snow troubles - Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite

maritimer · 01-02-2009, 00:49

ok so we just got hit with a bad snow storm, and after having my g/fs fatehr come shovel out my door so i could open it realized the 1o foot snow drift in my drive way has a m1009 under it some where. so we get ti shoveled out and go to start it up well guess what the wind blew the snow into the engine bay, filled the bloody thing full of snow. anyhow started driving out of the trailer court and well the roads have been covered completly with 3-4 ft snow drifts, and well seems everytime i go throug hthem the snow is jammed up into my engine bay between the bumper and the x-member which packs around my pullys and belts and stops everythign up * engine stays running but i lose p/s, charging and fan. how in the heck do i stop it frrom filling my engine bay up ? custom skid plate? big chunk ov rubber bolted somewhere under neath? yes i realize i could just not drive it till he snow is gone but the g/f needs to get to work and the kids like groceries and stuff in the house lol

Elwenil · 01-02-2009, 00:54

We used to do the rubber idea for mud and snow both but it won't last long if you drive it on the highway. We made a rig for one guy with a GM truck that had chain hooks on it that hooked onto the front crossmember and then hooked on the back corners to the frame rails right at the firewall. It won't work for all trucks depending on suspension design and how the exhaust and brake lines are run but I think it would be ok on a M1009. You just have to keep it away from moving parts and the exhaust or you will have a nice cheery fire where your truck once sat.

maritimer · 01-02-2009, 01:17

i will have to get her into the barn to-morrow and get something rigged up to stop the snow from getting up and packing into front of the engine bay. this pulling over to shut her down and clean it all out everytime i go a 1/2 mile is gettign blooming cold lol. i can see a lift and bigger tires is gonna be a defintie in the spring lol

underdog · 01-02-2009, 10:06

Looked at mine this morning. You are correct. The front crossmember that the sway bar hooks to looks like a scoop. To me it looks a mostly flat piece of steel from under bumper where the sway bar bolt on would not be hard to do.
I would pull the sway bar mounts there and sandwich the plate between the crossmember and sway bar mounts.
Anyway thanks for the heads up.
I to will be looking for a remedy for this deficiency.

jdcucv · 01-02-2009, 12:36

I solved that problem on my m1009 I put a plow on it. Any snow over a foot it just pushes out of the way, sometimes i get some that flies over on to the windshield that gets alittle crazy when hitting big drifts on the road.

Also the truck makes a great plow truck.

hobie237 · 01-02-2009, 12:50

Go to any hardware store and buy a piece of thin sheet metal, steel or aluminum. Aluminum is preferred, as it's easier to work with and won't rust, although it's more expensive. Cut/bend it into the desired shape, then attach with self-tapping screws and/or bolts and/or rivets where desired. Won't provide much protection against, say, a boulder, but it'll keep rain, snow, mud, etc. out of the engine bay quite well and takes all of an hour to rig up.

Elwenil · 01-02-2009, 12:58

It's a pain in the butt for sure. I had the same issue with my '84 Ramcharger one winter. Our four wheeling group went out in the snow back in '95 when we had what was called a "blizzard" here. About 3' of snow shut down the whole area, I-64 included for 3 days which is unheard of here. I was in the lead of our group breaking a trail through the drifts because I was the only one who could push through. I had a locker in the rear and tire chains on my 32x11.50 BFGs. After our first trip across the mountain, I noticed my temp gauge was pegged. I pooped the hood and all I saw was white with a black round thing in the center. The round thing was the air cleaner which was close enough to the hood to keep the snow from covering it. The fan had stopped turning because of all the snow packed in around it.. I had to take a stick and dig the snow out to get the fan turning and set the throttle lock up a bit to let the headers melt the snow. I eventually had to take the filter out as it had become saturated with water. I never put a flap under mine as that amount of snow is rare and we haven't seen as much as 1' since then and I typically avoid mud. I have been told it can help with deep water crossings also. You just have to keep your momentum up.

maritimer · 01-02-2009, 13:59

yeah we normally only get about a foot and a half to 2 feet, so not to bad but i drive in alot of p-laces that are drifted to 4-5 feet

corelokt · 01-02-2009, 16:18

A plow does a good job in the deep stuff