BEASTMASTER
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trucks are made for driving on roads. " BOATS" are made for water travel. it" simple.
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M923A1 Problems after deep fording
- Thread starter Randyw
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Nobody is pointing fingers at you for doing what you believed needed to be done, with what you had on hand. There are a lot of misconceptions about these trucks' ability to operate in deep water, but it can be done with some proper prep beforehand.
- Now that you've found and hopefully remedied the source of water intrusion into your air filter housing, as you said now is the time to prevent it from happening again. As Doghead mentioned, don't neglect your axle & hub internals, nor your brakes...the 939-series rear brakes love to hang up due to rust, and when they let go you'll feel a jolt and a loud *bang*. When you pull the hubs to service the bearings in the rear, take the time to clean corrosion off of the brakes and grease/lube necessary parts according to the TM.
- Does your fording kit include the extended breather hoses for the axle vents? If not, install some...I believe a 1/8" NPT barbed fitting and some inexpensive rubber hose/tubing will take care of that. I like to install a cheap inline fuel filter on the end of each hose to keep dust/crud from getting sucked into the axle housing, either hose-clamp it or zip-tie it up in the frame area.
- What condition are all of the rubber boots in, that are part of your air intake system? If it were me, I'd replace every one with a new part to ensure it won't happen during my ownership (as well as install new T-bolt stainless steel clamps). Same for any & all breather/pressurized fording hoses throughout the engine compartment & cab area.
- Is your fuel tank properly vented as well, to prevent water from getting in? If your fuel tank is underwater, think about all the points of entry water is looking for...
- On the back side of your air intake piping, just before it enters the air filter housing, you should have some vent hoses (for trans, transfer case, etc...) connecting to it. If there are any rubber or non-rigid piping/tubing used in these, replace them with new hose. All it takes is a pinhole, and these are easily neglected due to being "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind." NOW is the time to make your truck right for the next potential high-water rescue.
I've spent time in the USMC and done many an amphibious landing in forded through deep waters...a general rule of thumb is to never let water get within a foot of your engine/transmission dipsticks. And prior to any water crossing/amphib landing, we would spend a couple of days getting our vehicles (M60A1s mainly) prepped to prevent water intrusion, only to have it come flooding in from some unreachable or otherwise hitherto unknown point. And then we'd spend several days afterwards cleaning & PM-ing the vehicles to make sure we got all the water/debris out....greasing every zerk until clean grease pushed out (unless it showed signs of contamination, then we'd have to pull the road wheel & hub to service the insides) as well as pulling the batteries out and cleaning the inside of the hull as best as we could reach. Once in a while there would be so much standing water inside the hull we'd have to drop the driver's escape hatch, which is a total PITA to reinstall (but it gave us a good excuse to PM the escape hatch, mainly making sure the linkages were freely moving and that the large O-ring around the hatch was greased and in serviceable condition).
So my point is, along with what others have mentioned, PROPER water crossings/fordings involve a lot of work beforehand, and a whole lot more afterwards. Do it right and your truck will serve again faithfully in the future, as it sounds like this isn't the first time your area has experienced flooding.
- Now that you've found and hopefully remedied the source of water intrusion into your air filter housing, as you said now is the time to prevent it from happening again. As Doghead mentioned, don't neglect your axle & hub internals, nor your brakes...the 939-series rear brakes love to hang up due to rust, and when they let go you'll feel a jolt and a loud *bang*. When you pull the hubs to service the bearings in the rear, take the time to clean corrosion off of the brakes and grease/lube necessary parts according to the TM.
- Does your fording kit include the extended breather hoses for the axle vents? If not, install some...I believe a 1/8" NPT barbed fitting and some inexpensive rubber hose/tubing will take care of that. I like to install a cheap inline fuel filter on the end of each hose to keep dust/crud from getting sucked into the axle housing, either hose-clamp it or zip-tie it up in the frame area.
- What condition are all of the rubber boots in, that are part of your air intake system? If it were me, I'd replace every one with a new part to ensure it won't happen during my ownership (as well as install new T-bolt stainless steel clamps). Same for any & all breather/pressurized fording hoses throughout the engine compartment & cab area.
- Is your fuel tank properly vented as well, to prevent water from getting in? If your fuel tank is underwater, think about all the points of entry water is looking for...
- On the back side of your air intake piping, just before it enters the air filter housing, you should have some vent hoses (for trans, transfer case, etc...) connecting to it. If there are any rubber or non-rigid piping/tubing used in these, replace them with new hose. All it takes is a pinhole, and these are easily neglected due to being "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind." NOW is the time to make your truck right for the next potential high-water rescue.
I've spent time in the USMC and done many an amphibious landing in forded through deep waters...a general rule of thumb is to never let water get within a foot of your engine/transmission dipsticks. And prior to any water crossing/amphib landing, we would spend a couple of days getting our vehicles (M60A1s mainly) prepped to prevent water intrusion, only to have it come flooding in from some unreachable or otherwise hitherto unknown point. And then we'd spend several days afterwards cleaning & PM-ing the vehicles to make sure we got all the water/debris out....greasing every zerk until clean grease pushed out (unless it showed signs of contamination, then we'd have to pull the road wheel & hub to service the insides) as well as pulling the batteries out and cleaning the inside of the hull as best as we could reach. Once in a while there would be so much standing water inside the hull we'd have to drop the driver's escape hatch, which is a total PITA to reinstall (but it gave us a good excuse to PM the escape hatch, mainly making sure the linkages were freely moving and that the large O-ring around the hatch was greased and in serviceable condition).
So my point is, along with what others have mentioned, PROPER water crossings/fordings involve a lot of work beforehand, and a whole lot more afterwards. Do it right and your truck will serve again faithfully in the future, as it sounds like this isn't the first time your area has experienced flooding.
Last edited:
Randyw
Member
- 101
- 6
- 18
- Location
- Bridge City Tx.
Thanks Silverstate,
- After finding the rust hole on the bottom side of the filter canister I have ordered a new complete canister. I have drained the fluids from the Diffs and did notice some water in the fluid. I am in the process of getting the retaining nut sockets to remove the bearings and service those items to prevent further problems with that. You are right on the rear breaks hanging up when I moved the truck yesterday to get ready for tear down the breaks did hang up and made a bang when they released. It will take some time to get all six wheels serviced but I will get it done.
- I did look under the truck back when I was replacing the air filter and siliconed the canister and rubber boots. The breather hoses are extended for the axle vents. The filter idea is a great suggestion I never thought of that.
- The rubber boots appear to be solid with no cracks or anything but I do think they are a little hard. I plan on replacing them with some new ones just for added insurance. I will also go over the fording hoses and make sure they are good. I did inspect that stuff about a year ago and all appeared in good condition.
- I recently replaced the fuel tank cap gasket when I replaced the air filter. I will check the vents just to make sure all is good there.
- I will check the hoses on the back side of the intake piping. I plan on removing the piping today after work. I will for sure inspect those and replace if necessary. I will do my best to prevent something like this from happening again this storm caught us off guard and many families were caught with no way out. This is not something we planned to do with the truck but it was all we had to help in the situation. People started calling me at 4AM that morning needing rescuing because of the flash flooding. It was a crazy experience and hopefully it doesn't happen again.
- I appreciate all your information and help. This was a lesson learned for sure and we will get it figured out and hopefully wont happen again. This is the second time in two years we have been hit hard with a storm. The first one I didn't have the truck but I did use my CUCV M1008 helping in that storm with no issues. Thanks again for all your help.
Randyw
Member
- 101
- 6
- 18
- Location
- Bridge City Tx.
Was able to get the motor tore down this weekend. Found the head gasket had blown on the number 5 and 6 causing a bent rod on number five. Is there a certain rebuild kit preferred more than others or are all the kits sold pretty much the same quality? I will be changing the head bolts on that head but everything else in the motor looked really good.
Stay away from reliance. Interstate mcbee is decent stuff. or spend the 500 more or so and get a cummins kit.
Randyw
Member
- 101
- 6
- 18
- Location
- Bridge City Tx.
Thanks Simp!
Any idea on a good place to get a replacement rod? Are the Big Cam and Small Cam rods the same?
sandcobra164
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- Leesburg, GA
I hate that you have a bent connecting rod but that was my first worry. You're pictures of your teardown confirmed that but it looks like you're on your way to greener pastures Sir. As cool as it would be to swap a Big Cam, I'd fix what you have. Simp is Awesome and runs from coast to coast hauling heavy but most of us only need a properly operating Small Cam Cummins.
Randyw
Member
- 101
- 6
- 18
- Location
- Bridge City Tx.
Simp,
Shoot me a PM with payment info and I will get the rod from you. Thanks for the help!
Randyw
Member
- 101
- 6
- 18
- Location
- Bridge City Tx.
Yes sir you hit the nail on the head when you predicted the bent rod. I would love to do the Big Cam swap but just cant do it right now it will have to be a later project after my shop is built. So fixing this one is what I will have to do for now. At least I know it will be right when it goes back together and have no worries in the back of my mind when running on longer trips.