Almost successful M185 recovery! - Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite

ecostruction · 04-08-2009, 12:51

Well, we tried. We left York around 6. Got all the recovery items ready ahead of time, so we stopped for gas and coffee and were on our way by 6:30. Decided to go down the way we were to come home which is a back way. Mixture of two land, and 4 lane minimal restricted access (non-highway). Got to GL Richmond around 10:30 and finally found the truck by 11. As expected, no right side headlight. GL guy tried to start, but no go, missing the ignition switch. Was laying on window sill. Got a good strong buzz after that, but no juice to start. He was offering to push start me with a wheel loader w/forks. Um, yeah, I've seen what they do. No thanks. I brought batteries with me. So we started disconnecting. While my dad was working with the batteries, I was working on brakes, checking fluids, etc. Put a tiny amount in (really didn't need it). Checked all other fluids. Went to start and sparks everywhere from the batteries. My dad didn't tighten them enough. What a show. Tightened them back down and hit the starter again. Took a long time to crank, but finally she came to life. Now, also noticed no light switch. Great. Was planning to drive home. I'm pretty sure things were yanked after auction, or at least after listing. The water can in the jerry can spot was missing, and the tool box full of tools only had three things in now. So, just thought I would look around a bit just in case someone removed the light switch and dropped it or put it in the back, etc. Wasn't about to look at other trucks. To my luck, someone put it behind the seat. Why? Who knows.

Reconnected, then we were off. First deuce with a van body and it handles a bit differently. Made it up to 17 north exit of 95 before putting fuel in. Topped off and we were off again. Made our way through warrenton to Leesburg when I started smelling fuel. Looked down at the floor and spats of fuel were landing on my feet. Great. Kept going, still had decent power. Got north of Leesburg and then I lost power. Pulled over along 15. Looked under the truck and fuel was practically running down the engine. We searched for a bit for the problem. After 2.5 hours of taking fuel lines apart looking for leaks, we finally realized that it was the line going from the IP to the nozzle on the No. 2 cylinder (second one back from front). Fuel line end cone broke off in the injector nozzle. Finally go the broken piece out of the nozzle and headed home. Local sheriff stopped. What a great guy. Said we could leave it there and come back. He would tag it that evening or in the morning. The MOST friendly police officer I have ever met. Stayed and chatted with us for a while, gave me some paper to write a note, a pen. Just a great guy.

Was also calling BKubu who was offering to help. Another great guy. Gave me some places to call for towing and possible parts. No go on the parts. We decided to head home grab the part off another truck (to get it home) and come back today or by friday.

Not too many people/suppliers have that part. I'm super busy this week with work so robbing the part from another truck of mine and returning on friday to retrieve was not optimal. So I started calling towing companies. Decided to have someone retrieve for me and bring to York. Company out of Chambersburg can do a round trip to leesburg, york, and back to chambersburg for cheaper than I can get another company to retrieve out of York. Going to drop at least 500 on the tow, but it will be here today and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Truck is in great shape otherwise. Only 9800 miles or so. Believe to be original. I think it sat alot. Paint is faded, but body is really good. Best interior metal of any of my trucks. Another rusty hardtop though. Should clean up with some work.

Will post pictures of the arrival. I was in a hurry to get home last night and forgot to take some. Thanks to all who helped and the route was a nice way to go.

Eco

BKubu · 04-08-2009, 13:24

ECO, great to talk with you and sorry you had troubles. It was really nice of the "other" guy to relieve you of the jerry can. I've had stuff stolen, too. It sucks to say the least.

gimpyrobb · 04-08-2009, 13:41

Check the top of your van body. I have seen VERY few that didn't need attention to the top sheet metal. Mine has some holes that need patching and are letting water inside the sheeting. I didn't notice till the screws holding the interior sheet metal started to rust.

Green_gator · 04-08-2009, 14:40

An easy way to tell if there is leaking in the van body is to look along the bottom of the sheet metal. If you have rust there then water is leaking in and it pools down at the bottom. I am just finishing up patching all of the leaks in the exterior of my box and sealing all of the seams. Your vehicle looks good and you will like the advantages of having the van body.

jcappeljr · 04-08-2009, 16:51

Truck looks good,it sounds somewhat like my Richmond Wrecker Recovery. At least you will have the truck home safely.

m109guy · 04-08-2009, 18:05

Rust holes or cracks in the roof of shop vans are very common. I found a nice big one in mine. I have no problems after patching the hole then putting a coat of line-x style sealant on the roof.

scooter01922 · 04-08-2009, 18:51

Hmmmm, start switch removed but there, light switch removed but behind the seat. Sounds like someone either wanted to make it look worse for anyone previewing it but easy for them to fix after they lowball bid on it, or just someone causing you a headache. Either way not very nice of them. Nice looking truck, gotta add a van truck to the fleet soooner or later.