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What did you do to your deuce this week?

Valence

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,135
605
113
Location
Davis County, UT
My project has been reassembling my truck for the winter months.
I could not find any competent help, so I just built myself a crane, and have been doing it myself in my spare time :)
Torquewrench, you are very industrious. It's difficult to put on a hard top alone! I bribed a friend with food (that my mother cooked, hah!).


wnfred, sorry about the collision, that'd make me sick wondering what other hidden problems I may encounter down the road now. How did your torque rods fair? Judging from other's accidents, that rear suspension and axles doesn't like being hit from the side. The last one I saw posted on here that got hit from the side, it actually bent the whole axle housing and broke torque rods.
 

Wolfgang the Gray

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
318
36
28
Location
New River, AZ
replaced 8 out of 12 torque rod joints, dumped 3.5 gallons of atf in it from work and took for test drive/fuel up, and apparently the old 3 color camo job did its job nicely and disguised the 11' tall almost 8' wide m109a3 at 50 mph good enough that i got t-boned from a side street....
What kind of fruit loop would not see your M109? Texting maybe? Any photos of what remained of their vehicle?
 

winfred

Member
358
9
18
Location
port allen la
that was a drag, it worked but it didn't wanna, soapy water didn't get it moving but while under tension allowed easier cutting and once it was 3/4 through it folded and started it's way out of the tire, aborted the brute force route when i felt i was about to break something with my hoist in the 2 ton position and my spidysense was tingling with the you are gonna get maimed any second now feeling.
impressed that thing thwarted my almost 3 ton bobcat on pavement, maybe in the dirt it could dig in and get more traction


Got a motor crane? Set it on the tire and hook up to the run flat, pull out. I've never seen that method fail.
 

winfred

Member
358
9
18
Location
port allen la
got my spare together and after a good look over and test drive so far all seems well and my thermal camera isn't picking up anything different on any of the rear hubs.
did discover one thing that people that wanna run aluminum mrap rims on unflipped hubs should look out for, the hub face is thicker then the steel wheel and can put the adapter bolts into the drum nuts/studs where you have plenty of space with the steelies, this prevents the wheel from seating on the hub, i found a position where they all clear (10 adapter bolts and 10 drum nuts, 2 line up with studs so wheel can be clocked on studs) but this does put the air valve to near contact with one of the drum studs, close enough i remove the metal cap to ensure a air gap, i had intended to get a large bore valve stem and install it in the barrel like the steel wheels have, but now i am in need of a functional wheel immediately thanks to someone driving into the side of me and killing a tire so this is temporary, my main wheels are steel but wanted less weight for the spare and went aluminum
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winfred

Member
358
9
18
Location
port allen la
got the upper torque rods done so now all 12 are done, replaced the rear rubber brake lines and finished flushing the system with dot 5, back when i serviced the bearings i replaced both front wheel cylinders just because and the 3 front lines, ended up one was leaking a little and killed the shoes so i replaced the shoes on that side out of lazyness that i had already been through the other side, truck has had a brake pull to the right as long as i've had it but it didn't change at all, didn't wanna dive back into it till i had blead the whole system and had all 5 lines on it. brought one of my toys home for my vacation and took truck for a drive and rode the brakes for about a mile to heat em up then shot em with my thermal camera, both right rears and left rear rear are the same temp at about 90, left rear front was about 160, biggest issue is the rf was about 260 and lf about 160, can't remember which side i put the new shoes on but clean marks on all 4 adjusters outta give it away when i get back on it, thinking the hot rear may just be a little tighter on its adjustment.
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introduced a 38mm 3/4 drive socket to my metal bandsaw and was able to get em both without jacking or disassembly, a 3' piece of thick rebar worked well to pop em out, the pickle fork worked well on the 6 outer joints and only 1 out of 12 was a minor pain to press out directly with the new joint assy, used one of the pressed out old cans to get the old one moving then smacked it out with a BFH then proceeded with the new joint to finish the job
 

winfred

Member
358
9
18
Location
port allen la
didn't seen anything obvious wrong with the rf brakes once i pulled the drum but they were old so i swapped in the new mates to the lf shoes and adjusted accordingly, the test drive was perfect without the grabbing dive to the right the truck has had since i got it, thermal camera still showed about 50 degrees hotter but that outta even out once they break in
 

brianp454

Member
572
11
18
Location
Portland, OR
So yesterday I found a local internet add selling “two LDS-465-1A Continental Engines from Ft Lewis Surplus. Overhauled by the military in the late 1980's and have been stored in sealed metal containers since 1995.” They are complete fan to bellhousing. The seller must move (renter not renewing lease after 40 years) and they guy needs to get rid of everything. So, he was asking for $350 each. My buddy and I jumped into the truck and went to pick them up. We also got a pair of extra rebuilt transmissions and take-out starters. We thought this was too good to turn down and were in a bit of a hurry to get this done.
On the way home I took a left turn that transitions from a steep down grade to a steep up grade on asphalt. The grades are about 30 degrees each and it is a residential area where I was going under the speed limit. The containers shifted and slammed into the passenger side and slid back to almost touch the tailgate. The containers are marked over 3000 pounds each. I have a skid mark in my shorts for the experience.
On my driveway with a slight grade away from the garage doors she is leaning 10 degrees in the back, 3 degrees in the front, and 3 degrees front to back with the front higher than the rear. The front axle appears to have less than the unloaded weight and the passenger side rear wheels are obviously loaded far more than the driver side wheels. Needless to say, these containers will be moved to properly load the truck and be strapped down real good before this truck moves again. I’m thinking of getting them positioned, cut pallets to just fit around the perimeter and then strap them down.171120 M35A2 Leaning 1.jpg171120 M35A2 Leaning 2.jpg171120 M35A2 Leaning 3.jpg
 

cattlerepairman

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
3,167
3,072
113
Location
NORTH (Canada)
I filled up the tank, put diesel fuel conditioner in and parked Queen Lola for the winter in her heated, shared accommodation. Plenty of other, lesser, vehicles there to talk to, on long winter nights. Snow is here, so she won't be on the road until the salt is gone! Also put a new set of Group 6 batteries in (the look like Group 27, but 1000CCA) because the old ones were toast. No fun picking up your truck from storage with dead batteries.
 
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deuce2

New member
60
0
0
Location
carson, nv
Hey guys it's been awhile since I've been on the site. Not much has been to the old girl since. Been super busy at work. However I did rewire all the lights and outlets in the van. Now it all works great! 110 or 24v. Ready for anything now.��
 

Kharville

Member
61
0
6
Location
Clinton LA
Went to the Home Depot and bought multiple carts full of lumber. Had some of the boys working there help me push the carts outside. I told them to wait while I go get the car.rofl

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kml9705

Member
78
0
6
Location
Andover, NJ
Scored about 30 more gallons of free fuel. A friend of mine put me in touch with a guy at the gas station he works at. He had the Diesel / Gas mix in 5 gallon buckets. Apparently putting the wrong type of fuel in vehicles happens at lot more than I realized. Might want to check with your local gas stations. Apparently it is very costly for them to get rid of.
 

kml9705

Member
78
0
6
Location
Andover, NJ
Helped a friend move stuff out of his storage unit to his new house today. 2 loads with the Deuce, would have been many more loads with his pickup.

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big block 88

Member
862
17
18
Location
Topeka/Kansas
Helped a buddy get his a2 shifter unstuck. That drive line was jammed up way tight. 2 gears engaged at once shifter slipped out of its notches. Got the tower fixed then brass hammer the gears loose. No brocken teeth!!!!! Got lucky.

That truck is blowing huge amounts of oil out the exhaust stack. Pressures and temps are all good. Runs great. Maybe rings?

Also on a side note. All of the guys who post the response of "check the tm" "read the tm" waste a lot of time for guys in a pinch searching for a solution and in a bind. I dont know how many threads i looked at and was shut down immediately by "bonehead" dismissing all the questions with "check the tm"... believe it or not even reading them multiple times retaining it all is not possible for my simple mind. And i sure dont carry one in my back pocket and scanning a tm on the iphone isnt easy.
 
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rustystud

Well-known member
9,071
2,387
113
Location
Woodinville, Washington
Helped a buddy get his a2 shifter unstuck. That drive line was jammed up way tight. 2 gears engaged at once shifter slipped out of its notches. Got the tower fixed then brass hammer the gears loose. No brocken teeth!!!!! Got lucky.

That truck is blowing huge amounts of oil out the exhaust stack. Pressures and temps are all good. Runs great. Maybe rings?

Also on a side note. All of the guys who post the response of "check the tm" "read the tm" waste a lot of time for guys in a pinch searching for a solution and in a bind. I dont know how many threads i looked at and was shut down immediately by "bonehead" dismissing all the questions with "check the tm"... believe it or not even reading them multiple times retaining it all is not possible for my simple mind. And i sure dont carry one in my back pocket and scanning a tm on the iphone isnt easy.
On the truck blowing smoke issue. Has your friend taken it on the freeway, found some hills and really loaded it down ? These multifuel engines really like to be abused ! Truck diesels are kind of the "sado-masochists" of the truck world. Really. What happens is the combustion pressure works on the rings to "push" them into the cylinder walls. When they don't get that pressure they loosen up and leak oil. So take it out and abuse it !
About people saying go look at the TM's , well after awhile you see the same question over and over again. If the poster had just read the TM's like they should, they would have found the answer themselves. Usually I don't respond to questions like that. I wait for someone else to say "read the TM's" . In all honesty the responsibility of ownership is yours. When you get a new electronic device or anything new really, don't you read the owners manual ? I do. The same thing applies here. Now if your really stuck and just need a quick answer, then just say you need a quick answer as your stuck somewhere. Most people here will help. Just don't make a habit of it. Now if your mind as you say has a hard time retaining knowledge, then carry a TM with you on the truck. A lot of guys do that. I carry a laptop with all the TM's on it. Like they say "never leave home without it ! " .
 
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kml9705

Member
78
0
6
Location
Andover, NJ
kml9705 what ladder is that your using sir?? I've been looking to get one for my 2.5 ton & haven't had much luck.
Not really sure what it is off of. I picked it up at a show in PA a few months ago. It looked the right height and the price was right so I bought it. It has lettering on it but the only word I can clearly read on it is "trailer".
 

big block 88

Member
862
17
18
Location
Topeka/Kansas
On the truck blowing smoke issue. Has your friend taken it on the freeway, found some hills and really loaded it down ? These multifuel engines really like to be abused ! Truck diesels are kind of the "sado-masochists" of the truck world. Really. What happens is the combustion pressure works on the rings to "push" them into the cylinder walls. When they don't get that pressure they loosen up and leak oil. So take it out and abuse it !
About people saying go look at the TM's , well after awhile you see the same question over and over again. If the poster had just read the TM's like they should, they would have found the answer themselves. Usually I don't respond to questions like that. I wait for someone else to say "read the TM's" . In all honesty the responsibility of ownership is yours. When you get a new electronic device or anything new really, don't you read the owners manual ? I do. The same thing applies here. Now if your really stuck and just need a quick answer, then just say you need a quick answer as your stuck somewhere. Most people here will help. Just don't make a habit of it. Now if your mind as you say has a hard time retaining knowledge, then carry a TM with you on the truck. A lot of guys do that. I carry a laptop with all the TM's on it. Like they say "never leave home without it ! " .
Im sure you are correct sir. The truck has been sitting idling and "charging dead batteries". As we know flat dead 6tl will NOT accept a charge in high amps like an alt. But the owner wanted to try it. He does run them hard and they must love it as they just keep runnin.
 
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