Looking at a Deuce, Has Some Issues

[toocheaptosmoke]

Was looking at a truck today, would appreciate your opinions. 1970, Hercules turbo engine, no winch, soft top, air shift t-case, fold down bed sides. It has some rust, there's a few spots where it's through in places, but nothing I would consider terrible. Frame and most underbody looks very solid. Tire are NDT's, in fair condition. Needs front axle boots replaced, but comes with new ones. Normal wear and tear on a vehicle this age. New batteries and starter.

The transmission doesn't stay in 1st gear, it pops out if used, all other gears seem to function well. Supposedly it has been like this all the years the seller has owned it. The brakes work, but wow do you have to stand on them! Is this normal? Feels like a car that has power brakes but the engine is off, my manual brake vehicles are much more responsive. Seems to run well, starts quick, and drives pretty decent, clean antique title. Seller was asking 3k, but would do 2500. Thoughts? I've always kind of wanted one, but was never too serious about it until this one showed up. Thanks!

 

[NY Tom]

Seems pretty reasonable price to me.

 

[NDT]

Great price. Brakes should be much more responsive.

 

[Katavic918]

It depends how mechanical you are. If you plan on driving it on the road you need to fix the brakes. The rears should lock up on a dirt road with not too much effort. Good luck.

 

[cattlerepairman]

These days 2500 for a running, driving and kinda stopping Deuce is very very reasonable. Clearly, you are buying a project and can budget approximately the purchase price or close to it in parts to get her truly safe and roadworthy. It's a bonus when, as you methodically check the systems over, you get by with spending less.

There is a good thread "The true cost of owning a Deuce" that is helpful.

Jumping out of a gear can mean removal and disassembly of the transmission and pressing a new gear on. Old one is worn or damaged. Or you can swap in a good used tranny.

The unwillingness to stop can be brake wear, out of adjustment or defective air hydraulic booster (air pack). Plan on going through the brakes with a fine tooth comb.

Even so, I very much like my Deuce and would not trade it for any of the more complicated automatic transmission truck generation.

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[frank8003]

You buy it, You own it, Now you work on it. Could take years or 2 months.
At that price just buy it take it home and take it apart and fix it.
You will find out what Your capabilities are. We already know what the
Deuce capabilities are.
Like never buy fuel is a good point. See me about that.
3k is like a used up Chevy. A Deuce is like forever. Going slow is a wonderment.
Especially where not many others can go.
Across a plowed plowed field at 15MPH with two tons of ammo for the guys
You decide

 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Appreciate the advice! Talked to the guy and we made a deal, so now the fun/pain begins. Got about a 75 mile drive to get it back home, so will definitely be going through the brake system before that. The seller is cool with doing some wrenching on it while still in his yard.

I have been reading a lot of the stickies and searching up information, lots of stuff to go through. I'm used to owning old vehicles, do all maintenance myself, so not afraid to dig into things. Definitely a lot of unique and uncommon parts and systems though, so will be a learning experience.

 

[frank8003]

Take the seller wth you on the ride home. He brings everything might be needed, You too. Take Him home or get Him a rental or whatever...so much fun to be done.

 

[V8srfun]

Congratulations on the purchase

my truck ca lock the tires up on asphalt without (standing) on the pedal so if you have to push that hard there is definitely a assist issue.

this is not always the case but can be useful for helping diagnose. Does the pedal have a ton of free play before it gets stiff or is it stiff all the way. If it is stiff all the way i would look towards the air pack and if it has free play I would look at adjustment of the pads.

please update us with what you find and how the ride home went.

 

[Mullaney]

Appreciate the advice! Talked to the guy and we made a deal, so now the fun/pain begins. Got about a 75 mile drive to get it back home, so will definitely be going through the brake system before that. The seller is cool with doing some wrenching on it while still in his yard.

I have been reading a lot of the stickies and searching up information, lots of stuff to go through. I'm used to owning old vehicles, do all maintenance myself, so not afraid to dig into things. Definitely a lot of unique and uncommon parts and systems though, so will be a learning experience.

Congratulations on becoming part of the unofficial green army! They can be incredibly frustrating sometimes - but use a little of your "recliner time" to go over the Dash 10 training manual (TM) for your truck. It will tell you how to operate it and give you a good idea what to expect from your new toy. In some cases there are step by step instructions. In other cases a simple exploded diagram in the TM will make it easier to know what to do to accomplish the task at hand.

Training Manuals
-10 is the Operators Guide
-23 is the Technical Field Maintenance Guide
-24 is the General Maintenance Repair Parts

Oh, and most important to the crew here: We Need Pictures! Nothing is considered to have happened if there aren't pictures to show the big adventure

 

[glcaines]

I'm assuming you have air pressure? What pressure does the gauge read? Normal air pressure is 85 - 120 PSI. Does the low pressure buzzer work prior to the compressor building up pressure? The deuce should stop easily without much effort on the brake pedal. There is definitely a problem with the brakes on the truck. As others have said, you should be able to lock up the wheels in an emergency.

 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Will definitely get pics! Probably going to be a week or two until I can get down there to transfer title and work on it.

The low pressure buzzer works, air pressure was getting up to 120 if I remember right. First things I'm going to do are check the brake fluid condition and level, check all hoses, then see if any of the brakes are out of adjustment. Move on the air pack next if no improvement.

Only pic I took while looking at it was of the engine data plate,

 

[cattlerepairman]

Nice. It is a late production multifuel, 1987, and "TD" thick deck casting. All good things.

 

[glcaines]

How far down does the brake pedal travel before you get a hard pedal? Brakes that need adjusting normally result in a pedal that travels down more than normal before you get a hard pedal. I suspect that you either have an air pack problem or a lack of air pressure going to the air pack. The truck should have DOT 5 silicone brake fluid in it unless someone has changed it out. You definitely need to make sure the brakes are working properly before starting out on a 75 mile trip home. If you can't get the brakes working right, I would have it towed. You might find someone on this site with another deuce and a tow bar that would be willing to help.

 

[HDN]

Nice. It is a late production multifuel, 1987, and "TD" thick deck casting. All good things.

It ought to have split brakes then.

 

[cattlerepairman]

It ought to have split brakes then.

If the whole truck is a 1987...but not if they only dropped a factory new engine in at some point.

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[18operator]

They dropped a '87 engine in my truck at some point. Still have the single circuit brakes.

 

[HDN]

So is it an older deuce with a newer engine, or do you have one of the air force trucks?

 

[toocheaptosmoke]

I believe that it's a 1970 AM General truck with an updated engine, so unfortunately no dual circuit brakes.

Hopefully try to get down there and work on it this weekend. Already ordered some spare brake lines, a parking brake cable, and a couple wheel cylinders to have on hand just in case they're needed.

Have one other question about the boots on the front axle knuckles, the current ones are cracking and split open a bit. I don't plan on fording any rivers on the drive home. Figured I would just shoot some grease in there and let it ride until it could be fixed proper later on, any issue with this?

 

[HDN]

I believe that it's a 1970 AM General truck with an updated engine, so unfortunately no dual circuit brakes.

Hopefully try to get down there and work on it this weekend. Already ordered some spare brake lines, a parking brake cable, and a couple wheel cylinders to have on hand just in case they're needed.

Have one other question about the boots on the front axle knuckles, the current ones are cracking and split open a bit. I don't plan on fording any rivers on the drive home. Figured I would just shoot some grease in there and let it ride until it could be fixed proper later on, any issue with this?

At least you have a newer motor

Regarding the trashed boots, I don't think it should be a problem as long as you keep most of your driving to paved roads. The boots are only dust covers; they aren't waterproof and they aren't meant to hold grease in the steering knuckle. Get grease on those knuckles per the LO. I also had a thread somewhere in this board asking for tips for greasing a deuce that you might find helpful.