M54 engine?

[cbvet]

Looking into a 1958 M54 with gas engine.
Who can tell me something about the engine in this truck?
I assume it's bigger than the one in the gas deuce, but I know nothing about it.
Thanks,
Eric
CBVET

 

[area52]

Should be a Continental 602, I have heard its a good torque monster but sucks on gas milage

Theres a couple of manuals in the TM section on it.

 

[DDoyle]

Eric,
The powerplant is a Continental R6602. I have one in a M62, and my dad has one in another 30000 lb+ truck. We get a touch over 2 MPG in rolling hills. It screams to do 52 MPH, and hills kill the speed.

That being said, I deliberately sat out to buy a M62 powered by the R6602. Though slow, the truck pulls HARD. And, with the factory exhaust when the truck is working you can hear the exhaust a good mile away.

One thing to consider, this is the engine that the truck was designed around - everything else - the ENDT and the Multifuel - were later shoehorned in, with some amount of compromise.

Maintain the truck by the book, drive the truck by the book, and you will be very impressed with how smooth and easy it drives.

Best wishes,
David Doyle

 

[acetomatoco]

Yup, the 6602 is a fine piece of chrome moly iron.. I have a nice low time one here if you need it for a grand... I also have 3 of the new Zenith carbs which give a little better mileage than the Holley and do not have the Dieseling Propensity when hot.

 

[rotaryman]

6602 not pulling hills well

ok, since you guys know trucks I have a international bridge truck with the 6602 engine. I have changed all electronics points,condensor etc. installed a rebuilt original model holley , put a electric fuel pump and regulator on but I cannot get it to pull a load up a hill but it will idle nice. I have heard it may be the govenor which is located below distributor. Can any one jump in and help me on what I might be looking for here as a possible problem.

 

[DDoyle]

RE: 6602 not pulling hills well

For a test run, remove the 90 degree rubber coupling between the carb air intake and the air filter and take her for a spin.

With age, the rubber deteriorates, and the engine will suck it shut when under load.

Don't ask how long it took me to find this....

HTH,
David Doyle

 

[acetomatoco]

RE: 6602 not pulling hills well

Governor is a part of the Carb, and if you have a wrecker carb, which is different than all the other models, it requires a second governor hookup for the crane control. The Tach Drive is under the distributor. Will it come up to governed speed with no load? Have you cleaned the puny little fuel filter under the left fender and checked the fuel line for clogging by blowing back into the tank?

 

[rotaryman]

I will check the rubber coupling for air starvation and then see what happens. I do not have the wrecker which apparetly has a solenoid override of the govenor. I do not know how the govenor works and how it controls the carb setting. The manual i downloaded does not cover the govenor exactlly but mentions it in passing.

 

[rotaryman]

the rubber coupling is not the problem and we took off the strainer and replaced it with a napa spin on long time ago. Strainer/filter was always plugging up. So those two easy fixes are long gone. thanks pat

 

[m139h2otruck]

The gov pod on the carb is connected to the gov "switch" on the side of the distributor. The switch controls the flow of vacuum to the pod, and when the engine reaches full speed, the pod closes the throttle. Check all lines and action of the pod linkage. You should be able to see the linkage move if you take off the plate on the side of the carb next to the valve cover. Our current Zenith carb has a faulty diaphragm so the gov doesn't work. Just have to watch the rpm and keep below 2,700.

Also check spark advance, we had a rebuilt dist. that was wrong and would retard with the engine speed increasing. Truck would fight the throttle, and only go 45 mph or so. When fixed, was like getting 4 more cylinders and will now top 65 empty on the flat.