It runs.. maybe not..

My latest adventures with my deuce..

After getting a letter in the mail saying my Deuce needs to find a new home because of impending construction in the area, I start looking and planning for the move. The plan was to go home with necessary parts to get my Deuce roadworthy and moved to a new storage area. It was moved .. but not as planned..

Day 1 thru 4 was spent replacing all the brake and fuel lines that had rusted away with age, installing fuel pump, and coaxing the motor to life, replacing the rear wiring harness and installing the rear lights, replacing the air/ hydraulic cylinder, and a few other things..

Day 5 was spent prepping the deuce to move, charging the batteries, checking the lights, bleeding the brakes, and trying to figure why the transmission wouldn't shift to 1st or reverse. The lights were working, the brake had a firm pedal, top cover removed and the reverse first gear was coaxed into shifting ( after some penetrating oil and a few love taps with a hammer ) everything seemed ready to go...

Day 6 moving day.. got to the storage yard early and got the deuce running.. checked the brakes, pedal goes to the floor, re bleed the brakes and check for leaks.. found leak on air hydraulic cylinder,it was fixed.. pulled the deuce out it's parking space and drove it around the yard for a couple minutes.. it was running strong and loud.. the exhaust is still full of holes LOL.. drove the deuce around the corner.. about 4 blocks to the new storage yard.. truck dies 50 yd from it's new home... sitting in the middle of the road contemplating life and what i'm going to tell the eventual cop that's going to show up.. no cops showed, but a was towed to the new yard by a friendly guy wu=ith a truck..

Go into the office to get my space for the truck. the lady comes out to inspect the truck ( she could have passed for the wicked witch of the west ) she declares it's to rundown looking and i was rejected from storing my truck there.. it was to ugly...

I call my dad to get my ranger so we can tow the truck back to the old storage yard.. i tell my dad to drive slow since i was low on air pressure and the truck just refused to run.. we take off and he zipping down the road at a cool 20 mph ( i should have told him no faster than 10 mph) he went to stop to make the turn to the storage place and the brakes quit on the deuce.. someone had there hand out and was able to swerve and barely clipped the ranger.. My dad wasn't hurt, my rangers tailgate was thru and the deuce was blocking the street.. the rear wheel cylinders had given up the ghost and were leaking like Niagara falls

After trying to jump the deuce off.. i pulled the cap on the tank and air rushed in.. the gas cap was unvented and the tank had built up a vacum and the batteries were dead.. Here I sit in the middle of the street with a dead truck with dead batteries on a Saturday.. i start calling towing companies to come move my truck.. my dad called my mom and decided i could put the truck in the backyard.. called about 6 different places before someone decided a deuce wasn't to big to tow. got the deuce to my parent's house and got it parked.. for my trouble, i was out a few green backs and the towing company cracked the edge of my parents driveway..

Day 7 i got up and prepped the deuce to be pushed into the back yard.. the tow operators couldn't maneuver it back there. I called Mhasset the day before and said he could help me out Sunday, and to his word, he was there early Sunday with sweet deuce tractor and helped me slide the my deuce into the back yard..

Now the deuce is covered with a brown 20' x 40' tarp awaiting for me to return and finish the repairs and get it on the road again..

Before anyone asks for pictures.. the only pictures i have are after the deuce is covered with the tarp.. and my poor ranger; which i will post soon.

Here are the problems i had while driving the deuce..

The regulator would peg off into the right red, could this be caused by a loose connection or just a bad regulator.. i found one of the middle clamp had shaken loose ( using car batteries).

The truck would miss and backfire through the exhaust.. I haven't dealt with carburetor engines in so long..

Should i rebuild the wheel cylinders are just replace all six of them??

TIA

Quite sorry to hear about the troubles...that sounded like a nightmare...youch!

Sorry to hear about your hard times. I will have to say you sort of asked for trouble towing a 14k lb truck with a ranger. There isn't anything on these trucks more important than brakes. It sounds like the truck has alot of rust problems and I'd say you should replace the wheel cylinders. You can hone and rebuild them for $6 each or something but if there's serious pitting it'll leak right past the cups again.

-Kelly

Marcus, move down here by me. I'll help moving the truck and such. I have to warn you though, it's like 900 degrees every day.

Towing a duece with a Ranger--WOW

I had to laugh about the storage center lady, "wicked wich of the west" , saying your truck was an eyesore too ugly too store in our facility, Where do you live? Is Ft. Leonardwood the Beverly hills of Mo.? I dont blame you for being frustrated, you had a really bad week and now things can only get better. Sounds like it is time for you to move out of that area and move to an area with us rednecks, we like ugly trucks!

pa.rich said:

I had to laugh about the storage center lady, "wicked wich of the west" , saying your truck was an eyesore too ugly too store in our facility, Where do you live? Is Ft. Leonardwood the Beverly hills of Mo.? I dont blame you for being frustrated, you had a really bad week and now things can only get better. Sounds like it is time for you to move out of that area and move to an area with us rednecks, we like ugly trucks!

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The truck is down in louisiana, new orleans metro area. All the storage areas are raising there standards to attract those nice juicy RV's and Boats that the rich folk have. I plan on writing the owner a nice letter about his employees. After being told my truck was an eyesore, I went and peeked into the fence and noticed a couple shabby looking work trucks and a M105 trailer with faded paint.

The duece is safe, it was an exciting and depressing day, and the ranger just needs a new tailgate

If it were me, I would replace all the wheel cylinders. And really give the lines a close inspection! I've had the brakes fail on mine. You start looking for something big and heavy to hit so you don't kill anyboody! I just replaced my airpack with the new style. Because the old one was unrelible. It worked when it felt like it. I rebuilt it. And it did the same thing. About every 10 to 15 times u hit the brakes it wouldn't stop. Don't take any chances with a truck this big.

Here's the pictures, the ranger was mildly dented and the Deuce is hidden from prying eyes

"Either they got a truck in the back yard, or I don't wanna know how big the dog is that made that!!!"

Sorry, couldn't resist. Glad you got it all sorted out Marcus, and I hope the $$$ isn't too bad getting your Ranger fixed up. And if it were me, I'd replace all those wheel cyls and look closely at all the other brake system components. Do it once, and do it right. I fought the brakes on my deuce from the moment I got it until the day I sold it. I just tried to fix stuff as I found it, rather than go through it and make sure everything was in good shape and working properly.

If two of the cylinders failed then all are going to within a short time. If the truck sits for a prolonged period of time the brakes are first to go. The backfiring throught the exhaust (gas engine is probably the points too close or burnt.

"The backfiring throught the exhaust (gas engine is probably the points too close or burnt."

Or the timing is too far advanced...or...the advance weights are stuck/rusted in the advance position...or...the advance weight springs are broken. If t has weights

Here are some pictures from my weekend visit with my Duece. I spent Saturday morning cleaning out the toolboxes and organizing my parts. I probably cleaned out over 5 lbs of rust and garbage from the toolboxes.

Then the rest of the day pulling off the rear hubs to investigate why my brakes failed. It turns out both wheel cylinders were corroded on the inside with frozen pistons. The rest of the brake hardware looked in good condition.

Will brake fluid (DOT 3) harm brake linings? both shoes were soaked in fluid from the wheel cylinder leaking.

The wheel bearings were swimming in gear oil with a little wheel bearing grease.. no cork insert. on the bright side, the inner wheel seal kept the grease in the hub

What is the best way to remove frozen anchor pins?

Here are the pictures..

nice gas tank!

is that chartruse color?? so maybe some wheel cylinders and seals and you will be ready to go. Brake fluid should not hurt things but it has to be cleaned off. If you can, try to flush out the system really good.

Yep it's to ugly for the storage lot. I had that problem with an M211 I had the storage people didn't want that old junk army truck...but they would let the rusted hasn't moved in 20 years camper there just fine...go figure.

Get some brake cleaner and clean your shoes off really good and you should be ok. Replace the wheel cylinders! Flush the system and the replace with fresh brake fluid.

OPCOM said:

is that chartruse color?? so maybe some wheel cylinders and seals and you will be ready to go. Brake fluid should not hurt things but it has to be cleaned off. If you can, try to flush out the system really good.

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chartruse? maybe.. i've only heard of that color while watching Blue's Clues. It's going to be black spray bomb until I can get the $$$ and tools to spray it the right colors.

The brake system has all new rubber and steel lines from front to back... bending brake line is a such fun...

BFR said:

nice gas tank!.

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It works well too. Don't forget the nice bumper and hood too.



Here's afew before pics to compare with the during pics

Marcus, the brake fluid shoudn't cause you any grief. You will need to hose the stuff down thoroughly with Brakleen or laquer thinner. Freshen up all those wheel cylinders for good measure. I would also have a close look at the suspension links in the back. You have the old tube style which is OK but if the rubber is rotted and one comes off, bad juju happens, I speak from experience.

Is that a Leroi Air Compressor? If so or if another does it work? Interesting truck to say the least