Mike D's deuce recovery/modification thread

[skinnyR1]

Ya the 4x6 mats. Heavy. 100lbs a piece. They cut well with a razor knife though. I made a cardboard template first and then transfered it over.

 

[skinnyR1]

So what's the point of the holes and the plugs in the sill?

 

[welldigger]

If I had to guess the holes are somehow part of the manufacturing process. My rocker panels are rusting even with all of the plugs in place. I'm thinking of welding the holes up myself.

 

[m109a2]

Stuck my duce today. Did not just stuck it But did a mighty fine job of it.I am use to mothers and fathers takeing photos of their kids next to the duece.But today in front of a crowd of 3000,That was probly the most emberest I have been.To top things off some ass clown walks up and says what dumbas did that. Well in La. we enjoy open cary,well I startded to take the judge off my hip and went to put it in the glove box,When i returned he was gone i asked my buddy where did he go,He simply said i think he he saw the far away look in your eye.The moral of this story is do not mess with a man when his duece has his nuts kicked in.

 

[skinnyR1]

Finished maybe 1/2 of the floor mat project. Very time consuming. Cutting the mats is tedious but in the end it will be worth it. I still need to cut the pieces for the center hump.

I also installed despline front hubs. Poor mans lock outs. Slightly concerned about the axle rubbing on the hub tho. The axle floats a bit in the spindle and I think it does make contact with the hub. Is loading the hub with grease sufficient? I machined them .040 over.

 

[welldigger]

As long as you machined sufficient clearance for the axle to not rub as the cap rotates around it you will be fine.

I'm curious to know how much sound deadening your mats will provide.

 

[skinnyR1]

I thought I had enough machined off but I am questioning it. The axle slop may allow contact as the axle moves laterally in the spindle but im not sure that it matters.

 

[welldigger]

If its just the very end of the axle you will probably be ok. Just pack it with grease as they usually are anyways.

 

[skinnyR1]

Took the truck for a drive tonight. The truck drives so much better with the front lock outs. It really is like night and day. Its steers much easier and seems to have a bit more pick up.
It is such a pleasure now. Problem is, now it makes me think how great it would be with power steering . . .

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Yeah i can't wait to get some lockout hubs... I was looking at the ones Jatonka sells and they look stout.....

 

[skinnyR1]

I noticed something tonight as well. I took my son with me. Apparently, if you push the inner door handle forward, it locks the handle on the outside? Is that normal?

Kind of a cool little feature. Have to remember to leave the window cracked tho when my son is playing in it, as he ends up locking himself in and I can't open the doors from the outside.

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Push it forward? Mine is pull up and it locks the door. That's the first thing I tell my kids to do. "Did you lock the door? Yup ok let's roll" lol I picked my kids up from school on Monday in the deuce since it will be off the road for the next month or so. They all loved it so many little kids "look at the army truck!"

 

[skinnyR1]

Haha. Awesome. The kids love it.
Pull up? I think maybe the handle can be oriented differently? To open, mine is pull back. Neutral position, if you can call it that, is with the lever pointed straight up at 12 o'clock.

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Yeah mine must be clocked different then. When "locked" it's in the three o'clock position

 

[skinnyR1]

So I am thinking that my truck has potentially a serious engine issue.

When I first picked up the truck, and ever since it has always has vapor coming out of the breather/slobber tube. I didn't really think anything of it. Little bit of mess, so I made a catch can for it. It collects a couple ounces of water, mainly, ever 100 miles or so. Small amounts of oil in there as well, but not much. I always attributed it to blowby.

But, now, I have noticed coolant loss. I am trying to get a baseline at this point, but I am pretty sure it is consuming coolant. Nothing shows on the dipstick, the oil looks good there. But at the radiator, I think I am losing coolant. I have added 2 gallons at first, but that was the first time I have checked it since I bought it. Put another 100 miles on it, and added another gallon.

Would the level at the radiator be affected by the angle you park the truck at?

The oil cap looks milky too. Not sure if that is antifreeze or condensation.

The truck runs great, never gets over 185 F.

I checked everywhere for a leak, and see nothing.

No white smoke at the exhaust.

My mind wanders to the worst case scenario of a cracked block. The head gaskets were new when I picked it up from Kublos, keep in mind. I have slight seepage of oil at the head and case union.

Also, oil pressure is bad. 0 psi at idle on the gauge when warm. 50 psi running down the road. Gauge is really choppy and doesnt move up and down smooth. The gauge and sending unit match up and are both new, visually.

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Your going to get vapor out of the engine all the time but that coolant has to be going somewhere. If it's not in the oil it's probably burning it in the cylinder. A small leak like that might not produce enough white smoke to be noticeable. I'd call kublos and see what they have to say especially if they did the head gaskets before you picked it up.

 

[skinnyR1]

I sent them an email a couple minutes ago.
Yesterday I power washed the block so that I could see any leaks. Then took it for a 10 mile drive through the hills. I have an oil drip coming down from the gasket out the exhaust side. More than seepage I think. Oil, not coolant. Maybe its related.

 

[welldigger]

I wouldn't rule out the head gasket just because it was recently done. If you pull the heads have them magnafluxed. At least then you will know if there is a crack.

 

[skinnyR1]

Here's what my oil cap always looks like.

Normal? Or mystery water/condensation/ possible antifreeze?

 

[rtk]

Have you pressure tested the cooling system or check for combustion products in the cooling system ?