joesco
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- Location
- Hampstead, NH
Zeus I (aka M931) Recovery Successful Thanks to Phil!!!
Updated on 3/2/13...
Thanks to my buddy Phil and his crew of two, he made the 500+ mile trip back to NH from New Castle (his son) driving my M931 and he was trailering his (non-running) M931A1. He arrived at New Castle at around 10:00am on February 27th and my M931 jump started right up. His M931A1 did not have any batteries so he put two Wally World 1000cca's in the truck but it still would not start.
Then he found the brakes were frozen, so he was able free up the brakes and using my M931 towed it on to his 5th wheel trailer. Sorry no pics for there recovery.
He headed back North in the pouring rain and later that evening, about 350 miles into the trip, my M931 started to sputter so he flip the switch to the other tank, but for some reason it would not draw fuel. They had to pull over and cut a piece of air hose for a siphon. His M931A1 which was on the trailer just happened to have two full tanks of diesel so he siphoned enough out, into the working tank of my M931, to get the truck to the next truck stop in MA.
He filled up the working tank and then started the truck back up and the headlights / taillights did not come on. So he bypassed the light switch and was able to get them working again. At 3:30am he arrived back in Central NH in a heavy wet snow storm!
All in all my M931 did extremely well on the 500 mile road trip except for those two minor problems. I went up today, March 2nd to check out both rigs. We both are amazed at the condition and refurbishment that the military did on both trucks. I took the 5 ton monster out for my first 10 mile ride and I must say, it is head over heals compared to my Deuce. Power steering and automatic in a truck like this is like dying and going to heaven!!!
So I was hoping someone could decipher my rebuild tags. But the truck looks like it has a new engine, new cab mounts, a new guage cluster, new paint and new tires. Here are the tags.....
272-55-1 07/05
272-20-6 02/05
272-20-5 06/05
272-23-1 04/12
Folks,
My buddy Phil and I won two 6X6 tractors over the last two weeks. I won an M931 and he won a M931A1 out of New Castle, DE. The recovery is taking place this Wednesday. As you can see from my signature, I have been around OMI (old military iron) for about 25 years, but this my first 5 ton. Now I have searched the both 5 ton forums and found lots of great information on these trucks. I had a major concerned with access in and out, but you guys came through as usual with some nice step ideas, so I took the plunge!
My M931 was listed "as running, but needing a jump", but by a strange coincidence, this truck came from the Massachusetts National Guard. So it's coming back home to New England. I understand the MA/NG have a history of taking care of their trucks. I hope I scored well. We plan on bobbing this truck as Phil will be the design / build guy.
We are going with a airbag suspension, but I haven't decided on which bed to use as we have access to both a deuce bed and a trailer bed. Of course you folks have done both any pluses or minuses in the bed configuration. I will post a build thread once we get started!
But before I invest the time and money in the bob project, I want to make sure the truck is mechanically solid, so is there anything else I should look for in these trucks that maybe mechanical problematic?
I have read in the forums to look for some of the following:
<> Batteries... (my guess, mine maybe toast) I have read some guys have gone from 4 to 2. I have access to Interstate Blems batteries for about 50%-70% off list, so one of my first questions is why would do I need 4, can I get away with 2 twelves?
<> The Allison transmission.... I have read that the military, in some case used 10w oil and some member left it in and others have replaced it with Dextron 3 ATF fluid. If the fluid looks clean, do you still do a filter and fluid service and replace it?
<> The Cummings 250.... I plan on doing a filter change (fuel / oil / air). I have always used Shell Rotella 15w-40w any concerns with that oil in the Cummings?
<> Tires... I might be able to swap out the Super Singles on Phils truck in place of my duelies. But when we bobbed my deuce I kept the duels on rear and liked the look. I guess it would like much more like the all powerful Zeus with the super singles. I have read you gain a bit more speed with the s/s. Being able to go a bit faster in a truck of this size will not be an issue for me, but will it improve, albeit slightly fuel economy?
<> Any other issues or concerns,, seals, locking front hubs, etc., please share!
<> Creature comforts, I would like to add an air-ride seat, a cup holder of course but what other C/C's have you guys added.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions!
Updated on 3/2/13...
Thanks to my buddy Phil and his crew of two, he made the 500+ mile trip back to NH from New Castle (his son) driving my M931 and he was trailering his (non-running) M931A1. He arrived at New Castle at around 10:00am on February 27th and my M931 jump started right up. His M931A1 did not have any batteries so he put two Wally World 1000cca's in the truck but it still would not start.
Then he found the brakes were frozen, so he was able free up the brakes and using my M931 towed it on to his 5th wheel trailer. Sorry no pics for there recovery.
He headed back North in the pouring rain and later that evening, about 350 miles into the trip, my M931 started to sputter so he flip the switch to the other tank, but for some reason it would not draw fuel. They had to pull over and cut a piece of air hose for a siphon. His M931A1 which was on the trailer just happened to have two full tanks of diesel so he siphoned enough out, into the working tank of my M931, to get the truck to the next truck stop in MA.
He filled up the working tank and then started the truck back up and the headlights / taillights did not come on. So he bypassed the light switch and was able to get them working again. At 3:30am he arrived back in Central NH in a heavy wet snow storm!
All in all my M931 did extremely well on the 500 mile road trip except for those two minor problems. I went up today, March 2nd to check out both rigs. We both are amazed at the condition and refurbishment that the military did on both trucks. I took the 5 ton monster out for my first 10 mile ride and I must say, it is head over heals compared to my Deuce. Power steering and automatic in a truck like this is like dying and going to heaven!!!
So I was hoping someone could decipher my rebuild tags. But the truck looks like it has a new engine, new cab mounts, a new guage cluster, new paint and new tires. Here are the tags.....
272-55-1 07/05
272-20-6 02/05
272-20-5 06/05
272-23-1 04/12
Folks,
My buddy Phil and I won two 6X6 tractors over the last two weeks. I won an M931 and he won a M931A1 out of New Castle, DE. The recovery is taking place this Wednesday. As you can see from my signature, I have been around OMI (old military iron) for about 25 years, but this my first 5 ton. Now I have searched the both 5 ton forums and found lots of great information on these trucks. I had a major concerned with access in and out, but you guys came through as usual with some nice step ideas, so I took the plunge!
My M931 was listed "as running, but needing a jump", but by a strange coincidence, this truck came from the Massachusetts National Guard. So it's coming back home to New England. I understand the MA/NG have a history of taking care of their trucks. I hope I scored well. We plan on bobbing this truck as Phil will be the design / build guy.
We are going with a airbag suspension, but I haven't decided on which bed to use as we have access to both a deuce bed and a trailer bed. Of course you folks have done both any pluses or minuses in the bed configuration. I will post a build thread once we get started!
But before I invest the time and money in the bob project, I want to make sure the truck is mechanically solid, so is there anything else I should look for in these trucks that maybe mechanical problematic?
I have read in the forums to look for some of the following:
<> Batteries... (my guess, mine maybe toast) I have read some guys have gone from 4 to 2. I have access to Interstate Blems batteries for about 50%-70% off list, so one of my first questions is why would do I need 4, can I get away with 2 twelves?
<> The Allison transmission.... I have read that the military, in some case used 10w oil and some member left it in and others have replaced it with Dextron 3 ATF fluid. If the fluid looks clean, do you still do a filter and fluid service and replace it?
<> The Cummings 250.... I plan on doing a filter change (fuel / oil / air). I have always used Shell Rotella 15w-40w any concerns with that oil in the Cummings?
<> Tires... I might be able to swap out the Super Singles on Phils truck in place of my duelies. But when we bobbed my deuce I kept the duels on rear and liked the look. I guess it would like much more like the all powerful Zeus with the super singles. I have read you gain a bit more speed with the s/s. Being able to go a bit faster in a truck of this size will not be an issue for me, but will it improve, albeit slightly fuel economy?
<> Any other issues or concerns,, seals, locking front hubs, etc., please share!
<> Creature comforts, I would like to add an air-ride seat, a cup holder of course but what other C/C's have you guys added.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions!
Last edited:
nobody wanted to bid on it.
