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"Andy Michalski" <amichalski@earthlink.net> wrote:
> I am planning on driving it home (or to the rented parking space in the
> storage lot as this case might be).
Good luck! I don't know if you've driven a deuce before, so here are
some suggestions in case you haven't. Before driving it, I'd check the
following things:
* Throttle spring: Before starting the truck, make sure the
accelerator moves easily and returns when released, and visually
inspect the throttle spring to make sure it's fastened properly. The
spring is on the accelerator linkage near the injection pump. On my
truck, the loop on the end of the spring wasn't passed through the
hole in the linkage. I'm lucky that it didn't pop off! I've seen a
recommendation once to pull off the intake mushroom, and have a buddy
ready with a board to block off the air intake in case the engine runs
away the first time you start it.
* Air pressure! Don't even move it a foot unless the air pressure
buzzer comes on when you start the truck, the air pressure starts to
build up within a minute or so, the buzzer shuts off at around 60 PSI,
and the pressure builds up to 100 PSI. If the pressure doesn't build,
there could be a bad air pack or an air leak, or it could be something
simple like an open drain valve on one of the two tanks, an open
accessory valve in the cab on the firewall at the right side, or an
open trailer brake valve.
* Brakes: Make sure they actually work! There's only one hydraulic
loop in a deuce, so if it goes, you don't have any brakes.
* Engine stop cable: Make sure it stops the engine. It should stay in
the "out" position when released.
* Air pressure again: Once the air pressure is up, verify that it
doesn't drop if you turn off the engine and let the truck sit for a
while. After doing this test, you should also be able to pump the
breaks and hear the air escaping as you release them. With the engine
*not* running but the run/stop switch turned on, the air buzzer should
turn on after you pump the brakes enough to drop the pressure to about
60 PSI.
* Parking brake: Make sure it'll hold the truck, and will stop it from
about 5 MPH. On my truck, the parking brake will stall the truck if I
try to take off in first gear with it on. I found that out by accident
once... :-)
* Tire pressure: Check it with a gauge. On the rear duals of an
unloaded truck, a flat tire may not look any different than a
pressurized one. Don't forget the spare, in case you need it on the
way home.
* Signals: Make sure all of the lights work, including the hazard
lights, in case you find yourself driving way below the speed limit. I
turn on the hazard lights if I can't hold 45 MPH on a freeway. Even
fully-loaded semis will pass you on an uphill grade. :-)
* Lug torque: Make sure they're all tight, including the inner ones.
The wheels on the left side should have left-handed threads, and the
ones on the right side should have right-handed threads, but don't
make any assumptions: check for the "L" or "R" on each lug, because I
had a wheel full of "R" lugs on my left side, and I've heard of trucks
with a mixture on the same wheel.
I'd bring a friend in the right seat to help out if anything goes
wrong (preferably one with experience driving big trucks with air
brakes, if you don't have that kind of experience yet), a big fire
extinguisher, a set of wheel chocks (I've had a parking brake fail on
me, after stopping on a hill... it was a good thing I had a friend and
a pair of chocks!), and tire-changing equipment (jack, blocks of wood,
proper lug wrench). Find a good commercial towing company that has the
equipment to pull a deuce, and have their number and a cell phone
handy, just in case it breaks down a half mile down the road. My M998
made it out the gate, but died a way down the road.
Good luck, and I hope it makes it home under its own power without any
trouble!
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <mblair1@home.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
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