Just bought my first Deuce!!

[Another Ahab]

Literally 3 hours after he was born.
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Congratulations on the growing family!

Best wishes also to Mom; childbirth is some real heavy lifting (and we call ourselves the "tough" ones of the two genders, that's almost a laugh).

 

[nchittendon]

Ok, playing with the baby is awesome. But the truck sits patiently waiting in the driveway.

Once spring hits, these are the things I hope to focus on getting accomplished........

~ right away in the spring I plan to pull the bed off the truck. My good friend locally has a M977 and I hope to utilize it to pull the bed, and get it out of the way.
~ once the bed is off, I have my MRAP wheels and 395's all sitting in my trailer. Adapters are paid for, just not picked up yet. Now just need bolts/hardware.
~ I'll get the tires singled out. And hope to get into bearings/brakes/seals.
~ Also, with the bed off, I plan to re-do all of my old metal air lines with newer DOT nylon and fittings.
~ in that process, I hope to add a 3rd air tank for accessories such as air ride seating.
~ I still have my air drier to mount up that I haven't done yet. It'll be a lot easier with the bed off.
~ i'm hoping to do some touch up painting as well.\
~ This whole endeavor listed above will also be where I pull the trigger on the biggest project yet......I'm still undecided, but I want to shorten the bed by 4 feet, and add a second cab for a 4 door conversion. Again, still on the fence about that one.

 

[Another Ahab]

Ok, playing with the baby is awesome. But the truck sits patiently waiting in the driveway.

Once spring hits, these are the things I hope to focus on getting accomplished........

I'm happy for you, nchittendon, because having a plan can help to fire a body up.

I'm THIS close to finishing the outfitting on my commercial truck so I can get my small business launched. T-H-I-S close, so I know the feeling.

Go for it, Brother!

 

[nchittendon]

Last night at work....
We have a department in a different location as our main warehouse, and this company relies HEAVILY on our spotter trucks. Well, said department is basically on top of a hill. Only way to get there is up. Our spotters couldn't navigate the surrounding hills last night, so the last couple hours of work was the deuce and I dragging trucks around.
Man, I love that old girl.

 

[nchittendon]

A buddy works at Pomps. Took my MRAP wheels, my XL's, and my new o-rings over there the last time he worked so we could get these mounted up finally.

Everything was real smooth until we went to replace o-rings. Wrong size! I don't blame the vendor, not when I call and say, "hey I've got MRAP wheels, aluminum ones. I need o-rings." He said it was his best guess and what they "should" be.

 

[nchittendon]

I'm at my wits end.

So, my last post I had pre-ordered orings for my aluminum MRAP wheels. The vendor I got them from said they "should" be the right ones. Apparently there are a couple options. Thank you Uncle Sam. Last weekend took the wheels to my guy at Pomps Tire to get the XL's mounted up. No bueno. The orings were WAY to big.
The vendor was cool, I sent the old ones back along with one of the ones I took out of the rim.
Got the new ones yesterday. Today, split them all apart again, and started to set the new orings. Sonnuva.......
Wrong size. But much, much closer. Correct diameter. And holding them next to each other they are almost exact. But, lay them into the channel and they are just a hair too much. It keeps jumping out of the channel.
So, because i'm getting sick of this job not being done, I took 2 of them and cut an inch off of each one. Used silicone sealer/adhesive to "glue" them together. Used a ton of tire snot on the rest of the oring, and slapped them together. But, low and behold, I don't have a way to force the bead onto the rim. So I couldn't inflate to check to see if it worked.
So, now I have 2 of them sealed up (hopefully) and the other 4 waiting to see if the vendor can come up with something else.

I'm glad for him that I'm an easy guy to work with and not an ahole. I hope we come to a conclusion as to which size is needed for these and next time he'll know exactly what ones to use.

Looks like I am done with this project for this weekend. Summer is going to get short, fast.

 

[Another Ahab]

I'm at my wits end.

Got the new ones yesterday. Today, split them all apart again, and started to set the new orings. Sonnuva.......
Wrong size. But much, much closer. Correct diameter. And holding them next to each other they are almost exact. But, lay them into the channel and they are just a hair too much. It keeps jumping out of the channel.
Summer is going to get short, fast.

O rings are one real PIA. You wish the manufacturers could print an ID of some kind on the rings so you could tell them apart. Between the ring diameter and O.D. and I.D. it can drive a body bananas. Especially if you drop them and get them all mixed up! But it's just all part of the fun.

 

[Elijah95]

Nice truck, read through the thread, trying to make a decision on what i want, still a long way out, but worth thinking about it now so I don't have to later. xD

But my Deuce lol


1974 AM General M109A3 w/Deuce Bed, White LDT, Whistler C, and soft top

 

[Elijah95]

Ok, I really hate owning a deuce.

Every thread I read, every picture I see of someone's project, I get my own ideas for things that I "need" to do. Now trying to figure out what to do first, and how to prioritize......that's the part I hate.

There are tons of things that I feel I need to do to the truck. But right now I want to focus on reliability and use-ability.
~ FDC bypass
~ remote reservoir for the brake master
~ fuel filter upgrade
~ air tank drain valves (stock ones are all messed up)
~ vent tubes for axles, transfer case, tranny, fuel tank, and airpack all going to the airbox.
~ snorkel kit
~ airbag the drive seat (instead of the spring)
~ cargo cover
~ upgrade windshield (glass and seals)
~ .....and so much more.

Eventually different rims/tires. Eventually full air ride seats for both driver and passenger. Add a 12volt system. Upgrade wipers. Add a winch.

.....so much more. I drive my truck daily hoping that the quirks will show themselves. At the same time, I fear having a break down.

Have you done the FDC bypass yet? It's easy, and takes about 30 minutes with a couple wrenches


1974 AM General M109A3 w/Deuce Bed, White LDT, Whistler C, and soft top

 

[nchittendon]

Have you done the FDC bypass yet? It's easy, and takes about 30 minutes with a couple wrenches

No, not yet.

 

[nchittendon]

Well, in the midst of everything last week I was able to get the front ones on!! This week I am going to work on flipping the hubs and getting the back ones on. It's LONG over due.

 

[Tracer]

Well, in the midst of everything last week I was able to get the front ones on!! This week I am going to work on flipping the hubs and getting the back ones on. It's LONG over due.

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The front tires look good. Be sure to post some pics when you get the rear tires on.

 

[nchittendon]

The fronts were easy. The rears are being difficult. But alas, I will prevail. Borrowed a torque multiplier from a friend. After the first couple of cranks I had the internet brought up on my phone and I ordered my own. Those things are magical. Some of the outter nuts didn't want to budge, and just pulled the whole thimble at once. Either way, they are coming off!! A buddy works at a local tire shop, borrowed the pork chop from him and worked the thimbles off of the stubborn ones.

 

[tobyS]

Get a right and left hand bolt and double nut them. They don't cost much to replace if they are worn or rusted.

 

[Another Ahab]

Get a right and left hand bolt and double nut them. They don't cost much to replace if they are worn or rusted.

How does that work, like is there some special torquing to apply to each nut for this to work?

 

[Csm Davis]

The fronts were easy. The rears are being difficult. But alas, I will prevail. Borrowed a porkchop from a friend. After the first couple of cranks I had the internet brought up on my phone and I ordered my own. Those things are magical. Some of the outter nuts didn't want to budge, and just pulled the whole thimble at once. Either way, they are coming off!!

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Now....how to get the outters and thimbles apart with the wheel off the truck.......??

Use the pork chop that is what it is for, put it on the nut and then the square thimble can be backed out with a 13/16 square socket and soak them in penetrating oil.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[nchittendon]

Today, in between the rain drops I was able to get one more hub done. 2 left to go. With the wheels already off and the tools already out, I've got a hub flip, clean, and re-pack down to 2 hours.

 

[Another Ahab]

Those are some clean looking hubs, nchittendon. Nice.

 

[nchittendon]

Those are some clean looking hubs, nchittendon. Nice.

Thank you! I try to take pride in my work. It's taken me longer to get the whole thing done, but I won't do it unless I can do it right.

Finished up on Thursday, and left town on a trip early Friday morning.

 

[peashooter]

Thank you! I try to take pride in my work. It's taken me longer to get the whole thing done, but I won't do it unless I can do it right.

Finished up on Thursday, and left town on a trip early Friday morning.

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Well done, it turned out great looking and its nice to have all that hub maintenance recently behind you. Oh and Im going to guess your younger son is about 46" tall