Prepping my M1009 for moving

[JSF01]

Well I am moving to Virginia in a couple of months so I have been preparing my M1009 for the 2300 mile trip across country. (Not sure if I am going to drive it or tow it yet, but figure its best to have it prepared to be driven because even if I don't drive it, I am sure it is probably over due on some maintenance any way.) This Weekend I decided to knock out a few quick minor projects that I have wanted to do. One of them was set up a proper license plate mount with light since I figure Virginia police may not like too much just sticking the plate in the back window as I have done for years here in MT. Well I got the License plate mounted and just have to hard wire the light into the truck. I was figuring I would wire it into trailer harness. My question is does anybody have a diagram or know which wire is which at the point where the trailer electrical receptacle connects to the wiring harness I attached a picture from the TM to show where I mean.

This little project also got me thinking. Does anyone know Virginia’s law concerning MV’s. I read one post while trying to figure out which wire I needed to connect into for my license plate light that seemed to suggest that at least for MV’s you don’t need to even mount the license plate in Virginia. While I am kind of doubtful on that, (and even if it were true it probably would be way more restrictions on when and where I can drive it than I would like) it would be nice to know if Virginia did have specific laws concerning MV’s.

 

[idM1028]

Not sure about the laws in VA, but don't mess around with the trailer wiring. Splice the hot wire for the license plate lights into the brown hot wire for the running lights. Obviously, the ground goes to the ground. Works like a charm. Butt connectors and heat shrink tubing makes for a great weather-proof connection. Attached is the wiring diagram and the wire locations. Really, anywhere along the path for either wire works.

 

[combatmech]

Va isnt too bad on MV's. I had one registered as a K5 Blazer, the DMV doesnt need to know or care that its a former MV. For it to pass Va state inspection, you'll have to get a light for your rear plate.
What part of Va are you moving to? Good luck, keep us posted

 

[combatmech]

Here are some links for further offical info....

Virginia State Police - Safety Division

Virginia State Police - Safety Division

Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

Hope this helps

 

[joediveguy]

What he said. I am in the process of doing the same thing for my CUCV's.
VA requires them, does not matter if they were formally MV's

Couple questions for you....

1. Did you get a plate holder with a light in it already?
2. If so, I would love to know where you got it because all I can find are cheap looking ones with LED's all around the plate.

Also:



Good luck with your trip!

 

[JSF01]

Thank you combatmech for the link to the different laws for Virginia

What he said. I am in the process of doing the same thing for my CUCV's.
VA requires them, does not matter if they were formally MV's

Couple questions for you....

1. Did you get a plate holder with a light in it already?
2. If so, I would love to know where you got it because all I can find are cheap looking ones with LED's all around the plate.

Also:



Good luck with your trip!

I figured nobody would be to interested in seeing the little minor projects I knocked out over the weekend, but if you want to see pictures i gladly oblige so I attached a couple. As for your first question yes I did get a plate holder with a light in it (actually two, one license plate light, and a brake light. I picked it up at an O'Reilly auto parts store for $20. It was a stainless steel color so I took a can of ultra flat camouflage green spray paint I have and gave it a quick paint job. As I haven't wired the license plate mount into the electrical system permanently into the electrical system I just stuck the wires into the trailer receptacle for now.

As a bonus I also attached photos of the fire extinguisher bracket I installed, though I do not have a fire extinguisher for it, at least as of yet, and my gas pedal fix. Shortly after I got my truck the top third of the peddle had broken off (It already had a crack running through it.) about a year and a half later the bottom third of the peddle broke off (I use to be a little rough with my truck and often would slam the peddle to the floor) I was in walmart the other day and saw a peddle set for $10 and picked it up. This peddle set is suppose to use metal tabs to hold it to the existing peddle but instead I just drilled 4 holes into what was left and bolted it on instead. The fix works great.

 

[JSF01]

Well this weekend is going to be fun. I need to replace the starter and the flex plate I believe it’s called (though the TM seams to refer to it as a Fly wheel.) About a month ago it developed a problem where when I turned the key occasionally the starter would just spin and make a grinding sound, turn the key again and it starts. I had been planning on fixing it this weekend for past two weeks. These past two days the problem went from bad to worst and now it’s every other start it just spins and grinds. I am actually wondering if it will actually make it two the weekend. The new starter just came in today so now I have all the major important parts, but I forgot about needing to get a new starter bracket, so unfortunately that won’t make it here till Tuesday or Wednesday. The good news is I believe I can fabricate one that will at least work as a temporary until the real one comes in.

I must admit though, that this is the biggest project on a vehicle that I have ever attempted so I am a bit nervous about it. I am just hoping it can be finished over my three day weekend.

 

[M1008driver]

Have a great move! You will miss Montana. If the military is moving you why not just put it on a trailer with a full or partial DIY move? and...Hey, thanks for serving.

EDIT- Forget that. Make it an adventure and drive the 2000 or so miles. Have a good trip! Be careful of firearm laws in some states.

 

[JSF01]

Well I got my flex plate and starter replaced. The old Flex plate had a couple places of really bad chewed up teeth. First picture is on such spot. I had been unable to find any place that had a flywheel wrench in stock so turning the flex plate was very difficult. For removal of the old one I ended up just using a claw hammer to grip the teeth and pull. That of course will mess the teeth up a bit so I did not want to install the new one by doing that. I discovered that by looping a tie down strap (any flat strapping should work) around one of the teeth I could turn the flex plate. You can only do about two to three inch turn at a time but it gets the job done. Over all it took about 16 hours total for me to complete, which I do not think is to bad considering I have not done any other project of that scale before.

 

[TCUCV]

Glad to hear it went well, I imagine you have started the truck to test everything?

Did you just follow the TM instructions? I imagine one day I will be traveling down this same adventure...

 

[JSF01]

Glad to hear it went well, I imagine you have started the truck to test everything?

Did you just follow the TM instructions? I imagine one day I will be traveling down this same adventure...

For the most I followed the TM instructions though not completely. There were a few minor things I did not do because they were unnecessary for what I was doing. The TM instructs you on the removal of the transmission where to change out the flex plate all you need to do is move the transmission back a couple of inches. Over all Its actually not all that hard to do, just time consuming if you have never done it before. An expert could probably have it all done in 3-4 hours but I am far from being an expert.

Today I knocked out a couple of other projects. The most Important was installing the new starter bracket for the new starter. I know I probably should have waited for that bracket before using the truck since replacing the starter, but it is my daily driver and I have needed to use it. Getting that installed has been a huge relief as For the past two days I was terrified that I would end up sheering the starter bolts.

I also replaced all the glow plugs, a rubber fuel line, and tightened up my rearview mirrors so they no longer move every time I close the doors.

I have a couple of projects left but now I need to figure out which way I am going to go about getting them complete. While I can do them all myself it comes down to time. I m going to be gone for three weeks and when I get back I'll have only a month left which I expect to be quite busy so I may not have time to complete them. On the other hand while I am gone I can send it to a garage and have them work on it, but it would obviously cost a lot more money to get done, and I am really trying to save as much money as possible to possibly buy a house down there.