What Is This In My Frame Rail?

[Von]

Absolutely correct! Somewhere on Phptobucket I have a picture.

I thought I had pics of the levers before I pulled mine out, but I don't. Still have the lever assembly though!
Don't know why I kept those but got rid of the clutch pedal assembly.... still kicking myself for that, may go back to manual later.

I need to get mine back on the lift and make sure I don't still have that brake lock doohickey on mine.

I had just done the E350 wheel cylinder swap on all 4 corners and had the brakes working pretty decent... and then made a run out to Lake Arrowhead to help a friend of my stepson's out of some mud.
Looong 2 day story short... ended up being about 10 trucks and a backhoe stuck in some bottomless muck. I didn't keep score on everybody out there but I got stuck 3 times before I made it home.
Anyway... my brakes haven't been right since. Pulled the wheels when I power washed the truck but need to pull the drums too and check her over. Got new NOS rubber lines on the way, will replace those too... and look for the doohickey.



2 lockers and skinny pizza cutter tires means you can get twice as stuck twice as fast in the bottomless stuff.

[Von]

Absolutely correct! Somewhere on Phptobucket I have a picture.

There they are... Not very good pics though.




Lever on the left engage/disengage rear axle... coupling on the rear axle output on transfer case.
Lever on right engage/disengage the genset, driven off the other output where the parking brake is.
And they were positioned perfectly to interfere with using the foot starter button if you have a bum right knee. And bending over to hit the button by hand sucked if you have a bad back.

Nailhead, you might see how much of that stuff yours still has. That coupling on the rear driveshaft and the linkages for it could still be there.

[kwai]

And you can see the mico-lock button on the left-side of the dash in the center.

[Nailhead]

Good to learn-- thanks for the info.

I thought that hole was just something the PO (the Desoto Fire Protection District in Logansport, LA, I learned this weekend) had done to the truck.

Thanks again.

[Nailhead]

There they are... Not very good pics though.




Lever on the left engage/disengage rear axle... coupling on the rear axle output on transfer case.
Lever on right engage/disengage the genset, driven off the other output where the parking brake is.
And they were positioned perfectly to interfere with using the foot starter button if you have a bum right knee. And bending over to hit the button by hand sucked if you have a bad back.

Nailhead, you might see how much of that stuff yours still has. That coupling on the rear driveshaft and the linkages for it could still be there.

Von, there is something on the rear output that looks unfamiliar, and I actually studied it for a few minutes on the creeper, trying to explain it to myself while I was recharging my patience, attempting to attach the levers & parking brake to the transmission. I don't remember any linkages, but there is that gizmo on the driveshaft, with a screw clamp around it.

I'll check it out more thoroughly in a few weeks.

Thanks for the pix and the information, and tough luck on that recovery: it doesn't even look muddy there.

[kwai]

That's probably the rear axle disconnect. It was operated using the now missing levers.

[Don Cavey]

Thanks for the pictures... that is apparently what my truck looked like originally. I had the switch and dashboard information as well. My truck has the conventional M715 drive train, so the rear axle disconnect must have been replaced at some time in the past. Of course, my driveshaft was a disaster. The ends of the yoke on the shaft were peened over to keep the cups from coming out. I had to file and file it to get them out. Ultimately, I got another good shaft from a member here so that is all OK now.

It would be interesting to see:

What is your VIN?
What is the delivery date?

M724 trucks are low number often and out of sequence with the other trucks...

Neat!

[Von]

Von, there is something on the rear output that looks unfamiliar, and I actually studied it for a few minutes on the creeper, trying to explain it to myself while I was recharging my patience, attempting to attach the levers & parking brake to the transmission. I don't remember any linkages, but there is that gizmo on the driveshaft, with a screw clamp around it.

I'll check it out more thoroughly in a few weeks.

Thanks for the pix and the information, and tough luck on that recovery: it doesn't even look muddy there.

"recharging" your patience. I like that, sounds better than "trying to defuse the bomb".

Screw clamp? Like a clamp holding the coupling together? Trying to dig up pics of mine but I don't remember a clamp around it. That sounds bad...

I removed mine because I thought the coupling was "bad". Lots of vibrations. Turns out it wasn't the coupling but the nut holding the mounting flange onto the transfer case was loose.
Then I moved the drive shaft to the other output to reduce some of the gawdawful noise from the transfer case. But the 724 drive shaft is shorter than the 715 drive shaft because of the coupling being in there. I took the old shaft and the shaft from the other output that used to go to the welder and had a new shaft made.

If you don't have the lever or linkages for that coupling... and can't use it.. to me, seems like it's just a liability.

found pics.. from when I first got it and while removing the coupling.

Thought I had more, maybe I posted those on the Zoo and don't have them on photobucket..

[Nailhead]

"recharging" your patience. I like that, sounds better than "trying to defuse the bomb".

Screw clamp? Like a clamp holding the coupling together? Trying to dig up pics of mine but I don't remember a clamp around it. That sounds bad...

I removed mine because I thought the coupling was "bad". Lots of vibrations. Turns out it wasn't the coupling but the nut holding the mounting flange onto the transfer case was loose.
Then I moved the drive shaft to the other output to reduce some of the gawdawful noise from the transfer case. But the 724 drive shaft is shorter than the 715 drive shaft because of the coupling being in there. I took the old shaft and the shaft from the other output that used to go to the welder and had a new shaft made.

If you don't have the lever or linkages for that coupling... and can't use it.. to me, seems like it's just a liability.

found pics.. from when I first got it and while removing the coupling.

Thought I had more, maybe I posted those on the Zoo and don't have them on photobucket..

Reinstalling the levers on the trans after almost two months away from the 715 is a nightmare-- even with pix snapped from beneath & above. It's amazing how such a simple puzzle can make a person feel like a moron.

Von, none of that stuff in those pix looks the least bit familiar to me except for the stepped flange on the transfer output. I'm glad of this, because it means it's all gone. One less chore to get out of the way.

Thank you very much for those pictures; it's nice knowing a little more of the history of my truck.

[Von]

There's an exploded view drawing of the transfer case shifters and parking brake lever assembly somewhere in the online manuals, may help piece it together.

When I swapped in the 350/700r4 I had to build a bracket for the lever assembly to mount to. Lots of others have done it and made it sound like no biggie... The bracket itself wasn't that hard but reassembling the levers and getting them positioned correctly was a nightmare... shoulda pulled the cab off for that..