Just picked up a deuce, some issues!

[YkDave]

Well, i just scored a pair of deuces for free. one runner and one parts truck.

The guy i got them from is somewhat knowledgeable of these trucks (he has quite a few) but hasnt touched this truck since he bought it in 2001. it was driven into his yard and walked away from...

Anyways, i spent last night and a bit of time tonight tinkering with it (and ALOT of reading during the days!) and ive got it running like a top, everything is perfect except for one thing.

The truck is perfect in any position on the high range side, but when you try anything in low range it tries to move the truck, but it wont. It only has enough power transfer to budge the truck about an inch and thats it, just slips from there.

Any ideas on what to look at?

Again, the guy i got it from hasnt the slightest clue, and even though im a young buck light/heavy mechanic, this thing was built over 30 years before i was born. not really something im used to working on! LOL

 

[YkDave]

oh, and it is a 303M transmission!

 

[srodocker]

You lucky dog you!! i want one of those deuces . and welcome to the site and i havent the slightest idea whats wrong with the truck..

 

[6x6guy]

Check to see if the shaft between transmission and transfer case is free and not bound up.
Did you check fluid levels.

 

[YkDave]

Fluid level is good.

Dont know for sure on the linkages. the lever feels fine, and the guy that i got these off of crawled under there and said the linkage appeared to move correctly (we compared it to one of his other good running m135s)

In the next few days, im going to try going through this thing from front to back. Neither of us know the state of repair this thing is in, so the only way to know is to go through it all!

In the mean time i was hoping to maybe get a few ideas to check out on this tranny while im under there.

This just seems weird to me. ITs like a badly slipping transmission, but how could that be when it works good in high range (which from what i can tell, the high/low range happens in a reduction after the trans), to me if high range works, low range should either work fine or not at all LOL

 

[Rivrdog]

Does that one have a Sprague Unit to split the power to front/rear? If so, the Sprague might have gotten stuck in some sort of intermediate position and be mostly unlocked.

Using heat lamps, warm up the transfer case to "hot to the touch" and drain/refill the xfr case. I'd also get the truck cribbed up off the ground, so you can engage gears while not moving, as well as doing all your under-chassis work more comfortably.

Just going through all the operator and local depot maintenance items will have you under that truck for several days. Get a big box of new Zerk fittings and change out every one which won't pass grease easily.

I dunno the schedule of lube variants for Severe Arctic, though, but make sure your Mil-spec and civvy-specs cross over in a decent jobber's book before you use any non-Mil lube in it.

 

[woodywood]

you can pm david doyle and see if he will give you his dads number mr edward doyle hes pretty sharp on those things i was talking to him not long ago and he said there is one position on the shifter that you should not use.not sure which one.but if you cant get his #mine is 901-334-6240 he is closeby to me and i can run over and get his number if need be.maybe david will see this post and be able to tell you more good luck!

 

[Gunfreak25]

you can pm david doyle and see if he will give you his dads number mr edward doyle hes pretty sharp on those things i was talking to him not long ago and he said there is one position on the shifter that you should not use.not sure which one.but if you cant get his #mine is 901-334-6240 he is closeby to me and i can run over and get his number if need be.maybe david will see this post and be able to tell you more good luck!

Your talking about high range reverse. From what I hear it was a design flaw in the Hydramatic, someone more knowledgeable than I can probably give the exact reason on why LOW range reverse only must be used.

 

[RAYZER]

Score of the century!! Hope you get it sorted out soon,welcome to ss!

 

[pete359]

Great score

 

[YkDave]

well, that sucks, if high range reverse is not advisable, i need to get this figured out ASAP!

I havent even started looking into oils yet, but the guy i got these off of runs a 0-30 i believe from esso (he has all the info) and has never had an issue yet. I will definitely be doing some reading up before just dumping any old oil in there!

Im just hoping that it is good enough to get the truck across town tomorrow when i get the ting insured and plated. I would rather do the work on the warm concrete floor than the 3" crush in my driveway LOL

 

[Gunfreak25]

First off, you are one lucky dog to get a free truck like that. Let alone two! The second one is probably best suited as a parts truck as putting axles back under it would probably cost more than what full complete trucks are worth. The M135/M211 series is an excellent truck and to be quite honest the round nose and 302 gas engine appeal to me alot more over the later A2 Mulfifuel series. These are sleek and sexy trucks that were way ahead of their time.

That being said, many of these trucks have not seen an ounce of preventative maintenance in over 30 years. Most seals and rubber lines will undoubtedly need replacing, you'll want to go over the ENTIRE braking system to make sure your wheel cylinders aren't full of rust and pitting, same for the brake lines, new fluids, etc. It's a simple truck and was well built, everything is just bigger. Preventative maintenance will take on a whole new meaning......

As for the infamous Hydramatic 302M tranny.
The problem with the high range is just something that all M135/M211 owners put up with. It's not really a big problem at all, just stick with low range reverse and you'll be fine. Some even block off the high reverse side of the shift tower to prevent accidental use of it.
Don't quote me on this, but I believe the problem with reverse high is it was geared too high and it was too hard on the rear cone.
It's much easier to drive these in reverse when in low range anyway. Some trannys will need to be adjusted after years of neglect, and the manual even calls for periodical adjustment of the front band. When everything is adjusted properly and in check it's a very reliable tranny and 95% of any tranny problems can be fixed from the outside without the need to drop or disassemble it. The 302M likes to shift a little rough, that is normal. Just stay rigid and your neck won't snap off when shifting.

There's a guy on EBAY that sells original manuals for about $30. I bought one and it was worth every penny. The Technical Manuals (TM's) for these begin on about page 8 or 9 in the resources tab below the main forum banner. They are much too big to view online so you'll want to right click on each one and download it so you can always have it handy on your PC. The manual is very specific and was a 50's version of "M211's for Dummies". I just refer to mine as "the good book".

 

[YkDave]

Yes it was a good score!

It definitely needs some TLC, Like i said, its sat pretty much untouched for the last 10 years. apparently Everything was gone through for the brakes, the front cylinders were good and he ended up replacing all 8 of the rear cylinders (more or less because he had the new ones and didnt want to mess with cleaning up the old ones, which he kept for possible future needs). Front and rear axles have been disassembled, new bearings, seals, ect. before it was parked.

I can vouch for the brakes and axles being rebuilt for sure because i found the box of old parts in the cab (full of junk LOL) and i even came across a brand new headgasket!

I have searched and found the complete repair and operations manual along with the manual on the tranny.

I plan to go through the linkage and band adjustments tonight and see where that gets me. according to the repair manuals diagnosis, its possible that the linkage is out of adjustment.

 

[Gunfreak25]

Wow! Calling you lucky WAS an understatement. Sounds like you know how to turn a wrench too, your going to love it!

 

[AMGeneral]

Seems odd that the reduction unit would stick in high vs low,unusual.

You may want to search for majortom's article on here titled,Hydramatic heaven,it'll probably help you out a lot.

 

[Flyingvan911]

Wow. That's an amazing catch. You have no idea how lucky you are!

 

[YkDave]

Wow! Calling you lucky WAS an understatement. Sounds like you know how to turn a wrench too, your going to love it!

Yup, been LD wrenching for about 15 years and the last ~8 years LD and HD. pretty good with a wrench, just not to knowledgable on this type of equipment. especially things that were built 30 years before i was LOL

 

[Gunfreak25]

It's a darn shame you are so far away, otherwise i'd make you an offer on one of those hardtops. I could really use one of them

 

[YkDave]

yea, the extra cab was a wicked deal too. The cab itself is in pretty **** good shap including the glass but the hood has a couple of small dings, easily repaired.

We were thinking maybe knock the box off of the truck, bob it and use the extra cab to make a crewcab. that would be one sick looking machine! But it would be a shame to cut up this truck, its in nice shape...

 

[gunboy1656]

The 302M likes to shift a little rough, that is normal. Just stay rigid and your neck won't snap off when shifting.

There's a guy on EBAY that sells original manuals for about $30.

1st, I wish I had that advice before I found out how hard a hardtop is

2nd, Don't go out and buy the manuals, they are under the resources tab. For free.

Seeing pics like this, makes me wish I had more money to work on mine. Good luck getting yours done.