I've been meaning to post this warning for a while.
I took my daughter mudding in our 86 '60 just after we bought it from a friend. He had taken great care of it and I have a high level of confidence in the vehicle. After a recent rain we went up to the big mud hole north of rocky flats and had a great time squirting back and forth through it a bunch of times. When we were done, the truck and engine bay were covered with mud.
Later that night, when we went to drive it again after volleyball, the cluch was slipping to the point that I barely made it the 1 mile home. I ordered up a new clutch setup and rear oil seal and changed both over the course of the next week. The clutch needed to be changed anyway, but there was also a huge amount of dust in there which was causing the slipping.
What had happened was that the little metal flywheel inspection hole cover, right above the starter at the rear of the sparkplug side of the engine, had been left open for some reason. Mud/water had been channeled down the side of the engine by the shape of the block and drained into the clutch/flywheel. When it dried, the dust acted like a lubricant causing the clutch to slip.
If I wasn't in a position to change the clutch, the emergency fix would have been to hit it with compressed air or possibly water to flush out the dust.
So check your inspection hole before you go mudding.
Sanchius
I took my daughter mudding in our 86 '60 just after we bought it from a friend. He had taken great care of it and I have a high level of confidence in the vehicle. After a recent rain we went up to the big mud hole north of rocky flats and had a great time squirting back and forth through it a bunch of times. When we were done, the truck and engine bay were covered with mud.
Later that night, when we went to drive it again after volleyball, the cluch was slipping to the point that I barely made it the 1 mile home. I ordered up a new clutch setup and rear oil seal and changed both over the course of the next week. The clutch needed to be changed anyway, but there was also a huge amount of dust in there which was causing the slipping.
What had happened was that the little metal flywheel inspection hole cover, right above the starter at the rear of the sparkplug side of the engine, had been left open for some reason. Mud/water had been channeled down the side of the engine by the shape of the block and drained into the clutch/flywheel. When it dried, the dust acted like a lubricant causing the clutch to slip.
If I wasn't in a position to change the clutch, the emergency fix would have been to hit it with compressed air or possibly water to flush out the dust.
So check your inspection hole before you go mudding.
Sanchius
