olddodgetrucks.com

6555 hwy 140

puryear

TN

http://s805.photobucket.com/albums/yy333/olddodgetrucks/

I had a little time to work on the truck last night. I was going to try and get the new starter put in. I looked at the area where the starter was to go and saw a lot of grease, mud, and probably 50 year old manure. This was a working farm truck before I bought it. After about an hour of chipping away at the grime, I got enough of it gone that I can put the starter back in. Problem is, I have no more time to work tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I will get more time.

I did take some pictures of the before and after.

starter removed lots of grime

 

 

 

 

Numbers appeared 270 1119729-5

 

Engine Serial Number TI43-II477

Last night I got the positive cable installed and I found out my starter has gone bad. My neighbor who is a mechanic by trade brought over his battery/cable tester. We determined the battery and cables were not the problem.  After a lot of work, I got the starter out. I need to buy a stubby 5/8″ wrench.

I took the starter apart. The truck had sat idle for quite a few years. I think the insulation inside the starter deteriorated and got stuck in the wrong place. When the motor spun the insulation caught one of the windings and messed up the starter. It was tricky getting it back together. There are four spring loaded things you have to hold out to get it to go back in. Pat had mentioned they used to use tooth picks on stuff like that to hold them out, then you slip it on, and pull the tooth picks. I needed them pulled a little farther than a tooth pick width so I used screw drives instead. I got it back together.

Searched through the old truck parts I had and found the other starter I had parted out of one of the original trucks. I put it in the vise on my workbench and ran jumper cables from the truck battery to the starter. I pushed the button on the starter, and voila, it spun. Now I have to find some time to install it in my truck.

The exterior of the non-working one was much nicer looking than the working one. Maybe I should paint this one before I reinstall it.

My neighbor Pat brought over a 2/0 2 foot long cable for my positive to ground connection. Has the red ends, looks very nice, and was the perfect length. The cable that was on there was a smaller gauge. I had purchased a 3 foot long 2/0 from farm and fleet. It was too long and so I am going to use it for the negative cable. The original negative cable was very small gauge and not in the greatest shape. This should make it so I know the cables are not the problem with the starter not going.

Well it took about 2 hours to get the negative cable run. There is a strap that secures the cable to the flywheel housing. You can’t get a socket on it the whole way, once it is backed out, the socket/universal joint hits the firewall. The wrench has very little room to manuever. So getting that off was one of the hardest parts of the removal process. The old cable to slip through the strap when the bolt was loosened, but the 2/0 would not go through without removing the strap completely. Getting the strap back on was very difficult. The 2/0 did not always want to bend so getting the bolt lined up and started was not easy. I finally got it started enough by hand to start turning it less than a 1/4 turn at a time with the wrench. Eventually I got it far enough to use the 1/4″ racket with every extender I own and an universal joint. Bending the cable with my pliers to the right shape was how I eventually got the cable to cooperate and get in the right place.

It was 11PM when I finished. Hopefully tomorrow Pat can come over and help me test the battery and cable and figure out why the starter won’t turn.

First time I have seen my truck move in years. Great to see it going down the street, even if it was on the back of a tow truck. I pushed the truck out of the garage before the tow truck got there. Used some bricks to inch it back, driveway is downhill. Once it was out of the garage completely I left it til the tow truck came. I told him I wanted the front of the truck facing the front of the tow truck, so we needed to turn the truck around before he put it on the tow truck. I told him it had no brakes, no fluid and they have not been adjusted yet either. He said it was not a problem. He got in, told us to take the bricks out from the wheels. My neighbor was helping at this point. We followed the truck down the driveway and tried to slow it down as he went. it came to a stop in the street. He loaded it up on the back of his truck and off we went.

Everything stayed in the truck on the trip over, so my tarp worked out well. Had my doubts. Unloading the truck was another thing.

I told him I wanted the truck in the garage rear end first and on the left side of the truck. He was too far left when he initially got it off the back of the tow truck. Then he tried to move it over using the rear tow contraption. He spent a long time and did not make much progress. Eventually I told him to leave it and I would get it pushed in the garage another time. My brother, dad, and 2 brother-in-laws were coming over for a party on Sunday. Should be plenty of man-power to get it in the garage.

It is great seeing the truck on wheels again.

Closing date on the house is fast approaching. Have to have the truck done and moved before then.  Got the last drum put on. Had to adjust the major and minor adjusters a bit and it slipped right on. Got all four wheels on. They are still holding air which is suprising. The inner tubes must still be good. Tried to get it turn over, not going to happen in the amount of time I have.

I had to make another brake line. This one was for the rear driver’s side. It went from the T fitting on the rear axle to the wheel. I have the old one to model it after. I got it all bent, cut, and flared. I went to put it on and it just would not go on. Seemed a little too short. Got out from under the truck and matched it up with the original. It was too short. The original had the end near the drum twist off. I forgot to add that much back on. So I had to make another one. There are a lot of bends in all directions. Takes a little bit of doing to get it bent right. The hard part is getting the flare done, because you have to have the threaded connector on the line before you flare it, but the tool also needs to be on the line to flare it and there is a bend near the end of the line. So I had to straighten the line out a little move the connector, flare it, and then bend it back. Took a while to get it to fit. But it is now done.

I also put the front driver’s fender back on. Should have scraped the rubber off of either the fender or the front piece. It is a bit too thick and making the door rub. So it will have to come back off at the new house and be redone. But getting the fender out of the bed of the truck gave me enough room to actually get all the truck parts in the bed of the truck without being over the top of the bed sides. I put a tarp over the whole thing and zip tied it down for the trip to the new house.

Had to put the wheels on to get my truck moved to the new house. Walter came over and helped in the endeavor. His son was sanding off some of the rust from the drums. We got 3 of the 4 drums on.  Actually walter got 3 of the 4 on. I took a bunch of time making the rear brake line for the passengers side. First time I have used a flare tool. It is a manual one that Eric let me use. It takes a lot of pressure to get the flare to be correct. I tried to get the last drum on but it would not go. Walter tried also. Molly called to see if we had left yet to pick up the pizza. We hadn’t. Time to pick up and go.

We ran out of time, so I will have to come back another time and finish the last one on, then the wheels. The tow truck will come pick it up and take it to the new house. I was going to try and get it running, but realized my tires are a bit dry rotted, so don’t want to push it.