1949 B-1-D-126 BUILD THREAD 1-ton

[JBNeal]

Fuel Line Replacement:  Why It's Important...

 

My '49 had a disasterous failure nearly two years ago that I ultimately decided started with clogged fuel lines. I had gotten the fuel tank cleaned & sealed with Renu, as it had pin holes along the perimeter weld. I had rebuilt the fuel pump & carburetors, but retained the original fuel lines. That was an oversight on my part cuz I reckon I just flat forgot to replace those rusty things. It had a hard starting problem that eventually was rectified with new battery cables with soldered lugs.

During my shake-down cruise into town, the truck just cut off while going 40mph up a slight grade. I coasted to a side street and noticed that the fuel bowls & carb were empty. Using ether, I was able to start the truck, but it would quickly die. Filling the fuel bowls & carb with gasoline, the truck started right up & ran fine until the fuel bowls emptied. Attaching a temporary fuel line to the fuel pump from a 5 gallon gas can, I was able to start the truck & keep it running. That's when it dawned on me that the original fuel lines were clogged, cuz I recall seeing sediment in the fuel bowls when they were dry.

The disaster was getting the truck towed home. The wrecker that I called (cuz I knew the owner) dispatched a boom wrecker rather than a flatbed. Since I was on a sorta bad side of town and had already had a few trouble-makers eyeballing me, I just wanted to get outta there asap so I didn't think ahead about what could happen. Two-tooth Timmy tied a rope around the steering wheel & cinched it by wrapping it around the door hinge before closing the door. He then hooked the truck by the rear axle, and when I questioned this, he told me it was safer that way. After pleading with this big-mouth redneck four times on the back roads home to keep it under 40mph cuz of the unbalanced lock-ring rims, he topped a hill and started to pick up speed when I saw the front fenders of my truck flapping in the breeze and a cloud of rusty dust billowing from the front wheel wells. I yelled at him to slow down, and right then & there the front end broke loose and nearly clipped a light pole. As I looked in the engine compartment, I could see the steering box adapter that bolts to the frame had busted, rather than the mounting bolts. Seeing this, Two-tooth Timmy pops off "it was like that when I hooked it up".

 

 

Along with the cast piece busted, the steering tube has a kink in it above the steering box, and the cross link ball joint is nearly split open. I found an NOS link on eBay, and will try to coax my welder out of retirement with some BBQ pork chops to fix the cast piece or fabricate a new bracket myself. I have a donor '51 steering box, but it has a different frame mounting pattern, I'm kinda wondering if I could use it anyway and make some modifications to make it work. Anyhow, looks like the floorboard will have to come out for the steering column to be removed. Heck, I might go crazy and slick up the steering wheel while I got it apart so it'll match the re-covered bench seat.

Edited August 22, 2021 by JBNeal
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[Merle Coggins]

All that from a clogged fuel line and a reckless tow truck driver. OUCH!!

I guess they call them "wreckers" for a reason.

[Flatie46]

I bet pulling his other two teeth crossed your mind.

[JBNeal]

Itellyawhut, I was thinkin' more like poppin'm right square in the mouth, but knocking them last two teeth out would'a been like trying to nail a 7-10 split.

[4852dodge]

I hope you let your friend that owns the tow truck know what a jackazz he has working for him.

[MBF]

49-Like you said- I'm pretty sure the box mounting are different between the 49 and 50-53 trucks. On my '49 1 ton, the wheel is much more close to being horizontal than on the 52 parts truck that I have. I took the column out and like you notice the difference in the mounting brackets. The 49-50 version also has a shorter column support under the dash. I'm not sure if the internals of the 2 boxes or the mounting brackets are interchangable or not. Let me know what you find out. I have a good complete 52 box/shaft assembly that I may put in my 49 if I can get it to fit. Mike

[JBNeal]

After numerous delays, it is CONFIRMED: the steering column for the B-3 is different than the B-1 in several ways so that a direct swap is not possible. The steering boxes do not have the same mounting holes and the pitman arms are not the same angle. The steering columns are not the same length, but according to the parts manual, the steering shaft is the same part number for B-1 & B-3. Measuring from the top of the steering wheel to the windshield, the B-1 is 3" while the B-3 is 6", something I hadn't noticed before.

Next is to disassemble the damaged B-1 column to see if the mounting tube is the only part that needs to be worked on (or replaced). I laid the column on the corner of a flat surface and turned the steering wheel, and it appears the shaft is straight, with only the tube with damage to be repaired. I found a replacement steering box mounting bracket awhile back, so I reckon the B-1 steering box will be cleaned up & refurbished (once I find the replacement seals I squirreled away years ago). And that box will get greased up instead of going back with oil, that's for sure.

But first, removing a couple of vintage steering wheels to get them cleaned up...I'm stoked.

[JBNeal]

The mounting holes on the steering boxes just aren't the same; I didn't get around to comparing the bolt holes in the frame to verify the angle of the columns.

[Desotodav]

I'm glad that it's finally working out for you 49D. I have found a number of these cast iron steering box mounts cracked or broken in the past few years that I have played with these trucks.

I thought that you might be interested to see what the mount from a 48 Oz truck looks like as a comparison (see attached). It's just about a mirror image of yours - to allow for the difference in left and right hand drive. Our trucks appear to have had the same steering column from 48 until around 53.

Desotodav

[MBF]

I can verify that the internals are the same. I just swapped in some better parts from a '52 1/2 ton into my '49 1 ton this Saturday. Your story about the bracket breaking is causing me some concern. All of the bolts are tight, but there is still a very slight deflection when rocking the wheel back and forth. That's why I posted the question about the brace that I saw on a larger truck this past fall. Mike

[JBNeal]

the deflection might be from the gearbox internals that need some fine tuning adjustments to get rid of the free play, or a tie rod might be a little worn. If ya can get a prybar in there, see if the gearbox moves away from the frame any.

I took the gearboxes apart, and the B-1 steering shaft is bent, but the worm gear is purt'near pristine. The B-3 steering shaft looks straight, but the worm gear on it is a little pitted. The sector gears are both good, but I booger'd up the threads a li'l during removal. The B-1 tube sheared off at the gearbox mounting clamp; I can probably straighten out the bend with an old wooden closet rod. I could flip the tube over and cut it to match what broke off, then sleeve the end that is towards the steering wheel. Or just make a new tube from a piece of conduit or chain link fence rail. Anyhow, I'm gonna stew on that for awhile, as well as figger out how to rig up some kind of mounting bracket for some Signal-Stat turn signals I want to install in the future.

[JBNeal]

I worked on the '51 sector shaft threads for a good while, carefully grinding & filing the threads to work off the distorted thread area. But the big nut spun when I threaded it about halfway down the threads, and removing that nut required a cheater bar. The nut threads were now distorted, so I opted to pull the steering from the '52 parts truck and start over, working a lot more carefully this time around.

The trick I used this time was heating the frozen pitman arm with the blowtorch after soaking the sector teeth a couple of days in Marvel Mystery Oil. After the smoke cleared, I put the arm puller to work, and the arm slowly eased off of the sector. It looked like there was some old gearbox oil that oozed out from the pitman arm teeth, and the heat liquified it enough to get it flowing again.

Disassembly of the gearbox showed that the heat also partially liquified the grease/oil/crud, and the sector shaft was worked out slowly from its housing. No 5# hammer was needed for removal, and the steering shaft/worm gear were worked out of the gearbox as well with a few careful taps on the shop floor.

The sector & worm gear appear pristine, with no pitting or gouges present. The steering tube is a li'l rusty, but it's straight and I think it'll clean up decent. The '52 originally was a column shift that the previous owner removed for a 4spd; the brackets were removed but there are holes in the tube that can be filled with a li'l JB Weld. Anyhow, it looks like I have the replacement parts lined up after finding the replacement gearbox seal in the garage...I recall ordering that from Roberts back in '99 for the '48

[JBNeal]

I pulled the fuel line off the 1-ton, noticing a necked down section near the tank. I straightened that out, and a piece of sludge the size of an english pea fell out, along with some 4yr-old gas...so that was the root cause of this whole fiasco.

An oddity that I noticed back in '04 but forgot about was the fuel line at the gas tank. On the '48 1/2 ton & the '51 flatbed dually, the tank has a port for the draw tube facing the front of the truck, near the bottom of the tank. On the '53, it's a completely different tank, with a draw-tube port at the top of the tank. This '49 had a port similar to the '53 at the top. The original fuel line S-shape at the tank was bent upwards, and a short tube was unioned to the top port. One of the bends in the S-shape was necked down and hung some goo. Anyhow, I'm gonna run new line inside the frame rail, over the rear engine mount, and inside the inner fender at the engine, as there is plenty of room for this route. The original routing puts the fuel line outside the frame rail, perilously close to that left front tire. The '49 had a few flat spots on its original fuel line, presumably from being struck by debris flung off that tire. And the '48 had a flat spot that had almost completely choked off the fuel supply, so replacing it way back when was a no-brainer. I'm still befuddled as to why I did not replace this fuel line back in '04, but I reckon I get to enjoy the experience now

[pflaming]

The fuel line enters my tank about 1/3 from the bottom. Evidently their must be a line/tube that extends down. I haven't taken this off, yet. Question: What is in there? My tank is empty so no problem in removing whatever.

[Stumpy(NH)]

"safer" would have been to hook it from the front bumper with a sling and put the rears up on a set of dolly wheels. Good help? ya right. Sometimes old school still applies.

[John-T-53]

Are you going to reimbursed from the tow company for the damage and your time? You should send them a bill for $100/hour!

Non-payment = small claims court.

Enough with these clowns!

[48Dodger]

The fuel line enters my tank about 1/3 from the bottom. Evidently their must be a line/tube that extends down. I haven't taken this off, yet. Question: What is in there? My tank is empty so no problem in removing whatever.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=23948

Here's a thread I did couple years back Paul.

48D

[pflaming]

This engine is detailed extremely well. Question. The is a 'spring wrapped' cable going down toward the distributor. What is that controlling? Whoever did the tubing work knew the skill.

[JBNeal]

Now that the major house repairs are done, I've been able to get back to work on this ol' beast. The steering column & gearbox parts were all cleaned up & treated with Rust Cure. The original column was bent, and the gearbox end was torn off. Its replacement was a pitted column that had the shifter brackets removed. The holes in the column were filled with JB Weld, and I figgered I'd try to smooth out the surface with the JB Weld also. All of these parts were foam brush painted with Rust-Oleum primer & semi-gloss black, wet sanding the non-cast pieces in-between coats. I only tried to smooth off the surface to the touch on the non-cast pieces, so brush marks are visible, but only from about a foot away...good enough for these parts.

Assembly was waaay easier than disassembly...The gearbox seal I picked up from Roberts years ago, National 240151.  I opted to use the John Deere corn head grease for lubricant, even though the fill plug is stamped "HEAVY OIL ONLY". I filled the chamber between the sector shaft bushings with grease before installing the sector shaft. With the gearbox held so that the sector shaft was vertical, the cavity was filled with grease, then the worm shaft was rotated about a dozen times back & forth to settle the grease out, as it does flow, especially when agitated. This movement allowed the grease to fill the roller bearings, around the worm gear, and through the sector shaft gear, as the gearbox became whisper-quiet and effort was greatly reduced after shaft cycling.

Permatex black was used to make the gasket for the gearbox cover...I debated on making a paper gasket for this gearbox, but I had recently serviced the axles on my '02 Ram 4x4 CTD, where both axles use RTV for differential cover gaskets. So I figgered making a RTV gasket for this application would be just as acceptable. The adjustment was made per shop manual instructions for the sector shaft to find the high spot on the worm gear, and the assembly cover cap screws were torqued.

Gearbox installation should be in the next few days, with all new bolts...then we'll see if that motor will fire after sitting for 4 years

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by JBNeal
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[JBNeal]

I've looked through the shop manual several times, in the steering section and the lubrication section, and could find no mention of how to service the dust seal shown in the steering column exploded view. From other dust seals I've encountered, this one was similar, as it is similar to a felt batter terminal washer, but more dense. I soaked that nasty seal in the parts cleaner for a few days, let it drain for a couple more, then wrapped it in a paper shop towel and placed a 10# weight on it to wring out any other fluids. The now nearly dry seal was soaked in light engine oil and re-installed to the steering column. During column assembly, attention was given to lining up the column weep hole and the gear box fill plug, so that the seal could be oiled while the column was in the truck. The dust cover was cleaned off and snapped back on the column.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by JBNeal
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[HanksB3B]

I replaced my worn out steering box (51-53 series) that made my truck drive like a shopping cart and replaced it with a better one that I then rebuilt.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=21335&highlight=steering

In post #9 I used a battery terminal felt washer and covered it with a modern one a steering rebuilding place gave me.

In post #12 there are a couple of templates for shims and the cover gasket.

I'm betting yours will work just fine though,

Hank

P.S. After I was done I filled the box with 90 weight synthetic oil. It hasn't leaked so I never got my chance to use the Corn Head Lube. Sure that's good stuff,

Edited June 14, 2012 by HanksB3B

[JBNeal]

it took some finagling, but the gearbox was installed on Independence Day. Installation with the cast bracket mounted to the gearbox, the cab + front fenders on the frame, and the transmission + pedals mounted to the engine, is a real exercise in patience and holding one's tongue just the right way. It can be done, but I nicked up the shiny paint on the column a little bit.

The gearbox slips easily between the pedals, but mounting the cast bracket with all that front sheet metal in place requires one to stand on one's head. The driver side inner fender would only release upwards about 10 inches before it hung up on the radio hump on the firewall, and I did not want to start disassembling the rusty sheet metal out in the dirt patch I was working on because the cracks in the ground had already swallowed up a few bolts and washers before. The cast bracket has one bolt to the gearbox that cannot be seen or accessed with the bracket mounted to the frame, so the whole thing was bolted up on the workbench (aka front porch) and worked into place, pressing the brake pedal in and wiggling around the master cylinder & the starter, as well as the oil filter & distributor.

with the gearbox bolted to the frame, and the bearing collar removed at the steering wheel end of the steering shaft, the shaft rides towards the center of the cab instead of perfectly centered on the bearing. I'm not sure if the cab is off centered a tad, or if it's another design flaw with the steering. One thing I noticed with the cast bracket is that the mounting surfaces to the frame and to the gearbox do not lie on parallel planes. This can partially be seen in the first picture posted, as the frame mounting ears appear parallel, but the two gearbox mounting ears are different than the hidden mounting hole. Those two ears are proud of the casting by about 1/8", while the hidden mounting hole is flush. This kicks the steering shaft alignment towards the centerline of the frame instead of parallel to it. Is there a reason for this? My only guess is that it puts the slightly flexible steering shaft into a pre-loading condition on the bearing near the steering wheel.

Of note is how much room is available to work on the engine with the frame jacked up & front wheels removed. This allows the front axle to drop out of the way enough to pull the oil pan. I've done this on the '48 & '49 engine rebuilds and brake overhauls. Once I get the engine running again, I'll drive this to a more work-friendly surface...while jostling around under there, I've had more than one big spider fall on my face, as well as a field mouse bouncing off my knee, causing me to bang my head on the grimy 4spd housing.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by JBNeal
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[pflaming]

This is a good thread for me to remember.

Question: I now have a new fuel line and new brake lines. I'm now hand forming them to fit nice against the frame. I would guess they all should be tight so as not to rub, is that a fair statment.

[JBNeal]

Out of curiosity, I pulled the empty fuel tank out to compare it to spare '52 & '53 fuel tanks. The '52 tank is a bit mashed on the bottom, so I couldn't do an effective side-by-side comparison. I eyeballed the '48 & '51 fuel tanks that are installed, and they look similar to the '52.

the '53 tank is a different shape than the '48-'52, and its fuel line port is atop the tank rather than at the lower front. The '53 frames have a different cross-member to accommodate the tank, so putting a '53 tank in a '48-'52 is not a direct swap. The '53 spare tank has an aftermarket sending unit installed that will probably be converted to a plug.

the original fuel line on my '49 matched that of my '48, but had been bent to attach to the short line I've shown pictured coming off the '49 tank. I had not handled this tank since '04, so my memory was a little fuzzy as all of my Polaroids of my work have been lost. Looking at the tank for the first time in years from above, I was stumped: this tank is similar but not the same as the '48-'52. I thought maybe the tank had been damaged and a '53 draw tube had been grafted to the tank top to repair it some years ago, but the entire top of the tank is a different shape than the '48-'52. Not only is there a factory installed boss for the draw tube, but there is a factory indentation in the top surface to strengthen this area. Also, there is a sloped section at the filler neck that reduces the cab seal contact area.

whatever the differences are, the fuel tank fits and works, so I'll just clean it out, check the sending unit, replace that O-ring, and re-install. The Gas Tank Re-Nu treatment seems to be holding up well, as the fuel that was in there back in '08 didn't leak out but boiled out through the gas cap vent.

[JBNeal]

The original fuel lines are clamped to the frame in strategic places, but I've wondered why the lines were mounted outside the frame rail, where they would be prone to flying debris damage, while the fuel tank was mounted inside the frame rails. My only guess is that if the fuel lines are inside the frame rail, debris (e.g. road salt) can accumulate between the lines and the frame rails and not easily be cleaned off, leading to fuel line corrosion and failure. But on both the trucks I've worked on, the fuel line was beat up & pinched near the front left wheel (attached is the area with the fuel line removed). So one of the things I'll be working on is installing the fuel lines inside the frame rails with some sort of stand-offs to reduce any debris accumulation. The tricky area will be at the bell housing motor mounts as brake lines are going through there also. I think it's possible to make this work...it's on the to-do list

Edited August 22, 2021 by JBNeal
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