L-S-160 Dump Truck Rebuild

Since the last post I finally swapped the rear axle, though I haven't had a chance to test the brakes since a brake line flare is leaking. It"s one that I did with the cheap flaring tool before I got the good one from Eastwood. I also got a temperature gauge installed to finish off the cluster. An exhaust finally made it onto the truck, too, and what a difference! It's quiet now and just purrs! I put a pair of clearance lights on the cab corners to dress it up a bit. I would have put the three in the middle but the roof is wrinkled there and it would be tough to get them watertight. There is a full set of flat glass coming so I can at least get the back window installed and have the rest on hand for when I get to it. Last weekend the truck got a blast with the pressure washer and then I hauled some dirt around the place with it for the first time. The pictures make it look a lot better than it really is. The dirt came from the place where I am going to put up a shed to park the toys, er, equipment out of the weather.



My nephew is riding shotgun watching his dad load.

I conquered another fear this week. I haven't been looking forward to the windshield and rear window installation but the 9-month monsoon season is upon us here on the Wet Coast and I need to get this thing buttoned up for winter. So I read the section in CTS-11/12 on windshields and did it exactly like it said and it turned out to be pretty easy. The hardest part was getting it centered in the opening. I had my dad help with the windshield but I probably could have done it myself if I needed to and the back window I did do myself. I popped it in as far as it would go and then cinched a rope around the cab to keep it from falling out if it wanted to while pulling the cord. This evening it was raining so I moved it outside and drove around a bit and I didn't see any leaks- yet.
The windshield was out of an R-180 that sat under fir trees for 30 or 40 years and was pretty rotten, but the glass seemed solid under the grime though it was hard to tell for sure. I cleaned it up and other than a little haze along the bottom edge it turned out to be in really good shape! Now I need to fiddle with the wipers and get them working smooth.

Good deal!

Weathertight- that'll be nice. I can't wait to get my truck to that stage. Good looking truck- lots of character. Glad to see it earning its keep.

Jared,
I was perusing YT last night and stumbled on this video I thought you out of any would appreciate...
A screamin' Detroit is a happy Detroit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFkNyq65v7U

How'd you like running that all day!? I got a headache just watching it and back when it was new they didn't have ear protection like today.

Thought you might get a kick outa this too,I've driven one of those but it had a Cummins thankfully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF9HzghXuQg

Biggest machine I've used,I could load my 100yd. walking floor with mulch real fast with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A42iBmO0GY8

Thanks for those, Scott. I love YT. You're right about a screaming Jimmy being happy. My dad was a truck mechanic 30+ years ago. He said the drivers that liked their Jimmies babied them and ran them low and slow thinking they were doing them a favor. The guys who hated them tried to blow them up. Guess which group had more engine trouble?
I don't think I'd want to spend all day on that TC-12 but to goof around with it for a few hours would be a blast! At work from time to time I get on a Cat D7F. It's got a 3306 in it that winds up around 2000 or 2200 that will let you know if an earplug isn't in quite right, but I'm pretty sure it's nowhere near as loud as those two 6-71s. I slept with my head about 8 feet from an 8-71 and a 2-71 on a fishing boat but they had big mufflers and about 20 feet of exhaust so it wasn't too bad. Earplugs were still the order of the day, though.

There's a quarry I haul rock from that has a Mack about the same size and vintage as that Euc dump truck but it's got an NH Cummins in it. They only run it a few times a year but it sure is neat to see and hear.

That 988 video kinda p'd me off. Taxing horsepower because of emissions? I'll bet it won't be long before that garbage starts happening here in the US.

On the L-160 side of things, I haven't accomplished much lately due to weather, work and other projects. I've got my Massey Ferguson 135 torn apart to replace some front end parts and find out why the steering box squeaks. I need to get it back together before May or June to keep the jungle under control. Also I need it to load dirt into the dump truck for some grading projects around the place. But I have a friend who I owe a big favor to who wants an area filled for a shop this summer so I need to get the truck road-worthy for that which at the least will require tires and some wheels replaced and a master cylinder. I'm certainly not lacking for projects.

Like I said,I figured you'd appreciate the videos.
I found the dozer vid when I was watching some Russians trying to start an old tank destroyer,they got it running and moving too! Then I kept looking on the right finding more vids to watch and I kept finding more... Probably spent a couple hours doing that.
I have no idea what Cummins the Euc I drove was,my first encounter with it was finishing the job of putting a new water pump on it. Heck of a job,real tight space to work in and having to lay of the fenders to do it.The hardest part was adjusting the belt,which was done by rotating the pump. I could've used 3 hands for that,holding the tension and trying to tighten a couple of bolts at the same time was..."frustrating".
My uncle was a mechanic for 40+ years and hated driptroits,always said they were only good if wound up against the governor. He worked for the Navy at the nearby ammo depot (NWS Earle) and worked on the locomotives and other heavy equipment. He liked the Fairbanks-Morse OP engines,said if running right they could out do the EMD's which are kind of the Detroits BIG brother.

Yea,that emission tax crap ticked me off too! I like to be as "green" as possible but some of the zealots out there go way overboard on some things and not at all on others. I'm a NASCAR fan but I think they're a bunch of hypocrites in a lot of ways,like letting the winner do those extreme burnouts. What do they think,that could of yellow smoke is harmless??? It's mostly sulfur for petes sake,bad stuff to be putting in the air and not something I'd want to breath in!

While it's on my mind,I don't think you ever posted pic's of your grader,got any?

I know about the fun of rotating the water pump. My Westcoaster has that setup. It held coolant great until I replaced the belts but now it leaks a little bit. I haven't done enough with the truck yet to bother fixing it, but it'll get done. Without looking in my parts book, I think it's a big o-ring in there and who knows how old it is.

I can do better than pictures of the grader. Here's a video. Also if you look at my channel you'll see a few videos of the Westcoaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k69PUfHdy8o