FLU419 SEE HMMH HME Owners group

[General Hood]

General Hood,

That sounds good to me. I should take delivery by the first of June, I will give you a shout after I find out what is going on with it. The GP inspection said that it started after they jumped the solenoid. Since the control panel seems to have issues it could just be from the connection from the starter button to the solenoid, but I doubt I am that lucky. I will take you up on your offer if I can use it.

I understand now, when GP says that, it means there is most likely a chewed wire or two between the start button and the solenoid. The GP guy walks around with a big screwdriver in his back pocket to jump across the solenoid leads in order to start the SEEs with wiring issues. I'm going to jump out on a limb and guess this SEE is coming out of Texarkana or New Boston TX

 

[The FLU farm]

T FLU FARM, I'm looking for an MGB steering rack for my '56 Healey 100/4 conversion. If they're cheap.

You should be able to get a parts car for $300, or less. And I think there's a lot of Brit car activity in your neck of the woods, so loose racks should be available, too.
If that fails, I can check the condition of the ones on my parts cars. The only loose rack I know I have is for the Bugeye.

 

[The FLU farm]

The solenoid seems to be toast, and I will need to replace belts, hoses, fluids etc. The control panel is not functional, and the master cylinder is said to be soft. So those are some obvious places to get busy with. Given that I am starting from a blank slate, what advice would y'all give me for what to look for and what to hit first?

Alright, I'm gonna take some of the fun out of it, Ron.
Instead of concentrating on making it start, please spend a day (or however long it takes) to check and replace fluid as necessary. Then, if it starts, you could drive it without risking damaging things.
Same for the loader and backhoe; lube everything, at the very least put some oil on the seals on the hydraulic cylinders before operating them.
Again, if we knew which one you bought it may be possible to spot things that need attention by studying GP's photos.

 

[rtrask]

FLU farm,

You are not taking the fun out of anything, where I live I don't think I will be driving it around until I take it out to the property I have. I just need to get it off the street so I will probably drive it less than 50 yards until I am ready to move it. Definitely changing the fluids, belts and hoses are top on the list. I plan to make it street legal, but that is fairly low priority in my book. I figure having it close by and access to parts while I am reconditioning it will save a lot of frustration.

I posted a link to it earlier today, but here it is again. http://www.govplanet.com/jsp/s/item/864683

 

[rtrask]

I have replied with a link to the GP posting twice, but it has not made it onto the web page yet, it has not gotten Admin approval due to the link to a auction site. So if you want to find it, you can do a google search for "FLU419 864683"

 

[rtrask]

Yep, I bought it yesterday and did not buy one in Guam, so that is not much of a leap. It was Item Number 864683

 

[rtrask]

Alright, I'm gonna take some of the fun out of it, Ron.
Instead of concentrating on making it start, please spend a day (or however long it takes) to check and replace fluid as necessary. Then, if it starts, you could drive it without risking damaging things.
Same for the loader and backhoe; lube everything, at the very least put some oil on the seals on the hydraulic cylinders before operating them.
Again, if we knew which one you bought it may be possible to spot things that need attention by studying GP's photos.

I will reply again without the link to GP,

FLU farm, you are not taking the fun out of anything. I am having it delivered to my house in the city, so I will not be driving it anywhere except to the backyard. I will eventually make it street legal, but that is low priority. After I get it reconditioned I will take it out to the property I have in South Central Colorado. I figure the time I save in having it close by, and access to tools and parts will make it worth not having fun with it till later. As you suggested, about the first thing I plan to do is replace the fluids, belts and hoses.

 

[Migginsbros]

I just bought my 1987 FLU419 101 SEE yesterday. It looks like it needs a lot of work, but it runs at least.
Ronald Trask
Centennial Colorado USA

I am not sure what the frame No. is yet.

Welcome from Europe

 

[peakbagger]

I will reply again without the link to GP,

FLU farm, you are not taking the fun out of anything. I am having it delivered to my house in the city, so I will not be driving it anywhere except to the backyard. I will eventually make it street legal, but that is low priority. After I get it reconditioned I will take it out to the property I have in South Central Colorado. I figure the time I save in having it close by, and access to tools and parts will make it worth not having fun with it till later. As you suggested, about the first thing I plan to do is replace the fluids, belts and hoses.

Welcome. Given the history of the GP auctions, folks early on tended to get the better units (not all the time) while recent auctions tended to be units in less good shape. This is not a hard and fast rule but an observation. I realize right now you are in the mode of having just bought that scratch off lottery ticket and expecting you win the prize but I will try to reinject a dose of reality.

If the major components are not 100% you may be subjecting yourself to an expensive run down the rabbit hole. Luckily the underlying parts are typically low mileage very beefy Mercedes parts but abuse by an operator or bad maintenance can still damage expensive stuff. The good news is that parts are available with some sleuthing but the bad news is that if you need major parts they are expensive A transmission is probably a 6 to 8K investment. Your goals should to be ignoring the minor systems and seeing if the major equipment is in good enough condition that's its worth dealing with the small stuff.

At least one member on this site got a "bad one" with trashed transmission and obviously it had been picked for parts. I think he recently got a good one and the old one is now his private parts source.

Definitely a full lubricant change out and investigation of what come out of the drains is step one. If the rig will start and run, you may want to hold off on messing with the fuel system (for now). If the air pressure comes up great but if it doesn't, it may be worth hooking up a temporary supply from another source. One trick I realized recently is you can cut your air system diagnosis time somewhat by pushing in the emergency air system valve (large round button on the center console) this cuts out the trailer braking system that you can deal with later. Once you have air, drain the air tanks multiple times or even better remove them and the drain valve and clean them out. Its almost a guarantee that the air system is crapped up due to poor design and many of the fancy systems only work with adequate air delivered to the them.

Now assuming its running try out the transmission. The SEE transmissions reportedly has weak synchros so shift slowly and carefully. Now try the 4wd, you may hear a lot of air leaks, don't worry about them for now but you will need to deal with them later. If you have functioning 4WD, congratulations you may have runner instead of potential parts vehicle. Note we all are probably lusting after parts when someone declares a parts truck . Note the diff locks may not work but there is good chance they can be freed up.

With respect to dash, lets hope the rats didn't have field day. If when you get it running, you notice electrical accessories and gages not working, the "rat" has done its damage and you will soon have choice, either keep it for an off road beast hoping that the damaged wiring does short or find a quiet spot and plan on 40 to 80 hours of patching the harness back together.

I would definitely take a look at the track bars and exhaust since GP apparently is known to damage them when moving the SEEs with an all terrain forklift. There are sources for used track bars and an exhaust shop can probably patch the exhaust.

Good Luck

 

[alpine44]

Yep, I bought it yesterday and did not buy one in Guam, so that is not much of a leap. It was Item Number 864683

Congrats to your purchase and welcome.

 

[The FLU farm]

FLU farm, you are not taking the fun out of anything. I am having it delivered to my house in the city, so I will not be driving it anywhere except to the backyard. I will eventually make it street legal, but that is low priority. After I get it reconditioned I will take it out to the property I have in South Central Colorado. I figure the time I save in having it close by, and access to tools and parts will make it worth not having fun with it till later. As you suggested, about the first thing I plan to do is replace the fluids, belts and hoses.

Ron, after a quick look at the photos, there are a few obvious things that needs attention.
My main concern would be the level of the front hydraulic tank. It may not be empty, but it's not full enough. Doesn't matter until the engine is started.
The rear tank is overfull, but that's easy to fix.
A while back I posted about the easy way to straighten those bent track rods, using a cheap HF tubing bender.
Coolant must be added, or more importantly; where did the coolant go?
Then, when time permits, you'll need to have at least one hose made for the loader, and install either a factory or other suitable switch for the tool hose circuitry.

For now, buy a case of good grease and await its arrival. I'm waiting for it to get to southern CO so I can come take a peek at it.

 

[alpine44]

Yep, I bought it yesterday and did not buy one in Guam, so that is not much of a leap. It was Item Number 864683

You need belts. (This is a good opportunity for more experienced members to list the cross reference to belts from the local auto parts store).

Also, the center console is loose. Check the wiring (main battery switch) and air plumbing underneath and secure the console.

It looks like the unit builds air pressure but drain the tanks as peakbagger suggested.

 

[rtrask]

Thanks Peakbagger, there is a lot to digest here.

If the major components are not 100% you may be subjecting yourself to an expensive run down the rabbit hole. Luckily the underlying parts are typically low mileage very beefy Mercedes parts but abuse by an operator or bad maintenance can still damage expensive stuff. The good news is that parts are available with some sleuthing but the bad news is that if you need major parts they are expensive A transmission is probably a 6 to 8K investment. Your goals should to be ignoring the minor systems and seeing if the major equipment is in good enough condition that's its worth dealing with the small stuff.

OK, so now the nervous waiting for delivery starts. Has anyone here had any experience with the IronClad Guaranty? From their website:
"If the item you received is not in the condition described in our inspection report, please contact us within one business day of receiving the item. Valid dispute claims will be handled in a mutually beneficial manner. For details, please see our IronClad Assurance Policy."
One day does not give a whole lot of time to determine if it does not match up with the description. However, if the engine runs as advertised, and the transmission/drive train/hydraulics systems are all operational as claimed then doesn't that cover the major systems that would make it so expensive it would be better to start over? Not saying there are not a lot of bills coming my way from years of neglect, but my original thought was the biggest expense is in the rear view mirror an the rest may amount to 3 to 8 thousand dollars but no single big ticket item. That may be naive on my part but that is winning in my book.

Definitely a full lubricant change out and investigation of what come out of the drains is step one. If the rig will start and run, you may want to hold off on messing with the fuel system (for now). If the air pressure comes up great but if it doesn't, it may be worth hooking up a temporary supply from another source. One trick I realized recently is you can cut your air system diagnosis time somewhat by pushing in the emergency air system valve (large round button on the center console) this cuts out the trailer braking system that you can deal with later. Once you have air, drain the air tanks multiple times or even better remove them and the drain valve and clean them out. Its almost a guarantee that the air system is crapped up due to poor design and many of the fancy systems only work with adequate air delivered to the them.

This is exactly the advice I was looking for. Thanks!! Any advice on how to hook up an an external air supply?

Now assuming its running try out the transmission. The SEE transmissions reportedly has weak synchros so shift slowly and carefully. Now try the 4wd, you may hear a lot of air leaks, don't worry about them for now but you will need to deal with them later. If you have functioning 4WD, congratulations you may have runner instead of potential parts vehicle. Note we all are probably lusting after parts when someone declares a parts truck . Note the diff locks may not work but there is good chance they can be freed up.

GP said that transmission / drive train was operational, so I assume that means that they at least got it to roll under its own power, but that says nothing about the 4WD. I will let you all know when I know.

With respect to dash, lets hope the rats didn't have field day. If when you get it running, you notice electrical accessories and gages not working, the "rat" has done its damage and you will soon have choice, either keep it for an off road beast hoping that the damaged wiring does short or find a quiet spot and plan on 40 to 80 hours of patching the harness back together.
I would definitely take a look at the track bars and exhaust since GP apparently is known to damage them when moving the SEEs with an all terrain forklift. There are sources for used track bars and an exhaust shop can probably patch the exhaust.
Good Luck

 

[rtrask]

Ron, after a quick look at the photos, there are a few obvious things that needs attention.
My main concern would be the level of the front hydraulic tank. It may not be empty, but it's not full enough. Doesn't matter until the engine is started.
The rear tank is overfull, but that's easy to fix.
A while back I posted about the easy way to straighten those bent track rods, using a cheap HF tubing bender.
Coolant must be added, or more importantly; where did the coolant go?
Then, when time permits, you'll need to have at least one hose made for the loader, and install either a factory or other suitable switch for the tool hose circuitry.

For now, buy a case of good grease and await its arrival. I'm waiting for it to get to southern CO so I can come take a peek at it.

Thanks FLU farm,
I would love for you to get a peek at it. It will be in the northern part of the San Luis Valley, so depending on where in the true Mid West you are it might not be too big of a jaunt to make a connection. It is funny I've always thought of everything East of the Mississippi as being in the East, and that New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming were the Mid West. Then I married a gal from Michigan and decided it was just a name.

Any advice on the right hydraulic fluid to use?

 

[The FLU farm]

Thanks FLU farm,
I would love for you to get a peek at it. It will be in the northern part of the San Luis Valley, so depending on where in the true Mid West you are it might not be too big of a jaunt to make a connection. It is funny I've always thought of everything East of the Mississippi as being in the East, and that New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming were the Mid West. Then I married a gal from Michigan and decided it was just a name.

Any advice on the right hydraulic fluid to use?

I'll have to look up your to-be location, but it can't be that far away.
For hydraulic fluid I'm using the cheap stuff, AW-32 from NAPA. It makes a noticeable difference in the backhoe...well, it did to me, anyway.
And it kinda makes sense to use hydraulic fluid in the hydraulics, rather than motor oil. Others have made the switch, too, and I don't recall anyone having a problem.
In your case, I'd leave the rear system as is for now (until you know what leaks there might be, or what cylinder seals may need replacement) and top off the front with AW-32. Then drain and change the front system once you know it's condition.

 

[911joeblow]

Put er to work today....found out how handy the hyd. cutoff conversion to my hyd. chainsaw can be. I know the blade is small but it is all I had on hand. I am replacing a wire fence with a wood ranch fence and am cutting out the old as I go.

 

[The FLU farm]

Put er to work today....found out how handy the hyd. cutoff conversion to my hyd. chainsaw can be. I know the blade is small but it is all I had on hand. I am replacing a wire fence with a wood ranch fence and am cutting out the old as I go.

Neat! I'm about to "go defensive", too, but figured that it'd be the fastest to use snippers.
But if I had a cut-off tool like yours, I'd probably use it, too. Just because I could.

 

[patrol578]

General Hood,

That sounds good to me. I should take delivery by the first of June, I will give you a shout after I find out what is going on with it. The GP inspection said that it started after they jumped the solenoid. Since the control panel seems to have issues it could just be from the connection from the starter button to the solenoid, but I doubt I am that lucky. I will take you up on your offer if I can use it.

Welcome to the group. One fairly common starting problem is the clutch switch. Under normal conditions it prevents starting of the vehicle unless the clutch is fully depressed. Sometimes, depressing the clutch pedal all the way to the stops will still not actuate the switch and close the circuit. Fortunately, it is easy to check by hand. I had this problem a couple of weeks ago...the troubleshooting is a few pages back.

Even if you find rat droppings in the cab, your problems may not be rat-related. I cleaned a good two cups of rat turds out but didn't find any damage besides a half-eaten maintenance manual.

 

[911joeblow]

Neat! I'm about to "go defensive", too, but figured that it'd be the fastest to use snippers.
But if I had a cut-off tool like yours, I'd probably use it, too. Just because I could.

I 'could' have used big snips I guess but what fun is that

 

[Foxyjosh]

Transmission project update:
I got the cab tilted and the engine removed.
Unfortunately, someone I was talking to told me what the problem might be and I might not have had to pull out the engine.

Since I have no idea what Uncle Sam did to the transmission I might just pull the tranny out anyways.


I am using a hydraulic aircraft jack to support the transmission and I used a Clark 3 wheel forklift to pull the engine.