1967 deuce rescue.......what to bring?

[lucydeuce]

I am going to look at a truck for sale roughly 45 miles from my house/shop. It is listed as a 1967 model and seller says it runs great but has a leak in the air tank. I would like to attempt to drive this truck home if it is as described. What are some suggestions as far as what to load my pickup down with aside from the usual tools and a spare tire/wheel?

 

[BKubu]

How bad is the leak in the air tank? Since it is only 45 miles away, I'd go to inspect it first and the plan to drive it back another day. I, personally, wouldn't drive it if it is leaking a lot of air. If you burn up the compressor, you will be in for a few hundred dollar replacement cost (a friend of mine tried to drive an M923a2 a good distance with a badly leaking air line, and he burned up the compressor). With that said, if you can swap it out, then I'd do it.

If you drive it home, I would suggest changing the fuel filters before you leave. Bring a good tool set, a jack, jackstands, a wooden block (for under the jack), a breaker bar and lug wrench, a couple of gallons of coolant, a few quarts of oil, and a five gallon can of fuel (the fuel gauges are notoriously unreliable). I also would add a good amount of diesel conditioner before you leave.

 

[cattlerepairman]

Good advice. 45 miles is not far but it can be, if you are stranded in the middle of an intersection.

Consider getting a replacement air tank and switch it out on site if that is possible. Likely the wet tank....never drained and now pinholed.

Next check has to be the brakes, if you want to drive it. Is the master cylinder full? Visible leaks from the wheel cylinders? Lines, hard and soft, in reasonable condition? Pedal free play ok? Do the brakes work and does the pedal feel good? If it goes way in...brake adjustment and bleeding time.

I am quite a cowboy when it comes to some aspects of driving big rigs, but a 6t (empty) truck without reliable brakes must not be on the road.

Sent from my SM-G991W using Tapatalk

 

[Mullaney]

I am going to look at a truck for sale roughly 45 miles from my house/shop. It is listed as a 1967 model and seller says it runs great but has a leak in the air tank. I would like to attempt to drive this truck home if it is as described. What are some suggestions as far as what to load my pickup down with aside from the usual tools and a spare tire/wheel?

.
Yeah, a leak in the air tank can definitely be a pin hole in the bottom of the tank. I would carry a spare tank. I would also take a bottle of 25% Dawn and Water and spray down the area, and watch for the bubbles. I had one on a M936 and it was rusted through to bottom... It was a bummer. There really is no fix for a leaky tank - even if you are a welder. Gotta find enough good metal to weld to.

Maybe it will be easier. Maybe only a leaky air line.

 

[NDT]

I drove a self tapping screw into a deuce air tank pin hole once, it's still there like 10 years later and holds air still.

 

[tommys2patrick]

Do you know the seller well? a lot is depending on a third party assessment of what is wrong. does the road there have good shoulders? take a heat gun and stop every few miles and check it. plan on taking cool down stops. rig up a cheap harbor freight air tank, lines and fittings to bypass the bad one. check the weather and traffic be prepared for a very long 45 miles. this project could save millions of lives and shorten the war by years( sense of humor)

 

[glcaines]

45 miles isn't that far. Brakes are the most important. I would also make sure you have the telephone number for a towing company local to your destination that can handle your truck, in case you have problems on the way home that you can't handle on the road by yourself.