Gary Lewis Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Well the seller finally released the truck - had to wait for the ground to dry up some. I will get it towed home in the next day or two - rear drivers side wheel brake is seized. Not too surprising as it has sat for probably 4 years. Temporary fuel tank by washer bottle. Judging by the condition of the interior and the rolled over odo (in kilometers) the truck appears to have about 70,000 miles on it. I got it running - started easily - runs beautifully, no blow by and oil pressure up at the m even when warm, idled nicely and good throttle response. Clutch felt really smooth and the T18 shifted smoothly and felt really solid. Truck came with a free camper, originally was to have been removed but I think the seller ran out of time. He has sold the farm and has a lot of junk to dispose of quickly. Not a huge bonus as the camper needs a lot of work, but very salvageable, I am sure that some one will want it. Anyway excited to be getting the truck home and get moving on this. Bob You are off an a great adventure! This is going to be fun - for you and for us following along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share Posted April 23, 2021 You are off an a great adventure! This is going to be fun - for you and for us following along. Gary, thanks for the encouragement. The Gods were smiling on me when I found this donor truck but have been doing something else on me ever since. I called a towing company yesterday and they said they could move the truck no problem. I called today and after waiting for about 1/2 hour the driver got back to me and said they could not move it because of springtime load restrictions. For those in warmer climates - in the spring as the ground is unfreezing loads are reduced on roads to protect them. Restrictions are not likely to come off for another 4 weeks or so. Checked with another company and same thing. The drivers side rear wheel will not turn - brakes seized - I guess I will have to keep fighting with that. If I can free it up then I could get a permit on the truck and drive it home. The lug nuts are huge 1 1/8" and they too are frozen on that wheel. We had a 4' bar on the wheel nuts and we could just get them to move but it felt like we might be twisting off the stud. Have to apply a bit of heat and lots of penetrating oil. Very frustrating! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Gary, thanks for the encouragement. The Gods were smiling on me when I found this donor truck but have been doing something else on me ever since. I called a towing company yesterday and they said they could move the truck no problem. I called today and after waiting for about 1/2 hour the driver got back to me and said they could not move it because of springtime load restrictions. For those in warmer climates - in the spring as the ground is unfreezing loads are reduced on roads to protect them. Restrictions are not likely to come off for another 4 weeks or so. Checked with another company and same thing. The drivers side rear wheel will not turn - brakes seized - I guess I will have to keep fighting with that. If I can free it up then I could get a permit on the truck and drive it home. The lug nuts are huge 1 1/8" and they too are frozen on that wheel. We had a 4' bar on the wheel nuts and we could just get them to move but it felt like we might be twisting off the stud. Have to apply a bit of heat and lots of penetrating oil. Very frustrating! Bob The setback on towing is a bummer, and the stuck/frozen wheel just adds to the hurt. Good luck, Bob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Gary, thanks for the encouragement. The Gods were smiling on me when I found this donor truck but have been doing something else on me ever since. I called a towing company yesterday and they said they could move the truck no problem. I called today and after waiting for about 1/2 hour the driver got back to me and said they could not move it because of springtime load restrictions. For those in warmer climates - in the spring as the ground is unfreezing loads are reduced on roads to protect them. Restrictions are not likely to come off for another 4 weeks or so. Checked with another company and same thing. The drivers side rear wheel will not turn - brakes seized - I guess I will have to keep fighting with that. If I can free it up then I could get a permit on the truck and drive it home. The lug nuts are huge 1 1/8" and they too are frozen on that wheel. We had a 4' bar on the wheel nuts and we could just get them to move but it felt like we might be twisting off the stud. Have to apply a bit of heat and lots of penetrating oil. Very frustrating! Bob Most of these trucks have 1 1/16 lug nuts. Don't round them right off. Remember a Dana 60 of this vintage has left hand nuts. (On the left hand side) Indicated by spots on both stud and nut*. Heat is key. Wax is nice once you get things moving. Nothing is frozen if it is molten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Most of these trucks have 1 1/16 lug nuts. Don't round them right off. Remember a Dana 60 of this vintage has left hand nuts. (On the left hand side) Indicated by spots on both stud and nut*. Heat is key. Wax is nice once you get things moving. Nothing is frozen if it is molten. Jim, Thanks for the heads up on the sinister nuts. I do vaguely remember in the dimming mists of time a few vehicles with left hand studs - Chrysler products come to mind if I remember correctly. I will look closely at the threads. That could explain a lot. My 86 has a Stirling so never crossed my mind that I was lefty mighty tighty. Luckily after trying a couple of lug nuts and both of our retired selves having heart issues, we quit before we broke something either on the vehicle or ourselves. I think I might have found someone to tow the truck, will know in the next day or so. The black and white highway regulations may have some grey spots. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 Jim, Thanks for the heads up on the sinister nuts. I do vaguely remember in the dimming mists of time a few vehicles with left hand studs - Chrysler products come to mind if I remember correctly. I will look closely at the threads. That could explain a lot. My 86 has a Stirling so never crossed my mind that I was lefty mighty tighty. Luckily after trying a couple of lug nuts and both of our retired selves having heart issues, we quit before we broke something either on the vehicle or ourselves. I think I might have found someone to tow the truck, will know in the next day or so. The black and white highway regulations may have some grey spots. Bob I'm on a phone so I can't see if the truck sagging under the weight of the camper is a 150, 250 or 350. But if it is a 250/350 and has a D60 rear it likely has LH threads on the LH side. Every one I've seen has 'L' clearly stamped in the end of the stud. I certainly haven't seen every truck, and I don't know that someone hasn't changed them out over the years. You need to pull the axle to get the drums off these beasts too. Check the overall height with that rig up on the flatbed. The LAST thing you want is to clip an overpass or traffic light. DAMHIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 I'm on a phone so I can't see if the truck sagging under the weight of the camper is a 150, 250 or 350. But if it is a 250/350 and has a D60 rear it likely has LH threads on the LH side. Every one I've seen has 'L' clearly stamped in the end of the stud. I certainly haven't seen every truck, and I don't know that someone hasn't changed them out over the years. You need to pull the axle to get the drums off these beasts too. Check the overall height with that rig up on the flatbed. The LAST thing you want is to clip an overpass or traffic light. DAMHIK. Thanks Jim, It is a 250 with a D60 and I now see they are lefty. I didn't see any L stamp though. The truck is finally home . The tow truck driver had fun with it. Did not flatbed it because it would, as you pointed out, have had clearance issues. Towed it using a frame lift at the rear and letting it roll on the fronts. This worked great for about a mile until the left side front brake started smoking badly. So then put a dolly under the front axle. The driver babied it all the way home ( ~ 15 miles) at about 35 mph. Luckily traffic was fairly light so only upset a few less patient people. I would like to free up that brake as it would make it a lot easier to get the camper off and move the truck around in the yard. The PO gave me the last registration on the truck - 1998 - I think this unit has sat a little longer than 4 years and that the brakes shoes and drum are probably rusted up very badly. The fact that the front brake was overheating when towed tends to confirm that. Anyway the truck is home and if I can't release the brake I will have to work around it. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Thanks Jim, It is a 250 with a D60 and I now see they are lefty. I didn't see any L stamp though. The truck is finally home . The tow truck driver had fun with it. Did not flatbed it because it would, as you pointed out, have had clearance issues. Towed it using a frame lift at the rear and letting it roll on the fronts. This worked great for about a mile until the left side front brake started smoking badly. So then put a dolly under the front axle. The driver babied it all the way home ( ~ 15 miles) at about 35 mph. Luckily traffic was fairly light so only upset a few less patient people. I would like to free up that brake as it would make it a lot easier to get the camper off and move the truck around in the yard. The PO gave me the last registration on the truck - 1998 - I think this unit has sat a little longer than 4 years and that the brakes shoes and drum are probably rusted up very badly. The fact that the front brake was overheating when towed tends to confirm that. Anyway the truck is home and if I can't release the brake I will have to work around it. Bob Congratulations! The driver definitely worked for his $ on that job. Well Bob, start by backing off the adjuster, so if it does come free the shoes will retract. As I said the D60 rear requires you to remove the axle before the drum. If you have it 'home' now you can try dragging it backwards to see if it will free up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic55kel Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Congratulations! The driver definitely worked for his $ on that job. Well Bob, start by backing off the adjuster, so if it does come free the shoes will retract. As I said the D60 rear requires you to remove the axle before the drum. If you have it 'home' now you can try dragging it backwards to see if it will free up. Thanks for the suggestions Jim. The driver did earn his $. The cost was covered by CAA (Canadian equivalent of AAA), but I gave him a good tip. Already tried the adjuster but it is solid, I cannot get it to move in either direction. Tried dragging it backwards with no luck but it is on a better surface now so may try that again. It has crossed my mind to just cut the drum between the flange and the friction surface. That would make pulling the hub easy as it is not coming apart until the brakes are free. If anyone wants the axle, it's a 4.10, they would probably do a disc brake conversion anyway. Even if they want to stay with drum brakes it needs a new brake drum for sure. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Thanks for the suggestions Jim. The driver did earn his $. The cost was covered by CAA (Canadian equivalent of AAA), but I gave him a good tip. Already tried the adjuster but it is solid, I cannot get it to move in either direction. Tried dragging it backwards with no luck but it is on a better surface now so may try that again. It has crossed my mind to just cut the drum between the flange and the friction surface. That would make pulling the hub easy as it is not coming apart until the brakes are free. If anyone wants the axle, it's a 4.10, they would probably do a disc brake conversion anyway. Even if they want to stay with drum brakes it needs a new brake drum for sure. Bob Splitting it is not a bad idea. You're right, the drum needs replacing anyhow. At least the truck would roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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