My weekend activites with my M35A2C
1) Fixed a pair of coolant leaks. Since purchasing the truck about 2 months ago I’ve noticed a little dribble of coolant when the engine is cold that usually starts about 11AM and dribbles about a cup over the next hour as the weather warms up. It does not leak when the engine is warmed up. Poking around, I noticed the coolant was dribbling down the passenger side of the block and following it up to the highest point there was a puddle under both of the short hoses for the coolant return manifolds (pics attached). The old rubber was quite cracked and I figured it was past time all of the hoses were replaced. I went to NAPA and got 1 foot of 1 5/8 and 1 foot of 2 inch diameter radiator hose. There are some posts here claiming the these little hoses are 1 ¾, but the hose I took off was marked 1 5/8, plus the 1 5/8 hose needed to stretch to get over the barb end of the manifolds and fit snug on the remainder of the manifold seal area as it should. I think 1 ¾ would be looser than it should and more likely to leak down the road. Radiator hoses should fit snug and you should not count of the clamp to make a loose fit seal properly. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I’m not going to do it.
I drained about 2 gallons of coolant. I cut the old hoses in half with a long razor blade, which made them a snap to remove. This is where I learned that I should have drained more coolant as a quart or so of coolant poured out as the first manifold came loose. My gaskets stuck the head side so that was where all the cleaning needed to be done. Scraping gaskets, what fun, NOT! I found that using a medium flat screwdriver at about a 75 degree angle and tapping it with a hammer chipped off the old gasket without marring the head. Then I scraped with a 1 inch wide putty knife to make sure it was flat. I removed the valve covers to make it easier to get the manifolds back on. I also used a syringe to suck the coolant from the blind screw holes and q-tips to clean out any of the leftover coolant. I also put anti-seize on all threads. I ran to NAPA to find a gasket, but they didn’t have one on the shelf that fit very well. Rather than ordering them from one of the surplus places, I decided to use RTV and it worked fine, no leaks! There’s a particular wiggle that lets the manifold clear the head studs while sliding the hose on. Someday I’ll get to all of those short 2 inch hoses. It’s only a matter of time till they start leaking.
2) Change spin-on primary and both secondary fuel filters.
Thank you to JATONKA for a great product and CastleBravo for leaving a spare set in the tool box and clearly marking the date, miles, and hours on the old filters. After spinning off the old filters I oiled the seals on the new filters with WMO, spun them on, and gave them the recommended extra ¾ turn. I was happy to see that the fuel in the old filters was completely clean and clear. I’ve drained about ½ cup the primary filter about once a month and got little bits of rust each time. I change the filters as a precaution, yet am convinced they kept any crud from my precious LDT-465 IP and injectors. Anyway, once the new filters were on I turned on the fuel pump and cracked the bleeder valve on top of the filter housing. It hissed for about a minute and then began to dribble fuel. I closed the valve and started the engine. It started and died twice, then on the third start I gave it a little extra throttle and it ran fine. The job took about 10 minutes including clean-up.
3) Loaded sod. Dug up and loaded a bunch of sod to put in new garden beds for the wife. A Honey-Do mixed with deuce fun! Since I have a M35A2C I pulled the truck up next to curb, dropped the passenger side cargo bed (pic attached), and enjoyed the easier access to the bed. It took all day, but I managed to load about 4 yards of sod. Oh, my back and shoulders…
4) Drilled and Tapped holes in both bumpers to mount my plates. I chose to put the front on the drivers side corner and the rear just right of center under the tailgate.
5) Took a pic of my cat enjoying the warm hood after a quick test drive.