According to the title this past owner had it for 12yrs. Which is good, to me it means he didn’t just buy it, find it’s a money pit or an issue, and resell it. Plus with him accumulating parts means he cared, I suppose. He now has a wife and two kids, and he was just done with it. It had set as is for at least 1.5yrs since he drove it and parked it.
So here’s the good news, maybe bad news; you guys tell me….
Purchase price: $1500 (but, non running)
Transport home: $400 (I didn’t lift a finger lol)
Thoughts?
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That is a FANTASTIC price! I would guess that anybody here would be happy to pay that money including transport and smile all the way home. I think you are more than likely right. A couple of kids and a wife - even with two people earning - can see a problem spending money on a "toy". We all love these old trucks and a lot of us have already gone through the "kids phase" or are going through the college phase now or have already...
Seems to me that there is a lot of stuff you can and need to do before you spend any real money. You have already looked into fuel filters. That is a good start. Before you ruin those new filters, carefully inspect the fuel tank. If it was being run as a multi-fuel, chances are your fuel is better off than what comes out of the ground today. I would suggest that draining the fuel into buckets with an old T-Shirt tied over it - to filter it. Then, down inside of the tank with a really bright light, see what you can see. Is there a bunch of slime and gunk on the bottom? Maybe? Maybe not. The guy that owned it might have tried to crank it (to sell it as a running truck) and sucked up the green slime - possibly killing the in-tank pump.
After you figure out if the tank has "the creeping crud" the rest of the fuel system will need your attention too. If not, you could try cranking the truck on a bucket. Doing that will require a suction line and you will need a Fuel return line too. Lots of the guys will chime in on the easy way to do that.
Starter: Go easy on it. Don't grind on it for a long time. Maybe 30 or 40 seconds, then let it cool off. They aren't cheap and you don't want to waste money by burning it up.
There are leaks under the truck on the axles like you mentioned. That shouldn't be a big deal and those seals are not awful - but there are two on every axle. I couldn't tell anything about the inside of the wheels at the hubs. Looking for brake fluid or gear oil would be pretty important. Checking the fluid levels through the plugs on the side. (Picture below of your truck - White marked)
The real seal on the transmission looks like it is worse than the other gearboxes. Might should check it's oil level (about a third of the way up the side) first. It uses 80w90 Gear Oil, so it won't just pour out - but I would fix that before the axles.
Back to the axles for a minute: On top of all three axle tubes (squares), you will find a vent. Those should be inspected. Over time, they will gather crud and critters like dirt daubers will seal them up. Stopped up vents will force gear oil our around the rubber seals at the drive shafts. I am pretty sure that I saw one on top of the front axle beside the hogshead. We can talk more about deep water fording, but for now I suggest leaving that alone - except for making sure the vents are clear.
Hard to tell, but you seem to be on a gravel driveway. Don't want a lot of crud on the rocks, but some hot water (out of your water heater) and some old fashioned powdered Tide clothes washing powder will eat that stuff pretty well. A pressure washer is a possibility too but the hot water will activate the soap a little better...
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Yeah, the tailgate is a little "wonky" but it could be that a half day with a hammer could bring it back. Or, maybe later you can fine another. Heck, might even find somebody who wants to be rid of an entire bed. I have seen some given away, so anything is possible.
Overall, I think the truck looks pretty darn good. Interior looks good too. I think you got a heck of a deal and please be sure to keep posting pictures. The guys will jump in for sure when there are pictures! Be sure to whip out those books. We also have them posted as PDFs in the Technical Manuals Section. Searching through a PDF can be a lot faster than flipping pages!
M35, M35A1, M35A2, M35A2C, M109A3, exc. Find TM's related to the M35 series trucks in this forum. - No posting of threads
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Congratulations!
The difference is amazing over time...
