1,680 mile HEMTT recovery

Hey Group,

I won a 1989 M985 HEMTT on Oct. 21, at Ft. Polk, Louisiana!

Out of the 20 or so HEMTTs sold that day, I believe the one I won is in the best condition. Most of them were in Texas, one in North Carolina, I think one in Wisconsin, and mine in Louisiana. Many of the Texas trucks looked good, but at Ft. Worth they apparently drain the coolant... and then run and drive the trucks. You could clearly see that they were overheating in the pictures, taken while running to show oil pressure and RPM, by looking at the temperature gauge... Pegged at 250 degrees. A 92 series Detroit has 4 rubber o-rings sealing the liner to the block... At the head, top of the air box, bottom of the air box, and bottom of the liner. In other words, the liner has coolant above and below the air box. Those o-rings are extremely sensitive to overheating... A few minutes running with no coolant and the engine could need an in-frame overhaul. Maybe I'd have gotten lucky like HASSON1911, but I like that the Louisiana truck's temperature gauge was showing 160 and also had good oil pressure. I don't think any fluids were drained there.

Anyway, when the EUC clears, a road trip will be at hand. From Ft. Polk, LA to Hesperia, CA is 1,680 miles. I could have it trucked out here, but where is the fun in that? Two friends and I are going to load up and drive out there, and drive the HEMTT back. We'll have a chase vehicle, and hopefully all the tools and supplies we could need. This is not my first recovery by any means, but it is by FAR the farthest and riskiest (financially). The HEMTT is supposedly in running condition, with tires that appear to be like new.

The plan is to do a quick fluid check, then drive it off the base and immediately perform full PMCS. Google Maps shows a NAPA and a Walmart right outside the base in the town of Leesville. I've already bought the Shell Rotella T1 (CF-2 rated) sae 40 weight oil for the 2-cycle Detroit, and Allison TranSynd oil for the transmission, as getting the 15w-40 motor oil out of both is the most important thing that needs to be done.

I haven't picked a route yet... I-10 and I-40 are within a few miles and a few minutes of each other, so it will probably come down to weather, available services, and number of potentially helpful (but hopefully not needed) SS members along the way.

One of my friends coming along has a class A license with air brake endorsement, and the truck will be insured... We will be quasi-legal. I've got a big credit card with a zero balance. I can hardly wait to get going!

Here's the link... http://www.govplanet.com/for-sale/T...-Truck-w/-Rear-Mounted-Crane-Louisiana/652371

Regards,
Jon

Firstly, WHY in heck do the people at Fort Worth "attempt to wreck the engines" of vehicles they are selling? Where is the sense and or logic in their preparations for sale. Frankly I am (rather disgusted) to hear of this practice. I would have been asking questions of someone somewhere for sure.
Beef over..I am quite jealous of your beutifully <ugly> looking (indeed truly awsome!) Truck. Fantastic Win. And the trip, well, is something that would be a dream of a lifetime for many. (In and out of the hobby).
Can,t wait to see pictures or video (both?) of the trip home. (and I thought the trip to devon (about 170 miles!)) was..too much of a slap...Good luck and enjoy the experience.

**** yes ,that is awesome.boy i wish i had something like that.. my 5 ton little compared to that ..saw guy load car into back with crane ..have fun

Where did you hear about the Ft Worth location draining radiators? I'd like this confirmed before I proceed as I bought a truck out of that location. Engine temp was good at 180F so I may be fortunate there.

I'm jealous , great looking truck !

Congrats Jon.

Good luck on the epic road trip / recovery.

Some intel that may be of use. You will be required to exit Ft. Polk on the north commercial gate. Right outside the gate is a huge staging yard where you can do PMCS. You have two friendlies around Ft Polk, Jeepsinker, who lives 30 miles south of the base, and MTP Driveline, who is 30 miles north. They have an extensive parts inventory for military trucks, see website. If you come down I-10, there are Stewart and Stevenson locations in Beaumont, Houston and San Antonio. S&S is the Detroit Diesel and Allison dealer for the area. If you have trouble around the Houston area, PM me and I can offer support and a storage/repair location. Good luck!

I've seen other trucks on gov planet , with no oil prseure and temp gauges peged out in there videos.

Thanks guys!

Firstly, WHY in heck do the people at Fort Worth "attempt to wreck the engines" of vehicles they are selling?

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Where did you hear about the Ft Worth location draining radiators? I'd like this confirmed before I proceed as I bought a truck out of that location. Engine temp was good at 180F so I may be fortunate there.

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I don't have absolute PROOF that the coolant was drained, or that it is/isn't a standard practice there, but nearly all of the Texas trucks showed overheating on the gauge, and that is too much of a coincidence. I remember one or two showing 180 as you say, but even that is rather hot for just idling, since they have large radiators and 160 degree thermostats. 180 is what I'd expect on the freeway. I'd bet your truck was drained too, and that it simply hadn't gotten as hot as the others at the point where they took the picture of the gauges. Maybe your truck will be okay... I hope so. It's a risk, but there's lots of risks in what we do with this old equipment. If I didn't win the Louisiana truck, there were a few of the Texas trucks I was going to bid on. My plan was to check the coolant on base. If it was empty, point it out to the GovPlanet people on video so it is documented (in case you need to take advantage of their "IronClad Assurance" policy). Watch the engine VERY carefully, for coolant leaks at the head, or air box drains, or steam out the exhaust, or - most importantly - coolant in the oil, which would wipe out the bearings.

As for why the GovPlanet people were running trucks with no coolant, if that is in fact what they were doing, I can only assume it is some combination of ignorance, stupidity, and malice.

Some intel that may be of use. You will be required to exit Ft. Polk on the north commercial gate. Right outside the gate is a huge staging yard where you can do PMCS. You have two friendlies around Ft Polk, Jeepsinker, who lives 30 miles south of the base, and MTP Driveline, who is 30 miles north. They have an extensive parts inventory for military trucks, see website. If you come down I-10, there are Stewart and Stevenson locations in Beaumont, Houston and San Antonio. S&S is the Detroit Diesel and Allison dealer for the area. If you have trouble around the Houston area, PM me and I can offer support and a storage/repair location. Good luck!

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Fantastic... Thank you!

Jon

Grats, hope you have a good trip and nothing goes wrong. Ok, maybe something minor so we can have a laugh, but nothing major.

Where did you hear about the Ft Worth location draining radiators? I'd like this confirmed before I proceed as I bought a truck out of that location. Engine temp was good at 180F so I may be fortunate there.

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I should mention that I was only referring to the pictures of the HEMTTs. If the truck you won was something else, it's entirely possible it is full of coolant. The HEMTTs in Ft. Worth I'm pretty sure have been operated with the coolant drained.

I've seen other trucks on gov planet, with no oil pressure and temp gauges pegged out in their videos.

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Someone needs to clunk their knuckles on those guys' heads and say, "HELLO!?! McFLY?!?"

Jon

My HEMTT came out of Ft. Worth, and the temp gauge did indeed show rather high. I think there's something up with the gauges when the batteries are trashed, nothing to do with the coolant. Most HEMTT's batteries are done, the whole runs when jumps, but won't after shutting down. Once my batteries were replaced, the gauge ran just fine. It would make no sense to drain these things, they want, lo they need them to run!

Regarding the oil pressure, I don't believe the 8V92 is known for high oil pressure at idle.



Beyond that I wish you the best of luck with your trip! 1680 miles is a haul!! I suppose you would be looking at $4500 or so to ship it, or maybe $2k in fuel? I can't say after driving mine around a bit I would want to do that many miles, but it would likely be better than my longest recovery of around 400 miles in a M109A3.

First things first, I appreciate the feedback, however I can say that our inspectors check the fluids before they start the truck I have also approved and paid thousands of dollars worth of fluids and oils for us to do these inspections and try to get these trucks running. So I seriously have my doubts about that. We have built a reputation on our inspections and have and will continue to stand by them. The fact is at the end of the day these are decades old equipment and some haven't been ran in many years. We have sold a lot of trucks out of Fort Worth and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from those that have gotten them. My PM is always open if anyone wants to contact me at anytime either positive or negative feedback is always welcome!

I would agree with Wade, there's no sense in draining them, in fact, I think most had nice pictures like this one (from my truck) that shows the coolant level in the radiator.

I'm off I10 west of Phoenix if you run into problems.

First things first, I appreciate the feedback, however I can say that our inspectors check the fluids before they start the truck I have also approved and paid thousands of dollars worth of fluids and oils for us to do these inspections and try to get these trucks running. So I seriously have my doubts about that. We have built a reputation on our inspections and have and will continue to stand by them. The fact is at the end of the day these are decades old equipment and some haven't been ran in many years. We have sold a lot of trucks out of Fort Worth and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from those that have gotten them. My PM is always open if anyone wants to contact me at anytime either positive or negative feedback is always welcome!

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That's very encouraging... Thanks! The inspection reports are quite thorough and much appreciated, I spent hours studying the pictures, descriptions, and oil analysis data in deciding which trucks to bid on. In the end I won the Louisiana truck but I am glad for all the buyers of the Ft. Worth trucks that the engines are likely not toast.

Jon

M35A2-AZ said:

I'm off I10 west of Phoenix if you run into problems.

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Thanks! I-10 is starting to look like the preferred route! I'm more familiar with I-40, but by the time the EUC clears I was thinking I-10 might be a better choice since the roads are less likely to be icy.

Jon

I'm at milemarker 275 off I 10 just east of Tucson.

Great looking truck. Have a safe trip, and look forward to the pictures.

I'm in Phoenix with plenty of big help. Looks like you're covered once you get to Arizona, anyways.