And no... I'm not one of those people that leaves a thread hanging (forever)... I hate when you're looking for info, find the exact question posed in a forum, and never a followup...
I just got my hands on an owners manual.
Among the other info in there, are instructions for how to snug up that center area, and how much slop there really should be. Not going to be near the crane for a while to see if I can improve what I have.
I've been picking away at this over the summer when I can.
So far, it got:
- All new hoses (3 left that I haven't quite gotten to yet)
- Pulled one of the horizontal outriggers out due to it being packed with sand/silt/mouse nests which sheared the attachment pin.
- Fixed the truck's air brakes (still more to do, but no more holes in reservoirs, and everything works)
- Fixed truck charging system
- Fixed truck overheating issue
- Came up with a full parts manual for the crane (not that the part numbers do me any good, but the drawings are fabulous)
- Came up with the outrageously expensive owners manual... I need it, so I paid for it, but damn... I'll be happy to copy/scan it should other people need it at some point.
- New air filter and housing on the upper. Had just an incorrect steel enclosure on there, and a piece of insect screen... Sporting a nice new Donaldson radial now.
It still needs:
- Truck's cooling system is leaking. Heater core for sure. Someplace else too, but haven't found it yet. Hoping it's simple, and not a head gasket, or block issue. Not oil in coolant, and no coolant in oil, so there's that at least.
- Still have to really clean up the air brake system. Someone used rubber air hose here and there. It still works, but I really want to get that changed over to the hard plastic tube. The existing oem copper lines will stay for the foreseeable future.
- Full lube job on the crane. Now that I have the book, I can actually do this rather than trying to count zerk fittings in the parts book. There are a lot of fittings... I mean there are a LOT!
- Need to replace the hoist cable for sure. (185' of 1/2" spin resistant IWRC, so pricey, but not unbareable)
- Need to check the swing cables. Think they're ok, but I think they need some adjustment since there's a bit of slop in the swing.
- Most likely needs some cylinders rebuilt, however, they seem to be getting better with a little use. I suppose the seals may have just dried up a bit, and are softening up again with some movement/oil.
- Will need to check the pressures, and reliefs.
- Need to get an oil pressure gauge on the upper. Has one screwed inn to the block, but I want the one in the cab working.
- Need to check the governor on the upper just to be sure.
- Need to replace the fuel filter on the upper.
- Need to replace engine oil on both upper and truck engines.
- Would like to quiet the upper down some. Perhaps add a muffler (don't honestly know if there's one on it now or not). It's pretty brutal in the cab when it's running with any RPMs. Ford 240 or 300 straight 6.
- Truck needs a whole lot of electrical work.
- Truck only runs when choked. So, could be a dirty carb, vacuum leak, or who knows... It does run very nicely with the choke though.
Got to do my first pick with it. We have a hinged section of porch to cover some windows. Cable broke, and deck crashed down. Needed to pick it up a little to do some repairs. Could have easily done it other ways, but it was nice to use the crane for the first time. I will say, getting in and out of that cab when the unit is either forward, or back sucks. Need to come up with a ladder, or stairs that hangs on the duals before I kill myself. And, before anyone jumps me on the shitty cribbing job, the unit was well within the range of operating on it's tires alone. The porch is only a few hundred pounds. I have lots of nice 4x6 ash cribbing ready to go when I do something real.
