M817 Dump Truck Project Begins

[dozer1]

hey by any chance did u get yr dump from albany ga?

Yep. I was pretty sure you did as well from the pics of your truck. You decided to hang on and repair? I think it will be worth it in the end. Esp in the south there is more parts and engines available if I am not mistaken. I had even found one advertised on craigslist in Alabama a few weeks ago and considered it, but it was sold. So I have commenced rebuilding. I tried a half arsed attempt to sell it before this. Glad nobody wanted it. I am in it up to my eyeballs now and lovin it!

 

[Armada]

If you haven't already ordered them, here are the p/n's for the selector valve fuel lines.

p/n 11664614 - HOSE ASSEMBLY, 3 req'd
p/n 11664615 - HOSE ASSEMBLY, 3 req'd​

 

[televisionman007]

Yep. I was pretty sure you did as well from the pics of your truck. You decided to hang on and repair? I think it will be worth it in the end. Esp in the south there is more parts and engines available if I am not mistaken. I had even found one advertised on craigslist in Alabama a few weeks ago and considered it, but it was sold. So I have commenced rebuilding. I tried a half arsed attempt to sell it before this. Glad nobody wanted it. I am in it up to my eyeballs now and lovin it!

yes it was for sale about a week ago. my motor is locked. ive tried everything andfor the cost of anotherengine i think i will put one in. Mine sits on the single 14's which make it look tuff

 

[dozer1]

Good call TVman. Get a known good running engine and swap it out. Then if you dont have to give up your stuck engine as a core, you would have a good source of parts. Mine has those 14.00 tires on it too. 2 of them arent too good though and I got a good deal on some near new 16.00's. So that's what will go on it. I will probably sell the good 14.00's later on. Plenty nice ones for a bobbed deuce or something

 

[dozer1]

Hey All, Just dropping a quick note to say that the parts are really rolling in now and progress should soon follow. Pics will accompany those updates as well. I want to say that this truck will be running within a week from today, but there are no guarantees on that expressed or implied.
I can say that today I got my tanks back from Gas Tank Renu Gas Tank RENU - USA and I think it was money well spent. If you plug primary filters too often in your deuce for instance, maybe there is too much rust and crap in the tank. It ran me 300 bucks per tank and I know that aint chump change these days, but they bead blast, reline and bake on that liner finish. I would be willing to bet that I will never plug a fuel filter as there is only clean diesel going into clean tanks now. (besides that 5 ton filter in a huge sucker) . I think I will get this done to my deuce tank this summer as I am pretty sold on the procedure. Dean

 

[Armada]

Can't wait to see more pics.

 

[dozer1]

OK, update time. Its about a week from when I said this truck should be running in a week. Its a good thing I added the disclaimer on that. My injectors and pump arent ready yet. The tech has been sick and he should have them done by tues. As you can see by the pics there has been pretty good progress tho. Motor pretty well assembled short of the "overhead" as supermechanic pointed out to me that it is called. Fuel tanks mounted with 2 new sending units, new fuel jumpers on the selector valve just yesterday. Starter mounted today as well as the heater up on the right hand inner fender. (Does anybody have a good source for replacement ducting hose from the heater? I think its 4")
I just want to throw an endorsement in for one of my favorite products of all time. Breeze Aero-seal hose clamps in the 100 series, for most heavy industrial applications. They are just so far ahead of other hose clamps that I have used that I now stock quite a drawer full as you can see. If you have never tried these, try em. If your a guy or gal who likes to give that clamp a little more torque and sink it in the hose just a little, then get mad when it loosens up cuz the worm gear slips, these are the clamps for you. Well enjoy the pics and I will be back with a startup report when the time comes. Dean

 

[AGE|kshaufl]

I love the Tank idea. I may have to look into that when mine gets here. I have one of those places pretty close to me. $300 is probably worth it considering how much filters and pump damage can cost.

 

[dozer1]

Hey all,
Sorry no new pic right now but just a quick note. About a month after I said this truck would be running, I finally got my injectors and finished assembling the motor today. I had an experienced mechanic help me set the overhead up, then went on to put the rest together. Well it appears to hold fluids and it did start up! sounded fine, aired up nice, great oil pressure, charging system was working well, shows great promise! It did wind up killing after about 10 minutes of running. It is a fuel delivery issue I am 99% sure. I will look at it in the morning. It was a big day on that project. I am pretty happy that the startup went that well.

 

[treessw]

sounds like all is coming along nicely!!!! Also sounds like you have all your fingers still and have been able to proceed with out incident!!! Keep rockin' brother!!!!

 

[augiedoggy]

Hey all,
Sorry no new pic right now but just a quick note. About a month after I said this truck would be running, I finally got my injectors and finished assembling the motor today. I had an experienced mechanic help me set the overhead up, then went on to put the rest together. Well it appears to hold fluids and it did start up! sounded fine, aired up nice, great oil pressure, charging system was working well, shows great promise! It did wind up killing after about 10 minutes of running. It is a fuel delivery issue I am 99% sure. I will look at it in the morning. It was a big day on that project. I am pretty happy that the startup went that well.

Glad you got it going! Sounds like you're doing it all first rate.
You probably aleady know this, but put a fuel can next to the engine with a fuel hose directly to the inlet of the pump to verify that you are sucking air somewhere. Thats what i did before i repaired the fuel lines at the tank selector. Went from rough idle/stall to running 100%.

Can't wait for more pics!

 

[dozer1]

"put a fuel can next to the engine with a fuel hose directly to the inlet of the pump to verify that you are sucking air somewhere"
That will probably be the first thing I do in the morning. (after about a quart of coffee)

 

[dozer1]

I did do the fuel leak test as outlined by augiedoggy and it verified the "sucking air" theory. Without knowing where the air is coming from, I am going to guess that the selector valve leaks internally because i had no fuel in one tank. It could pull the air easier from there then pull fuel from the left tank which was selected. Thats just a guess so eventually I will get that chased down. (Already have new hoses on selector valve) The engine runs GREAT and thats what counts for now. Also once I could run it long enough to warm it up I discovered the radiator leaks at the tank seams even tho I took it in and had it cleaned and pressure checked . Anyhoooo it LIVES!

 

[scrapdaddy]

I've been reading this with enjoyment, you are doing a good job of it. I was planning on moving up to a 5 ton, thinking about a M818 with a dump bed. But! you got me thinking of a M817. Some questions if I could, are the 817 and 818 the same wheel base. Meaning from the front wheels to front rears. also is the cab protector bolted on, could it be removed from the bed. Keep up the good work, we all like the pictures.

 

[jcappeljr]

M817 and M818 are the same wheelbase trucks.Cab shields are bolted on .

 

[scrapdaddy]

Thank you, now you got me really thinking. Doser1 are you leaving your bed stock or putting on some other type bed.

 

[dozer1]

I will be leaving it stock. For me that's the whole idea with this truck. I like the fact that it will be real useful for me on the farm. I am always needing more rock for my driveway or moving some black dirt around.

 

[sandcobra164]

Dean,
On the 800 series, I've seen alot more air leaks from the hard plastic line going to the primer pump on the dash. I often bypass that by welding a small bead in place of the line going to it. the NHC pump sucks pretty well and as long as I fill the filter can on a fuel filter change, they hardly miss a beat and when they do, I just crank a little longer. They don't do it any other time once that "t" is bypassed.

 

[dozer1]

I will have to check that out Joseph. Its good to know about those areas like that, that are prone to failure. As for the current air leak that was killing the engine, that was a dozer1 created problem. I had replaced all of the jumper lines on the tank selector valve. That was badly needed, but I simply forgot to tighten the one that goes from the valve to the filter. Just the copper tube to the hose connection wasnt tightened. Now it runs off either tank as smooth and reliably as the test can this morning. Thats one sweet sound I tell ya. Looks like a rainy spell is about to start in up here for this week. That will delay our getting in the field for corn planting, so if that happens I guess I will pull that radiator again. Needs new tank gaskets. Not too big of a deal. Now that I have practice.

 

[Armada]

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more pics. A video clip of the running engine would be nice...