A few questions

[Lild]

Hello,
i just picked up my new toy, first time owning a diesel. Had a few questions.
i have been reading quite bit here & there, the glow plug replacement/ 24volt starter/ alternator system set up is a lil dozy. But i believe i got that figured out. Just cant decide weather to leave it or switch it to the 12v set up. Other then the starter, it seems to be useless to,have the extra volts in the civvy word. Maybe i can hard wire a few house hold electronics to the radio setup in the back. Like a home away from home

i work in a body shop so that part will never be an issue, i am a weekend mech warrior so I'm not afraid to turn a wrench. I just read about the fuel filter change on the tm sheet,

1st question, doe's the whole unit need to be change or just the filtert it self, & has any one delete that set up & went with a easier set up. I also notice a clear tube hang off to the side unconnected, & what looks like a vent tube pipe on the filter base top left corner (face firewall)should the tube be connected to it? Also the whole drain water thing is new to me other then when changing the filter, how do i know when to do inbetween changes?

2--i notice that some one, probably the military, had cut the heater inlet or outlet hose (top one on fire wall) & connected the top hose directly from the radiator to the outlet port on the motor, i ran the beast for a while with heater on & no heat. So is there a reason for this (spent most of its life in the middle east), or can i assume there's nothing wrong with the heater core & reattach the hoses correctly so i can have some heat in the winter.

3---i also notice in the tms it mention a winterization kit, what is it, & how do i know if i have one?

4--what are the blackout lights & how do they work, & yes i know how to turn them on.

thanks for help.

 

[bikerted86]

First, Personally I would switch your fuel filter set up to a spin on, thats the first mod I did to mine. Alot of long crank time/ performance issues can be traced back to the box filter.
Second, I would assume that the heater core is bad, It gets cold at night in the dessert (snows here in Kabul) and cant think of what the benifit would be other than a leaky heater core.
Third, The winter kit is (correct me if I am wrong) a fuel fired heater that is used to keep the engine warm, if you have a normal oil pan and no funny duct work in the engine compartment then you dont have a winter kit.
Fourth, Black out lights are for night time convoy movements when you dont want a lot of vehicle running around with their lights on, The switches also cut the horn and brake lights so you can sneak up on the bad guy being that they are the quietest trucks ever made

Also unless there is a issue with your starting or charging system I would leave it 24v. Only thing I did with mine was remove the glow plug resistor and put 12v to the glow plug relay avoiding the cascading failure of glow plugs.

 

[pmramsey]

Leave the glow plugs 24-volts. You will not be disappointed. Spend your money on shocks, ball -joints, tie-rods, front stablizer bar, wiring, any and all hoses, and perhaps a better wiring harness for the front lights. Modern head lights will make night driving safer. As slow these trucks seem, you can easily 'over-drive' your headlights. Finally, install a rear tag light. Spend your bucks on safety related items. If you happen to stumble over some hard cash, a set of Micky Thompson 285/85/16 Baja Claw tires will completely change the way your truck handles and rides and all of it for the better. OR, you can do nothing, repair things as they fail, and you will still enjoy a great truck.

 

[Lild]

Thanks for the reply.

i assume some one has done a write up on the filter mod? Trying to use the search engine some times is a pain. I will most like leave the 24v setup, just glad to know in a pinch can alter it. The starter relay as well as the relay on the fire wall will be my first upgrades.

i don't have any funny duct work under the hood, so no extra heater, or in my case no heat at all. The last car i owned that had a winter pk. had heated front seat, heated steering wheel, heated side mirrors & the cabin heater would run for an additional 15 mins. to keep the cabin warm for a short shopping trip.

I guess I will ned to reattach the hose's and see if i have a bad heater core. I knew it gets cold at nights in the desert, figured they would need heat at night. But didn't know if had an advantage.

I like the black out lights, since it is soooo quite, maybe i can sneak in @ nights when hanging out too late. The mrs will never know. Lol

one other thing. After doing more research, my toy has had the same gas in it for the last couple of yrs.. I wanted to run some seafoam in the next fill up, but after reading, what is your oppion of that? Plus i see some guys adding 2cycle oil to the gas or tranny fluid. Is this fine or should i use an additive made for that purpose? And how often should i do either, i assume every fill up.

Thanks again

 

[Lild]

Leave the glow plugs 24-volts. You will not be disappointed. Spend your money on shocks, ball -joints, tie-rods, front stablizer bar, wiring, any and all hoses, and perhaps a better wiring harness for the front lights. Modern head lights will make night driving safer. As slow these trucks seem, you can easily 'over-drive' your headlights. Finally, install a rear tag light. Spend your bucks on safety related items. If you happen to stumble over some hard cash, a set of Micky Thompson 285/85/16 Baja Claw tires will completely change the way your truck handles and rides and all of it for the better. OR, you can do nothing, repair things as they fail, and you will still enjoy a great truck.

I plan on upgradeing the lights,suspension maybe @ a later date, first i want to take care of a few preventive matiance items first. It runs good now, like to keep it that way.

 

[bikerted86]

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?36435-My-CUCV-spin-on-fuel-filter-mod heres one write up. Mine had very old fuel in it I added a quart of trans fluid then changed my filter once I used that tank up. There are additives, but I use the 2 stroke oil since I buy it by the gallon for my dirt bikes.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Leave the glow plugs 24-volts.

The glow plugs are NOT 24v. They are 12v.


In stock configuration, 24v is fed to a resistor which drops the voltage to 12v, which is fed to the GPs.


If one GP fails, all of the GPs get MORE than 12v. This shortens their life. When the next GP fails, the remaining 6 get even more voltage. This shortens their life even more.

This is why it's called a cascade failure. One fails, more stress on the rest, another fails, and the stress goes up again. It's like dominoes falling.

It's a kludge of a design, and getting rid of this mess is probably one of the first things you should do. It's a good idea to replace the GP relay at the same time, and it's not a bad idea to replace the GPs, too.