Upgraded to an M923

[acesneights1]

Was a tough choice. I miss my Deuce as I felt it commanded a certain respect with that big ole Stack sticking out of the hood but I will say going from the Deuce to the M923 is like going from VW Rabbit to a Mercedes. It is alot easier to drive and I'm not getting any younger. Pretty clean truck. Got it through a private sale from a friend. Minor issues. Will need some pinion seals(Just scored a 90-600 ft lb torque wrench of the Bay). Need e brake cable . Front tires shake so at some point would like to change them to Michelin XZL's. Has a hard top(this was a big plus to me). It's a 1985 M923 so it originally had 11.00's on it but was changed to Goodyear 14.00-20's. My biggest concern is the transmission shifts very hard back into 1st when slowing down. I have read countless thread here about that so no really sure. I thought it was converted to ATF but the oil in the trans looks like 10w to me. I want to take it to Allison and have the shift points adjusted as I have not been able to find anything else on how to do it. The Allison manuals in the stickies here refer to another book so maybe I better leave it to pros. Anyway, aside from missing my Deuce , I love the truck. In a perfect world I could have kept the Deuce and sold my wife's car....but well she wasn't keen on driving the M923 to the Salon for work...

I already did a Nerf themed Bday party with it(note the Belft fed nerf gun, what an awesome toy . It fit perfect on the M923) and a Parade.

 

[jbayer]

Nice, hope you enjoy it. Good luck with tranny.

 

[jw4x4]

My 932 downshifted hard into 1st gear when I first got it. After driving it for awhile, it smoothed right out.

 

[todds112]

Looks great! I was amazed at how much easier a substantially bigger truck was to drive when I got mine. Look like the kids are lovin' it. Belt fed Nerf gun...too cool. I wish I could do the parade thing. My insurance (State Farm) was pretty emphatic about no passengers in the back. Already had to turn down a Boy Scout troop. Pretty bummed about that.

 

[Karl kostman]

Congrats on the 939 series and YES without a doubt driving these trucks compared to the Deuce is a world apart! Like you when I got my 925A1 my biggest concern was also the transmission, I researched it all I could and found NO trends for problems NO known problems and everything I have read before and since I got the truck all has been nothing but positive! My truck also has 10wt in the trans and I know it has been said on this site that Allison wants DEX in it, I went so far as to get a quote from the local Allison shop to completely drain mine including the torque converter and fill with DEX but the 10 wt has been no troubles so I have not converted. Good luck they are great trucks!
KK

 

[Powershift]

Love the boarding ladder. Great looking truck. Welcome to 5 ton land!

 

[lindsey97]

Mine shifts "rough" compared to a passenger car when downshifting from 2 to 1. When I pull my 7300 lb. M1082A1 trailer, the transmission upshifts/downshifts smooth as any small car. These trucks are meant to be worked and driven with a load on them.

I started a transmission thread awhile back, and several folks have reported that the 2-1 downshift is somewhat grabby, especially when rolling slow with foot off the gas and the truck decides to downshift when apply throttle. Don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[lindsey97]

Congrats on the 939 series and YES without a doubt driving these trucks compared to the Deuce is a world apart! Like you when I got my 925A1 my biggest concern was also the transmission, I researched it all I could and found NO trends for problems NO known problems and everything I have read before and since I got the truck all has been nothing but positive! My truck also has 10wt in the trans and I know it has been said on this site that Allison wants DEX in it, I went so far as to get a quote from the local Allison shop to completely drain mine including the torque converter and fill with DEX but the 10 wt has been no troubles so I have not converted. Good luck they are great trucks!
KK

Karl, as far north as you are, it must get colder than it does in Oklahoma. If your truck still has motor oil in the trans, I would change it. The reason being is that I have read on SS that some folks have lost transmissions in extreme cold, due to the oil being too thick. Don't know if this is true or not, but it relates to what my Cat powershift D4c does when cold. I have to let that little tractor warm up 30 minutes or more in the wintertime, or it doesn't act right due to thick oil. We have rebuilt that dozer from the ground up, so no mechanical issues there.

Bottom line, I would let my truck warm up 5-10 minutes before driving in warm climates, and even longer when at or below 32 deg. F.