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M1083A1 Electrical Maladies Starting at the Disconnect Switches

Ronmar

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Yep get the water out of the trans. It will kill the clutch packs...

NDT has a good thought, check the remote start sw in the passenger wheel well. If it is shorted it will crank as soon as you hit the ign sw... your thinking is right if it were a short in start relay, aux start or start solenoid it wpukd keep on cranking after it gets oil pressure.

Since it stops with oil pressure sw, the starter lickout is disabling the start switches like it should
 
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Lugnuts

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Well, went to the remote switches and flipped them on and off. Must have been the problem because the starter problem went away/ Onward to the Fuel issue/ Drained the tank completely and primer pumped all left over liquids out/ Wiped out tank with rag/ Put 10 gallons back in/ Primed up to pump to flush lines/ Installed Primary filter/ Primed to flush to secondary/ Installed Secondary filter and pumped to prime/ Starting engine was intriguing/ Just when I thought I had a problem it started firing/ It seems that that system doesn't recognize a wide open throttle until it is running so basically it is like starting it at idle request for fuel which makes flushing all that out a bit slow/ But now it is running/
Transmission is now draining with filters out and will flush torque convertor and coolers when I fill it with fresh and Install new filters.
Guys, I appreciate the technical support and the humor. And by the way that was a booger of a storm.
Oh yea, one last thing. I've got a right rear rear brake locked up and won't release but that is matter of course. Thanks again, Lugnuts
 

NDT

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Suggest you pressure wash this truck stem to stern twice. Then spray components like the engine computer and alternator with something like WD40, there are better sprays available for protection however.
 

TomTime

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Well, went to the remote switches and flipped them on and off. Must have been the problem because the starter problem went away/ Onward to the Fuel issue/ Drained the tank completely and primer pumped all left over liquids out/ Wiped out tank with rag/ Put 10 gallons back in/ Primed up to pump to flush lines/ Installed Primary filter/ Primed to flush to secondary/ Installed Secondary filter and pumped to prime/ Starting engine was intriguing/ Just when I thought I had a problem it started firing/ It seems that that system doesn't recognize a wide open throttle until it is running so basically it is like starting it at idle request for fuel which makes flushing all that out a bit slow/ But now it is running/
Transmission is now draining with filters out and will flush torque convertor and coolers when I fill it with fresh and Install new filters.
Guys, I appreciate the technical support and the humor. And by the way that was a booger of a storm.
Oh yea, one last thing. I've got a right rear rear brake locked up and won't release but that is matter of course. Thanks again, Lugnuts

Brake locked up.

 

Mullaney

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Brake locked up.

.
After about a half dozen times, I skip the steps that use the caging bolt and tapping the brake chamber. Going straight to a nice "love tap" with a 3 # hammer solves the problem for me and my M1088.

Obviously chocks are pretty important...

Nicely done video too.
 

Lugnuts

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.
After about a half dozen times, I skip the steps that use the caging bolt and tapping the brake chamber. Going straight to a nice "love tap" with a 3 # hammer solves the problem for me and my M1088.

Obviously chocks are pretty important...

Nicely done video too.
I always like to refer to that as a Percussionary Adjustment. LOL
 

Lugnuts

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I want to pursue this matter a bit more but from different perspective. Does anybody know what happens to the salt content of water when mixed with diesel? I know that a mess of y'all are going to say get rid of it, and I don't dispute that but... does the salt stay as a corrosive ingredient that it shouldn't be used as fuel? Is it even bad as a parts cleaner. With water in the fuel you can always separate it but never had salt water and never thought of it. Maybe someone has had experience with this and would like to share with the class? Please.
 

NDT

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My thoughts on that are: diesel and water stay separate, so it doesn’t seem likely that the salt that is dissolved in the water will jump across liquids. However, whatever the water comes in contact with, say for instance the bottom of the fuel tank, will be subjected to brutal corrosion. All water contamination must be thoroughly flushed or this truck will be a pos going forward, as you know they are troublesome on a good day.
 

Lugnuts

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Yea I usually find another use for contaminated fuel. But I am rural have burn piles and heat my shop with a waste oil burner:)
Being rural is good, I happen also to enjoy the pleasure of it. I was thinking along the line of separating water from fuel and burning it in my vehicle/ Fresh water I have no trouble doing that. I've just never had a batch come through that was exposed to salt water. I agree with NDT about physical contact which I hadn't dwelled on that perspective but most certainly true. I suppose if I treat it like any other water and just make sure I stop well before any water migrates to the good I'll be fine. I can most certainly use the bad to start the fires you mentioned earlier/ Got lots to burn!
 

Ronmar

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Yea thats the rub with salt water. You can spin it out in a centrifuge/purifier, did this daily on the last ship I was on. The normal way for us common folk is to let it settle and separate as much that way as possible, which is basically what a centrifuge does only faster(a little heat helps here). Then warm the really bad stuff and evaporate the water, unfortunately with salt water, this leaves the salt behind… Mmmm salty oil, sounds good on popcorn…
 

Lugnuts

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Ronmar, NDT, and anyone else. I was thinking again about the diesel and salt water/ This time is was sugar and water/ We know the bad things that happen with sugar and water in an engine but that happens due to the heat of the engine or so my thinking goes/ I wonder then if something happens to salt when it runs through the heat process/ I know antifreeze is detrimental to stationary bearings due to chemical content or so I think/ It was mentioned earlier about salt water being hard on the clutch packs of the transmission? Would fresh water be as bad as salt? Why not? Then what about sugar? So what am I searching for one might ask? What is myth and what is truth and then why is it myth or truth? ( I still love my profession and want to be good at it}
 

Third From Texas

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I realize that given the current cost of fuels (we're looking at you, Brandon) that it's hard to imagine dumping 50 gallons of diesel (ie: retasking for other burning purposes) but there is absolute no chance I would risk my CAT engine tinkering with it to actually run as fuel. No friggin-ing way after saltwater contamination. *I live 12 minutes from "feet in the sand" in the Gulf

As far as clutch packs go, water is water. Clutches are basically flat discs with asbestos dust glued to each facing surface. There are literally dozens of them in an automatic trans. Water dissolves the asbestos and turns the fluid to a tan goo in the process. A tiny amount of water with only the hint of frothing tan will typically require a rebuild. If water is know to encroach a transmission, the only salvageable option is to not turn that transmission over (ie: don't run the engine). Immediately drain the fluid from both trans and t-case (all of it which requires pulling lines from the cooler, pulling all drains, pans, access ports (especially given that you are dealing with saltwater). A complete flush, filter change, and refill should be done immediately (like day after) and even then it can be very dodgy for the future of a water exposed transmission. You can flush out the water and clutch material that has entered the system, but that doesn't fix the clutches that are now slipping due to the lose of the friction coating.

The good news is that takeoff transmissions and transfer case can be had for under $2K +shipping. Of course shipping is bad news currently. And there is always a chance of getting another bad transmission/t-case. Be very leery of "used" LMTV transmissions on eBay, Craigslist, etc (deal with a known community member with a solid reputation). And if you see a used one on GP, assume the worst. Sadly, shipping will add another grand or so to the process.

And yeah, the t-case shares the same fluid source so it needs to be treated the same. It would be extremely unlikely that a trans goo'ed and didn't take the t-case with it. The only way to really inspect the damage is total disassembly and rebuild with fresh clutch packs, seals, all the stuff typically found in the rebuild kit.

Rebuild is an option if you have access to all the required tools to tear down a trans (lots of fancy plyers and Allison-specific pullers, tools, etc found typically only in transmission shops). The Allison's aren't any harder to work on than any other 7-sp trans (bigger is actually a bit easier to work with). The rebuild kits themselves are not cheap, but available (although I never did for one for the t-case when I was looking). I'd only pursue this option if you have a trans guy with a shop and the tools that can accommodate the 1500lb giant beast. As stated above, total disassembly and inspection is in order. We'll assume that there was no hardpart damage (ie: very expensive moving parts not covered in the rebuild kit).

A reman is an option but starting at about $10K + shipping often makes replacing the truck the better option.

I know this isn't a rosy picture I'm painting, but I've been there. This was what drained out of my third truck when I got it (with known "transmission not working" issues). I sold it as a parts truck after weighing all options.

20210204_124945.jpg
 
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