New to me anyway. I hauled a 69 Dodge L600 to the valley yesterday with my 85 Ford F250 diesel 4x4, wishing I had a bigger truck for that heavy load. I bought home a 92 Dodge Cummins diesel 4x4 dually with 97000 miles on it, with lots of Banks goodies and a Jake brake. It looks pretty bad but under that scabrous paint is a strong truck



22928.jpg
 
I like the design of the cab on L600 but not very many of them around here or Dodge didn't build very many of them.
 
I have only seen one of those in my 65 years of life and it is less than a mile from me. A local fuel oil distributor bought it new. One of his drivers wrecked it when it was fairly new. The insurance co. totaled it and a local farmer bought it, repaired it and put a lime spreader bed on it. Ran it for years. It had a 360 gas engine-5 spd and 2 spd axle. It now sits in a field rusting away. The old farmer passed away a couple of years ago.
 
5 speed or auto? If it's an auto get a trans temp gauge, change the filter and fluid. Adjust the bands, it only takes a torque wrench that will read 72 INCH-lb and an 8-pt, 5/16 socket.

Check the wheels. They used a 1-piece flat-faced lugnut and coined wheels up through 93 that takes a couple extra steps to torque the wheels down. If anyone's not done it properly, you will need wheel studs and likely wheels.

The procedure should be in the book. Best thing to do is get the 2-piece lug nuts that Ford used. That way you only need to torque to about 175 ft-lb instead of 300. Or get Chevy wheels/rings/lugnuts and machine them to fit the larger hub.

Get the lights on relays. The headlight switch is known to melt down as it carries all the current for the lights. Add in the extra lights being a dually, and trailer lights, and it's a problem waiting to happen, usually in the rain or fog in the middle of the night.

The vacuum pump uses the same pucks as Ford did.

The frame has 2 weak points- steering box mount, and above the rear axle.

Looks pretty good. Too bad they used teflon-based primer on them.
 
goes to show that it takes a ford to do the job of hauling,,,lol
97k, not even broke in yet.
of course i should talk, got a 2004 cumming, oops, mean a dodge truck..lol
 
The L600 has the 361 wedge, the first big block for Dodge. Quite heavy.
The W350 has the 5 speed, I will do the mod to get an inch more oil in it. The headlights switch is pre- melted and bypassed with lots of tape and twists. There is a lot of funky wiring to cut out and replace. It has a set of instruments, the egt and tach do not work, the man press does, the jake does not work yet, and the the AC is great after I charged it, glad it was never converted, I have lots of R12. No one monkeyed with the pump, the cover is undamaged
 
If you want some beautiful wiring to follow, go to the Diesel Truck Resource Forums and look up what J Martin and Jim Lane have done with theirs. Jim's got a 200 amp self-regulated alternator on his.
 
(quoted from post at 04:44:22 06/22/15) The L600 has the 361 wedge, the first big block for Dodge. Quite heavy.
The W350 has the 5 speed, I will do the mod to get an inch more oil in it. The headlights switch is pre- melted and bypassed with lots of tape and twists. There is a lot of funky wiring to cut out and replace. It has a set of instruments, the egt and tach do not work, the man press does, the jake does not work yet, and the the AC is great after I charged it, glad it was never converted, I have lots of R12. No one monkeyed with the pump, the cover is undamaged

Cumminsforum is a great source of information. There are sub forums there pertaining to each truck, 1st gen, 2nd gen, etc.
The 5 speed is lightyears better than the auto that came in those trucks, so be thankful there. Overfilling by 1 quart is common knowledge on those, and you can do it by taking the shifter off and dumping it down the shift tower. First check the level to make sure its full then add 1 more.
So long as you don't haul huge loads all the time, that Getrag 360 manual should last a long time. The Getrag 360 was rumored to be designed for 360 ft-lbs from the factory so its actually "outgunned" already, although they do hold up well if overfilled and if your not hauling huge loads all the time. It will haul heavy loads but if you only do that with the truck, expect the trans to last about 100,000 miles, vs 200,000 miles if it was a part time hauler.
 
Pretend Farmer, where do you get the trans will only last 100,00 miles heavy hauling? We have one with over 500,000 miles original trans. Also have one auto that lasted to 255,000 before it gave out. My fault as truck was shifting out of OD and back. Should have taken it out of overdrive and just run that way. Was pulling horse trailer at the time. These trucks get used hard and are always pulling heavy loads. Obso, That truck will ride rough when empty but smooth when loaded. Have had mine for 150,000 miles and we had the pump turned up and put in bigger injectors . Pulls like 2 mules on a single bottom plow.
 
How heavy are your trailers? When I say heavy, I'm talking 15000+ lbs.
Also, it will last longer if the motor is left stock. My 12 valve is slightly modified, producing about 600ft-lbs. MY NV4500 should hold up for many years while pulling my 14,000-15,000 lbs gooseneck trailer but I wouldn't expect much over 100,000 miles hauling that kind of load.
Another factor is your terrain. One guy living in a flat region will not put the wear and tear into his truck that someone will that lives in a mountainous area.
just my opinion.
 
(quoted from post at 20:20:14 06/22/15) What's wrong with the Ford your selling?

Bad paint, leaky windshield seal, and thats about it. Its an 85 F250 4x4 with about 50K miles on a Navistar rebuilt diesel and about 30 K on a rebuilt injector pump.engine. Good truck, gets 11 Mph with a heavy load and about 15 empty. I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and it will be nice to go up grades faster than 25 Mph, and have the heavier rating for the old trucks I haul.

I am now on the Cumminsforum as "ObsoElitist", but seem to be asking questions without easy answers about stuff like the wiring for the 1992 vintage ISSPRO instruments and electric Jake brake.
I got it legal today and did some preliminary electrical cleanup, and drove it 30 miles. Tomorrow I will go 300 delivering a small English car.
 
I hauled a 1500 Lbs car on my light trailer, about a ton, today. Out of the Sierras, across the Big Valley, over the Altamont Pass and into the Silicon Valley. Exactly 300 miles round trip from my local diesel stop. I averaged 16.2 Mpg. It also climbs hills a lot better
My waterpump siezed and threw the belt one mile from home, I coasted into a friend's yard and will drag it home tomorrow. I sure cant complain about the way that happened.


IMG_20150623_100128330_HDR_zpsm3rdgsvm.jpg
 
You could think outside the box and go big. I'm not regretting it. You can get medium duty trucks very cheap and build what you want. Some are even available in 4x4 and under CDL. The extra weight and braking power is
very convenient. If registered and insured right you should be able to cut your yearly costs in half compared to a 1 ton, maybe different in your state. Fuel mileage may suffer, depends on what you currently use mine
gets 10 empty or loaded.
a194381.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 14:11:38 06/24/15) You could think outside the box and go big. I'm not regretting it. You can get medium duty trucks very cheap and build what you want. Some are even available in 4x4 and under CDL. The extra weight and braking power is
very convenient. If registered and insured right you should be able to cut your yearly costs in half compared to a 1 ton, maybe different in your state. Fuel mileage may suffer, depends on what you currently use mine
gets 10 empty or loaded.
a194381.jpg

Only issue there is hauling heavy. With a trailer over 10,000 lbs you'd probably be over 26000.
 
I assume laws are different everywhere. Most of the guys I pull with have a 1 ton with a 20-22k trailer with no cdl. Or they are all lucky and have never gotten pulled over.
 
(quoted from post at 02:15:37 06/25/15) I assume laws are different everywhere. Most of the guys I pull with have a 1 ton with a 20-22k trailer with no cdl. Or they are all lucky and have never gotten pulled over.

The only way you can exceed 26000 combined weight in all 50 states, is with a CDL A, Non CDL A if your state offers that, or Farm tags. And Farm tags restrict you to 150 miles.
 
Have you got the pump changed yet?
They take longer to drain than to change the pump.
It's worth the extra money to get one from Case or
Cummins vs the parts store.
 
I changed a Cummins water pump in a NAPA parking lot once in about 20 minutes. Wish they were all that way.
 
If a trailer is over 10,000 GVW you need at least a Class A licence. That's the same as CDL only its not a commercial licence. Ive been driving illegally since 2003 with my dually and gooseneck trailer and had no clue. I'm going threw the process right now of getting combo plates and my Class A licence. Most of the people at the DMV have no clue about this either. However code inforcement does..
 
(quoted from post at 11:52:04 06/28/15) Have you got the pump changed yet?
.

Yeah, I towed a 9000Lbs load up the hill Thursday, was impressed.
I have been removing and replacing some terrible wiring, changed all the fluids,lubed all the zerks, getting new tires this week. Steering coupler gets rebuilt tomorrow, took the shell off to bring home a camper from 500 miles away in a week or so. Turned up the injector pump today, lots more power but too smokey, will turn it down a bit after I try it with a trailer.
I intend to use it with camper to haul my 39+ Cleatrac to the Great Oregon Steamup later this month.
You were right about the suspension, i went over a cattleguard too fast with no load and nearly banged my head on the windshield.
I will also raise the seat 2 inches, better fit for long legs..
 
(quoted from post at 17:00:45 07/06/15) If a trailer is over 10,000 GVW you need at least a Class A licence. That's the same as CDL only its not a commercial licence. Ive been driving illegally since 2003 with my dually and gooseneck trailer and had no clue. I'm going threw the process right now of getting combo plates and my Class A licence. Most of the people at the DMV have no clue about this either. However code inforcement does..

I knew since CA made it the law 18 months ago. I will apply in a week or so.
 
(quoted from post at 21:12:18 06/25/15) The biggest trouble with the gutbag is synchroes
going out. Especially third gear, due to the large
step from 2 to 3.

No problem so far, and I did notice the big step and have 3.55 gears and slightly taller 235 tires instead of the 215s. I overfilled it by 1 Qt as advised with 15w40
 
people write that on trucks here in ohio too but I think its for show. Ive hauled lots of round bales of hay and tractors galore and never been bothered. Pulling a tandem dually gooseneck with 2500 truck and never been bothered. I don't know about the cdl thing either, ive got one but never needed it with a pickup; never stopped at a weigh scale, now they just use portables and not permanent weigh stations anymore.
 
4010 puller
Most do not know what "Not for Hire" means.
They think it means they are not a business and do not need to comply with trucking rules.

In the trucking world you have 2 types of trucks.

One is a for hire carrier. (common carrier)
This is someone that hauls other peoples freight.
In other words the truck owner does not own the freight.
Example; You hauling my tractor for a fee.
This guy needs a DOT number and a ICC MC number.


The second kind is a private carrier.
This is a company that owns everything he hauls.
Some examples are......
A farmer hauling his own tractor
Wal mart hauling stuff to their stores.
This guy needs a DOT number but does not need a ICC MC number.
Some will put "Not For Hire" on the truck to show they do not need a ICC number.
 
Put hydraulic shocks on it. Gas-charged shocks
increase the spring rate and make the ride stiffer.
I haven't got that far with mine to see how much
difference it makes but a couple guys I know of who
tried them, wish they had done it before spending
thousands on custom springs.

Gotta love the wiring. I'm trying to get a pile of
relays and wire bought to rewire my engine
compartment. My body grounds melted down last
summer.
Check for gaps between your rims before you leave
the tire shop. Most don't know you have to line up
the coined wheels, or how to center them. If you run
them lined up wrong, or without 300 lb of torque on
the 1 piece nuts you will ruin wheel studs and
wheels.
 
After adjustments to the injector pump, I delivered a 42 dodge to a guy in San Francisco. 300 mile round trip, averaged over 17 MPG and 85 miles was stop and go city traffic. I dont know how they can live with that traffic.
This truck now pulls a loaded car hauler and related equipment up hill better than my 85 F250 diesel does unloaded.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top