Time for more swap related information.
I had a truly terrible weekend a month ago going to the SS Rally in B/CS. The 6.2 had just about no power, kept blowing injector return line ends and the truck just shook like crazy.
I tracked down the injector return line problem to the M715 fuel filler neck. I had swapped in a "new" one I bought from Barry in 2007 the week before the bad weekend. I use the fuel filler neck vent line to the stock air filter as my fuel return line. The "stock" vent line. It had a restriction inside that I aggrivated by changing out the filler neck. A new 1/4" end at the filler neck and all was good on that problem.
The vibration was the front rear drive shaft ujoint at the VPW center output relocation flange. It was used when I got it in 2004. I shook it and found no play. It wasn't until I got home and used a bright light to look at the ujoint that I found a small crack on the inside of a cap. Removing the shaft found more dust than bearings inside the ujoint. No more vibrations at any speed up to 65 mph that I can feel now.
That leaves the low power thing. It is a 6.2, so power is not really a known quantity with them. However, I pulled RED 2 years ago to the same SS Rally on my 2K pound trailer. I could hold at least 42 up hill in 5th and easily 54 on flat ground.
Last year I flat towed RED behind the M715 coming home from the SS Rally and had to keep backing off at 50 mph because we hadn't dropped RED's drive shaft and I didn't want to hurt anything.
This time, I had the 1,200 pound Mini on the same 2,000 pound trailer and I couldn't hold over 45 on the flat and in 4th had trouble getting 30 up some hills. Add in the return lines popping and I thought they were connected. I just wanted to get home by the time that weekend was over. I fixed the return line problem and it ran great, but still not as much umph as before. I actually found myself holding to the floor and not getting over 60 mph indicated. I was still down on power. I figured it just needed a good run to blow it all out.
That was what last weekend was for. Central Texas Airshow in Temple with the LSMVPA. 93 miles each way. We pulled the hard top off, put on the troop seats and headed out Friday evening. Colton was driving, but we were running right at Warp speed (54mph gps, 48 mph indicated) most of the trip.
Pistolnut had cooked up some really good bacon at the SS Rally. He told me where he got it and we made a slight 20 mile detour to stop in the awesome Green Sausage House in Zubcikville. 10 miles from I-35 in Temple and well worth the time to go. We got some supplies and each had a sausage burger. Then on to the airshow.
Radial engines and MV's really do go well together. Lots of visiting with Sermis, learning how to drive a Gama Goat and once again the amazing social aspect of this hobby had all of us smiling.
Colton had a date Saturday. Well, his girlfriend was going to be riding the US Flag around during the National Anthem at a rodeo and he wanted to be there. Then spend the rest of the rodeo with her. That was in Lexington at 1900. 1.5 hours at Warp speed from the air show. We packed up, said good bye and got in the M715 at 1630. Colton was going to drive again. He pushed the throttle to activate the fast idle and I heard him hit it really hard. He fired it up and no fast idle. He went to go and no throttle. It was stuck to the floor.
I hoped it was just the IP end of the cable coming off. I dropped the little cirlce clip that holds it on a year or so ago and keep forgetting to buy a new one. Raising the hood dashed that hope. Still attached. A look under the dash showed the throttle cable had snapped right at the firewall.
While I was under the dash a few other MV'ers were under the hood trying to figure out a way to rig it up. I used a stock CUCV throttle cable that was new 2 years ago. It was really, really frayed at the firewall. We couldn't figure out a way to repair the broken cable or rig up something. The throttle cable on a 6.2 is mounted vertical at the IP. That rules out a hand operated throttle.
I do have a stock set up hand throttle on the truck. However, since it attaches to the the throttle pedal, it was useless here. I figured we had an hour to spare and since once on the road, we really use very little throttle. Lets just turn the idle all the way up and see what that does for us?
Not much is the answer. 21 mph in 5th on flat ground. 12 up hill and 26 down hill. We pulled over in the first spot that offered some shade and started looking for another way.
We ended up removing the cable casing, cutting it off and then cutting the frayed sections of the original cable. A wire terminal connector crimped onto the wire and about 10 feet of paracord through the throttle cable hole in the firewall had us going again.
The footman loop on the back of the cab is a great belay point for a paracord throttle in the M715. I really couldn't pull the engine up faster with one hand, but a two handed pull and then holding through the footman loop had us going 45-55. That lasted about 15 miles until my fingers, hands and forearms started going. A 6.2 has a pretty darn strong throttle return spring. Time for plan 3.
We pulled over in another shade spot and figured out a way to tie into the stock hand throttle system. It wasn't eligent, but it worked. I ended up going faster than I ever have with the 6.2. 55-60 up hills that would have put me below 45 the day before. The thing was screaming along now that I was actually using all the throttle travel. I think the cable had been going for a while and getting longer as strands broke off. I just didn't know it.
We got to a town with stop lights and realized a problem. The terminal end I had crimped on was just about the same size as the hole in the firewal for the throttle cable. Paracord wrapped around it exceeded the hole size. I didn't give it much thought when there was a catch in pulling the hand throttle out the first time. Only when I pushed it all the way in and we didn't slow down below 43 mph. OOOPPS! I left it in 5th and just rode the brakes through town and got greens at the lights.
I had turned the idle back down near normal when we rigged up the paracord by the way. We were rolling, almost on time and I could always turn off the ignition if I had to. That wouldn't work at the rodeo though. Lots of vehicles trying to turn in and a big dirt parking lot is not the place for a screaming engine or any kind of fast speed. We had 30 miles to figure it out.
Our solution wasn't the best, but it worked. When we got 1/2 mile from the turn off, Colton crawled under the dash and pushed the knot/terminal end back through the firewall. He then buckled back in. We were now down to 14 mph in 5th on a 70 mph multi lane US highway for the next 1/4 mile. Always an adventure. Did I mention my blinker box seems to be mad at me? Sometimes it blinks and sometimes it is solid. It was solid for that part of the trip.
I dropped him off and left it to idle alone to get back out of the parking lot. I had wanted to stay myself, but not with a broke truck still 20 miles from home. I went through the gears on idle and pulled the hand throttle to get on the way. Only nothing happened. He had undone our knot pushing it through the firewall. Yet another shade spot on the side of the road had me under the dash again. This 3rd attempt was the best. Full throttle and back to idle again. The rest of the trip was fun as I played with how fast I could attack hills. Not something I have done in the M715 since the 396 died.
LMC has another cable on the way to me. I just need to figure out what caused the other one to fray and then stick it in. Plus figure out a way to get full throttle deflection.
I also think figuring out a way for the hand throttle to be all the way to the IP would be a good idea.
All the above is a direct result of modifications done to the truck by me over the years. That is why I figure it needs to be in the swap thread.