My 1986 M1010

[MountieM1010]

Hi everyone. I joined the site about a week ago and am trying to get used to doing things on here. Hopefully my photos load properly. I bought this truck from M1010plowboy. I think it broke his heart to part with it. But he is using the funds to further his restoration on his other 6X6 trucks. The M1010 has less than 38000 kilometers on it. Runs great. Has had some modifications completed. The glowplug bypass, converted to 12 volt. Fuel filter upgrade, Gears changed to 4.11 to make it better for highway travel, gauges and the list goes on. I have replaced the fan belts and starter cable. Relocated the fuel filter and loomed a lot of the cables. Also replaced 2 other cables. The day I drove it home the starter cable fused itself to the engine block and melted the end off one battery. Fortunately no other damage resulted from this. I called Plowboy and he immediately brought out another battery to replaced the destroyed one. He blames himself because he had recently installed a new starter but hey its a 30 year old truck and these things happen. Ive included pics of the cable and battery to show how easily things can happen. I was lucky the truck didnt catch fire.

Future plans are to relocate the gauges and aside from more maintenance I plan to fix up the interior of the front cab. Dash is gonna be first and go from there. I have a 12000 lb Warn winch I intend to install as well. I will add to this thread as I continue to work on it.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Congrats on your purchase. That truck has been well documented on here. Enjoy your new purchase and welcome aboard.

 

[MountieM1010]

Update. 4 gauge pod for the dash ordered as well as 4 gauges. Realigned the hood on the truck yesterday, a relatively easy job. Today: Replaced all the wheel nuts as the ones on it were a little long. Went back to factory nuts as trying to keep the stock look as much as possible. Discovered the alternator needs replacing today, and got the tachometer working as well. All in all another good day. Tomorrow I start on the oil and filters. And then a search for a high amperage alternator and a thermostat for the tranny cooler fan..

 

[jpg]

. ...And then a search for a high amperage alternator ...

I went with the Plan B Mod
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?101135-M1010-DUVAC-Removal-Plan-quot-B-quot
10,000 miles later it's still going strong.

My M1010's thread is here, if you're interested
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?135493-M1010-for-my-daughter-the-field-biologist

 

[Tracer]

Nice truck, and welcome aboard from Nevada.

 

[MountieM1010]

Thanks guys. I couldn't go with plan B as both original alternators had already been removed. So I guess I go with plan C which is a high amp one. And JPG I would still consider the M1010. I recently retired from bear guiding and believe me I would feel a heck of a lot safer in the rear of a M1010. Worst case scenario you remove the Diesel and drop in a rebuilt 350 cubic inch Chev. It would bolt right up to the Turbo 400 bellhousing. These trucks are very easy to maintain and work on.

 

[MountieM1010]

Took my alternator in today and it was tested. It's a 120 amp. Tested good. the repair shop says the diesel is idling too slow for the alternator. It's actually the wrong alternator for my truck. However they are going to rebuild it with a an internal modification which will cause the alternator to start charging at a much slower speed. Should have it back tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

 

[MountieM1010]

Well it turns out it's not the alternator after all. I installed it and got the same result. Weird! Rev the engine a little and it starts to charge. Take your foot off the accelerator and it stops charging. Then it hit me. Back in the day you used to be able to take a battery cable off to test the alternator. If you kept it revved up it would show a charge but if you let your foot off it would stop. So I hooked a wire from the alternator to the Pos on the battery and look out. It started to charge at idle. However another problem showed up. It started to spark at the terminal. So we shut it off and started to trace the wire only to learn it's not hooked to the power wire on the solenoid of the starter but to a battery isolator on the drivers side fender. Turns out the isolator is not working properly. So we disconnected that wire and the sparking stopped. So then I made a new battery cable and hooked it from the battery to the alternator directly . Now we get a great charge at idle and when the RPMS are up. Voltmeter indicates 14.4 volts and its working great. Took the truck out for a test drive and everything is now working great. We're kinda scratching our heads as to why the alternator was hooked to an isolator but who cares. It's now working great with no issues. When we first started working on it I realized the front battery was only hooked to the starter with no cable hooked to it to charge it. One simple cable addition took care of that problem. So my to do list is getting smaller now that a major issue is resolved.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I bet we...I mean Bear.... missed the correct hook-up when we swapped batteries in my yard on day one! That's when the symptoms started but we'll get er'. The Master switches in the mess of wiring is enough to drive a man nuts, but it's just electrical.

Fortunately, all the info for the 12v conversions, fuel pump, master switches, Doghead relay, gauges, brake controller etc. all came from Steel Soldiers.

If we need to look that info over again, I'll post up a few links so others can beat these challenges too. Not everyone has their own Bear, or Don.

Here are a few 12v conversion pages.

Some threads are more informative and none of them are funny.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?48485-CUCV-24v-to-12v-How-To

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?63295-M1010-12-volt-conversion-finished

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?145322-CUCV-Rosscommon-24v-to-12v-Conversion

........and of course, the primary link to all things CUCV is here http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?123199-CUCV-Helpful-Threads

 

[MountieM1010]

Sorry plowboy. We didn't miss any hookup. There was no cable there at all. Maybe when your friend was helping he may have removed it to do something and forgot to replace it. It's no biggie. Just another little minor thing that required doing. Today I got the Tachometer calibrated and started the rough in for the transmission cooler fan thermostat. Which basically requires cutting into the transmission line and installing the thermostat. I had to buy some brass fittings and fabricate a T fitting for the thermostat to be installed in. It starts the fan at 185F and shuts it off at 170F. A relatively quiet day today. Tomorrow I should have the thermostat completed. I'll post a couple of pics then.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Wait a second....you have time off and didn't tell me???? How is it you're working on the truck tomorrow?? We have big fires burning in Fort Mac right now and you've got time to work on the truck......get me the bosses phone number!

Take some pictures of these modifications so we can share the upgrades and I can learn some more about the 1010.

 

[MountieM1010]

Here are some of the item/things I have done to the Ambulance. First pic is Plowboys excellent fuel filter. I just moved it slightly. Hi flow Air filter, calibrated the tach. and started to install the transmission fan thermostat. Had to solder a ground wire to the brass fitting. Will finish wiring it when the weather cools a bit.

 

[CUCVLOVER]

You will love that tachometer. I'm running the same one on my 08. It's super handy for telling you rpm at different speeds to keep the 6.2 in one piece. So far 80 on the speedo hasn't popped it (knock on wood) but it sure is screaming like crazy at 75+. I bet that 1010 drives great at 70 with those 4.11s

 

[MountieM1010]

She drives great. And it's great to have a tachometer. Gives you a pretty good idea where you are at highway speed. Haven't had her over 55 yet. Mostly cause the tachometer wasn't set up yet. Now that it's working I'm itching to try it out. My 4 gauge dash pod arrived today. Once the gauges get here that will become the next project. Should be here soon.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I slept with your truck.

 

[MountieM1010]

I see. Well The day I bought it I had a biohazard company go through it just in case. Remember I was a Policeman for 28 years and I never take chances!!! LOL!!.

 

[CUCVLOVER]

I see. Well The day I bought it I had a biohazard company go through it just in case. Remember I was a Policeman for 28 years and I never take chances!!! LOL!!.

You definitely don't want to stick to anything lol

 

[MountieM1010]

Wait a second....you have time off and didn't tell me???? How is it you're working on the truck tomorrow?? We have big fires burning in Fort Mac right now and you've got time to work on the truck......get me the bosses phone number!

Wow! You weren't kidding. My brother works in Fort McMurray and phoned me this evening. He was loading his car with supplies as he was talking to me. Heading North as Highway 63 South was closed. He said he would probably be sleeping in his car somewhere on the North highway tonight. Watching the news a few moments ago. The fire is in the city now.

 

[MountieM1010]

Transmission Fan thermostat installed now. About to start on installing the four gauges in the dashpod. Had to delay it for a few days as I cut my arm on some broken glass in the garage which required 8 stitches and delayed me a few days. All the gauges are here and I've picked up the fittings I need for the tranny temperature gauge. Once these are installed I will post some pictures. M1010 plowboy made it easy for me as he had already installed 3 gauges under the dash. So I can use some of his wires/lines. Just ordered a mossy oak breakup dash cover as well. Sort of a tradition with me. Every truck I own has to have one.

 

[MountieM1010]

Ordered a Gm thermostat from a Chevy dealer today. Takes about a week to arrive. Nearest one to buy is about 2 hours away. I was looking to install a 180 but the parts guy says it doesn't give a temperature on the listing they have. Guess I'll have to wait to see what it is. She is currently running around 210 at highway speed. A little warm for me. About 60 mph. The tach is showing just under 3000. I have the tranny temp gauge installed and plan to have the rest installed later today.