Wreckerman loves Jessica

[wreckerman893]

Well me and Jessica (my new M915) had our first long date yesterday.
We left the Motor Pool in Alabama at dark thirty Tues. morning headed to Fort Campbell, KY to pick up my big command van trailer.
All was well until I got about 40 miles from Campbell and the headlights went out about 0530.
I have no doubt that this was a retaliation for a remark I made about her to a fellow when I made a caffine refuel stop.
He asked about her and I said she was a good runner even if she was as ugly as a mud fence post.
Soooooo after sitting on the side of the road until daylight we rolled on in to GL at Campbell. I was in and out in an hour with the big trailer in tow.
She ran like a champ up there and back (except for a fuel linkage return spring that broke about 60 miles from home). She just had to show me who is in charge of this relationship.

My complaints are:

Rides rough, especially when bobtailing. Not much can be done due to short wheelbase and spring ride.

Pulls great on flat land (I was keeping up with most of the big rigs, even passed a JB Hunt truck once) but falls flat on her face on hills. I blame the automatic transmission and maybe the governed speed (since the speedo and tach are both INOP I don't know what RPM she is set at).
Manual shifting helps but I don't know if it is bad for the big Allison or not (the 915 and 916's I drove in the Army had the CAT trannys in them).

The driver's seat is better than a milk crate, but not much. I have a set of Freightliner air ride seat that will be going in ASAP.

The cab rattles like a bunch of ball bearings in a soup can....got to get in there and tighten everything down.

All in all I am happy with her and will prob keep her around unless dire straights require me to pimp her off.

I know but I forgot the camera.....so sue me.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Passed a JB Hunt truck eh? Know how to say JB Hunt in german???? Schneider!!! Congrats on yer new toter.

 

[Alredneck]

Ahh Wrecker, you should be drawn n quatered You know better to roadtrip without a camera! At least you made it up there and back without having to many problems. Some of the 915s we had in the Army had headlight problems as well but dont remember the cause, maybe bad grounds Good haul and lets see some pics of em hoked together at least!

 

[salafrae]

did she agree to the second date?

 

[NDT]

I think your 915 and mine have the same issue with power. Reb87 advised it is the "P" part of the "PT" fuel injection pump. There is a steel tube that goes from the air box to the top of the pump, this sends a boost signal (Pressure) to the pump to step up the fuel. Our trucks are not getting that signal and are low on power. In his case it was a little filter.

While you are fixing the return spring, check out the condition of the throttle linkage ball studs, the rear one fell off on mine at a stoplight, leaving me to have to idle to the side of the road. McMaster Carr has them.

Yup the girls are always the boss!

 

[papabear]

Sounds like the truck fits you perfectly WM

 

[timntrucks]

glad you made it home in one peice.. what about fuel milage? did you get a close idea of mpg ?

 

[bobbed818]

NDT, I don't know if it will help on the bigger engines, but I had a 5.9 cummins with a P series pump. To get power quicker, I tapped a port on the outlet of the turbo and ran a pressure line from there to the IP. Saw a very noticable difference.

 

[BKubu]

I wonder if the Allison 5 speed has an impact on the truck's performance. There has to be a reason why they never went away from the CAT 16 speed semi-automatic in the heavier trucks (e.g., M916, M917, M919, M920). I know, driving my M917 empty, you are only in any gear for a second or two before you have to upshift. That NTC400 just pulls that truck right up to 2,100 RPM without hesitation and your a$$ is slammed back in the seat when giving it throttle. Given that your truck has the same motor, I have to believe it is transmission related. Your truck probably needs more than five speeds to really take advantage of the 400 HP. Just my thoughts...I don't have a lot of miles driving my M917.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

did she agree to the second date?

We should take heed of the Lady's question... What better way to learn how to "negotiate" with your M915's feminine side.

 

[pjpiche1]

 

[BugEyeBear]

AH! Good Times....


You have to remember to talk sweet to her until at least the THIRD DATE!!!

That's when things could get REALLY Interesting!!

 

[snakeater]

NNNAAAAAHHHHH..... just keep the throttle revved and she will come around. If that doesn't work put something shiny in the cab. Girls love shiny....Snakeater

 

[M1075]

I wonder if the Allison 5 speed has an impact on the truck's performance. There has to be a reason why they never went away from the CAT 16 speed semi-automatic in the heavier trucks (e.g., M916, M917, M919, M920). I know, driving my M917 empty, you are only in any gear for a second or two before you have to upshift. That NTC400 just pulls that truck right up to 2,100 RPM without hesitation and your a$$ is slammed back in the seat when giving it throttle. Given that your truck has the same motor, I have to believe it is transmission related. Your truck probably needs more than five speeds to really take advantage of the 400 HP. Just my thoughts...I don't have a lot of miles driving my M917.

Good point. Axle gearing is different too!

 

[wreckerman893]

Tim....I didn't check fuel milage but it prob got around 5-6 MPG since I bob tailed up there.
That trailer is heavy and has two axles (more drag) and has the aerodynamics of a cement block so I know milage wasn't all that great. Without a speedo I could not check fuel consumption against miles driven.

I am considering a change over to a standard transmisson and/or taller tires.
Since I will prob not be hauling heavy loads I may be able to live with the hill issue.

As of now I have $1800.00 in the truck, $314.00 for tags, and $265.00 for 6 months ins.
That's $2317.00 for a Class 8 road tractor ready to roll.

Jessica is a wanton floozy and more expensive than a mistress but I love her.

 

[snakeater]

Dave Roberts and I were at the yard in Campbell just last week. We probably saw your trailer there. We were up there to look at the m-35a3's and some generators. The shop truck they have listed on GL this month with the lift gate is extremely nice. They also have some 818's with very low miles. There is some really nice stuff left to come out of that yard. Another good place is jacksonville ark. They have several of the 5 ton command trailers there. Plus the gentleman that oversees that yard takes care of the stuff there. Good guy. We are seriously considering doing the same as you wreckerman, only with a 818. A few of us are getting a cumulative motor pool together so that we have a vehicle(or two) for every need.

 

[wreckerman893]

There may come a time when "we the people" need a good inventory of military vehicles.
Good old fashioned, reliable vehicles that can be repaired with hand tools, baling wire and duct tape.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes".

 

[PorscheTech911]

I love M915's, please please please put up some pictures of your truck. The more the better. I can't wait to buy one.

 

[jrou111]

Cool! So when can I come up and drive her?

 

[reb87]

You need to put a boost gauge in. My 915a1 amazes me with acceleration. I put 11.00rx24 tires off of my M919 on so I could go 70mph and that hurts the low end a little. The only problem Ive had was when parked in a field full of corn (90000lbs) the tires sink in a little and I have to floor it and wait for the torque convertor to spool up before it moves. Once it gets going though it accelerates like mad. I think the m915a1 would outaccelerate the m915 (once it gets started) because most of my time is shifting on the m915. The 16 gears definetely has the edge off road and for top speed but the m915a1 is much nicer to drive. The only time I manual shift mine is slowing down to keep the rpm up for the jake brake. If the field is a little muddy and I need to keep rpm up I use 1-3 range so it dosent shift up and I can keep it near redline in 3rd. If its a lot muddy I put on the m818.
Here is the prob I was having on my IP on the m915
"Been using the m919 to haul soybeans out of the field. Starting on Corn tomorrow. Got the IP problems fixed thanks to Steetbikedepo and Will Wagner. Thanks guys. Will, the problem I was having was a filter on the airline going to the afc(acutally threaded into the top of the brass checkvalve). It didnt show up at my cummins dealer and I finally had to take it apart to see what it was. There was a fiber filter over an metal filter and some kind of plastic check valve inside. I think the check valve was put in upside down because I couldnt see any way for it to work as it was. I changed it and now I have full power back. Im seeing 25-27 psi boost in 16th gear at redline."