Thoughts on this M1028A2

[TGP (IL)]

Don't count on finding a dually box in good shape ! The fenders are unique to the military . At least that is what I was told when I went to GM to get a replacement for mine. I ended up fixing mine with a lot of fiberglass. My buddy has a civilian one and the body lines in the fender are different. Don't know why, but there you are.

Not sure about that information, but I have a stock 86 M1028A2 converted in 91 at TEAD and the rear fenders are
Exactly the same as my 77 K30,79 K30,and 84 K30.

I have seen some M1028A2's with aftermarket rear fenders installed.
Not sure who done those or where they came from.

I do agree dually beds are getting very hard to find in good condition.
Tom

 

[GM72K10]

Although I like my m1028a2 in its stock configuration, that's a nice truck you have. Good Luck.

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Good looking truck hopefully it will be a good rig for you.
On the tachometeri would look into the autometer tiny tach for diesels. They have one that uses a small sending unit that you clamp to the outside of one of the alts. Check eBayfor those.
On your oil pressure gauge you can tie into the oil sample port, it is the small brass valve besides the radiator overflow tank.
Also you will get about 9-10 mpg if you run the truck hard, I run my m1008 all the time at 65mph and even a little more at times without any issues. Yeah it is roaring, especially since I have a straight pipe exhaust but they will take it as long as she is in good shape.

 

[Haoleb]

I was looking at the tiny tach that has the transducer mounted to the injector line but I have not yet ordered one because I can't find a definitive answer on what size transducer to get. It sounds like it is the 1/4". There is a ton of information on this forum but sometimes it does not all seem to match up. I ordered new belts because I like to have spares on hand, i used the P/N from a thread that says the "correct" belts and two are different than the wiki thread... Guess I'll find out.

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Is tach your looking at digital? Most of those I have seen are, if you want a faster read out then analog is your friend. The one I use is analog.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?145931-Cucvlover-s-m1008-the-green-machine
This is the thread on my truck which has the info on the tach and such.

Also what are your plans for the truck?

 

[sschaefer3]

I was looking at the tiny tach that has the transducer mounted to the injector line but I have not yet ordered one because I can't find a definitive answer on what size transducer to get. It sounds like it is the 1/4". There is a ton of information on this forum but sometimes it does not all seem to match up. I ordered new belts because I like to have spares on hand, i used the P/N from a thread that says the "correct" belts and two are different than the wiki thread... Guess I'll find out.

I have one, you want 1/4"

 

[rustystud]

Not sure about that information, but I have a stock 86 M1028A2 converted in 91 at TEAD and the rear fenders are
Exactly the same as my 77 K30,79 K30,and 84 K30.

I have seen some M1028A2's with aftermarket rear fenders installed.
Not sure who done those or where they came from.

I do agree dually beds are getting very hard to find in good condition.
Tom

Mines a 1984 and my buddies civilian dually is a 1986. Totally different lines. Mine was a factory dually as it has the Dana HD70 in it and the NP205 transfer-case.
Who knows, maybe they where replaced later (due to damage) and they went with an aftermarket design.
Hey "TGP(IL)" can you take some pictures of your fenders ? I'll take some of mine and we can compare.

 

[dependable]

Nice truck. I'd consider adding dump function to that bed.

 

[TGP (IL)]

Mines a 1984 and my buddies civilian dually is a 1986. Totally different lines. Mine was a factory dually as it has the Dana HD70 in it and the NP205 transfer-case.
Who knows, maybe they where replaced later (due to damage) and they went with an aftermarket design.
Hey "TGP(IL)" can you take some pictures of your fenders ? I'll take some of mine and we can compare.

Hey Rusty
They all have Dana 70HD rears and 205 T-case.
The black 77 was bought new. First year for the K30
The blue 84 was bought new.
The OD 86 was converted in 91 at/by TEAD and has all the exact components
As the two factory models with the exception of they added rear sway bar.
No K30 left GM with a sway bar from the factory in dual wheels. I tried to order it in
Both 77 and 84.
Tom

 

[Haoleb]

Worked on the truck a little bit today. Changed the oil. Greased all of the zerk fittings. Checked all of the other fluids. Ordered a new AC delco harmonic balancer to replace the one that is on there. It does not look all that bad. Some cracks in the rubber but no missing pieces or bulging areas. The crank pulley does have some wobble to it which I think is the pulley itself. When I get more time I want to dive in and find out why some of the dash lights do not work. Just peeking back there and seeing that plastic flexible PCB thing I can imagine it could be a number of issues.

My plans for the truck are to keep it basically as-is and just go through and do some preventive maintenance and repairs. The old wiring scares me a little bit.. Havent found anything really brittle yet but still having them two big batteries in there and 30 year old wiring.... eek.

I am about the last person on earth that wants people coming up and asking questions about my vehicle but this thing sure draws attention. I bought it just because I like military gear, I wanted a good condition heavy duty diesel truck that is simple and built to last... Seems like everywhere I go people are asking me about the rig. First thing is.. Hey nice rig. Does it dump? It is fun to drive.. and you just got to love that diesel sound makes my day to hear her fire up.

 

[rustystud]

Hey Rusty
They all have Dana 70HD rears and 205 T-case.
The black 77 was bought new. First year for the K30
The blue 84 was bought new.
The OD 86 was converted in 91 at/by TEAD and has all the exact components
As the two factory models with the exception of they added rear sway bar.
No K30 left GM with a sway bar from the factory in dual wheels. I tried to order it in
Both 77 and 84.
Tom

Here's mine. As far as the Dana HD70 goes that was only used in the dually not the single rears. The normal differential was the GM corporate 14 bolt and the regular 1 ton CUCV's (1986 and up) used the NP208 transfer-case. Why are we talking about the anti-sway bars ? Was it mentioned here somewhere ?

 

[Haoleb]

So, Tomorrow makes one week ive had the M1028A2... And It seems a few issues have shown up! I received my new belts, headlights, air filter and dash lights.. Monday I drive the truck to work and someone tells me theres a puddle of coolant dripping under the truck. Great. I had filled up the expansion tank too full the day before so I was hoping it just sort of pushed out the extra. Could not find any obvious places it was leaking from and it did not look like it was blowing out the tank overflow spout but it was in that general area. I have driven it a few more times since then and it does seem to leak a little bit even after ive taken the hose and washed out all of the coolant so there is definitely a leak. Possibly the radiator but hard to tell. Then I pop off the radiator cap and oh.. what do I see but a brown foam! Great!! I looked in the radiator cap a few days ago ad it was full and all looked good but now it is down about 2 inches on fluid and has brown foam. I can see in the radiator it needs to be replaced it is all gunked up with white deposits inside.

I also started the engine with the rad cap off and it did bubble a little bit but it did not come gushing out when I revved the engine up. So I assume the worst.. New radiator. Head gaskets If I am lucky and not a cracked block or head.

I am hoping though maybe it is just the radiator is bad and there is oil coming from the oil cooler section. I am going to park the truck and when I get a chance pressure test the oil cooler. As well as get a radiator on order and some new hoses. Man I hope I do not need to tear into the engine. Hate to have to do that on a truck I just bought a week ago. :/

Here is a pic of what I found when I opened the radiator cap. Definitely oil in there or...?

 

[Haoleb]

Here is what I found when I opened the cap...

 

[rustystud]

You can get a "test" kit that will tell you want is in your anti-freeze.

 

[Haoleb]

I am picking up a new radiator and hoses today along with thermostat from Napa. I ordered a combustion gas tester also to test and see if I have other issues as well due to that foam being in there... Figured that pressure testing the cooling system with a leaky radiator wont tell me if there are internal engine problems. The truck starts fine, runs fine, idles fine, does not seem to get hot (no idea since there is no gauge and the light doesn't work but it seems to run pretty cool)

 

[silverstate55]

If it's not a head gasket issue, try draining the coolant and replace with water & Cascade dish soap...run it around to get it warm, then drain & flush it out. I like to follow this up with water & white vinegar afterwards, to knock out the rust/scale/gunk. Full flush and refill with new coolant. This has worked for me with funky-looking antifreeze in the past.

 

[Thirteen]

Replacing all the belts, hoses and radiator is good preventive maintenance. There are some nice aluminum ones on ebay that were a drop in replacements for my M1009.

And when the head gasket on my turbo'd 6.2 went, I could smell it. No mistaking burnt coolant.

I would start my changing all the hoses and radiator. And if the problem persists, new head gaskets but I think new hoses/radiator will solve your problem.

I am sure someone will disagree, but I haven't had any HG issues with a stock (non turned up IP) 6.2 NA motors.

And great looking truck, I really like the bed.

I have a M1028a2 and thought had doing something similar if my bed got phucked up.

13

Edit - Something didnt look right on the truck and realized it is the bumper. I think it hangs too low and looks odd. I did a quick rendering.

 

[11Echo]

Hey Rusty
They all have Dana 70HD rears and 205 T-case.
The black 77 was bought new. First year for the K30
The blue 84 was bought new.
The OD 86 was converted in 91 at/by TEAD and has all the exact components
As the two factory models with the exception of they added rear sway bar.
No K30 left GM with a sway bar from the factory in dual wheels. I tried to order it in
Both 77 and 84.
Tom

I have had one or more K/V30's continuously since 1977.
If your 1977 has a 205 transfer case it would have been a manual transmission when new, or the original 203 was replaced with the 205 if it had an automatic. I know as I bought one new in 1977.
4 of mine that I bought new.

 

[Haoleb]

Well I got the combustion gas tester today and good news the thing did not change color at all when I tested it. There was also no foam inside of the cap again this time when I looked but definitely a bunch of crap buildup in the radiator. I got the new one from Napa and it is the Spectra CU850, NR2098 radiator but now it seems they are made in china and are all aluminum with plastic tanks. Cant say I really like the idea of installing that Chinese piece of crap in my truck but at least hopefully it won't leak like the one I have now. In my jeep when I had my stock radiator with plastic tanks break I bought a nice all aluminum radiator.. with lifetime warranty... thinking I was going to get something that would last a good long time... Well I am on my third radiator in that vehicle in a 3 year period and I wish I just got another junk plastic tank one.

 

[rustystud]

I have had one or more K/V30's continuously since 1977.
If your 1977 has a 205 transfer case it would have been a manual transmission when new, or the original 203 was replaced with the 205 if it had an automatic. I know as I bought one new in 1977.
4 of mine that I bought new.

My truck is a 1984 M1028 that I have removed the 6.2 engine and replaced it with a 383 Hi-Torque. It came "stock" with the NP205 transfer-case and a TH400 transmission and a Dana 70HD dually.