New guy in NC, M1123 needs some love

[grmorrow04]

Hello all!

I recently took this M1123 in for repair. My nephew (Marine) bought this and needs some help to get it running/driving.




First thing he did was buy an alternator (it was missing when he got it), but found out it was the wrong one. So he bought another one... a 400A unit. Which also isn't the right one (won't bolt up).




I spoke to gentleman at Henry's Truck Stop in Alblemarle, NC and he suggested I come here for help.

I want to make this truck proper and don't like taking shortcuts/bandaids. With that being said - I have a few questions:

1.) Can this 400A alternator be used on this truck by getting the appropriate brackets? If so, where could I get such brackets?
2.) Is the wiring on the truck sufficient to run this alternator?
3.) If the right thing to do is get the proper alternator, which size is supposed to be on this truck and where could I find one?
4.) Based on the picture of where the alternator goes, what all am I missing parts wise? I know I'm missing the bolts, but not sure what else.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Geoff

 

[Guyfang]

Welcome to the Forum! What you need to do, is start a thread in the proper forum. This forum is for Requirements for new members. Something you should go through and read a bit about things.

So I am going to transfer you to the HUMMWV forum.

 

[royg]

Hello all!

I recently took this M1123 in for repair. My nephew (Marine) bought this and needs some help to get it running/driving.

View attachment 886372
View attachment 886375

First thing he did was buy an alternator (it was missing when he got it), but found out it was the wrong one. So he bought another one... a 400A unit. Which also isn't the right one (won't bolt up).

View attachment 886373

View attachment 886374
I spoke to gentleman at Henry's Truck Stop in Alblemarle, NC and he suggested I come here for help.

I want to make this truck proper and don't like taking shortcuts/bandaids. With that being said - I have a few questions:

1.) Can this 400A alternator be used on this truck by getting the appropriate brackets? If so, where could I get such brackets?
2.) Is the wiring on the truck sufficient to run this alternator?
3.) If the right thing to do is get the proper alternator, which size is supposed to be on this truck and where could I find one?
4.) Based on the picture of where the alternator goes, what all am I missing parts wise? I know I'm missing the bolts, but not sure what else.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Geoff

I wouldn't recommend the 400A unit, it's just ridiculously over the top in size and capacity. Their purpose is a vehicle with lots of radios/computers/ huge power generation needs outside of the normal running aspect. But if you have it in hand, there are usually the 400 amp conversion kits on ebay with the brackets and bits you're after to use.

It's probably setup for a 200 amp unit.

Before dropping more cash, I would start with verifying the motor rotates. It the alternator was removed it can suggest something else major is wrong with the unit and it was being harvested for parts. anything else major missing? fluids drained?

 

[Mogman]

I agree with royg that 400A is too big and problematic, for many that is the first thing that they replace with a 200A and not worth investing any more money or labor.
If it were me I would check to see if it was stuck, if not check all the fluids, change the oil/filter, fuel filter, check fuel for contamination, insulate the exposed wires, drop in a set of batteries and see if it will run first, you can run it for short periods without the belt in place.
It looks like it was possibly subjected to salt water exposure and or submersion, you may have a tough row to hoe with this one.

 

[Mogman]

You can crawl under it with a 1" open end wrench and you can see where you can grab the flat spots right behind the pulley.
Only turn it in the normal direction, clockwise looking at the front of the engine.

 

[grmorrow04]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

It does have oil in it, but I’m sure it needs to be changed. I was going to drain it and send it out for analysis.

I did hook the batteries up and attempted to start it. Made a noise I wasn’t comfortable with; I’ll have to get a video of it to post. I was able to verify that the crank does rotate though.

When I heard the noise, it almost sounded like a loose flywheel or starter, so I crawled under the truck to verify rotation while my wife handled the starting.

Oddly enough, the sound didn’t sound like it was coming from the bottom of the engine. I’ll get a video tonight to link here.

As far as the alternator goes, I’ve heard the same things on other groups (Facebook) about the 400A alternator. My preference is to put the correct unit on (200A).

Will the truck start without the alternator hooked up?

 

[Guyfang]

Will the truck start without the alternator hooked up? Of course.

 

[TOBASH]

Dump the 400.

Contact Steve Kavanaugh retiredwarhorses and 86humv as resources to get the parts you need. 1998 vehicle is probably a 200 amp unit but I may be wrong. If this is only a three speed tranny then it is a 60 amp unit and needs an electric harness upgrade to convert to 200 amp.


Dual voltage 200Amp alternator with regulator goes
For $800-$1200.

Other members here say you should avoid EBay Wolfer parts! They say that seller sells parts that are suspect as not being OEM.

There is a classified section here with great vendors including retiredwarhorses and 86humv.

Best,

T

 

[RJTM998]

If you are in NC and want/need an actual mechanic to work on the truck there is a guy I can hook you up with JJ (AKA) the "Humvee Whisperer". Just PM me and I can get you in touch with him. Just FYI he is not a free tech line he is a knowledgeable and respected mechanic in NC. What I am saying is if and when you are ok with paying a mechanic to work on the truck then let me know.

I will say that sometimes it is worth paying someone to at least get you going in the right direction. JJ can assess the truck give you an idea of what is right and wrong with the truck and then you can come up with a game plan. Just like buying two wrong alternators, JJ could have saved you all that hassle. He is mobile and can come to you (for a fee) and give you an assessment etc.

 

[Guyfang]

Grmorrow Has not enough posts, to PM you.

 

[RJTM998]

Grmorrow Has not enough posts, to PM you.

If he wants to contact me he can post up here and we can figure it out. I guess I can PM him if he requests it?

 

[Guyfang]

Roger!

 

[grmorrow04]

Ok, so I’m sure I have bigger fish to fry before dealing with the alternator.

This is the sound the truck is making when I try to start it. I took the cover off the engine in the cab, and it sounds like it’s coming from inside the bellhousing. I’ll be dropping the inspection cover to see if that tells me a better story of what that noise is.

My gut tells me the flywheel/torque converter bolts are broken. I know the flywheel and crank spins.

M1123 sound when starting

youtube.com

Also, thanks for the info on the mechanic. If it gets to that point, I’ll be sure to reach out. I’m not over my head yet

 

[BKubu]

Hopefully, it does not come to it, but, if you need an engine, Eastern Surplus in PA has running take out 6.5s. They will test run the engine for you and send you a video of it. A friend bought an engine after I told him about them and he was very happy. I think they want around $2k.

 

[TOBASH]

From that video it’s hard to say. Could be a bad starter, bad flywheel, low charged battery.

 

[Mogman]

One thing before going any farther have you checked to see if the CDR valve was removed? It bolts on top of the right valve cover and if it has been removed you have a direct hole into the intake, ANYTHING gets in there you will be buying a new engine.

Another thing, as I said to begin with insulate (tape up) the loose ends!!!, that cable with the red end will give a very nice fireworks show if it touches ground. and the exciter wire will short out the EESS box if it grounds.

After that give us a couple seconds of cranking, it sounds like the starter may be dragging but also it sounds like the compression may not be even, not long enough to tell.

 

[Mogman]

This is the best picture I could find right away of the CDR valve, it is the part marked Jan 2014.

The hose you can see connected to it goes to the oil fill pipe, the one directly under it that you cannot see goes straight into the intake.

 

[Mogman]

Another pic of the CDR valve, the arrow points to where the hose leads into the intake manifold.

 

[Asshart]

Hopefully, it does not come to it, but, if you need an engine, Eastern Surplus in PA has running take out 6.5s. They will test run the engine for you and send you a video of it. A friend bought an engine after I told him about them and he was very happy. I think they want around $2k.

I'm looking at the takeout motors as well. People say good things about the eastern surplus motors? The risk in my perspective is having some webbing crack or something waste the whole investment. The alternative which im considering, for a couple thousand more, is a reman long block. As I understand buying a reman short block is dicey because they can't compression test

Other big factors are shipping and core charge. I got a quote from me

 

[Asshart]

Whoops, fat fingered my reply. Core charges and shipping may make a reman model not seem attractive. See my $11k+ quote from meltons.


Months ago meltons had a reman motor selling for like 3k plus shipping but no core charge because it had been a canceled order or somet.hing