M342a2 factory dump truck is now home

[zak]

wooden stakes and 2 x 10's

 

[res0wc18]

well back to the one of my original questions about the difficulty im having in moving the dump hoist lever back and forth. Took apart the little green box that pushes the spool back and forth to either raise or lower the dump body, and look what we found. Carnage!

Anyone know where i can get a new one? or at least a good used? it only has a number(14872) on it no manufacturer.

We are investigating/tearing apart the spool body as we feel it should be easier to move by hand. So at this point its unknown what caused that guy to bend. That's solid steel....yeah some serious force to do that.

 

[pa.rich]

On mine the box you are showing is called the control box. mine was worn so even when adjusting the linkages, as it passed through the control box wouldnt engage the pto. It would however operate the valve body on the hyd. pump . I put a lever directly to the pto to engage that and then pull the lever to power up or down the pistons. The control boxes if you can find them go for around $300. This new lever eliminated this problem and is direct.See the lever in my avatar. The control box is the weak point on the linkages. It doesnt take much pressure to operate the valvebody to the pump but to the pto it needs some hard pressure from the linkage rods. So the control box is first to go. I dont have a winch on mine so the extra lever doesnt interfere with your winch engagement linkages. Mine now works effortless and I now dont need the second set of linkages from control box to pto. I just engage pto with my new lever on passenger side and then operate lever on left of driver seat for power up or power down. Crawl under and look it over. Its not a good design just to eliminate a pto lever, duh.

 

[pa.rich]

Just looked at your pic of control box. That needs to be packed with grease before closed up for use. If it didnt have grease in it , that may be what bound it and bent it.

 

[pa.rich]

Another thing, if you are looking for a controlbox, they are all the same , the five ton dumps and the M215's , and 342's. That may be easier for you to find one. The pump and box is on the other side of the truck but they use the same control box. My 5 ton was purchased as cab and chassis, so I had to buy pto, driveshaft, pump, control box and all the linkages, and it wasnt cheap. Bought from the place in Chambersburg Pa and Tennessee. Memphis Equipment. Try Eastern surplus ,I sold him a control box and other linkage parts. He has dumps parts. Hope this helps you!

 

[res0wc18]

thanks rich for the info.

When i took it out it was packed to the brim with grease, just cleaned the heck out of it so i could see what the heck it was etc and take some pictures for you all.

 

[res0wc18]

well guys she is back together and working like new. Here is some pictures of the carnage i endured in fixing it. was some really interesting things you find in old rigs like this...amazing quality stuff though, they don't build em like this anymore thats for sure.

so basically the camshaft looking thing is the spool valve, and it was way too tight inside the valve body and it caused it to bind up and made the control box lever over time bend and so on. Took the valve body apart and cleaned it, had it machined and honed took .015 off of the surfaces and it now works like it should.

On a side note i want to thank everyone for there info to get me straight.

This thing now works like a dream and the speed you can raise and lower it is so adjustable its like a watch...very nice smooth action.

 

[res0wc18]

along with the fixing i upgraded the filters to Cimarron Wesfolks spin on's....really nice units and well worth it

and i got a new tank on there, and installed an inline 24v diesel fuel pump to help push the fuel through the 2 micron filters!

 

[res0wc18]

more pics

 

[res0wc18]

so is this what you guys are using for the stake pockets and then offsetting them to the inside of the bed?

U Channel 3 foot Base Post - USA Traffic Signs

 

[Junkyard Wars Crusher]

That u-channel seems to look like the one in some of the pictures posted by 11Echo.

However, be sure to check the dimensions of the rectangular pockets in the bedside. Mine are under 3" x 1 1/2". The part shown in your link is too big to fit without modification. You will need to cut them down a bit or find a smaller size. It may just be a simple as some manual grinding or whatever your preferred method of stock removal may be.

I would recommend your channel/ fence post to be no bigger than 2 7/8' x 1 3/8". Even then you may find it difficult to remove them without complete disassembly.

I personally think that at 2 3/4" x 1 1/4" will make a good fit.

 

[res0wc18]

yeah for sure.

yours are a different size then mine. mine are 3" wide by 2.75" deep....kind weird.

so i stopped by grainger and found there equivalent of those ones that are 2lbs a foot. it almost fits like a glove with a little grinding because of the stake pockets being old and out of shape it should fit nice and tight.

 

[cattlerepairman]

Would you mind posting a few pictures of your truck, including a few with the dump bed raised? No specific reason, other than that I am a sucker for M342....

 

[res0wc18]

well here is some more pictures. truck is working great. first pic is of the pre-drilled sign post i used for the uprights, stronger than piss. Tongue and groove pressure treated 2x6, steel channel caps. This thing is stout. hit it three times with the mini hoe this weekend and it didn't even budge.

Couldnt have done it without my buddy in the pics, thanks again bro

 

[res0wc18]

and some more showing the workout she got hauling 100 yards of dirt expanding a buddys back yard and making a rock wall in the early stages

 

[cattlerepairman]

Nice truck! They sure are useful.

 

[res0wc18]

thanks, yes she works like a dream. very powerful dump system with infinite speed control over the speed it raises and lowers

 

[maddawg308]

Looks great! Now get a spray gun and make with the all-green paint job!

 

[res0wc18]

Yeah I need to paint her. But not sure I want to go through all that because after I do two more jobs this month ill be selling her.

 

[res0wc18]

One job down one to go, and so the truck has been put up for sale.

Check seattle craigslist

Thanks to all who gave insight.