Got a Deuce! '62 M35A1

[DavidWymore]

Well, crawled around on it and couldn't figure out what was what and what went where due to all the gunk so I pressure washed it but haven't had a chance to do anything else. Starting to get the fuel system, figuring out the electrical mess is next...then maybe I'll try firing her off.

 

[DavidWymore]

I never did work on it any more, got distracted/busy/weather is hot, etc. I found out one of my ag customers has one they use for a water truck and he looked at mine and said it looked like everything is there except the fuel lines are plastic/cracked. He said replace 'em and fire it off.

My dodge is broken so I reckon it won't mind if I borrow it's batteries.

We ended up yanking the tank off to make a water trailer so the truck is mine to play with.

 

[fasttruck]

Tank must be 1500 gallons and extra springs were added as this is enough water to way overload stock suspension. But if they did not change axles or brakes it is still capable of being loaded beyond capacity. Appears to be a gas job retrofitted with diesel engine and enough unengineered alterations to make it unsafe for stationary storage never mind operation. Parts truck.

 

[DavidWymore]

Tank must be 1500 gallons and extra springs were added as this is enough water to way overload stock suspension. But if they did not change axles or brakes it is still capable of being loaded beyond capacity. Appears to be a gas job retrofitted with diesel engine and enough unengineered alterations to make it unsafe for stationary storage never mind operation. Parts truck.

 

[DavidWymore]

So...it got back burnered again, until tonight. I put water in the radiator, it has a leak, as well as a leaky hose in the cooling system above the injection pump. Here in the desert, you can pretty much expect all the rubber to be crispy.
The original wiring is corroded away, so someone had added some very basic replacement wiring, which is also toast.
Put juice to the fuel pump, it doesn't run/pump.
Jumped the starter solenoid, it clacks, and the starter spins, but doesn't engage.
I'm thinking about rigging up a 12v electrical fuel pump off a battery, replacing the cracked plastic return lines, and push starting it, just to see if and how it runs, and then parting it out. Do you guys think it's worth the effort to see how it runs? I was told it ran when parked, but that was a decade or two ago.

Thank You

 

[Jeepsinker]

If you have a title for it I would fix it. A whole truck wiring harness can be had for under $400, plastic fuel lines are cheap, just use dot air line. The button has probably dropped off the bottom of the hydraulic head too. Maybe a two hour job to fix that. $50 for an in tank lift pump on EBay and then the truck should run. If it has a title and isn't totally rusted out I would fix it. No title?.... Part it out.

 

[rustystud]

I agree with jeepsinker. If the body is not rusted out, fix it. The biggest problem with these trucks is fixing the body and frame. The engine and transmission and differentials can be repaired or easily replaced. So can the electrical, but the body is another matter. Not many complete cabs laying around anymore or beds.

 

[DavidWymore]

No paperwork, but I might be able to lien it and register it green sticker (off road only) or Ag. I really just want a 6x6 for offroad goofing around in my local desert. Legit original military config doesn't really matter to me. However, if it's going to cost a bunch of time and money to get it running, I could use the money from parting it elsewhere.


Body is rusted and dented. Hood, fenders, floor, hardtop, window frames. Front glass is broken.
No bed, rear bumper, or lights. Pintle hitch is broken.
Frame has "un-engineered alterations".
Radiator hole (bottom is so rusty it may need replaced)
All rubber needs replaced (including tires).
I imagine the brake system probably needs major work/replacement, as well as axle boots.
There is no belt on the air compressor. It has belts but they are shorter, as if they intentionally bypassed the compressor. It turns, but either it doesn't work or the air systems leaks badly or something. The gladhands are missing off the back, air lines left open.

I dunno, I will probably continue to tinker with it and see if it runs and go from there. I could do just enough wiring to actuate the starter and trash everything else. Ditch all the sheetmetal below the frame, move the fuel tank up on the back, take the middle 2-3' out of the frame, build a roll bar to make it a stubby little 6x6 off road tractor.

A friend just got a 5 ton for $3500 from auction, what are deuces going for these days?

Thanks

 

[swbradley1]

A friend just got a 5 ton for $3500 from auction, what are deuces going for these days?

Thanks

Depends on the Deuce and the region of the country. Some as low as $2,500 and upwards of $8k. Depends

 

[Jeepsinker]

That is a parts truck. I've torched up trucks in better shape. Part it out, save the money, and buy one that is in better shape and has a title. Sorry man.

 

[DavidWymore]

Got a 12v electric fuel pump rigged up. Still need to replace more lines....


I got curious about the starter running but not engaging so I pulled the little hat off the back. Lo and behold the screws that hold the rear section of the starter to the main body must have gotten loose. They don't have any threads on them anymore and were laying in the hat. Shouldn't be too hard to fix, hopefully that's all that's wrong with it.

 

[smoothoperator]

Good find

 

[DavidWymore]

The starter screws had just rattled out. Put new ones in, cranked it quite a bit several times...no start. The diesel in the tank is very old...tried using carb cleaner for starting fluid, no start. Might drain some of the old diesel and replace with some gas, I figure it's more flammable and might start easier. Planning to keep plenty of diesel in it for lubrication, and might as well burn it.

Does the engine need anything besides pressure to the fuel pump/injection pump and the starter cranking to run? The fuel shutoff was stuck, got it off, cleaned, and freed up. I don't know if the in cab "on" switch is doing much. The electrical is horrible, but the battery charge indicator gauge does flick to "good" when the switch is turned on.

Thanks

 

[DavidWymore]

Got it to run on starting fluid for a min, now to see why it won't run on fuel...

 

[DavidWymore]

Disconnected one of the injector lines and ran it on starting fluid for 30 seconds or so. Only got a few little spits out of the injector line. Opened the drains and bleeders on all the fuel filters and got good pressure with the electric pump running.

 

[DavidWymore]

Stayed up late reading on the forum and the TMs last night. Came out today and cranked it with the center plug in the hydraulic head removed and checked for vertical movement. It's hard to tell with the engine cranking and bouncing up and down, but I'd say it's moving up and down about 3/16". Get a good steady stream out of the HH plug hole if I turn the electric pump on, and I get a pretty good pulsing flow out of that hole when I crank it even with the electric pump off, so I hope that means the high-pressure pump is working. Pretty much out of ideas, stumped and frustrated. A kick in the right direction would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DavidWymore]

Installed a pressure gauge in the final filter bleeder port. Electric pump makes 32 PSI. When I crank it the pressure dropped slightly. With the injector lines disconnected they dribble a little bit. I'm beginning to think that the high pressure booster pump is not working. With the electric pump off I get no pressure at that gauge while cranking.

 

[DavidWymore]

Video uploading, I ran it on an artificial supply of air/gasoline into the turbo intake for a few minutes while I fiddled with the IP throttle and shutoff rod to no avail. Gauges = 60PSI of oil, tach about 1,000 RPM. No fuel pressure at filters unless electric pump is running. Thinking the high pressure pump is kaput. Didn't see a replacement procedure in the TMs. The TMs are mind-numbing to slog through....

Is there a chance my 30psi elec pump is too much pressure...?

There is a drip, drip leak inside the shutoff housing with the engine running, but not with the engine off and the electric fuel pump running. Looks more like oil than fuel, but hard to tell. Probably some bad seals on way or another.

So maybe my elec pump is pushing the fuel up into the HH, but not with enough pressure for it to inject, hence the slight dribble at the injector lines and flow out the center plug of the HH.

I got in the cab and played with the trans with the engine running...doesn't look good. I can see the prop shaft through the floor of the cab. Trans will go into R but not 1st...and in R, it wants to go forward if I engage the Tcase. With the Tcase in N, I can see the prop shaft spin with trans in R position. If I put it in any other gears, even with the case in N, the prop shaft does not turn, and the engine bogs down if I let the clutch up, as if the trans is locked up internally. Parking brake is MIA, I can turn the driveshafts by hand and roll the truck.

 

[DavidWymore]

Aha! I suspected the spring loaded pressure regulator valve (opened and cleaned it earlier) , so I dead- headed the high pressure pump to the gauge, cranked it with no elec pump and was rewarded with the gauge going all the way around past 60 to the pin at zero. Perhaps the regulator valve is weak or stuck open. The pressure did drop almost immediately after I stopped cranking.

 

[DavidWymore]

I thought about bypassing the regulator and filters and going straight to the FDC or the HH, but that might be too much pressure...hmmm. Maybe it's as simple as the fuel filters are plugged up solid and so all the fuel or most of it is bypassing to the regulator valve and just returning to the tank.