CUCV head gasket / head/ or change engine survey

[rsh4364]

rsh4364, if you go, let me know. We should carpool

When I get to that point Ill let you know.I just need some small parts.

 

[rsh4364]

Great success tonight. I have the Mule running and did the swap of the transmission pan. I had 1 leak at the left rear nozzle return line cap off. Easy fix and checked everything with the light and mirror from the top and bottom. Purrs like a kitten.View attachment 564153View attachment 564152View attachment 564154I like the look of a new transmission. I will add the quad shocks on the front axle tomorrow and get the rest of the truck ready for re-paint. I have the right rocker replaced. I ran out of picture space on my camera card. i have another one installed now. Thank you for looking. Have a nice day.

I noticed your trans.pan looks just like the one on my newest 1009,drainplug and all,do you know if its still a HD th-400? Im gonna take some measurements of pan tomorrow to see if its the deep pan.The drainplug will make it really nice when changing fluid and filter.

 

[cucvrus]

Hard at it today again.I stripped out the Mule and removed all the trim for repaint. I will not be using the same bumpers, grille , bezels and brush guard. The 383 CARC green paint is in perfect condition on them and I do not want to paint the 686 Tan over them. So I will be pulling from stock to use another set and paint them Tan instead and put the green ones in storage for another project. I was happy that the bumper bolts came off with a 3/8" hand ratchet. That never seize works wonders. Even after 5-6 years in the north east. The cab floor is all origiunal yet no rust. I want to get it Line-X ed. That will be next years project. For now it is body and paint. Tomorrow I will go under side and repair the inner rockers with some 12 gauge galvaneal panels I custom cut and bent. Thank you for looking have a nice day.

 

[cucvrus]

Side tracked today from the Mule. The wife did scrub the inside of the overflow bottle out for me. I thanked her. She did a very nice job. I was just going to put a new one on. I did not tell her that. She put it back on for me while I worked on Mr Rusty. She did a nice job.

 

[cucvrus]

I was looking for a new body man so I could continue to work on my Mr Rusty project. I only had one applicant. He was a bit young but had a lot of energy so I hired him.Not bad work for the first day on the job. Thank you for looking. Have an ice day.

 

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I was looking for a new body man so I could continue to work on my Mr Rusty project. I only had one applicant. He was a bit young but had a lot of energy so I hired him.View attachment 565643View attachment 565646View attachment 565647Not bad work for the first day on the job. Thank you for looking. Have an ice day.

Way to start training them young! That's experience he'll remember forever.

 

[cucvrus]

Today I was working on my Mule while it rained. I got a front end off a 1987 Chevrolet K10 pick up for a fathers day gift. Along with a Chevrolet step-side tailgate for making a bench. I removed all the chrome from the grille and cut the holes for the B/O light and the slave receptacle. I needed the grille with the turn signals and park lights in the grille because of the driving lights I have mounted in the stock turn/park lamp location. Also I did not want to repaint the green grille tan because it was in such nice shape. I am undecided on the bezels if I should use the 85-87 bezels or the 82-84 bezels. I have some tan 84 bezels in the pictures of the new grille. I have the grille park turn lamps removed in the pictures. Also I really like the bow tie in the grille. It adds to the look I seek. Thank you for looking and have a nice day.

 

[cucvrus]

I took a break from the bodywork and added a few of my upullit treasures. These are all GM factory parts that were on the same vintage Chevy trucks back in the day. Direct bolt on only needed to move the fuel line bracket on the right side and cut the shock hole in the right inner fender. When I removed the standard shocks they were junk. I will get a new set and do the install tomorrow. Then back to body and paint. The left 1/4 panel is looking good. At this point I may opt to junk the front fenders and put new ones on that I have been storing. Nobody wants to pay what they are worth for them anyway so and they cost to much to ship so I may as well use them. Genuine GM parts are hard to find these days for these old irons. Thank you for looking. Have a nice day. No CUCV's were harmed in this days work.

 

[Ackevor]

Looking good man, love the hooks!

 

[cucvrus]

I have been working very hard on my M1009 mule project. I had a lot of side tracking. While I was doing the front fenders I decided to remove the original inner fenders. They are still good. But when I was working up front I noticed some play in the ball joints. So I am now tearing into changing all the ball joints and all the tie rod ends and drag links. I got this project started and now I don't know when to quit. New parts are nice to work with. Basically I am now behind schedule and working on 3 and 4 projects at one time. Which is OK. So much for the low budget build. A little progress here and a little there. This weekend will be a wash. I have a Celtic Fling and Highland Games event to go to at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Oh Joy. I will post the progress tomorrow and hope to get some more work completed on Mr Rusty. Powder coater is holding me up with the parts on that project. Which is fine. Thank you for looking and have a nice day.

 

[cucvrus]

I am back at it again. I was away for a couple days and came home to more work. After inspecting the ball joints on the M1009 Mule I discovered the upper ones was loose on both sides. So why not? Tore it down and ordered all new ball joints tie rod ends and drag link ends with the new adjuster sleeve. I also noticed the rubbers in the front leaf spring shackles had seen their better days. I ordered some energy suspension bushings and will replace all the spring and shackle bushings front and rear. Cooking right along on the body work. This has turned into more work then I had planned but why not? It is my toy not my daily driver. I still have another M1009 to drive at my leisure. But summertime is here and the new truck rules the road when it is A/C weather. Well here are some pictures of my progress or digression. Depending on how you look at it. I broke my low budget rule a few times on this build.Time to break out the new body parts and use them. I am still amazed that this vehicle has the original inner fender aprons on it and they are not that bad at all. I did manage to ruin the right knuckle when I had a problem getting the upper ball joint out with the press. Onto the scrap pile with it. Do not try to torch out ball joints that sparkling look is the knuckle casting getting burnt up. Hey thank you for looking and good luck with your projects. I am off work for a full week. So I plan on making a huge dent in this rebuild and a few other projects I have going at this time. Have a nice day.

 

[corvette9]

Rick.

It looks like you are having a case of project creep. I seem to remember this starting out as just fixing the head. Once you get paint on it, it will look great. Camo makes everything look brand new. Next thing you know you will be pulling the body to do the frame.

Keep up the good work.

Brian.G

 

[cucvrus]

I did a lot of front suspension work today. I had a hard time getting the left tie rod end off and the knuckle off the M1009. The sledgehammer and torch had to do the job. I could not budge it with the pickling fork and hammer. As you can see in the pictures every ball joint on the vehicle is dry and has never been changed. Also the spring bushings are all worn out. This M1009 drove great when I was driving it the past years. I am way into this project. I am a lot further then I wanted to be at this point but oh well so be it. I think most of these vehicles will need these parts at this point if they still have the original parts on them. This will definitely make an improvement when I start driving this again. The C-clamp is the best tool for the spring bushings and for R & R of ball joints, U joints and spring bushings. The torch is still a close 2nd. Thank you for looking and have a nice day.

 

[cucvrus]

Today I spent several hours in the parts washer cleaning front hubs and wheel bearings. Everything in the front hub was good and only needed cleaned and new inner grease seals. Also the spindle seals were torn so I purchased new ones to replace them. I also cleaned the axle tubes out. They had Georgia sand in them. Or sand from somewhere. I made this stick and scrapper 25 years ago and have been using it to clean axles ever since. It works great. I have the new front spring and shackle bushings installed. I figure it out the right front shackle bushing is always bad because of the fuel filter drain being in that area. The rubbers had that diesel smell and were gummy on the last 3 trucks that I changed them on. That is my theory on that. Not proven but it makes sense. Thank you for looking. Have a nice day.

 

[cucvrus]

I spent a good deal of time getting the left spring bushings in and getting the hubs reinstalled. The grease-able upper ball joints that I bought are a real joke. I have no idea how you would ever grease them. You would have to pull the hubs and axles out to grease the upper ball joints. The axles do not allow enough clearance to get in and grease them let alone install the grease zerk. I tried every angled zerk fitting I could find. I capped the joints and called it quits on the grease fittings. They last 31 years with out being greased. I bought life time warranted ball joints so the next time I have the knuckle off if I ever do I can press them out and replace them. Thank you for looking and have nice day. I remember a couple of threads back I mentioned the carc green paint being on everything on this M1009. The tie rod end and center link had a ninice coat of paint on them. The right 1/4 panel is done now. Now on to the doors. And then the night mare the roof. I will be getting the windshield out next week. It is a stock clear one and I want to keep it that way. Thank you for looking.

 

[cucvrus]

After having this vehicle for all these years I finally decided to remove the patch on the left roof corner where the remote spot light was mounted. I had these K 5 Blazer fenders for 25 years and decided now was the time to use them. They came from a new 1987 Blazer that burnt out under the dash right on the lot when I worked at a Chevrolet dealer. When I put this vehicle back together I will cut the door seals off at the bottom to prevent this rust thru in the inner rocker panels again. Imagine I pulled this in rebuilt the drive train and was just going to do a quick color change paint job. Then it began the total rebuild. Thanks for looking have a good day and good luck on your projects.

 

[cucvrus]

I got a little work done on my Mule this evening not much but some and every little bit counts. I did not get the windshield removed yet. I will have to get it done next week.

 

[cucvrus]

Today I was in the shop and outside painting parts. I took the time to blow off my M1009 Mule and cover the engine. I just did all that nice clean and paint on the engine and drive line and it was covered in dust and dirt from all the body work that is going on to the main body structure. That is not much progress to report but next week is another time. I am sure I will make more progress.

 

[cucvrus]

A little progress tonight. I am now being held up by the glass company. I want them to remove the windshield so I can repair the front edge and the holes that were on the roof from the remote spot light. Thanks for looking. I may just cut the rubber and remove the windshield. I will try hard to be patient.

 

[corvette9]

Rick.
All you need to do is pull the lock out of the windshield rubber and the glass will come out real easy. No need to cut the rubber.

Brian G.