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Need input on M108 purchase

ida34

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Latest update. The guy got it running before I got there with a can on top of the hard top. The stuff in the tank is toast but the tank does not leak. The trans would initially not go into gear so he pulled it out of the woods with his tractor. I was able to get it into R, 1, 4, and 5th. The rear PTO lever needed coaxing to get it to move. When we did get the rear pto moving there was not enough hydraulic fluid to make it move. I asked the guy to grab some as if I did not see the crane moving I would not be putting down the money. We did get it moving. He had replaced all the hoses except a small diameter on going from the cable motor beside the operators station and back to the rotating motor. That one was toast and will need to be replaced. He was able to replace the hoses with using the original fittings so I will try to do that for the one hose leaking. The rust is as you would expect for a truck sitting in the woods. the doors were toast at the corner where it meets the cab. The outside rocker area of the cab was toast on both sides also. The brake pedal went to the floor. The front winch looked intact except for no cable and the drive shaft was disconnected. All in all if I could find a good parts truck I would change out the sheet metal and convert to multifuel. The gasser did seem to run good. Also, the cable on the crane is fried. I will need to find the crane supports or make some. It did have the work lights but the wiring harness is way too bad. I will need to do some rewiring. It will be a work truck at the house and one day I will probably restore it. I decided not to flat tow it and hope to have it picked up and delivered to my house tomorrow. Pics to follow later.
 

ida34

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Dexter, MI
Here are the photos. It is now back at the homestead. I need the dimensions for the boom supports so I can make some.
 

ida34

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Dexter, MI
I will put in a multifuel at some point when I find a good parts truck. I spent a few hours pressure washing 20 years of compost from the guy parking it in the woods. It looks better now but the rust did not wash off. I will need a cab and doors at least along with some fenders. The electrical needs to be redone. The big stuff is cleaning out the gas tank so I can stop using a boat tank. I also need to rebuild the master cylinder and wheel cylinder so I can get some brakes. I need to make some boom supports. One hose is leaking so I will need to get a new hose made. It is one of the small hoses. It goes from the area of the winch motor back to the center of the crane. The previous owner has most of the other hoses replaced already. I also need to try to see if he brake lock works and need to check the governor for operation. The throttle cable is not working right now and with the master cylinder dead there is no way to know if the brake lock is working. I will use it to build a pole barn and use it around the house so it is last on a long list of projects. It will be like my tractor. I fix what I need to make it usable but nothing more.
 

Stretch44875

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ida34

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Dexter, MI
I missed this one some how. If you are offering it up I am taking it. We can work it out later.

Thanks
Chuck

Looks like you will be doing pretty much the same as mine. I have a couple of threads up on when I went through mine.

I'd recommend replacing all the brake hoses. Mine even had some bad steel lines, ended up replacing all of them also.

I have a homemade boom support you can have. It's ugly, but very heavy duty.

Threads on repairing mine.

www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/34765-extensive-m108-repairs-part-2-a.html

www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/33686-extensive-m108-repairs.html
 

ida34

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Dexter, MI
I did some work to the M108 and fixed the worst hydraulic leak. It was the return hose for the winch motor. At least that is what I figured it was. It was the 1/2 inch line going from the inside of the hydraulic motor back to the center pivot of the crane. I found it off the shelf at tractor supply. I also changed a couple of lines on my tractor front end loader. It is nice not to get sprayed with hydraulic fluid when you raise the bucket to high. Now I just need to replace the cable
 

Stretch44875

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If anyone is going back your way from the Marango show, it can catch a ride.

Pulled the powerpack(engine, rad, tranny) from the M108, swapped everything to the new motor, and set it back in yesterday. Hope to hook it all up today.
 

Recovry4x4

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If anyone is going back your way from the Marango show, it can catch a ride.

Pulled the powerpack(engine, rad, tranny) from the M108, swapped everything to the new motor, and set it back in yesterday. Hope to hook it all up today.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only id10t that prefers to pull a powerpack vs just an engine. Taking all that stuf off while hunched over the truck isn't very appealing to me.
 

Recovry4x4

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50 gallons is what the TM says, I'd guess the tank itself maybe 25 or 30, sure isn't 50. I might have a spare 209-10 from the 1965 series that will have some data.
 

gimpyrobb

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Wouldn't that be in the Austin-Western TM we have posted in the deuce section?

Edit, I just looked and didn't see it listed.
 
Last edited:

73m819

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Wouldn't that be in the Austin-Western TM we have posted in the deuce section?

Edit, I just looked and didn't see it listed.
Same here, only you are faster, as fast as a GREASED POSSOM, oops, I said that
 
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