Picked up the "Battle Barge" Yesterday!!

[DXTAC]

I picked up my first privately owned 1009 yesterday. Drove to Muskego, WI from Plainfield, IL and drove it back (about 120 miles) without a single issue other that the State Trooper pulling me over to see the Bill of Sale and Insurance!!.

The test drive and visual went great and it was just as he had expressed in the ad. I did however find a few little things that were surprising. When I dropped my dad off from picking it up he noticed some trans fluid on his driveway. When I got home and parked in the garage I noticed it too. I crawled underneath and gave it a quick once over and noticed tranny fluid ALL OVER the pan and surrounding areas. Also, I saw what looked like oil but I was unable to tell for sure. So fast forward to today and I found myself at the door of Napa as they opened at 9:00AM to buy a gasket and filter. Ran a few errands and was ready to change out the gasket about noon. I crawled under to begin the job and noticed that several (like 3-4) of the pan bolts were loose, very loose! So I tightened the bolts to spec, crawled out from under and headed to the car wash to wash off the beast.

I used the hot soap spray, let it sit for a bit and rinsed her off. I drove home and let her sit to dry a little further and imagine that the leaking stopped (sometimes I can catch a BRAKE)!! I used the time to removed all 3 door panels and lube the tracks really good as they were a bit stiff and squeaky.

For those that noticed I used the word BRAKE above. I did find another issue that I am asking for some help with. As I stated, the test drive went fine but since it was an Out-Of-Site warranty everything that would happen, happened once I was out of site.

The brakes when depressed feel firm at first then the pedal goes to the floor a bit, then firms up, then depresses a bit and so on until after about the 4th time you NEED to either release the brakes or pump them to get them to work. The brake light does come on when this happens but then goes out. I am asking for help from some pros on this one. Any ideas on what may cause this? The fluid level is fine and I didn't see any leaks/fluid near of any wheel cylinders to indicate a leak.

The body looks great and I believe the front fenders are new and possibly one door. As you can see from the pics they just don't quite line up very well but if you're lookin' that close your lookin' to steal it! LOL The inside of one door looked new and the other looked 25+ years old.

I really want to make her as road ready as possible so the cosmetic stuff is gonna wait but the brakes concern me. I am also going to bring her to an alignment shop to have the entire front end looked at and the steering wheel straightened as it's at about the 9:00 position!!

A couple of quick questions:
1) Can I use PL adhesive or similar between the metal skin on the hood
and the "frame" of the hood? You can see in one of the pics that several areas have come loose and flap in the breeze.
2) Does anyone know the unit this truck came from? It looks like a Wisconsin reserve or guard unit to me???

It feels good to have a project again!! HERE is a link to all the pics I have for now.

Thanks in advance,

Derek

 

[Midnight Rider]

Nice looking 1009.

Did you check the brake fluid level? Perhaps it is really low? That's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Shop Rat Fab]

The brake assist is done through a hydroboost system that gets its pressure from the power steering pump. If the pump is not putting out the fluid volume or fluid pressure needed the pedal will firm up till pressure and volume recovers then pull the pedal down again. The same thing used to happen on Ford diesel trucks with a vacuum pump and a vacuum booster when vacuum was depleted.

Check for any external brake fluid leaks, swelling flexible rubber brake lines, bleed the brakes(engine off), check the power steering fluid level, check for a loose power steering pump belt.

When the concern occurs see if the power steering assist does the same thing at the same time if so without out power steering pressure gauges to test the pump it miight be time for a new power steering pump. If power assist stays then it might be the master cylinder internally bypassing.

BTW DXTAC my brother and his family lives in Plainfield and my niece drives an M1009 everyday to high school.

 

[AceHigh]

Carnac has a thread ongoing that can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about your truck's history. It is Wisconsin ARNG, and there is a 426th that is a military academy or whatever.

Nice truck!