Plode's M923A2

[BKubu]

Does anyone know what headlight bulb these trucks take?

I've searched around, couldn't find anything specific.

I've purchased them regularly for like $22-27/each NEW. With all the trucks being parted out, I bet you could find them cheaper used. Contact John Appel on this list. I believe his screen name is JAPPELJR or something like that. John is a great guy to deal with.

 

[plode]

Man, I'm glad you said it first because that was exactly what I was thinking. Did anyone see that "rebuilt" NHC 250 in GA on GL that went off on last week's sale? It had a fist sized hole in the block right next to a nice, clean data plate that said it was rebuilt at RRAD! I think the date was in 2011 or 2012...you can't make this stuff up!

PLODE, I applaud your interest in fixing the truck up. That's what this hobby is about. Check to see what is wrong with your engine, but don't sink crazy money into it when John Appel on this list has verified running take out motors for $1,500...before any negotiations! He is in PA, near DE, not far from you in south Jersey. Where in south Jersey are you?

I'm way down in Cape May County. Outside of Sea Isle/Ocean City. I know on the drive home it wasn't smoking(my dad was riding behind me, he said it was running very clean- pretty much no smoke at all), but it has just been on cold starts(not warmed up..I let it idle for about a 1/2 hour and it was just barely starting to bring up the temp gauge).
I'm going to get all of the fluids and filters changed, and drive the truck a bit, and see if it clears up. I don't know how long it sat with the fuel in it, or how much condensation might have built up in the tank. There could be a good bit of water in the fuel(haven't drained the fuel/water separator yet, it snowed 8" yesterday). Problem is, it's going to take a while to burn all of the fuel up that is in the tank, I put $100 in on the way home, and the tank is full. I have to do a good bit of work before I can legally drive it down the road. I did what I had to do to get it home

I might have to invest in one of the take out motors, just in case(can't hurt to have a back up- I could even rebuild it in my spare time), but the problem is, I don't have any way to swap it out. I'm positive I could do the swap(mechanically), I just don't have the ability to lift a motor that size in/out of the truck.

 

[plode]

Pulled the instrument panel out today. What a pain in the neck..so many wires! Those bullet connectors are a pain too! I broke a few, so I have to figure out how I'm going to hook up the wires again. I labeled every wire so I know right where to hook it up.

I pulled it out so it would be easier to put new windshield wiper air hoses in(they are dry rotted and leaking), and replace the control valves on the dash which are leaking. It also gives me a chance to do some cleaning and straightening up of wires under the dash. There is dust behind the dash...everywhere. Before I put everything back I'm going to go in with a brush and clean everything off, and vacuum it clean.

I just pulled all of the gauges off of the panel, sanded it down, now I just have to paint it(picked up some Behr marquee 383 clone paint from Home Depot). I have to figure out how to paint the bezels around each gauge..might have to break out the artist paint brushes

 

[Suprman]

Mask the gauge windows with masking tape. You can get the Packard connectors and crimp or solder them onto the wires

 

[plode]

Got the instrument panel, the gauge bezels all painted up, and put the gauges back into the panel(after I cleaned all of the dust off them). Looks much better then it did.

Today I mainly tackled the leaking windshield wiper control valve. I pulled it out, disassembled it, cleaned it, and put it back together. I hooked it up to my air compressor to check it, and it appears to be working correctly.
I went to Napa and got hose to replace the dry rotted air lines running to the wipers. The guy gave me a deal on the hose so I bought the remainder of the spool off of him. I pulled the copper tubing section off and sanded it down and pained it(paint was flaking off of it). I still have to pull the actual passeneger side wiper motor off and open it up. Something in it is leaking.

I need to find new grommets for where the hose passes through the dash. Napa nor the hardware store I tried had them. I'll have to try Home Depot, but I'm thinking I'm not going to find them there either. That is the only thing holding me up from reinstalling the instrument panel.

 

[plode]

double post

 

[plode]

Well after work today I worked on the truck a bit. I sanded down the area around where the instrument cluster bolts in, and painted it up.
I took out the passenger side windshield wiper motor, took it all apart, cleaned it, regreased it, and put it back together. I sanded it down and painted it.
Found a 5.56 casing while cleaning out the cab. Guess someone was shooting from the truck, or threw one of their empty casings into the truck.

I took a look at why my shifter was very notchy going into neutral. The neutral safety switch needed a dab of grease, and since I had it all apart, I painted the side panels of the shift tower. Painted the CTIS box too. It's nice painting bits and pieces of it, parts are starting to look nice. The green isn't faded, and all scratched up.
I also pulled the one fitting out of one of the air tanks that was leaking, cleaned it up, teflon taped it and put it back in. I was surprised to find that it was installed with 1. no teflon tape or pipe dope(or anti-seize compound as the military calls it), and 2. it was only hand tight.
Well now that's fixed. I have to wait to get all of the air lines in the cab hooked up to the gauges before I can pressure test the system. That, hopefully will be tomorrows project. I know I have one other leak on a 90 elbow going into the air interlock for the transfer case. That will be a tomorrow project too, it was getting dark.

I took a closer look at the tag on the motor.
View attachment 482033

If you can't read it- it says it was overhauled by the 665th maintenance company(which I believe is in South Dakota). 09 April, which I'm guessing is April 2009.

The oily grunge on the motor looks like it came from the fuel/water separator...looks like it was leaking at one point. Does not appear to be leaking now.

 

[plode]

Man, these connections to the instrument panel have zero slack in them. They are almost under strain when connected. I have all of the gauges, lights and air lines connected. Now I'm working on the battery and start switch. I'm seriously thinking about making up a pig tail so there is a bit more room to get the instrument panel in and out should I ever need to. The speedometer cable also is really short, but not much I can do about that.

I did get the windshield wiper valve back in, and installed the new hoses.

Lunch break now.

 

[plode]

I made up pig tails which made it much easier to hook up the connections to the battery switch and the starter switch.
Fired up the truck, all the gauges appear to be working correctly, and the lights all work.
Only problem is...the main reason I pulled the instrument panel was to fix the passenger side windshield wiper air valve, it was leaking air. Well, it's still leaking.

I let the truck idle for a good bit..then I noticed coolant leaking. This time the connection to the radiator on the drivers side is weaping. I tried tightening the hose clamp- which it's as tight as I can get it..and it's still weaping. I tried loosening it up and pushing the hose on to the radiator further but it just started spewing coolant so I quick tightened the clamp down. So I have to fix that.

Next thing I tried doing was since I disconnected the CTIS system, I noticed the drivers side rear axle(the front of the two)tire was looking low. So I got out the air hose and went to the schrader valve on the back, checked the pressure..23psi. So I began filling, and filling, and filling some more since my compressor is small. Finally I get it up to about 45psi, and I hear air leaking. I get out the handy soapy water bottle and spray everything down. Don't see any leaks. I respray it, and then I notice air is leaking out of where I'm assuming the 2 halves of the rim bolt together right where the air line runs through the rim. So I threw a jack under the axle and lifted it up a bit so it won't go flat and mess up the tire.

Now I'm stuck trying to figure out what I'm going to do about this. It's one thing after another. I might be able to drive it out to my friends propane business where he is better equipped to handle the heavy tires. Going to have to research this more to see what is involved with replacing the wheel seal.

 

[Suprman]

I have replacement wiper controls
Will

 

[plode]

Got around to working on the truck today. Weather was beautiful.
I got a 55 gallon plastic barrel from my friend which I cut in half to use as a drain pan. I drained the coolant into it.
While I was letting the coolant drain, I went around and pulled off all of the CTIS hoses to each wheel. The system was already disabled prior to me buying the truck- they all had schrader valves in them. I checked the pressures, and adjusted them as needed. The only one that is leaking is the drivers side rear axle- the front one. I have the o-ring for the wheel on the way, that will be here tomorrow or Thursday. The tire is still holding 40psi. Once the o-ring comes in, I am going to drive it out to my friends(7 miles) where we will work on it. His shop is setup for working on big trucks as they are in the propane business. So fingers crossed that goes well.

I wrestled the hose off, and sanded down the radiator outlet and cleaned all of the rust and gunk off. I did the same to the passenger side outlet. Put it back together, filled it up with coolant, bled the aftercooler, and started her up. I had to let it idle for about 45 minutes until it actually came up to temp where the thermostat opened. Topped off the coolant.

I found what appeared to be a minor power steering leak, so I fixed that, checked fluid, that was OK.

I also put the shift tower back together, I had the panels all off to grease the neutral safety switch.
Finally feel like I'm making some progress. Still have to figure out why the turn signals aren't working. Light on the lever lights up, but none of the signals actually come on. I'm thinking it might be the flasher.

Rinsed it off, and took some pictures of it for State Farm(I haven't got around to mounting the plates yet...they are just zip tied on).

 

[plode]

I painted a few spots on the truck where the paint had flaked off. I used the paint codes I found on here for the 383 green. Either the truck is really faded, or it was painted with a different color. Obviously it needs a second coat(there was a sticker under the green paint, it appears the truck was painted desert tan before getting painted with the camo).

 

[plode]

In the past few days I've got quite a bit done on the truck. I got the license plate bracket with light mounted and wired, the front plate bolted up(drilling through the front bumper took about 12 years ). I got the turn signals working(was a bad ground at the flasher), and had to fix the wiring on the front drivers side. The turn signal was hooked up to the marker light. Switched them around and it's working well now. The digital switch is giving me some trouble though, so the previous owner is mailing me a 3 lever switch(also so the truck won't burn itself down).

I did find the source of the oil on the main airline out of the air compressor. When I was under the truck I noticed there is oil on the bottom of the power steering pump. I haven't looked close enough to see if it's a line into the pump leaking, or the pump/air compressor connection gasket(which I haven't been able to find a replacement gasket for). I checked the fluid, and it's right where it should be. Still would like to address the leak soon. I don't like leaks.

Speaking of leaks(I fix one and another pops up, of course!)...apparently I was fiddling with the front axle switch on the transfer case, and left it engaged. Now I notice oil coming out of the front differential. I'm not sure what the name of it is, but it's coming out of the seal for the part coming out of the front differential towards the front of the truck- circled in red(I just used a stock photo I found online). What is involved with replacing that seal?


Probably taking it out to my friends house tomorrow and working on the tire. That ought to be interesting.

 

[mkcoen]

I'd say the tan undercarriage is a good indication that the truck used to be tan.

 

[plode]

I'd say the tan undercarriage is a good indication that the truck used to be tan.

I used a stock photo I found online, that's not my truck. The undercarriage of my truck is green, but under some of the places where it is chipping away, it is tan underneath.

 

[Hawssie]

So the Military themselves rebuild facility for these motors? One of my trucks has a replaced engine but it was remanufactured by Cummins, but its not that new its an 05. I think I would rather have it done by Cummins then the Military.

 

[plode]

Ran into some trouble today. Took the truck out to my friends house to do the wheel o-ring. Ran beautiful on the way out there(other then the obscenely bumpy road). He opened the garage up for me and let me do my thing, he had to go meet his accountant(taxes).

So I get it jacked up, pull the rock guard off, pull the CTIS valve off, and go to hit the lug nuts with his 3/4" impact(has a 1/2" airline running to it, 150psi on an 80 gallon compressor...and it's a Ingersoll-Rand impact wrench rated at 1100ft/lbs).
The lug nuts would not even budge. Guess I need a 1" impact wrench.

So I put it back together, put everything away, and go to leave. Flip the battery switch, hear a click, flip the starter switch...dead. Did it about 3 times over just to be sure I wasn't doing something wrong. One of my friends employees pulls up so I go talk to him to let him know my friend was letting me use the garage. I go back to the truck, go to start it...everything works just fine. I took it on a dirt road on the way home(took the scenic route). Ran great down there(albeit a very bumpy ride). Then took the long route home, and it ran great the whole way.

So I'm confused as to what could have been the starting issue. I tried it a couple more times when I got home and I couldn't replicate it.
And now I'm left with the option of taking it to a truck tire place to have them replace the o-ring since I don't own a 1" impact wrench. I'll have to buy one soon.

 

[Suprman]

Drivers side lug nuts are reverse threaded. Sounds like an intermittent pcb or bad contact somewhere

 

[aheilmann68]

Protective Control box acting up. Same occured in 3 of my trucks, opened them up and rebuilt/wired them. Now no issues.

 

[plode]

Drivers side lug nuts are reverse threaded. Sounds like an intermittent pcb or bad contact somewhere

Oh great, so I tightened them down to 1100ft/lbs .

I'm wondering if there is a bad contact in the starter switch. When I clicked on the battery switch I heard the audible click from the solenoid in the black box. Just when I threw the ignition switch nothing turned on. Not even the low air alarm/parking brake.