new to me truck-have a few questions.

[67caprice427]

Howdy ya'll- well, I went and bought a 1028 and have a few ?? I found that the oil cooler in the radiator sprung a leak, so there was about an inch of oil floating on top of the antifreeze. How crucial is the oil cooler in my particular situation- 12 miles each way to work, with the am commute @ 5:00 and the pm commute @ 4:00 with little to no rush hour traffic on surface streets with speed limits of 35-45 mph. I'll be replacing the cooler with an external one, just not yet.. Regarding the dog head relay mod- how can you tell if it's already been done? I peaked under the dash, and found 2 Bosch relays along with what appears to be a GM relay. The truck definitely cycles twice, after it cranks and is running. I can hear the relay(s)? clicking, the motor pulling down under load, and the voltmeter discharging, than recharging. Other than the forklift dented driveshaft, unhooked alternator wires, and more leaks than the titanic, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it runs- I guess because it just turned 20k. It came from Ft. Benning, apparently there all its life, by the condition it's in. Finally, what is the large round plug mounted under the edge of the dash for? It has a screw on cover and has probably 20-25 little port receptacles in it-1 person said it was for the radio, another thought it was a diagnostic port for the engine............thanks for your help.

 

[Drock]

First off welcome to the family. From your questions It sounds like you've bin doing some lite reading. You'll need to read through all the TM's at the top of the forum page as this will answer the bulk of the problems you'll experience with these trucks. As for the oil leak, (If it is the oil cooler leaking), swapping to an external cooler will only turn your oil leak into a coolant leak. The oil has more pressure then the coolant so it wins the fight and pushes it's self into the coolant. Removing the oil from the equation will just let the coolant pass through the same crack. The only way to fix it properly is to replace the radiator. It doesn't sound like the (doghead) mod has bin done, so I would I would recommend doing that ASAP. Also you need to check the "unhooked alternator wire" thing and see what's going on there. Lot's of guy's convert these trucks back to 12V, and it's not always pretty! Just check all your wiring and make sure it's not hacked, and while your at it clean and grease all your connections. Ah lot of electrical problems with these trucks end up being crusty connections do the fact that they've bin sitting for 30+ years. That's all I can think of off the top of my head for now but I'm sure more of us will chime in to help you out. cheers

 

[M1008BOV]

And you're correct, that plug is a diagnostic port. Are you sure the oil is from a leaking oil cooler and not something wrong in the engine itself? Check the oil and see if it has coolant, make sure you don't have a bad head gasket. Welcome

 

[cucvrus]

My opinion is if the electrical system is working like you described then it is working the way it was designed to work. Don't mess with it. Or let the hacking begin. I never cut any of the wires on any of my trucks and do not have any problems. Just don't try to run low or dead batteries and you will have no problems with the relays. It is hard cranking and hard starting that put the kybosh to the starter relay. I have had Fords with the big relays stuck in crank also. I would disconnect both of the oil cooler lines from the radiator and put a little air (5psi) pressure in the oil cooler see if it bubbles in the radiator tank. Or pressure test the radiator and see if it pushes fluid out of the oil ports that you have disconnected. And last I hope you do not have engine issues that are putting the oil in the water. Good Luck and Have a nice day.

 

[67caprice427]

I found the original auction from G/L where the previous owner bought it as a non-running vehicle. He did just enough to get it running, and sold it to me. No hacking has been done, and I'm not sure I want to start now. He put all new belts on, and forgot to re-attach all the alt. wiring. I'm just finishing up a total fluids change, with no bad surprises. I also disassembled the entire dash cluster, cleaned everything, including lightly sanding all the contacts on the flexible circuit board, so all lights work as intended. Absolutely no water in the oil, and after removing the oil cooler lines completely, no oil in the radiator at all. I flushed and re-filled and re-checked after driving for two weeks, and no oil except from the valve cover gaskets. I'm just wondering if the cooler is really necessary, given my driving situation listed above. Thanks for everyone's help, comments, and suggestions.

 

[Drock]

Well as you'll soon find out, especially living in south fl. These trucks have lackluster cooling systems. And any real load will cause the temp to rise. That being said I'd recommend adding ah temp gauge so you'll know what's going on.