WSUCougarx's M561 Gama Goat Acquisition and Build Thread

[Jericho]

Glad your % wheel brackets are in god shape , mine were as nice , YOUR RIGHT CLEAN. Gasket, little gasket paper and gently tap the outline with the ROUND end of a ball peen, will cut a perfect gasket.

 

[wsucougarx]

Start Up after Fuel Pump Rebuild

Well today was the day to verify if the fuel pump was the issue with the power loss with the Gama Goat's 353. I would have started her up a couple weeks ago, but the 8 year old batteries decided they were too tired. With my work schedule and family, I hadn't had time to head up to our local Costco to secure a couple Interstate batteries. My wife was in Olympia last night and stopped by to pick up a couple for me. I had to rummage around for the proper battery terminals as the previous owner removed them for non-post batteries. It never amazes me, you see the finish line and you're ready to cross and then all of a sudden.....rabbit trail. I siphoned the fuel lines with my suction gun to ensure I removed as much air as possible. I also filled up the secondary fuel filter housing to the max.
The moment of truth came. I pulled the fuel shut-off and pushed the starter. I wanted to make sure I didn't hear any weird clanks from an improperly installed fuel pump fork. Everything sounded good, so I went for it. That Detroit screamed back to life without a hiccup. She idled outstanding w/fuel pressure at 29 PSI and WOT at 70 PSI. Looks like everything was installed correctly and the oil seals indeed were the culprit to the power loss. Thank God it was something fixable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwxtU9gl_Gc

 

[wsucougarx]

Helper

Almost forgot to acknowledge my little helper. My little almost 2 year old son insisted on turning the wrench on the fuel pump. The little guy dragged his little tike plastic chair over to the kitchen to stand on. It was awesome to see this little guy has caught the bug We finished up the project by having a catch.

 

[wsucougarx]

Hw-20-2

Well, just when I thought this project was winding down, another project idea popped up. I picked up this little NOS heater unit from Memphis Equip for $80 shipped. I'm gathering fittings and shutoff valves at the moment. Though it's a challenge keeping the cab warm without the doors on, I'm trudging forward with this project. My wife and daughter support this part of the project 100%I have an idea of where I'm going to mount it and where to tap into the coolant system to make it work. I don't want to share my ideas until I make sure it works. I'll post a video once I get the project completed to explain everything (looking forward to the dislike).
I thought about the fuel fired heater under the passenger seat idea. But that was quickly dismissed as I don't like the idea of having a fuel fired anything in the cab.
Project Cost:
1) M151A2 Heater $80 shipped

 

[combat32]

Glad the fuel pump worked out, i think im gonna go with a 24v electric heater in mine. It will be a challenge to plumb that one in but I'm sure you can do it.

 

[Another Ahab]

Well today was the day to verify if the fuel pump was the issue with the power loss with the Gama Goat's 353.

That vid was a treat, start-up like a champ!

But mostly just to look at the engine compartment, Brother that is clean in there. Nice.

 

[wsucougarx]

KY-57/HYP-57 and Battery Terminals

Got a couple more deliveries today from the USPS. This was yet another unplanned purchase. I had no intention of buying the KY-57/HYP-57 but I made a mistake. You see I bought a set of KY-57 cables from a fellow SS maddawg308. I had the said cables sitting in a box in the garage. Every time I passed by them, I thought "Why in the world did I buy these cables, I don't even have anything for these cables to go with". So a couple weeks passed, then a couple months. I passed by the box of cables again and wondered if there was a demilled KY-57 for sale on my favorite auction site. And there she was!! A listing by yet another fellow SS tbanks for a KY-57. There were no bids on it and there was only 10 minutes left in the auction. I tried to get myself away from my phone but there she was...no home. As the clock ticked down to 15 sec, I threw down the minimum bid with no competition. And that's how that happened. I picked up the NOS HYP-57 for dirt cheap on the same auction site.
I also got my much needed military battery terminals.
Project Cost:
1) KY-57 $125 shipped
2) HYP-57 $30 Shipped
3) Battery Terminals $23 shipped

 

[combat32]

We called that the vincent, usefull as it gave you secure comms but i hated that quirky bastid!

 

[combat32]

I think vinson was the actual acroynm, but dont remember what it stands for.

 

[Another Ahab]

Got a couple more deliveries today from the USPS.
I also got my much needed military battery terminals.

What makes them "military", wsucougarx; manufactured to mil spec?

 

[wsucougarx]

Battery..making it fit

As stated previously, my wife was gracious enough to pickup a couple batteries at Costco. The two batteries she bought were the biggest ones they had at the time. I opted to go with a non-military battery because, quite frankly, I haven't had much luck with the 6tl military batteries. Luckily the batteries were wide enough to utilize the battery hold down bracket. However, they're not deep enough so I made a spacer out of some dense foam I had laying around. The batteries are pretty secure.
I've got a spare 24v solargizer left over from my M925A1 GunTruck project. I may need to utilize it for this project. I haven't figured out where I can mount her discretely out of sight. More to follow on that.

 

[Another Ahab]

That is sure some HEAVY battery cable you're using there, wsucougarx.
I bet that wire carries some current!

is that 4x0 cable?!

 

[wsucougarx]

11.00x18 Tire Chains

Well, we can chalk this up as another impulse buy of sorts. Don't need them, don't ever see myself needing them. But as the phrase goes "Better to have and not need than to need and not have" resonated through my thoughts. I took the family on a drive to Portland, OR this afternoon to meet up with a fellow SS. He had a set of 6 total tire chains he bought some years back brand new and had no use for them. So rather than have them neglected on his garage floor, I thought I'd buy them and have them neglected on my garage floor instead. I haven't really been in the market for tire chains for any of my MV's. However, I thought the chains might be beneficial if I ever decide to take this Goat out to the Wynoochee Dam area.
Project Cost:
1) M561 Chains (3 sets) $40

 

[Another Ahab]

I took the family on a drive to Portland, OR this afternoon to meet up with a fellow SS. He had a set of 6 total tire chains he bought some years back brand new and had no use for them. So rather than have them neglected on his garage floor, I thought I'd buy them and have them neglected on my garage floor instead. I haven't really been in the market for tire chains for any of my MV's. However, I thought the chains might be beneficial if I ever decide to take this Goat out to the Wynoochee Dam area.

Makes perfect sense to me!

 

[wsucougarx]

Op Urgent Fury Gear

Throughout the past few months, I have been hitting flea markets and surplus stores for gear. Specifically 1983 and earlier ALICE based gear. Well, I seemed to have forgotten what I have and don't have. As a result, the carrier is full of gear. My name is Mike and I have a problem. I've secured the proper cammies to go with this theme as well. I've got some white labelled early woodland BDU's and ERDL RDF. Once the weather get's better, I'll get everything sorted and attached for a photo op.

 

[wsucougarx]

Follow Up to Low Power Issues....Fuel Issue finally solved!!!!

I also would spend some time making sure the pickup tube in the tank is clear. According to an article I have in my archives the tube has no filter on the end and sits about 1/2" above the bottom of the tank. Depending on how clean/dirty your tank is it may be clogged. In the article they ended up cutting out the original tube and replacing it. I know mine took a lot of work to get it clean, I spent a lot of time on it as it is welded in the tank making it more difficult to clean. To compound the issue the pickup tube is behind the baffle in the tank making it impossible to reach. I would disconnect the line from the top of the tank and rig a short length of tube and attach an outboard motor fuel line with primer bulb and see how much flow you can achieve. Also check to see if there was any dirt in the pressure relief valve that was in your fuel pump.

First off, Mark nailed it before I figured out what the deal was today.
As posted earlier, I rebuilt the fuel pump, replaced the fuel filters, and used a pump to suck fuel through the pick up tube. The truck idled awesome and I had great fuel pressure. A few days ago, my son wanted to go to his friends house. I thought this would be a great time to take the Goat out to make sure the truck was good to go. To my surprise, I still had the sputtering engine sound when at higher RPM's. I figured my issue was something more major. I pulled the Goat into the garage and kept her idling. I checked my new fuel pressure gauge and it was reading ZERO. I figured not only did my "fix" not work but the newly purchased gauge was a bust. I figured it would be good to leave her alone for a few days. I went out tonight to start her up to see if the issue was still there. Sure enough, I gave her some fuel and she started sputtering like she was up against the governor again. I checked the fuel gauge and she was again reading ZERO. I just stared at the gauge thinking maybe she was correct and the truck really wasn't getting fuel. My attention turned to what Mark said about the pickup tube. I knew I sucked fuel through but didn't push air through to "clear" it. So I grabbed the air hose and stuck it down the tube and removed the fuel filler lid. I pulled the trigger to send air into the tube...nothing. Then I heard a pop and finally heard the bubbles in the tank. So, all this time the pickup tube was partially clogged. I immediately grabbed a bucket and started draining the tank to find all kinds of black debri floating around. I hooked everything up to find my "broken" gauge was actually working. I opened her up to WOT and no sputtering!! Thanks MARK!!!!!

 

[m38inmaine]

Glad it cleared, however it's just going to do it again at the worst possible time. It sucks but I would drain and remove the tank and boil it out. I used Marine Clean from por 15. I heated the tank on a coleman stove with the solution inside, rolled it around the yard a while and repeated. Also use a fish wire to ream out the pickup tube, when you think its clean spray some brake parts cleaner down the tube and look into the tank, if it is still coming out brown you have more work to do. I spent a whole day on each tank before they were clean. I also deleted the right hand tank, even though I cleaned it. I removed the hose under the tank and plugged both the tank and crossover tube on both sides. I am only using the drivers side tank which is more than enough fuel for any trip.

 

[Jericho]

You will want to check the cross over fill equalizer tube between the tanks as well. If you fill one tank and the other is slow to equalize it's jammed as well. Very common

 

[wsucougarx]

You will want to check the cross over fill equalizer tube between the tanks as well. If you fill one tank and the other is slow to equalize it's jammed as well. Very common

Thanks Jericho for the heads up. Being the lowest area of the fuel system, I can only imagine what I'll be finding in that tube. I drained the fuel tanks last night. Today, I get to see what kind of goodies are awaiting me. I'll post an AAR.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[wsucougarx]

Lonely stub has a friend

Well, this lil stubby now has a friend enroute. As most of you dedicated MV owners do, I am set up for alerts on a popular website. This can be viewed as either a curse or a blessing. I'm still trying to figure out which one it is.