The big trip and a new MV.

[rustystud]

Rusty, I think what I am hearing is the unloader valve. It's only at idle that I hear it, and it's coming from under the hood, not the tanks. The truck is holding a solid 120. When the unloader valve is open the compressor is pumping to atmosphere right? When the sound occurs it's short and cycles every 5 or 10 seconds for about a second. The engine also smooths out a bit when it happens.

I would check the air-governor then. It's mounted over by the engine air-filter. It sounds like it is cycling the air-compressor. Take it apart and clean it out. They are simple little units. If you need a new one they sell for only $20.00 on eBay.

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

I installed a "Bendix" AD9 Air-Dryer last year. I went with the Bendix since parts are readily available and cheaper then any other air-dryer replacement parts on the market. I also installed a 7 gallon stainless steel air tank for my wet tank. My air is nice and dry now !
I also replaced "all" my air lines with either "PTFE" stainless steel or DOT 3/8" or 1/2" Poly hose.
The PTFE hose is on my compressor to wet tank run. That's a 3/4" hose. By using the PTFE and DOT Poly hose I should not have to replace them in my or my son's lifetime. As long as they are kept from rubbing through they last almost forever. The copper lines our trucks came with are OK but they have a shelf life. Due to vibration they work harden and crack or split open. Plus if a rock hits them they bend and deform unlike the Poly or PTFE hose which just bounces back.
This is why you see ALL over the road trucks and busses using these hoses. There also extremely strong. I've seen axles being held only by the hoses when the U-bolts came loose or broke.

So where did you mount the AD9, close to the compressor, close to the tanks, or in the middle? How often does the desiccant cartridge need replaced (does it have an indicator)?

 

[jking615]

Well, It is time to finally give you guys the update. I have been so busy with so many things, but first for the good. The truck is home, is healthy, and had no major breakdowns on the way down. I checked all fuel filters, all major rotating pieces, and on the drive would routinely feel the hubs for warmth. It was a 2 and a half day drive, and by the end of it I still loved the truck.... despite gaining a minor concussion on day 2. The truck was equipped with a springer seat, but the springer doesn't work correctly and can't be lowered or adjusted because the band has snapped. That means that most of the time the chair is as stiff as the passenger bench (That my fiance rode on for 3 days). When a large enough bump is found though, the seat loads up, and as the rest of the truck is going down off of the bump, the seat launches my arse straight into the steel bars that support the soft top. Long story short, I hit the bar 3 times before calling quits for the night and pulling over.

There is so little rust on the vehicle it boggles my mind, excluding the bed. A bit of history on my truck, it was at some point a support truck for an armament group, and started life as a fuel truck. It served in vietnam until the end of the war when it was brought back home. At some point between its creation in 1966 and 1982 when it was sent in for a depot day they changed it to a cargo bed. I am not sure why, but when I checked into the numbers on the truck the story checked out without without any stretch of the imagination.

Within a month of the truck coming home I had taken off the bumper and sanded down the worst of the rust on the truck and repainted it. The paint that was on it I left as much as I could because that paint is **** near indestructible to everything less than an angle grinder with a wire wheel. As of right now I am prioritizing what jobs need being done on it the most to keep it in healthy operating order. More on that in a minute. A few days after the bumper was remounted we found that the kick panel below the door concealed more rust than the rest of the truck had.... they will need replacing in a bit of time, but that isn't a load bearing surface and the rust is not spreading past them, so an angle grinder and a welder will be needed some time in the next year or so.

After we prettied up the cosmetics and did some serious checking on fluids, we ran it in a local car show where it took the peoples 1st place. People absolutely loved it, and we did a Sunday drive with over 150 other cars. Needless to say we were the biggest vehicle there. Unfortunately we did not place with the judges on the normal rankings at the car show. I think they are a bit biased though as 2 corvettes and a Challenger took the podiums. The last day of the car show the inevitable happened. A engine that hadn't had a head gasket change in 30+ years decided it wanted new head gaskets. Lucky me that the car show was only a few minutes from my home, and the exhaust cleared up after a few minutes of warm up. Initially I was worried that I had wet stacked my exhaust, but when I got to the house and ran it for a few minutes it started spewing steam out of the snot pipe.

Right now we are mid way through the head gasket change. I pulled the heads off this morning and discovered that the head gasket was made from cork-board and that there was 1 cylinder that was missing its fire ring. Needless to say it was also the cylinder that had failed, a break in they gasket from the coolant channel to the cylinder.

Beyond the head gasket change, we will be hi temperature painting everything we pull off after sand blasting. I also have two axle boots to repair. I am probably going to go with the solid boots, not the zipper ones, simply because they seem to last longer according to everyone, plus it will allow me to get a look at the condition of the knuckles and brakes. I will also be changing the oil and coolant out soon, and probably changing all 3 diff's fluids out. Mod's I am looking at doing are spin on conversions for both the fuel and oil filters, adding in a pyro before the turbo, adding a boost gauge, replacing the synchro ring on 4th gear, replacing the cracked copper line to my air governor, and fixing the springer seat.


PS. Good lord that Turbo was heavy. I expected the exhaust manifold to be the heavy part, but the turbo took the cake.

 

[rustystud]

So where did you mount the AD9, close to the compressor, close to the tanks, or in the middle? How often does the desiccant cartridge need replaced (does it have an indicator)?

I am so sorry for not seeing this post ! If it wasn't for "jking615's " new post I wouldn't have seen it .
The AD-9 is mounted just in front of the front rear differential. The desiccant needs to replaced every 2 years if run daily and every 3 years no matter what as the desiccant absorbs water even if it's just sitting. That would go for any desiccant unit.

 

[rustystud]

Here's a picture of the AD-9 unit. I made a bracket and attached it to the frame crossmember.

 

[jking615]

The underside of rustystuds truck has no rust.... I am jealous. I am on constant rust patrol for mine, and have about a 2 year list of weekend projects to kill all my rust.

 

[rustystud]

The underside of rustystuds truck has no rust.... I am jealous. I am on constant rust patrol for mine, and have about a 2 year list of weekend projects to kill all my rust.

There is some rust, that is why I am constantly cleaning and wire brushing everything and then spraying primer on it. It is a constant chore. That is one reason why I always replace all the bolts with stainless steel when I work on a project. The only bolts not stainless steel are any that must be grade 8 and all the suspension bolts.

 

[jking615]

Just now seeing this. My heads are going back on today. Found tiny cracks around the swirl tubes on every piston. I originally freaked out and was on a hunt for new pistons and sleeves, but I couldn't find any that I could feasibly afford, so its going to keep running with those cracks. Do you have any experience with these cracks rusty? They have me seriously worried, but they are only hairline.

 

[rustystud]

Just now seeing this. My heads are going back on today. Found tiny cracks around the swirl tubes on every piston. I originally freaked out and was on a hunt for new pistons and sleeves, but I couldn't find any that I could feasibly afford, so its going to keep running with those cracks. Do you have any experience with these cracks rusty? They have me seriously worried, but they are only hairline.

Are you talking about the chamber in the center of each piston ? If so then those cracks are caused by excessive heat. Since they didn't go all the way through you should be able to use those pistons. Eventually the pistons will probably fail, but that might be years down the road or never. I've seen some pretty damaged pistons in good running engines, so you just never know. If it is running good now, then just keep running it. Just make sure to get a Pyrometer and keep your temperatures down.

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

Are you talking about the chamber in the center of each piston ? If so then those cracks are caused by excessive heat. Since they didn't go all the way through you should be able to use those pistons. Eventually the pistons will probably fail, but that might be years down the road or never. I've seen some pretty damaged pistons in good running engines, so you just never know. If it is running good now, then just keep running it. Just make sure to get a Pyrometer and keep your temperatures down.

I've heard a lot on here about having a pedometer & wondering if I need one. My Deuce is all stock & I just run diesel with a quart of oil ever 10-gal. Do I have to worry about high temps inside the engine?

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

Did a slide under yesterday (creeper) & found another leak, this time on the right front duals. The other three had no drips. I was also down a bit of brake fluid on the remote reservoir (fluid level was at top of the loop on the "d" before the Veterans Day Parade) so topped that off. Another bit of wrenching is due.

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

Oh, I also noticed some fluid on the underside of the PTO shaft heading up to the winch. From best I could tell, it looked to be coming from the IP area. Any ideas?

 

[Floridianson]

Help save your Transfer case wear by shifting if need when stopping by shifting from high to low just as you are coming to the stop but wheels still turning just a bit. I feel the worse thing you can do to your transfer case is think you can go from high 5th to low 5th or think you know how to drive and do what some call split shifting. Empty good hard ground I start in low second then hit high range transfer case and second gear. Then run out all the rest in high range and you will look like a pro truck pro truck driver. Hit the hill at all most full rpm and if they drop too much then hit 4th high range to bring up the rpm to all most full rpm. When you get to know your truck you will know the rpm drop in each gear and know when to down shift to keep the rpm at all most full rpm to climb any hill.

 

[Floridianson]

Oh, I also noticed some fluid on the underside of the PTO shaft heading up to the winch. From best I could tell, it looked to be coming from the IP area. Any ideas?
View attachment 655716View attachment 655717View attachment 655718View attachment 655719

Yep. Wash/clean it, find it ,fix it!!!!!!!

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

Help save your Transfer case wear by shifting if need when stopping by shifting from high to low just as you are coming to the stop but wheels still turning just a bit.

I've only ever used the low range when creeping through the Veteran's Day Parade.

 

[Floridianson]

I am talking about driving on the road at correct speeds not just creeping along. Yes I only use low range when on soft ground or in the yard. First gear is a granny gear and used when the ground will suck the power and you need to just get out to hard ground before you even think of shifting out of first low.

 

[jking615]

I've heard a lot on here about having a pedometer & wondering if I need one. My Deuce is all stock & I just run diesel with a quart of oil ever 10-gal. Do I have to worry about high temps inside the engine?

A pyrometer (not pedometer) can be your best friend because your exhaust gas Temps can quickly increase second by second while the coolant temp stays relatively stable for a couple seconds. When going up a hill, even unloaded, if you push too hard while the engine is in too high of a gear, it will have a serious temp spike. With a pyrometer you can tell, and them down shift to give the engine more air or back off the throttle. You don't have to have one, but it can really reveal some serious details and prevent damage you otherwise are blind to.

 

[Floridianson]

Yep look at the Mack trucks and what is on there dash.

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

I am talking about driving on the road at correct speeds not just creeping along. Yes I only use low range when on soft ground or in the yard. First gear is a granny gear and used when the ground will suck the power and you need to just get out to hard ground before you even think of shifting out of first low.

Gotcha, my misunderstanding.

 

[Wolfgang the Gray]

A pyrometer (not pedometer) can be your best friend because your exhaust gas Temps can quickly increase second by second while the coolant temp stays relatively stable for a couple seconds. When going up a hill, even unloaded, if you push too hard while the engine is in too high of a gear, it will have a serious temp spike. With a pyrometer you can tell, and them down shift to give the engine more air or back off the throttle. You don't have to have one, but it can really reveal some serious details and prevent damage you otherwise are blind to.

My stupid "smart" phone likes to change my words when I type. I did type in pyrometer (it just tried changing it this time to perimeter) originally. Anyway, thanks for the explanation of the device & purpose. Is it just a temp sending unit in the exhaust stack to dash meter?