Bonedoc's M35A2 modification thread

[rustystud]

Could you tell me how you was able to get the front two nuts off of the compressor to remove it from the base? It is an 11/16 nut and I've tried multiple sockets and even a crows foot, but the stupid compressor is shaped as to keep a socket or a box end wrench to slip over the nuts. I don't fee as if there is enough room to use an open end wrench and furthermore, mine are rusty and need a fair amount of torque to force the nuts loose. Your help is appreciated! BTW, your build is very nice!

That's probably your problem, rusty bolts. The wrenches and sockets don't fit on them correctly anymore. You might have to get under them with some vise-grips or a chisel and hammer and bust them off.

 

[bonedoc]

Voltedge,

I see Rusty Stud beat me to the answer. I was able to get those with basic hand tools, can't remember if I used a socket or open end wrench, may of even been a stubby, but they weren't difficult. If you can't get them I'd soak them good in penetrating oil and keep trying. You could always try unbolting the entire mount from the engine block and take it out as one piece. Then separate them. The mount bolts are easy to get except for one that is under the compressor shelf, partially block by the mount itself.
Good luck, feel free to ask any of us questions. We have all started from scratch at one time or another. The parts you will easily find as well. Look for deals, I recently picked up a brand new compressor for $150.00 as opposed to the usual 250-300.

 

[bonedoc]

Well I've been slacking and have not bothered to update my thread for my deuce. A lot has happened and been done since the last time I updated this thread. In April I finally got my electric wiper kit installed. In May of this year I had my alternator start failing on me and had that rebuilt by a local shop.

 

[bonedoc]

In May I also got around to building a snorkel for my deuce as well. Used 4" stainless exhaust pipe with a 4" Donaldson scoop. At the same time I re did the top of my exhaust so that it was one straight exhaust pipe instead of 2 pieces that always leaned slightly rearward. This allowed me to mount my snorkel straight and parallel to my exhaust.

 

[Another Ahab]

In May I also got around to building a snorkel for my deuce as well. Used 4" stainless exhaust pipe with a 4" Donaldson scoop. At the same time I re did the top of my exhaust so that it was one straight exhaust pipe instead of 2 pieces that always leaned slightly rearward. This allowed me to mount my snorkel straight and parallel to my exhaust.

Excellent.

 

[bonedoc]

Well the deuce ran great all summer....until about 3 weeks ago. Was heading to a friend of mine's house and was taking my deuce. Truck was running and driving normally but noticed my brake pedal felt a bit firm. The brakes felt like they were operating normally so I proceeded. As I got on the highway I noticed the truck's EGTs were climbing fast and the truck seemed.....off. A little further and it couldn't hold speed in 4th or 5th gear. I pulled off the highway and found a place to stop. At this time I felt the brakes were dragging and confirmed that as soon as I stopped and could smell it. Had a little bit of smoke but hopefully no damage. Checked everything over and spoke to a friend who suggested I release the pressure in the brake system and see if that releases the brakes. I cracked the rearmost passenger wheel cylinder and that did the trick. Brakes released and the truck was free rolling.
I drove the truck ,very slowly and carefully, home using low range and downshifting to avoid using the brakes. The brakes were operating normally and I wasn't getting any signs of issues at the bearings and seals so hopefully no damage from heating things up a bit.
A little bit of history here. The master cylinder and airpack on my truck were always wet. I would lose very little fluid over time, literally....maybe 1/2 a pint in a over a 1 year timeframe. I could never find where it was seeping from. Now I had just about 2 weeks prior to this flushed and re bleed my brake system. With this the general consensus was something probably jammed my airpack and had freed itself when I released the pressure. With everything operating normally a few said to just drive it and keep an eye on it. I couldn't do that. There are a lot of hills where I live and what comes up must go down....lol.
So since I had a new Master cylinder with my spare parts I ordered a new air pack and planned on a swap.

Well boy did I open a can of worms...lol. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. When I removed the airpack and master cylinder I'm laying under the truck looking at the brake lines and airlines. They were a mess. repairs pieced in, the brake line fittings I removed were all stripped and had to use vise grips to remove them. So the re plumbing began.

I purchased a complete set of brakelines from peashooter. Then searched around to see what others had done and placed an order with McMaster Carr for DOT nylon airline and fittings. I have to say those guys are great. order today...have it tomorrow.
I also found a thread and talked to Rustystud as he used some PTFE stainless wrapped hose for the lines close to heat. Both him and Peashooter were a tremendous help and I thank them both.

Here are some pics of the airpack and master cylinder

 

[bonedoc]

So far I have all the airlines replaced. I used PTFE stainless wrapped hose for all lines close to the engine heat. I used Blue DOT nylon airline for all service lines. Red airline for my emergency gladhand line. And finally yellow airline for my vent lines. My axles were already plumbed with rubber hose but I decided to replace the with airline and both the axle vents and the airpack vent will be vent to a manifold that I'll be mounting on the firewall. My master cylinder vents through the remote reservoir.

These pics are of my engine bay. My vent lines are not done yet in these pics.

I had all the PTFE lines done up by a local hydraulic shop. Going back to them next week as I'm going to replace 2 fuel lines, the one from the primaries to the injection pump and return line back to the tank.

 

[Another Ahab]

So far I have all the airlines replaced. I used PTFE stainless wrapped hose for all lines close to the engine heat. I used Blue DOT nylon airline for all service lines. Red airline for my emergency gladhand line. And finally yellow airline for my vent lines. My axles were already plumbed with rubber hose but I decided to replace the with airline and both the axle vents and the airpack vent will be vent to a manifold that I'll be mounting on the firewall. My master cylinder vents through the remote reservoir.

These pics are of my engine bay. My vent lines are done yet in these pics.

I had all the PTFE lines done up by a local hydraulic shop. Going back to them next week as I'm going to replace 2 fuel lines, the one from the primaries to the injection pump and return line back to the tank.

That engine bay sure looks clean.

You must have "dressed her up" for the 'baby picture"!

It all looks sharp under that hood.

 

[Ford Mechanic]

Looking great! Sorry to hear about those issues, but glad you got it all resolved.

 

[bonedoc]

No worries Ford Mechanic. It is just funny how one thing leads to another. Like I said....part of it is me being my own worst enemy. I frequently take a mentality of "well...while I'm there...might as well do this as well"....LOL. I could of just replaced lines around airpack...or even left it for that matter but my OCD wouldn't let me. Bottomline it will all be fresh and good to go.

On another note...finally got a set of LED headlights with black buckets and a brand new towbar with all the fixings from SS member ,rhurey. LOL...more toys!! Now to design a mount system for the towbar.

 

[rustystud]

I have been working on my truck for years now replacing lines, rebuilding the whole brake system, rewiring the whole truck. It just seems like it will never end, but eventually I will have gone through the whole truck and I will know that it will work for me for years to come. Your doing the right thing Bonedoc by fixing what you see wrong instead of waiting until it leaves you on the side of the road. Also with everything you fix you gain a better understanding of how it works and will be able to fix it in the future if it ever fails again.
Also you truck looks great !

 

[bonedoc]

I have been working on my truck for years now replacing lines, rebuilding the whole brake system, rewiring the whole truck. It just seems like it will never end, but eventually I will have gone through the whole truck and I will know that it will work for me for years to come. Your doing the right thing Bonedoc by fixing what you see wrong instead of waiting until it leaves you on the side of the road. Also with everything you fix you gain a better understanding of how it works and will be able to fix it in the future if it ever fails again.
Also you truck looks great !

Agreed Greg! I may joke about me being my own worst enemy or my OCD not allowing me to leave it but in reality it is exactly like you said. I look at it and to me I'd rather spend a little more time....and unfortunately money as well for the piece of mind. One of my biggest peeves is having to rip something back apart for a simple...and usually cheap part that could of been done from the get go. As a friend of mine says, cutting corners is like stepping over a $5 to get a $1. When you are right there....and it is all torn apart, it is just parts.

The understanding is huge. I was very nervous taking everything out. I had never done it before on that type of vehicle and was doubting myself. I have to tell you when I first pulled out the air pack and master cylinder I was looking at everything. I knew it was not right...or better said...good to leave it, but it was very overwhelming. I almost said screw it and left it, but then as I thought it over and reviewed it all in my head. It suddenly became very clear and it was almost a "duh" moment, realizing how simple it really was once I looked beyond what seemed like a birds nest of lines and hoses.

 

[rustystud]

Agreed Greg! I may joke about me being my own worst enemy or my OCD not allowing me to leave it but in reality it is exactly like you said. I look at it and to me I'd rather spend a little more time....and unfortunately money as well for the piece of mind. One of my biggest peeves is having to rip something back apart for a simple...and usually cheap part that could of been done from the get go. As a friend of mine says, cutting corners is like stepping over a $5 to get a $1. When you are right there....and it is all torn apart, it is just parts.

The understanding is huge. I was very nervous taking everything out. I had never done it before on that type of vehicle and was doubting myself. I have to tell you when I first pulled out the air pack and master cylinder I was looking at everything. I knew it was not right...or better said...good to leave it, but it was very overwhelming. I almost said screw it and left it, but then as I thought it over and reviewed it all in my head. It suddenly became very clear and it was almost a "duh" moment, realizing how simple it really was once I looked beyond what seemed like a birds nest of lines and hoses.

One of the first lessons I learned in trade school was to look at just the part you are repairing. Don't let the complexity of the "whole" allow you to loose focus on the "here and now" . Once you learn about the individual parts you soon start to see how all the other systems interrelate with each other. Then once you grasp how all the systems work you can now diagnose a problem your vehicle has. On our buses they have 8 ECMs all connected with each other (engine, transmission, cooling, brakes, HVAC, exhaust, suspension, chassis) . A lot of times I have to just stop and "look" at what I'm working on now and don't let the "whole" get to me. A few years ago, a very good mechanic was trying to diagnose a rear door problem. There are over 5 sensors and 4 switches that control just the one door and they interconnect with the other doors so one sensor can effect the other doors operation. He had been working on the problem for 5 hours and was getting very frustrated. I came over to see what was going on and noticed a wire was disconnected. I reattached it and the door started working ! What had happened was he had replaced the sensor and was having trouble with it reading on the ECM module. So he disconnected it and was running his tests and found another bad switch, but he forgot to reattach the wire after he replaced the switch. So for hours he had been going back and forth trying to find out why it would not work. He was sure it had to do something with the other doors switch and had taken that whole panel off too. He let the complexity of the system get to him.

 

[Another Ahab]

A few years ago, a very good mechanic was trying to diagnose a rear door problem. There are over 5 sensors and 4 switches that control just the one door and they interconnect with the other doors so one sensor can effect the other doors operation. He had been working on the problem for 5 hours and was getting very frustrated. I came over to see what was going on and noticed a wire was disconnected. I reattached it and the door started working ! What had happened was he had replaced the sensor and was having trouble with it reading on the ECM module..

That's the advantage also of a buddy, or a partner.

Sometimes a second pair of eyes sees something right away that you miss because you're been staring at it so long that you're cross-eyed. You know!?

 

[olly69]

[/QUOTE] Here are some pics of the airpack and master cylinder[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the pictures. I am considering changing out my airpack - the salt up here just rusts everything up, and I don't want it to fail when at the worst possible time. Where would I get one?

 

[bonedoc]

Here are some pics of the airpack and master cylinder[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the pictures. I am considering changing out my airpack - the salt up here just rusts everything up, and I don't want it to fail when at the worst possible time. Where would I get one?[/QUOTE]

I got mine through Ted and Amy at Real Custom Trucks but I'd think all the major vendors would have them.

I'll have some more pics up in the next day or 2. Hopefully finishing my lines and reinstalling the new master cylinder and air pack tomorrow. My brakelines should be here by end of the week so that will be the last thing to put in and get finished.

 

[bonedoc]

Okay, a new update with pictures. Finally getting close to having the truck back together and completed. Hopefully it will be all done by the end of this weekend. My brakelines will be here today or tomorrow so after they go in it should be ready to roll.
So I finished off my vent lines in the engine compartment. Was looking for a nice way to finish them and found a product by ARB. A little pricey but it definitely works and should do the trick.
Here are also a bunch of pics of the new airlines and vent lines, installed master cylinder and air pack. I color coded my airlines. I went with blue for service lines, red for the emergency gladhand line, and yellow for my vent lines.

 

[bonedoc]

Air pack, master cylinder, and air tanks

 

[bonedoc]

Air tanks and vent lines

 

[Another Ahab]

Air pack, master cylinder, and air tanks

Oh, MAN, everything looks so clean; nice work. That's sweet.