Time for a no nonsense, come to Jesus moment, about m1009

[Cucvnut]

Good choice to keep it. You would have kicked your self the moment it drove away with a new owner

 

[NMC_EXP]

MATH1960:

You and I are in a similar state of mind.

I like simple, no frills vehicles. The M1009 fits that category plus it can get 20mpg. I bought an M1009 last fall fully expecting to spend time and money to correct problems caused by hard use, deferred maintenence and sitting idle prior to sale. However, it seems I fix one thing and two more problems crop up.

I have a twinge of regret at not putting all that money into my '79 FJ-40 Tojo instead and buying something small and cheap for a daily driver . The Land Cruiser gets 12 mpg so a daily driver it ain't.

Also, I've crossed the tipping point regarding the amount of money I've put into the M1009 compared to what it would sell for so I'll continue the debugging process and hope I'm getting to the point where routine maint. is all that's required.

Folks say you must expect this with a 25 yr old vehicle. I disagree - machines wear out due to miles and operational hours, not the calendar. The exception is non-metallic components such as hoses, belts, gaskets, seals & etc. Non-metallic materials are degraded by ambient conditions over time even without use.

Good luck in school. I suspect you'll do well relative to the dumbed down, un-motivated, mouth breathing 20 somethings you will be surrounded by.

Regards

Jim

 

[ABN173]

My experience thus far has been great. In the past 14 months my M1008 has been a daily ride to and from work, as well as driving it to a few rallies and even a FTX out at Yakima. The only thing I have had to do is oil changes, change one headlight when the low-beam went out, and JB-welded the overflow nipple back onto the radiator neck.

I had a 2003 Dodge Durango that gave out right after my move up to here to Washington.....I spent more than it was worth in repairs. It just goes to show you newer is not always better.

I think you will be fine, besides if you work through these issues when they come up, that should in itself make it more reliable.

Having said that there are lemons out there (both new and old) but only you can make the call when enough is enough.

I wish you the best in getting her fixed up and more reliable though.

-Dale

 

[IdahoPlowboy]

I, too, along with many on here, have a love-hate relationship with my CUCV. The love for me is from having a big green military Chevrolet that is relatively easy to work on. The hate is from having a Chevy that is underpowered, old and prone to unexpected failure. Add in the obsolete and unavailable parts, 24v weirdness and it can be a pain.

But for someone starting with almost no mechanical experience to speak of, this has been an ideal truck to learn on . The parts are cheap when they're available, and there's a ton of resources for K5 owners and vintage Chevy afficionados.

Financially, it can make sense if you look at it a certain way:
-It's paid for. I'll never have a credit collector call me or a repo-man threaten to take away my transportation due to a family hardship. You get to take home a titled vehicle for the price of a down-payment on a new truck.

-If I put a cheap car payment's worth of cash into parts and maintenance each month, I'm really not having too many reliability issues. Think about it: how sweet a ride could you make your CUCV if you spent $200-300 a month. But most don't. They just want to drive the pi$$ out of a 25-year old truck without taking time for upkeep.

-In addition to the money, this truck requires a time investment. It's old. For me that's part of the fun; it's a hobby just like mountain biking, hiking, and motorcycling. Owning this truck is also an exercise in character development. I consistently am tested in my patience as I encounter sometimes very frustrating situations with the beast. That's how we grow.

-There is a pride and sense of accomplishment when you've taken the personal time and financial investment to buy something old and beaten down and make it "new" again. To know that you took something discarded, then you've sweat, bled, and cursed, but ultimately ended up with something that you really enjoy, and that others envy.

There are better 4x4 diesels to be sure. But for someone who's thrifty and resourceful, enjoys a challenge, enjoys working on vehicles and loves the military despite it's obstinate trend toward sadism in all it does, these are really hard to beat.

This is what I have done with mine and it has made all the difference, My truck is a very dependable and road worth investment.

 

[Iceman3005]

If you want too sell it pm me. As for me they are the heavy k series truck that chevy made! You can't beat the gm 14 bolt with a detroit locker and a dana 60 up front. There simple and cheap to repair. NO ELECTRONICS PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look at buying a used vehicle that was only 5-10 years old, after monthly payment, insurance and the occasional repair(can get quite costly because its a newer vehicle) these military trucks will pay for themselves in less than 3 years.

Okay lets brake it down slightly used cost 15,000, payment 350 a month, insurance 200 a month, minor maintence 50 a month, two major repairs a year 2000(remember newer vehicle higher cost of parts) example a alternator can cost for most vehicles 300-400. times all this by 12 =9200 a year, now lets figure fuel at 25 miles per gallon at 300 miles a week=$48 x 52=2496 so total for a newer vehicle =11696

Now lets figure a cucv initial cost 2500, no payments, insurance 40 a month, minor maintence 75, major repairs initially 2500 for first year, after the first year 1000 per year, times by 12=6380 no lets firgure in fuel at 15 mpg at 300 miles a week=80 x 52=4160 so for the first year total is 10540, but the second year there is no cost too purchase and maintence goes down so for second year cost =6540, thats almost half of a newer vehicle. Now I just installed an overdrive trans in my cucv and I'm up too 21 mpg so fuel cost for me now is $2912 per year. Can you see the saving over a 3, 4, or even a 10 year period? I can!

 

[usmcpatriot]

What has worked for me is to FIRST go to a spin on fuel filter, get rid of the old coffin fuel filter and housing. Use the old bracket, get some brass fittings, fuel in fuel out. Second get rid of the resistor step down bank, directly behind the engine on the firewall, that way if one glowplugs go, the resistor will continue to push electricty to the other GP, burning them out, change to ACG60 self regulating GP, grease everything check all the fluids, repack wheelbearings!!!!!! My truck is my BOV, super reliable....starts every time no hesitation in cold weather hot weather....Now dont get me wrong, I've rebuilt both alternators, rewired my GP harness, added a third battery, towed once, free thanks to GIECO...Ok this all being send remember.... AIR, FUEL, ELECTRIC, diagnose these problems first.....Hoped this helped.

 

[cjtroutt]

In My opinon You should go over all the tm -10 -12 -14 -20 -24 -34 and learn them well
and do a level of Maint - 10 and - 20 and after you can achive it do level 30TI maint and peform maint level that would give you what you want to get out of your prize.
Maint on a 24 Volt system is not bad to work on and Warthog & Doghead gone through this to.
I put the TM-9-2320-289-10 read this PDF and you will start to under stand what a CUCV
is.
Hope this helps in your quest.

 

[forest522]

I just found this thread after searching "reliable 6.2" After having one of 'those' days of part confusion, anger, a little regret then pride and determination...and then reading some of these posts - especially Hardcorps79 - I am feeling the pride again. Hang in there, stay ahead of the maintenance curve! Oh, and keep up the AAA membership.

Seriously, thanks to everyone, great thread!