longda M1009 Build Thread

[longda]

Well, I picked up my first M1009 two Saturdays ago from a post on ebay. Here's the original post with Q&A and pictures to start:

Up for auction is my 1984 Chevrolet K5 4X4 Blazer CUCV M1009 military vehicle. It is the predecessor to the H1 HUMMER. It has 78,220 miles on the original Detroit diesel 8 cylinder 6.2L engine and runs excellent. The 4 wheel drive works perfect. Dana 44, posi. Everything is heavy duty. It has the original automatic 3 speed transmission and shifts smoothly. Power steering/power breaks work excellent. The frame and the truck body are pretty much rust free. There are three small rust spots on the wheelwell edges and bottom of door and a little bit on the bottom of the windshield frame.Everything works on this truck. All electrical in good operating condition. The truck sits on almost new 31x10.5 Goodyear Wrangler all-terrains with original rims. It has custom front bucket seats. The back seat is stock and in excellent condition. Custom cup holders and center console with built in speakers. It has the original pintle hitch and also a regular ball hitch. The glow plugs have a spring loaded switch style set up which is superior to the ignition style set up. All windows are there and work including the rear window. It gets about 20-25 miles per gallon. 2 batteries, 2 alternators. I searched far and long for a nice example of the D10 Military Blazer. Now"s your chance to get it. Current registration. Clear Title in hand. Not sure why the vehicle history report isn't available. Took the VIN# right off the door stamp?

Q: Hello, I was wondering, are the holes for the original antenna mounts on both sides of the truck still there? I would be putting the antennas mounts back on and was just wondering if the holes were still there with the treads or maybe filled in? Does this truck have the original "black out lights" switch panel? Is it still 24 volts with both batteries and the 24 volt starter and alternator? Do you have any service info for lube, oil, trans, filters, brake pads? The paint (not that it matters LOL) looks like FLAT black, is that correct? Sorry if I missed any of this in the description. I live in Los Angeles and if I win the auction I have the cash in hand or a bank check if you want and would just drive up to pick up the truck so no shipping hassles. Thanks for any info

A: the holes are still there and threaded on the driver side. However on the passenger side the previous owner filled the holes. The truck does have the original black out switch panel which is fully functional. It is still 24v with the 2 battery/2 alternator set up. Dont have service records because the previous owner who bought the truck at auction is a helicopter pilot and did all the maintenance himself. T he brake pads are in good shape. The paint is flat black. Good luck.

 

[longda]

More pics:

 

[longda]

A few things I noticed at the initial inspection:

* Top has NOT been painted black (still green/brown camo up top)
* Civ radio is not functioning
* To compensate, was given an additional new glow plug relay
* Passenger side door handle does not work from inside
* Passenger side window does not roll up

All in all, not a bad deal. Took her out for a test drive and she runs pretty well. Started right up, shifted easily, transfer case work cleanly so I was pleased.

 

[longda]

After driving my new rig back from Santa Barbara, I noticed that there were a few oil drips underneath and the axle, oil pan, and transmission were coated in oil. Since it was a short week, I got to work fixing up the following mechanical issues:

* Replaced the oil pan gasket
* Replaced the crankshaft oil seal
* Replaced the transmission pan gasket
* Replaced the fuel pump
* Replaced the transmission filter
* Replaced all four shocks
* Noticed that the rear drivers side lower mount had been rolled/bent under the axle and broken off at the bottom hardware of the shock - looks like someone was crawling and rolled back into a boulder or something - I'll post some pics later (on my phone)
* Since I'm no good at welding, let the shop take care of repairing the lower shock mount
* Replaced the passenger side window regulator (gears on the old one were stripped)
* Replaced the alternator belts
* Changed the engine oil
* Changed the transmission fluid
* Changed the gear oil

Still need to get the wheel alignment fixed and have another tiny leak somewhere. Looking to get those fixed this week and then dig into the electrical soon. More pics coming soon...

She's running pretty well now though... very smooth.
*

 

[idM1028]

Welcome to the Military Vehicle Addiction Support Network, I mean Steel Soldiers. Looks like a pretty good pick. Other than the other CUCV-specific stuff, keep an eye on the axles. The 10-bolts in the 1009's seem to like to go "bang." Whenever I get my alignments done, I go down to Firestone. IIRC, I bought the whole "lifetime alignment" thing for $180 when I had my last truck and they still honored it when I got the new one. After about 5 or 6 alignments, it pretty much pays for itself.

 

[TSgt.Kuchta]

Congrats on the fine M1009 and welcome aboard.

 

[combatmech]

Nice truck longda!! Sounds like you are on your way to having a great running truck!! The frame of your truck looks really clean. Did it spend it's life out west?

 

[longda]

Thanks guys!

@idM1028 - Thanks for the tip! I'll keep an eye on those axles next time I'm under!

@combatmech - Yup, spent her whole life on the left coast. So the story goes, as it was told to me, that this one lived her whole life on base down at Camp Pendleton. Apparently, it belonged to a helicopter pilot after being removed from service and this guy took pretty good care of her. After that, she was sold to the guy I bought her from up near Santa Barbara. Just a few rust spots on the doors and near the windshield frame which seems to be typical from what I've seen posted. Also a few spots inside where water has gotten in at the seals it appears.

 

[longda]

First pic is the busted shock next to what it should look like, more or less. Mount was snapped clean off! Also a few pics of the old fuel pump. Hard to see in these but it was leaking right at the seam in the middle where the top and bottom pieces come together. You can also see the snapped off shock mount in the third pic. The last pic just shows the box of all the crap we ripped out including all the belts.

 

[OL AG '89]

What did the front seats come out of they look sweet!!

 

[longda]

What did the front seats come out of they look sweet!!

Hey OL AG '89,

I'm not sure exactly what those buckets came out of and I wasn't sure if I'd like them at first but they are comfy! They have the lever on the back side of them that allows you to fold them forward from the "back seat" which I believe is common on some two door rigs.

I'll take some pics of the janky mounts that were used to bolt them in. Look terrible but seem to be working well and hold my weight pretty well.

DL

 

[longda]

Since my last set of posts, had to replace the rear main seal, which was a joy. Still have a leak somewhere so I'm trying to track that one down.

Also had some surface rust in the bed that I ground off, primed, and rattled canned back to a decent finish. Still need to finish prepping for the Herculiner.

Last week, took apart the dash to figure out why the installed radio was not working. Looks like the guy who put in the manual glow plug switch mis-wired the radio in. Basically the radio was only working when the manual switch was engaged. Moved the lead over to the switched power terminal on the switch and now it's good as new (though I'm not sure I like how it's daisy chained off the manual switch).

Last weekend, ran a power line from the front battery into a fuse block the cab for powering misc electronics. Connected and ran lines for the Tiny Tach through the firewall as well. Only thing is the fuse block is always on... need to figure out if that's what I want. Probably will need to hook the Tiny Tach up to a switched power source.

I'll post some pics soon.

 

[longda]

Also, my electrical is doing some weird stuff with the headlights on. First, the headlights and instrument cluster lights have a faint flicker while idling at a light in gear. More annoying than anything but just not sure if it's a sign of other problems. Second, my gen 1 light comes on when I have my headlights on and I'm idling in park. Very strange indeed.

Check out the video below:

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wN_wFYejw0g?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wN_wFYejw0g?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

M1009 Gen 1 Light On - YouTube

 

[SGT LongT]

Also, my electrical is doing some weird stuff with the headlights on. First, the headlights and instrument cluster lights have a faint flicker while idling at a light in gear. More annoying than anything but just not sure if it's a sign of other problems. Second, my gen 1 light comes on when I have my headlights on and I'm idling in park. Very strange indeed.

Check out the video below:

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wN_wFYejw0g?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wN_wFYejw0g?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

M1009 Gen 1 Light On - YouTube[/QUO

Looks like a loose ground connection. If your a decent spark chaser you can find the schematics in the Training Manuals (TM) for free on this site, but really just going around and cleaning all your electrical contacts is a good idea. You can use contact cleaner spray if you like. A small wire brush from a gun cleaning kit works, or emery boards (sandpaper nail files) work really good on the small stuff. There is a saying on this site that I am quickly finding out to be very true "If it is rubber replace it, If it is electrical clean it." I myself am also new to the M1009 and I have the green fever. Every day I find myself doing something to the truck or planning something down the road. You will find idea, after idea, after idea on this site and they just keep coming

Welcome to Steel Soldiers I mean

 

[mr.travo]

Did you solve your light issue?