What have you done to your CUCV today/lately - Part 2

[MarcusOReallyus]

the fact that a radiator starts leaking 2 years after it was installed can be many factors.

Yep. I have a Ford van that was eating radiators for a while. Turned out the mounting points were tweaked by a deer hit, and every new radiator was installed with torque across it. Add some vibration and... a year or two later the tank seams gave up the battle and separated. The cure was to mount the radiator on some pipe insulation so that it is basically 'floating' on the bolts. This removed the torque on the body of the radiator. (As long as the bolts weren't cranked down to the max!)


Electrolysis can eat radiators, too, and a copper radiator will die from it just as easily as aluminum.

 

[emeralcove]

Changed my radiator also Monday.
Sent my original to radiator shop for repair/rebuild.
The aftermarket junk is just that.

Tom

I also opted to have the original radiator in my M1009 re-cored even though it was pricey. The original had started seeping, not really leaking but the shop said the core was too far gone to "rod out". The temp light light would flicker on steep long grades in summer heat and the fan clutch would kick in often, after the re-core I have never seen the Temp light come on again, even pulling the major grades on I-5 from So-Cal to Washington in the summer, that was more than 3 years ago and I very happy I went that route. Now I need a winter radiator cover because the heater takes a real long time to do much, like 7 miles to town driving around 50 mph. Not a worry in the big picture.
Tried to post this five days ago but the Internet went down before I could do so.

 

[Keith_J]

The stock horn was too plain for me, replacement cheap Hella high low too buzzy. So I splurged on Kleinn dual tone air set. Will use the PTO air system (120 PSI, 5 gallon) which can only be recharged with the truck parked. So I will have to wire in a relay to switch from Hella to Kleinn so I will have horns even without air. Easy circuit.

 

[shotty]

Yesterday was driver side rear brakes, new wheel cylinder, and bearing repack, did the passenger side a few months ago. Also changed diff fluid and found out one of the plates in the clutch pack for the front posi gave up on life:



Also got the leaky radiator pulled and block heater installed. Today we're going for injector return lines, new radiator installed, electric fans, paradox cooling kit, and front wheel bearings repacked if i have time...

 

[Tinstar]

I replaced my inop stock horn and added another on passenger side, behind grill.
Both are ACDelco units.
A note and F note horns.
Install looks factory

Together they sound great and horn relay handles both no sweat.
Have had multiple people comment on how good it sounded.
Been installed over three years now and have been flawless.

 

[shotty]

I replaced my inop stock horn and added another on passenger side, behind grill.
Both are ACDelco units.
A note and F note horns.
Install looks factory

Together they sound great and horn relay handles both no sweat.
Have had multiple people comment on how good it sounded.
Been installed over three years now and have been flawless.

View attachment 753456View attachment 753457

Add the C and D notes and watch people get out of your way!

 

[shotty]

Picked my seat up from upholstery shop. He did pretty good for just being shown a picture and going with the materials I picked out! Even installed the heated seat elements I supplied

 

[wbdodgeiv]

It’s been cold here lately and the 09 had tepid heat at best. Sunday I shot the crossover pipe with an IR gun and it was barely 100 deg after idling for an hour.

Of course I broke both thermostat housing bolts... Lots of attempts at welding a nut to the studs but I finally gave up. Put the crossover pipe on the mill and drilled out both studs and spot faced the back so I could then use bolts.

Now my heat is actually hot.

 

[Tinstar]

Picked my seat up from upholstery shop. He did pretty good for just being shown a picture and going with the materials I picked out! Even installed the heated seat elements I supplied

View attachment 753516

Not bad at all!
Now during summer, you won’t have your skin melt to the lava hot vinyl.
Definitely have to worry about stains now.

 

[shotty]

Not bad at all!
Now during summer, you won’t have your skin melt to the lava hot vinyl.
Definitely have to worry about stains now.

Not at all, any stains will just get it closer to tank/brown/black, all of which are acceptable colors!

New radiator installed along with electric fans, HMMWV crossover installed as well as paradox kit. Just need to get a few misc items in the morning and I'll be back on the road soon !

 

[shotty]

Finished up the cooling system upgrades. Managed to overlook the fact that the electric fans were hooked to the thermostat and constant 12v, so they stay running even after the truck turns off. Without a pump moving the coolant to the fans thermostat it might be awhile before they turn off on their own...

Is there a source of ignition switched 12v under the hood that is easy to tap in to? Maybe a ring terminal or something? I don't want to splice into the fuel cut off solenoid wire if I can avoid it.

 

[Terracoma]

Is there a source of ignition switched 12v under the hood that is easy to tap in to? Maybe a ring terminal or something? I don't want to splice into the fuel cut off solenoid wire if I can avoid it.

There should be a pink wire with a black stripe/tracer that comes out of the bulkhead connector and goes up to the stock fuel filter housing's "water in fuel" sensor. Same wire is spliced somewhere in the engine harness and feeds the input side of the cold idle temp switch, which should be located on the rear of the passenger side cylinder head... If you need to reference the schematic, it's F-3 of Appendix F in the -20TM repair manual, and you're looking for circuits -39A (bulkhead to splice), -39B (splice to CIA switch), and -39F (splice to the WIF sensor).

Be sure to verify with a DVM or test light, but these wires (PNK/BLK) should be hot at all times when the key is in the "run" position.

 

[shotty]

Perfect, thank you. Surprisingly the fans only run for five or ten minutes before turning off automatically. Kinda neat, makes it sound like a fancy new car.

 

[Matt S]

The original had started seeping, not really leaking but the shop said the core was too far gone to "rod out". The temp light light would flicker on steep long grades in summer heat and the fan clutch would kick in often, after the re-core I have never seen the Temp light come on again, even pulling the major grades on I-5 from So-Cal to Washington in the summer, that was more than 3 years ago and I very happy I went that route. Now I need a winter radiator cover because the heater takes a real long time to do much, like 7 miles to town driving around 50 mph.

When I saw my core, I couldn't believe mine didn't overheat. The core looked plugged. I did notice my truck takes longer to warm up.

 

[emeralcove]

When I saw my core, I couldn't believe mine didn't overheat. The core looked plugged. I did notice my truck takes longer to warm up.

The only time I saw the temp light before the re-core work was pulling a M101 trailer behind my M1009 up the Cajon pass when it was over 100 degrees although on occasion the fan clutch would engage before the re-core so I had a similar experience to yours with normal driving. I was concerned about the drive to Washington during August because the grades in northern Calif and southern Oregon can be brutal in the summer, just didn't want to risk a massive prolonged over-heat and end up needing a radiator anyway plus a towing bill and possible engine damage, been there, done that, wasn't that much fun! Basically I figured if the clogged 30 year plus radiator performed "okay", having it re-cored with the biggest core that would fit the tanks would be a great option.

 

[wbdodgeiv]

Now that my thermostat and radiator cap are working the tank to core seam on my radiator spring a small leak. I pulled the radiator, filled it with water and pressurized it with a bike pump. About an inch of the seam bubbled.

I wirewheeled it to bare metal, brushed on some acid, neutralized acid, brushed on paste flux the rewet the joint with 50/50 acid core solder.



Pressure checked it and didn’t find anymore leaks. Put it back together and drove it to work without drama.

 

[rustystud]

Now that my thermostat and radiator cap are working the tank to core seam on my radiator spring a small leak. I pulled the radiator, filled it with water and pressurized it with a bike pump. About an inch of the seam bubbled.

I wirewheeled it to bare metal, brushed on some acid, neutralized acid, brushed on paste flux the rewet the joint with 50/50 acid core solder.

View attachment 753716

Pressure checked it and didn’t find anymore leaks. Put it back together and drove it to work without drama.

Good job !

 

[Keith_J]

It’s been cold here lately and the 09 had tepid heat at best. Sunday I shot the crossover pipe with an IR gun and it was barely 100 deg after idling for an hour.

Of course I broke both thermostat housing bolts... Lots of attempts at welding a nut to the studs but I finally gave up. Put the crossover pipe on the mill and drilled out both studs and spot faced the back so I could then use bolts.

Now my heat is actually hot.

I had the same problem with stuck and broken bolts. I used Heli Coils to repair the threads. M10-1.5 threads.

 

[bluesman1966]

Last Week i changed the IP and the Injektors from my M1109, i can`t believe how good these old Truck runs.

 

[bluesman1966]

Sorry......M1009