Oshkosh 977 HEMTT 1987

[Karl kostman]

Hey guys I am once again delving into parts UNKNOWN?? I am looking at possibly doing some trading etc. to hopefully in the end have a 1987 Oshkosh 977 HEMTT in my hands. The truck is owned by a friend of mine and I know that he would never knowingly misrepresent something to me so I am very comfortable with that, he is a good guy! The truck odometer says 22K miles on it and appears to be in very nice shape, no rust no dents the rear crane has all new hydraulic hoses on it, tires look good etc. I know the Detroit is a wet sleeve engine so checking for any oil contamination in the coolant is rather hugely important, right along with air bubbles coming up in the radiator with the cap off! Is there other things that I need to check closely to insure they are in serviceable condition??
Again I have never owned a Detroit engine before only Cummins and CAT so this is all new to me!
Thanks much for your thoughts folks!

Karl Kostman

 

[sandcobra164]

The two things I love about my National Guard M984A4 wrecker are the absence of the 8V92 and the A4 has air conditioning. The Detroit sounds great for a short ride bit I'll just thank the taxpayers for giving me a Cat C15 in my new wrecker along with a/c. One thing the Detroit did well was drain the fuel tank. I average 5.5 mpg with the cat, Detroit normally came in around 3.5 mpg. I have no bias, I never paid for a drop of fuel in either truck.

 

[74M35A2]

Great. How about answering his questions?

 

[sandcobra164]

Will do. Look underneath for an oil drip or puddle on the ground. Pull the engine oil dipstick and confirm it it within operational range. Check coolant level, confirm it's good and run it!

 

[snowtrac nome]

On a 2 stroke Detroit bubbles in the cooling system most likely indicates a cracked head. One of my first jobs out of active duty was rebuilding road oiler heads, and iron lungs (blowers). We magnafluxed every head, and threw out as many castings as we kept, it could also be a leaky copper insert around the fuel injector. Reguardless the heads have to come off

 

[Karl kostman]

Thanks guys I will be checking over as much stuff as possible prior to purchase, well I had BETTER check it over good since if we get the deal done I have to drive it 200 miles home!!!
Karl

 

[snowtrac nome]

You might want to remove the thermostat, I have seen for some reason bubbling caused by bad thermostats. The fire decks on road oiler heads are real thin if the coolant level ever gets below the fire deck you can bet the farm you are going to crack a head. If the head gets warped or isn't resurfaced prior to rebuild it will never seal against the liners detroits don't use a conventional head gaskets. Even if you had to replace both heads with reman units it sounds like you are getting a good deal. also don't over heat it if they over heat the blower rotors will expand loke up and bust the blower drive shaft.

 

[HASSON1911]

Man sure sounds like a good deal. Hopefully your as happy as this guy in the picture. Karl is was good doing business. Looking forward to hearing how the trip went.

 

[Karl kostman]

Thanks Jake the truck ran great and there were some surprises (GOOD) I brought ear plugs thinking that 2 stroke screamer was going to be a problem, BIG surprise on the highway I couldn't even hear the engine I could hear the turbocharger whine and the tires, I believe this is one of the quietest truck I have ever driven. the next surprise was just plain how nice it was to drive, it went straight as an arrow down the highway with virtually zero effort. I ran the truck on the county hwy 50 mph and bumped it to 55 on the interstate that was a dead on 2K RPM. When the weather gets better I will be installing the hi-back air ride seats and doing a lot of cleaning and touch up work. In its final form I would really like it look like Ginzys 985, that truck is truly the BOMB!!!!!
Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions when I asked dumb question your time and patience has been very appreciated!!
Karl
NEW HWMTT OWNER