Road Trip DFW to Chester IL DEC 26-JAN 9

[OPCOM]

It's hard to believe this is the 4th major road tip for me in 4 years. I have a friend along this time to help in case anything goes wrong. My friend Jacob, he has a strong back, isn't afraid of adventures, and a keen eye for ladies (you ought to meet his GF), and that combination is always worth something. No she's not coming along.. Not her thing - BUT she does not mind him going off the radar and messing with MVs. See my point. Anyway to make the inro, Jacob is my technology apprentice. He is taking this short break from College and will probably choose from electronics or physics degrees.

OK so there is the quota on smilies. I might need the puke one later in case I have to eat another Chicken Stickie.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/milita...0-road-trip-food-good-bad-unidentifiable.html

The truck is ready. So, come tomorrow AM we have to load up the truck with parts and goods, drive 80 miles north to Gainesville TX and pick up the sacrificial diesel generator powered lighting trailer, and then head east on TX 380 to I-30 and on into Hot Sptings to the KOA there. Then on to the top secret location in Chester, IL.

This time is different. Instead of visiting previously unexplored repositories of surplus goods, there is a definite special project to be done.

But before this madness begins, a few words from hindsight:

It is forbidden for dragons to fly through the pouring rain at night and smash into my windshield breaking the wiper off. That was OK once but I don't want it to happen again.

It is forbidden for preluber oil hose to come off at a rest stop and for old people in $300K motorhomes to park in the resulting oil slick, and subsequently scowl at my truck.

It is forbidden for the top alternator ear to break off while replacing fan belts and tightening the bolt.

It is forbidden for me to leave a switch on and drain the batteries overnight.

It is forbidden for me to imagine the engine is making strange noises while driving at 3 AM in the middle of nowhere. (It is also forbidden for the engine to make real noises that are new. And the rest of the truck and trailer is hereby put on notice as well especially the transmission.)

It is forbidden for the turbo oil return pipe seal to leak and generously spew oil
everywhere. I had no idea the huge volume of oil passing through that. It's a 1" pipe for a reason.

It is forbidden for me to get lost at night somewhere in the forest on a 2-lane road and stop to check the maps only to hear the banjo music from "Deliverance" eerily being played in the darkness, accompanied by weird squealing noises.

It is forbidden for the exhaust manifold gasket to blow out at 2 AM when I am leaving a truck stop in a mountainous area, leaving me with less boost and a cab full of fumes.

It is forbidden for Satan or his pals including those like Mr. Murphy to ride along, as the truck and occupants belong to Jesus. Totally seriously. So bug off!

I realize that my authority to forbid these kinds of things may be questioned by some, but I pray earnestly for success including the whole project just the same. Some care is in order. Ask and you shall receive. Great adventures don't just happen, or do they? Will this one be great? Who knows. Let's find out.

No doubt, many excellent adventures lie in wait along the open roads for those who will take them.

So let the fun begin.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Funnier than He** OPCOM. Please be safe and "Onward through the Fog"!

Thanks for the laughs!!!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Patrick, I know where you are headed, I hope to spend some time there and help out. I should be arriving with a truckload, so I hope you don't mind the interuption. Looking forward to seeing you again and possibly contributing to the project. May we both arrive with no troubles.

 

[Alredneck]

If your headed up I40 for any part of the trip give me a shout out. Im in Memphis so have truck n trailer or some spare parts if need be! Good Luck on your trip take pics!

 

[OPCOM]

GR, you are always welcome to butt in any time I figured you are in on it..

Alredneck, I will be heading to Memphis on I40 and then north to Chester IL on I-55. If you read this post I can say that is greatly appreciated. I can PMmy cell#, as once I leave here I will have no internet till next stop. If I don't answer, pls leave msg and contact #- but please read on about what today brought.

There is some problem, If it is a rear main seal or bad clutch, I am not in a position physically or tool-wise to repair that on the road, I usually pay a diesel shop for heavy stuff like that.

Right now I am in the KOA in hot springs. Everything is good and truck is running great and smooth except the clutch slipped a few times when putting the pedal to the metal up a hill. I do not know why. Maybe it has gotten some oil on it as there is a small leak at the front of the engine, that even though it is small it makes a big mess due to the wind spreading it everywhere. I hope there is not another leak at the clutch area such as a rear main seal or something that I did not find when I last power-washed it and checked it.

If I had known anything like that was going to happen I would not have started out until it was repaired whatever it is. But I am halfway there so I need to make it the rest of the way. Tomorrow (later today anyway) I will check the oil level and determine how much oil has been used in order to determine if there is a new or large leak. The leak I am aware of is about 1 quart per 1000 miles. I have done about 380 miles and have about 400 to go. (Hot Springs to Chester).

Therefore we have to rise early and get a move on as daylight is going to be short and in case this turns sour I do not want to be stuck along the interstate at night. The problem seems to be when in 5th gear, in the range of power where you are getting 10 PSI boost and 1000-1100 degrees pre-turbo, 2000 RPM and leaning on it. If I stay backed off the throttle I can avoid it. The issue is, if it is oil, what will happen if it slips occasionally and I immediately get off it? will it make it worse? If it is not oily, then the thing has "suddenly" wore out with no dang notice whatsoever. That seems unlikely. It has never done this before.

I will get under the beast a few hours from now and take a look

pics of the good food at flying J buffet in Texarkana, and a rather bad pictue of Jacob and the truck (and sacrificial generator trailer). Didn't exactly have time today for it just trying to get from A to B.

till then, l8tr.. Too bad Memphis equ is not open sunday. Not that I know what is needed here.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Patrick, that is what happened to me a few times with my lds dropside truck. Check the trans fluid level. You could pull the clutch inspection plate and see if it smells like gear oil, then you KNOW its the trans. When pushing hard the fluid expands and pushes out the input shaft, drenching the clutch.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Forgot to add, if you suspect the trans, drain some fluid from the plug at the rear. With truck running, Tcase in neutral, and clutch depressed, spray brake cleaner or carb cleaner in there and let it clean the clutch and flywheel. After you spray for a bit, let it run with clutch depressed to let dry out. I drained 20oz out of my trans and it worked well. I also left the inspection plate off till I got home.

 

[OPCOM]

this wants me to say "dammit boy!" which is a recent trucker saying for when someone did something stupid, at least I hear it in TX.

The lubes were just done, and I thought the trans had been filled too full because of the way the guy was doing it, but couldn't tell. serves me right for being lazy. well I can't do much checking or drain it here at the KOA they are persnickety and will have a fit. That explains also the trouble coming and going,rather than the engine constantly oiling it, the tranny just pukes a little when hot. This said I have driven the truck a few times, just not >40 miles at a stretch.

The truck started immediately and is warming up. The GPS says about 2PM arrival,but I would say that is optomistic.

 

[gimpyrobb]

When mine was installed, it was done by me, making sure it was filled to one knuckle BELOW the fill plug level. It still got warm and pushed out on the clutch. I think you should drain 1liter from it, since you thought it was overfilled. I'd still do the "sniff test" to make sure you think its the trans.

 

[Speddmon]

Mine did the same thing on the way home from Wisconsin this summer when I did the recovery. I drained at LEAST 1 quart from it when it was hot....maybe more. It was fine after that. Now I run it about 1 1/2 knuckles down from the plug...and it's golden

 

[54reo]

Patrick and Jacob are about 15 miles from their destination...

All is going well.

 

[OPCOM]

got in about 7 PM. The transmission being overfilled seems like the culprit due to the behavior, the hotter it got, the more likely it would be to slip. Since it only acted up Hope to check it over the next few days. Thanks you guys for the advice on it. It is rather cold here and we drove all day so I am not as motivated as possible right now. Mostly sore.. There was a locked compartment on the project equipment, Brian cut off the lock and we found what is in the picture. I a glad that security measures are strictly enforced otherwise someone might have stolen these things. More pics later, tomorrow. Time to crash.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Glad to hear you made it safe.

 

[54reo]

Today was eventful.

A major component for this build was sourced, and will be recovered on Wednesday. Many now useless components were removed in order to make room for the new, and it is again time to crash.

I will let Patrick fill you in on the details...


"And a good time was had by all!"

 

[OPCOM]

Me too! Made some good progress today. broke a few bolts, torched out a hole to push a connector out, possibly fixed a fuel leak, replaced an oil pressure gauge, lots of wenching.. I am glad Brian and Jacob are helping, as well as Brian's dad. This is a lot of fun. So here's some pictures of what was done so far.

 

[OPCOM]

So anyway here is the new set of wheels. so far with much remaining to do.. CARC and rustproofed per MWO

 

[54reo]

Is.......he........asleep???????


What the heck

 

[cranetruck]

Hey, good progress Patrick! Had to go back to this thread to see what was up...
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/5-ton-up/39051-m818-m109-body.html

 

[srodocker]

cant wait to see the outcome

 

[OPCOM]

I got a good question here..

How to remove the connector in the picture. This is the connector on the M818 that is there over the pintle hook.

The rubber slug with the female contacts does not seem to want to be removed. I do not see how to remove this from the frame member without cutting wires.

I thought that once the not on the backside of the connector was unscrewed, the rubber part would come out from the metal flange. What is the secret?

There looks like a splice in the picture showing what is behind the frame member.