MAZ-5334

MAZ-5334 at a glance

The MAZ-5334 sits between two generations of Minsk trucks. It kept the tilting cab and the mechanical layout of the MAZ-500, and was followed in the late 1980s by the MAZ-5337 with a more powerful engine. The plant's background is in the history of MAZ.

From MAZ-500A to MAZ-5335: development and production

The MAZ-500 family, in full production from 1965, was updated as the MAZ-500A in 1970. In 1977 MAZ replaced it with the MAZ-5335 family, which brought a new front end, a revised grille and headlights moved from the cab into the front bumper. The cab-chassis version, the MAZ-5334, was intended from the start as a base for special bodies built by other factories.

According to the old 1cars text, the MAZ-5334 and its derivatives stayed in use well into the 1990s and beyond, and some unused trucks from state reserve stocks were still being sold years later.

Cab and equipment

The cab is the tilting two- or three-seat unit of the MAZ-500 family, updated with the new front panel. With the headlights now in the bumper, the main beams are larger than the side lights, and the wiring is simpler. The windscreen is split into two panes with a central pillar, so a damaged half can be replaced on its own.

The old 1cars text describes a sprung driver's seat, a dashboard with backlit gauges for speed, engine and system pressures, and, on crane versions, extra instruments for boom position, tilt and load. A shelf between the top of the dashboard and the windscreen gives storage space.

Engine, gearbox and chassis

The YaMZ-236 is a naturally aspirated V6 built by the YaMZ engine works; its V8 relative, the YaMZ-238, powered heavier MAZ trucks such as the three-axle 516B. According to the old 1cars text, the gearbox has five forward speeds with fifth as an overdrive, and the clutch uses peripheral springs.

Like the MAZ-500, it has semi-elliptic leaf springs on both axles, air-operated drum brakes and power-assisted steering. The truck accelerates slowly when loaded: the old 1cars text gives about 50 seconds from 0 to 60 km/h.

MAZ-5334 specifications in metric and imperial units

Bodies and derivatives

For the KS-3577 crane, the old 1cars text gives a lifting capacity of 12.5 tonnes at the shortest reach, a boom height of up to 14.5 m and a reach of up to 22.5 m, with operation allowed in winds of up to 15 m/s. The crane was controlled from its own cabin rather than from the truck cab.

The wider MAZ-5335 family of 1977–1990

The 5334 chassis was one member of a large family that shared the same cab, frame design and YaMZ engines. Knowing the siblings helps to identify a truck correctly, because many were rebuilt or re-bodied over the years.

The tractors were the successors of the MAZ-504A, and a version for international routes, the MAZ-504V2, used the bigger YaMZ-238 V8. Compared with these, the 5334 is the most anonymous member of the family, yet it carried some of the most specialised equipment.

How the MAZ-5334 compares

Compared with the MAZ-500A chassis it replaced, the 5334 offered the same 132 kW engine with an updated cab front and better lighting, not a new design. The MAZ-5337 that followed added a more powerful YaMZ engine for heavier bodies. Among Soviet trucks, the MAZ-500 family as a whole is ranked #4 in our guide to eight Soviet trucks that mattered. For a six-wheeled Minsk truck of the next generation, see the MAZ-6422 tractor; the MAZ-5551 is the family's later tipper.

Buying and preserving a MAZ-5334 today

Most MAZ-5334s survive as working cranes and tankers rather than as collector trucks. Our verdict: buy one as a working truck only if the body (crane, tank or rig) has valid inspection records, because the body is usually worth more than the chassis. For preservation, a complete crane truck with its original KS-series crane is the most interesting example.

What to check:

• the frame around the body mountings and the outrigger brackets on crane trucks;
• the YaMZ-236 for smoke, blow-by and coolant leaks;
• the gearbox synchromesh and the twin-plate clutch;
• the air brake system, its compressor and the brake chambers;
• the crane's hydraulic cylinders, hoses and slewing gear.

All Minsk trucks are listed on our MAZ brand page.