Anybody win at Ft Riley?

[cookeemann]

Going up a week from tomorrow (Thurs 5 May) to recover the 109 and two 105s!

GL says they don't allow any fluid work so I'll have to drive it off post and bleed the brakes/change the filters.

Got all the tools, my homemade brake bleeder, filters, belts, a few spare bulbs (still need spare headlights) jack stands, jack, fluidss and more set aside and ready to go.

Got all the TMs loaded onto my laptop and of course, a good credit card....

Roadtrip!

 

[MWMULES]

There is a KSNG mates 5ton reset shop 1 block west of the GL lot, I have pulled over to the side there in the past on one of the north south streets and done a complete -10 pre and brake bleed. When 3 of us all got our M109s last year we all did it then. Even bum-ed a gal of dot 5 they had laying around and were happy to get rid of it as to not do the haz-mat turn in paper work. As long as you don't block any gates to the various lots you should be ok.

 

[91W350]

I think I am off that day if you want company and some more tools. I have Mondays and Tuesdays this month, I think Wednesdays and Thursdays next month. I even have a tow bar and a deuce standing by if you need it. Glen

 

[KsM715]

Glen, Did you get a towbar?

cookeemann, just across the street to the left from the GL gate is a good sized gravel parking lot. You should be able to do your maint. checks there.

 

[91W350]

I use that lot to boom down my loads, check them and fill fluids. I never drained anything on base though.

Jeff, I did get a medium tow bar from Ross. He had a few and was friendly with me. Life is good! I still have a cover for you. Glen

 

[big block 88]

Let me know if help is needed. we are in Topkea and have TONS parts ready to go at the shop if needed.

 

[cookeemann]

Thanks all for the info/help offers. Good to know the realestate layout will work for at least bleeding the brakes.

 

[91W350]

The Cookeemann is on his way to Oklahoma City. We had a few minor issues, a little low on brake fluid, the flat front tire had a bolt stuck in it and had to be changed, the front and middle differentials were low on oil, The primary had a few drops of water in it, the fuel shut off was stuck and would not shutdown, the air compressor belt was just flopping wildly and made you wonder how it stayed on, the door latches were stuck, and the dim headlights did not work. We managed to get everything up to snuff, except the head lights.

We checked for hydro lock, shoved the shut off in and I am going to bet it did not make two compression strokes and that baby was running, nice and smooth, right off the bat, no picking up two or three cylinders later, she was banging on all six.... The engine went right up to 55 pounds of oil pressure and it did have a tick in it. After fueling with fresh fuel and driving to Salina, the tick was gone, the old girl runs good! We ran 2200 the 60 miles home and he had no issues at all. It may have faded and ugly paint, but that is a good solid cab and box.

That was more than I can say for my truck.... new thread coming. Glen

 

[91W350]

Two hours ago he was crossing into Texas, that should have left him with a little over 211 miles to home. He definitely has this one on the downhill run. It will be interesting to see the photos and hear the story. Due to the headlights going out on dim, he has to quit before dark....hopefully today he gets to quit with the added security of being home. Glen

 

[cookeemann]

BAM! Made it home in one piece and I have to say, that truck ran great the whole way!

658 miles from Ft Riley to Clovis, NM problem free (almost).

Pictures and story uploaded tomorrow (Sat). Gotta visit with the fam and my 6 year old and 10 year old are climbing all over it right now.......oh yeah, wife 'loves' it to.........not so much.

Cheers!
Cookeemann

 

[91W350]

That is good news, except for the wife.... I am looking forward to the photos! Glen

 

[cookeemann]

Ahhhh, so now I finally have some time to post pics. Glen did a far better job telling the story than I did and was gracious enough to even add Youtube links to videos. My kids think it's "so cool, Dad's on Youtube".

Being it is so close to the end of school and Zac's done great again this year, I let him have a couple days off to help me out with the recovery. Funny how teens don't have a problem missing school. The trip started out Wed a.m. about 0900 in the Toyota double cab pulling my 16' dovetail car hauler and a load of tools.

We made Ft Riley in pretty good time. Seemed like about 8 or 9 hours. I'm still technically active duty so we stayed in the visiting quarters. Waters Hall, maintained by an Army contractor for billeting visitors. It was built in 1888 originally as a bar or club, later the horse shoeing school, installation post office, temporary lodging and finally an Army hotel. Very nice job on the renovation.........uh, I'm rambling.....anyoldways... ; )

We woke up 0700 Thurs to rain - something we haven't seen in about 180 days around here so it was welcomed for us. We had a 0900 appt time so we got ready, grabbed b'fast and headed out hoping to get in the gate early. We did but the whole place has only one person manning it who has to be there anytime we are so at first, Glen must've thought we stood him up. I missed his call and though we kept looking, we must have missed him. He was right on time and was a GREAT man to finally meet in person. Here are some pic's of the trailers loaded (and Zac doing what he does best).

 

[cookeemann]

The gov't liq lady (who was awesome - Rebecca) left us to do our trailer loading finish up and went to let Glen in the yard and we started the truck recovery.

She was a bit sad looking. dirty, doors flopping, front tire flat (though new) and the rest were new Titans (all the tires on the trailers were new Titans as well).

We started with a quick walk around to see what she was and make sure nothing significant or obvious was looming. So far so good. Glen dove under the diffs and started popping out the fill plugs like a madman. Turned out they needed just a little fluid to bring them up to spec. We pumped the brake pedal and surprisingly we had some pressure- not great but not bad. Opened the reservoir and she was pretty low. Boy that vent line is fun. Poured in some Dot 5 and we had brakes!

We checked the oil, belts, radiator and they were good except for the compressor belt which was pretty loose but would at least get us out the gate. Stabbed in a couple AWESOME Exide commercial batteries I got from Tractor Supply that had 925 CCA each and were cheaper than the Wally World regular car batteries. Checked the engine cutoff and it wouldn't come out. Disconnected it from the shut off and it moved freely so it must be the valve. Took the two screws out of the valve housing and it had oil in it but had dried out around the shaft. Glen worked it in and out a couple times and got oil on the shaft and it was working like a champ. Flipped the power switch and got the air buzzer. Glen opened the valve on the primary and I hit the switch a couple more times and got a little water out of the bowl, then checked for hydro lock. Sounded good turning over so in went the shut off and when Glen hit the starter button, she fired right up and ran like a top. It lit off right away, no hesitation. It was ALIVE!

No leaks noted on the motor so we turned to getting the left tire aired up to at least get out of the GL site. Rebecca had another appt and we were about 5 minutes from being SOL so we decided to limp her outta the lot with a 3/4 inch bold in the tire. It held air long enough to get it to the gravel yard where we could change it out. Thank goodness Glen had the tire tools 'cause my really cool 4 way would never have worked without a 5 or 6' cheater bar. Anyway, we lowered the 'new' spare (Denman) from the mount and put it on the front. I'll swap it for a new Titan from the trailer later. Here's the pic's.

 

[cookeemann]

So now the plan was to drive it to Salina, about an hour and anything significant would likely show up on the way. Glen had the massive Deuce towbar and offered to tow me to his place if necessary so after stopping for a fuel top off, we pressed on.

A few minutes into the trip, we hit a pretty good rain shower and though it's a fact 'if you drive a Deuce in the rain you will get wet' , I actually was nearly completely dry. I figured out how to work the wipers in a hurry and they both worked as advertised. She ran about 45 psi or so, about 2200 RPS and 52 MPH and by the way, I never had to downshift the entire 600+ miles.

We made it to Salina with no issues and parked at a truckstop to get lunch at a local chain - which was very good. We chatted it up a bit and decided that since the Toyota was overloaded, we'd hit one of Glen's bud's place to offload the bigger 105 to tow behind the Deuce and tow only one trailer on the car hauler. Especially since Zac's only 16 and would be driving the Tundra. Now, before I get somebody's panties in a bunch, yes, he's only 16 and pulling a trailer 600 miles, but he's been driving (legally) for nearly two years and it was ALL flat interstate at never faster than 53 mph so I was certain he could safely handle it, and he did with no issues. We didn't get in a hurry at all the entire day and even spent some time looking at Glen's friend's incredible hot rod collection. After that, it was time to hit the road. Zac and I, after missing our turn to the interstate, stopped at a local grocery store to get a small styrofoam cooler, Yoo Hoos, chips and a case of water for the trip. Got it all organized and we were off!

 

[91W350]

He says I came along to help him, but he did all the techno stuff! He tore into the fuel pump like he knew exactly what he was doing! He showed me how to use the compressor wrenches too! Awesome, I will know when I need to do mine! I had a good time and it was really nice to meet Zac, I am glad he came along, I think I even thanked him for taking time to take this trip with Dad.

It is a small world, I actually had bid on this truck and planned to run it up quite a bit more than I did, but got sidetracked. I was surprised at the closing price at Riley. Cheap deuces have not been the norm there for some time. I am glad they got it, I hope it treats them well, I think it is a really solid old girl.

Now the party is over ..... anybody else headed up here for a truck and wants some company, let me know. I enjoy the mechanics of it and meeting people in the hobby.

You know, if the wife really cannot stand it and you need to dump her..... Glen

 

[cookeemann]

Almost forgot. If any of you guys ever get to Salina, you'll miss an opportunity to meet a really great guy if you don't drop by and shake Glen's hand. He really went out of his way to help us and stay in touch with us the whole trip back. He's definitely a credit to the hobby and it was a pleasure to spend time wrenching on an old truck with him.

The weather was great as we rattled down the highway with our sights set on Wichita first with OK City if we had enough daylight. We crossed the OK border about 45 minutes before dark and stayed the night at a nice hotel with a Mexican restaurant in the parking lot. It was Cinco De Mayo so we figured what the heck. It was pretty good. Disconnected the batteries, locked everything up we could and bedded down for the night. Slept like a baby! Next morning, set out about 0800. Topped off the fuel - again and hit the interstate. We made it about 10 miles and the softtop windshield seem bid me farewell. Brand new top, rear window never been unzipped but sitting in the sun all those years rotted the threads. Did a little electrical/duct tape surgery and we were off again. Lasted about a minute. Dealt with it until the next gas stop. Was beautiful in the morning and I mean BEAUTIFUL! Kansas and North Oklahoma have some really gorgeous scenery and whoever said it was right. Driving a Deuce at 50 mph lets you appreciate the scenery you'd otherwise never see. Fact. Well worth the time spent in the right lane.

By about mid day, I had a Tropical Storm force headwind (literally) as I came into OK City. It played heck with that big 109 box. I got worried as my temps started climbing from the 160-180 that it had been the whole trip to 190-200. It stuck at almost 200 and never got over but it kept me worried the whole way from OK City to Amarillo.

We stopped for lunch on the west side of OK City at a TA truckstop 'cause Zac just "Loves That Chicken From Popeyes" (we don't have one near us) and I needed to top off (again) and stretch my legs. Then it happened. One of the coolest things ever. As I went back out to move the Deuce after paying, the lady at the desk said "have a safe trip Driver". AWESOME! Hey, I don't spend much time around big trucks so for her to think I was driving a big rig was a big deal for me. Put a little pep in my step.

We ate our lunch, did more tape surgery on the top (didn't last) and headed out. Now I had a crazy crosswind from about my 10-11:00. Blew my sunglasses off and one of my favorite baseball caps off and out the passenger window. Hated to, but had to let her go. On a mission and no time to go back.

We pushed on across TX and finally hit Amarillo. The home stretch. Wasn't really concerned if something happened now since it's so close to home so I started to relax about the temps a bit. Missed out exit and had to double back, but now we were on 27 south heading to 60 and the last bit of highway.

We stopped for dinner (had to feed Zac AGAIN) in Hereford TX, the beef capital of the world but had Long John Silver's - go figure. A few minutes and we were off. We were pushing on still under 53 mph but the sun was setting fast and I had no dim lights and didn't want to drive on just high beams.

It finally got too dark so I had to use the lights. Apparently it wasn't too bad for oncoming traffic cause nobody flashed me. We rolled into Clovis and for giggles, I tried the dimmer and BAM, dim lights. Wierd. Made the last left turn for home and hit the dimmer for bright, worked fine, went back to dime and lost everything! Yikes, back to bright and haven't messed with it since. Don't have any front turn signals either so it's probably a connection or something.

Everybody came out to see her and really liked it. My 7 and 10 year old had a fit and couldn't wait to ride in it. Zac and I were beat so we took showers and turned in. I tossed and turned for about two hours still spun up a bit from the trip but she made it with the only casualties being the softtop, one tire, sunburned left arm and one baseball cap (RIP old friend).

Lesson's learned? Yep. Bring tools. The right ones. For sure a jack and a way to change a tire. And a spare tire or two. It's just comforting knowing you can have blowouts and not be stranded. Cash, credit cards and a list of Steel Soldiers along your route. Priceless. New batteries for sure and a gladhand airline. Spare belts too. And for goodness sakes, bring good duct tape, not Wally World brand "Duck" duct tape. It's worthless.

 

[Bighurt]

I have to agree. Glen makes you feel like your are the most important thing on his agenda. I don't know if that's his nature or if he truly has nothing better to do some days. Either way its very refreshing and he has a pleasant demeanor.

On my trip by the time I got to Glen's I was beat, and felt like I was a nuisance to everyone including myself.

He made us feel welcome, just wish we had more time to kill.

Next time Glen Next time...Mexican it is LOL

 

[cookeemann]

So, the day after. Went out and discovered, she's let her hair down now. Had a bit of an antifreeze leak coming out from around the overflow connection near the cap. Best case, weak cap or maybe sticky thermostat. That'd explain the high temps coming through TX. (temps were back to 160-180 after the sun set) I noticed some oil on the driver's side rear at the head and block mating surface and thought I'd read a post that this was an indication of a bad head gasket.....worst case. Also the fwd rear pass side axle was spitting oil the whole way - not bad but I could see it. But now it was leaking down onto the wheels. Looked like a wheel cyl leak, but doesn't smell like brake fluid. Smells like gear oil so that most likely means a bad axle seal I guess. No biggie either way. Probably needs a brake job / bearing repack anyway.

Here's the kicker! The driver's side tool box had a padlock on it when I recovered it. Couldn't wait to see if it was empty or whatever. My 10 year old was more excited than I was and was convinced there was a .45 or some grenades in it or something. We had joked about that this morning at b'fast (we took the Deuce out).

He helped me cut the lock off and learned something very important about cutting with a grinder. THE METAL GETS HOT! Bless his heart, he was so excited about opening the box, he grabbed the lock before I could stop him. Ouch. But look what was in there! SCORE!!!!!

Great recovery. I'm sure the next one (next Thursday) won't be as smooth or pleasant but the lessons/experience I got from this one should definitely pay off.

Remember, if you drive a Deuce in the summer, you will get hot. If you drive a Deuce in the winter, you will get cold. If you drive a Deuce in the rain, you will get wet. But in the end, hey, you're driving a Deuce, and you will love it the whole time!

Cheers Ya'll
Cookeemann

 

[91W350]

I love the photos of the kids and dog in the deuce! Thanks for sharing! Glen

 

[fasttruck]

Has turbocharged multifuel continental engine.