HI every one. Well I am new hear and allready posted a thread in the wrong place. .. But any way here it is, I am looking at a 86 L9000 dump truck to buy right now. It is in is in nice shape for the year. It has an N14 cummons engine, tandom axle,8 speed trans, It was a municipal truck and I don't think it ever had a plow on it. I Own a IH S 1900 single axle right now and I am looking to upgrade to something with a little more halling capabilities. They want $ 12,800 for the truck What do you guys think ?
Anyway you can get us a few pictures of this truck? I paid a little over $30,000 for about the same truck but it was a 1988 with a Cat in it 5 years ago. Been a great truck for me.
have a 88 too great truck bought 4 years ago for 17500 tires and oil thats all i ever put in it runs hard
pics I will try to add pics ,Thanks.
Looks like a nice truck for the price. I know myself if it was near where I live I would jump on it!
I want to jump on it but the sales man is slow on getting back to me on some questions I have about. For exsample axle rating and or gvw. I am thinking about 56000 give or take gvw. The truck needs some work before inspection and all will be done before I buy it for the $12,800 There is no woranty with it. Is why I had the dealer go over it and tell me what it needs. I knew it it needed steering tires,Steering link,rear brake slack adj. He says both right rear shoes, all slack adjusters, Both right rear maxi cylinders. The truck fired right up in 30 deg. weather and I know the engine was cold.
If the front brakes are disk brakes they are expensive to repair. and parts for the disk brakes are getting harder to find. have you driven it around the block yet? for that price you can afford to do a little work on it. I know I did. You will need to install a trailer hitch but that is simple. I didn't know Green was your color.
N14 on an 86 ?
I drove it around the lot going through gears, testing brakes, checking gauges,Raised the box all the way up. Don't know about the front brakes but I guess they where ok anyway. So you think it's a good price ? Should I go for it?
Thats what the salesman told me anyway.Does that sound right to you? Would it be on the engine tag ?
Sure it never had a plow on it? It's got the front mounted PTO on an extended frame. It doesn't look like it ever had a front plow but how about a hydraulic under body plow? If it was used for winter salting work, check out the frame for corrosion. The Ford L series were pretty good holding up to corrosion especially if the muni kept them washed. GMC's - bad news with a built up section frame.
Doest have allot of rust for the year, did you see the pics? I am going to give it another look see before I decide. Don't know what you mean by hydraulic under body plow ? Thanks for your inputs.
In Michigan we use what some call a belly blade, a hydraulically operated blade mounted underneath the truck behind the cab. Most leave it on year around although a few take them off in the summer. My employer uses them to grade gravels in the summer rather than a motor grader (the mg's get assinged to construction projects). The truck and box look clean (although we've been known to replace the boxes due to rust). I'm still curious what the front mounted PTO is (was) used for.
I see a couple things that throw a flag for me. From the shot of the rear, I see a double frame and there seems to be quite a bit of space between the rails. This would be from either mechanical damage or from rust pushing the rails apart. This truck definitely was set up for plowing, the pump out front, the grill cut out and the gull wings in the hood are part of that package. I'd have a tough time believing that it has not had a plow. Those gull wings were so minor engine servicing could be done without having to remove the plow frame. Look closely in the cab for signs of cable controls having been mounted. There will be a hole in the floor or firewall where the cables passed through to operate the plow. If there's rust between the frame rails, it's just a time bomb ticking. I wouldn't consider it unless you get a guarantee that it will pass DOT inspection.
Ok thanks guys for your inputs so far. I am going to give it another look see tomorrow and check things out a little more. Steve you could see the frame was pushed out from the Pic? good eyes man..should I steer away from a truck thats had aplow on it? Thanks again Dan
I am looking at a 74 Ford L9000 Triaxle Dump. It has a new eaton fuller 13 speed tranny/clutch new walking beam suspension new springs new pto all new air lines new tinted windsheild new wheel bearing stops. Truck has an air gate and heated body. I am only paying 3,500 for it. The problem as the guy explains it with the truck is a exhaust manifold bolt broke and was drilled two far and now the truck is buring anti freeze. The motor only has a 137,000 on it so it should still be in good shape. The truck has a 8v71 Detroit in it. Anyone know how hard it is to fix the head? Do you think the truck is worth 3,500?
head bolts If the bed is in good condition, in my opinion, its worth $3500. Take this info from someone that has gone down this road, "STAY AWAY FROM IT" these 8V71 engines, for the most part, were good engines, most of them leaks oil and are not very good on fuel. With the price of fuel, this is not a good engine. I have bought several older trucks, trying to make a good working truck and after I got them fixed, I could have took the money invested and bought a newer truck, with a Cummins, or Cat. As far as the head bolt leaking, the head needs replacing, this is about a 8 hr job, for a mechanic that knows these engines. A rebuilt head about $1000, head gasket set, about $150, antifreeze $100, mechanic $500, by the time you get it fixed you will have at least $2500 in the repair, Buyer beware of cheap trucks DOT really loves to inspect these older trucks, they really get chance to use their ink pens I bought a 85 Brockway, city truck, with a good body. I took the body off and bought a good road tractor with long wheel base and installed the bed on it. Made a good truck, but again I could have taken the total money invested and bought a good truck, without having to do all the work. Hope this helps Did I say say away from the 8V71 engines for a truck, just my 2 cents worth
It all depends on who was operating the truck while plowing. Plowing is tough on a truck and add a rough driver to the mix and you've got a truck that's been fairly well beat. The other thing is it means the truck has spent it's life in salt conditions which raises havoc with just about all the components. Any time you need to make a repair you'll be fighting rust which will make repairs take much longer.
Hey Willis Thanks for the comment I am just looking for a truck to do occisional hauling maybe once twice a week and all local. I figure the guy replaced almost everything except the motor so i was going to see if I could fix the head and get me a year or so out of the motor. It has all the power just smokes white. I was told they could plug the hole in the head and that its common to drill into the water jacket. I see your from NC and up here in new england older trucks are the norm.
I think maybe you posted in the wrong thread..lol. but thats ok I am new hear as well.
seal the deal I Looked at the 86 L 9000 again and fell right in love with her..How do I tell my fiance that I found another love interist..lol...:crying I test drove the truck and she went down the road at 75 mph with no prob and was still climbing.The tach was not working so I don't know what she was cranking as far as rpm's There was no pull shake or shimmy. I was grinding gears because the 8LL tranny had an H pattern that I wasn't use too but after I figured it out was doing ok. The Oil psi was around 50 at road speed ,not sure if thats normal for the N14 cummins or not. She had around 30 at idle. Boy she really pured nice and barked going down the road. I took pics and even video taped her in action... Enough of that mushy stuff . I will probably seal the deal on monday or at least talk to the salesman some more see if I can get some more out of him.The truck came from the town of Sweden NY I think I will give them a call and see if the can fill me in on maint records and such. If this truck was run in the salt you sure cant tell by looking at it.THe box has no rot anywhere and the cab is solid for the year.I have seen trucks 10 years newer in worse shape. THe frame rails in the very most rear of the truck have pushed appart some from actually the inner frame is what it is. The outter frame is in good shape and has paint on it still. No cracks as far as I can see. Well I hope I havn't bored you guys for too long and thanks for listening. Any input will be apreaciated. Oh have to build a hitch plate for it and took measurments while I was there and even have an I dea how to do it. There are pics in thread titled L9000 dump truck
Those oil pressure readings are right where they ought to be. Good luck with the truck.
about right, good luck
did the 86 models still have round headlites?
Yes this one does.
Thanks Steve I guess we will see. Will keep you posted. By the way this the greatist sight that I have ever come across. I just wish I had known about it 9 years ago when I was just starting out. Good Job..:notworthy
I have a really newbie question, what is a 8LL transmission? I have only driven the 13/15/18 speed ones. I just found a thread just down the list from this one answering some of my questions
8LL is a vocational truck transmission. Used mostly in mixers and dump trucks. The LL means it has a deep reduction low gear to get moving in off road situations. It is tough, and good in off road hauling, but at higher speeds, it does not have the extra splits between gears like a 13/15/18sp
how much fuel will it use? I am almost ready to seal the deal on a 86 L9000 tandom dump,8LL trany N14 engine. What kinda fuel econamy can I expect ?
um prolly 3-6 mpg
Please post all questions/comments regarding this truck in this thread. Thanks
Does any one know how to find out what the GVW and or axle ratings of this truck would be. The door tag is missing and I need to know what they are to register the truck. THe dealer can't tell me .Ford can't tell me either..:beatsme
With disc on the front, it'll by hyd - air activated correct! There is a problem with the hoses! They get blockages the don't allow the brakes to release! There is nothing to change them over to drum brakes. Check to see if spindles are the same! The rest is just putting the right parts on in the right place! Drove a 79 L9k with disc's. The master cyl leaked a pint a day. Ex Boss told me to quit fillig it up, and I told him about DOT!