My new M885

[Zemis]

Well I recently had my old truck totaled and was in the market for a new truck. I stumbled across my first MV. got it for 800$ someone was using it a a farm truck. for the most part seems in great conditon with 138,000 on it. seems that who had it before the farm owner did a lot of swaps on it. seems to have a power steering setup from a GM (at least what a mechanic friend of mine said) seems it was or is swapped over to 12v. it is on 33x12.5 AT's looks as if the rims are at least 10x16.
it might have a front bumper off another truck. and most def has gate off of my guess an 80's model dodge. as far as mechanically I know how to turn a wrench and do a decent bit of work myself, also have mechanic friends to help. as far as the wiring gose I have no clue, but it sure looks like a custom rewire.(Ill get motor pics soon). wanted to know what I need to know about this truck. current problems I have is power steering worked a few days, took it in the woods and got it a little wet and muddy and it stopped working I don't believe that the reverse lights work, no horn (simple fix I know.) wipers didn't work, got a plastic grommet for it and fixed. seal leak on the gas tank and possibly weak breaks, though it may just be its age and me use to driving a newer truck. But I must get this truck to pass inspection in nj. cause this will be my new DD. any advice or tips will help

 

[NDT]

Welcome to the site. Brakes are as good as any when working correctly. Looks for stuck pistons or calipers, or at that mileage, worn linings. Truck was always 12 volts, the 24 system was an add-on that is independent from the 12 volt system. Check for cracked hoses on top of the gas tank, there is a vent hose there which may be your problem. Make sure you keep the front wheel bearings well greased or bad things will happen. Fix any small rust spots fast because rust will get away from you if you keep the truck outside. Good luck.

 

[Zemis]

Ya i read alot on the site last night and learned alot about my truck. for the most part the only rust in the truck is at the very front of the bed along the seam, or lack of seam now. body in great shape. right now Im looking for a set of tail lights cause both are cracked with a few holes in em, wont fly in NJ inspection. and I hear a light noise from one of my tires, might be mud in the breaks might be a problem with not enough grease in the front you were talking about. im going to have to pull all the wheels off and check all the brakes. And I guess drop the gas tank to figure out where exactly its leaking from, my mechanic friend called a couple of places and didn't find it. said we could fix it our self. not sure about that.

 

[N1265]

No Horn : same fuse as the back up lights, check it first...

backup lights : could be the fuse, or could be a ground problem, Take the socket for the backup light and twist it in the housing ( with a pair of pliers ) they usually rust where they are pressed in and cause grounding issues.


weak brakes : put truck in gear, apply enough pressure to hold the truck at idle and keep your foot in the same position. If after a short period of time the truck wants to creep away then replace master cylinder. ( it is leaking internally and not holding pressure )


seal leaks : this truck has a plastic gas tank, the threads for filler housing may be stripped out, If so simply replace with oversize bolts...


The power steering pump comes from the same company that supplied GM. this is why they look the same. check belt, fluid, beat on it with a hammer, if problem still exists head to the junk yard for another pump...

let us know how you make out....

 

[Zemis]

ahh thanks for the advice, first off. You are right there is no fuse in the horn spot. Have not checked it yet but makes total sense.

I dont believe the breaks are leaking I have not noticed loss of pressure when having my foot on the gas. once again Ill check this.

im not sure about the gas tank im working on running all the gas outta it now so its easyer when we drop it. ill be sure to check were it is leaking and if its something with a bolt I know get a bigger bolt lol

power steering. first off the power steering belt is running on the middle grove and rubbing off the outside of the fan pully so its kinda kidney shaped if you know what I mean. I belive it would need to be on the front most grove but the power steering pump plate cant be moved out that extra inch or half inch cause then it would rub on another pully. just didnt seem done right to me. and yes I will try to hit it with a hammer, sounds the most enjoyable way to fix stuff. already had to hit my solenoid a few times when it got a lil wet.

 

[Zemis]

well so far iv tried the fuse for the reverse lights, it didn't work so ill have to check the grounds.

I checked the breaks and im not loosing pressure so i think the pads are just low and need to be replaced.

haven't gotten to the gas tank yet.

But last night I found a new odd problem. I noticed when I turn my head lights on that both turn signal arrows on my dash light up slightly, along with a small red dot at the bottom of the speedometer that I don't know what it is. I figured it was just cause the running lights where on..... Well this is where it gets odd when I turned my right turn signal on the left arrow started blinking, and vice versa. so I then got out of my truck with the turn signal on and low and behold the right signal is blinking. so the arrows on the dash swap sides but only when the head lights are one. i checked with just running lights and they blink the right sides. but once the head lights are on bam.. right is left and so on.

 

[Bob H]

Grounds

99% of all M880 electrical issues are ground related.

 

[N1265]

try the turn signals on high and low beam, if they work all right on low but not high then clean or replace the dimmer switch on the floor.

 

[Lifer]

Grounds

99% of all M880 electrical issues are ground related.

Delete "M880" from your post (above) and you'll still be correct!

 

[Zemis]

ok ill check the grounds for that, this truck was rewired so there is a slim possiblity since this truck has not been registered in many years that they simply never hooked up reverse lights (hope its not the case) . Ill try the floor switch, I know atleast they blink backwards on low beam not sure about high. (I live in the city so low is normal use.)

 

[Zemis]

well so far figured out my gas tank dont have bolts but we used some RTV to seal up the tank. couldnt find any place with a seal.

went and greased all the fitting including the ones in the front end, where you gotta take the tire off.

and installed the radio that was not wired in. (but thats an extra and was already in the truck just not wired right.)

still not sure about the power steering pump. can anyone tell me how its sopose to look cause like I said befor its on the middle track for the belt. and it rubbs the edge of the fan disk which is a cone at that spot

 

[Elwenil]

Note that the RTV seal is only temporary. Gasoline and it's vapors will eventually dissolve RTV silicone.

 

[Zemis]

good to know

 

[N1265]

here is a link to an thread on the subject of Power Steering. go to the second page and you will see some pictures of how the set up looks.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/m880/6843-power-steering.html

 

[Zemis]

im going to take a good look at mine and compare, I know mine is mounted in almost the same place, but sits higher. atleast 6 inchs I would think

 

[Zemis]

ok for the most part Iv tackled most of the little problems Iv had. But now iv seem to got a new one. i seem to have a low idle miss, idles rough and bogs out (and sometimes stalls) when I try to give it just a little gas, if I put the peddle down a little more she picks up and goes, problem only seems to be when idling or trying to just give it a little gas to move slow. checked and replaces wires and plugs all good spark all the way down, we checked firing order, checked the distributor looked good all contacts good. and we checked the compression on the cylinders all around 130

 

[Zemis]

Also A couple of photos of her out in the woods

 

[Zemis]

wile driving last night I acquired another problem, seems at some point in time wile driving my headlights stoped working, both of them, but only on low beam setting, if i put em on highbeam there on. low beam they are off, but all running lights and break lights still work....

 

[Elwenil]

Check the wiring, and headlamp grounds. If those check out, replace the floor mounted hi-beam switch.