Good air...no brakes. M35A2.

Hi all, we have an M35A2 we got from Govt. auction last year. It's been doing great...until last week when the wife was driving it around the property (doing fun stuff like pulling stumps out of the ground!), and all of a sudden the brake pedal went to the floor.

Air pressure is fine, no hissing.

I have the operator manual, and the parts manual...but nothing tells me where to look for a master cylinder / fluid reservoir on the vehicle. HELP?

Should be a access panel on the floor board through which you can access the master cylinder

So you've had this a year and never checked the brake fluid? As you found out, it's not a split master cylinder so if you lose fluid you have zero brakes. The master cylinder is on the drivers side below your feet. It's probably a wheel cylinder leaking.

The master cylinder is under the floor plate in front of the drivers seat. You have to climb under the truck to take off the vent line then take the cap off. Then go back up in the cab and with a flashlight, look down thru a frame hole (after you open the floor plate by taking the screw out with a flatblade screwdriver) and you can see inside the resevior. That is where you add fluid if needed...MAKE SURE YOU USE DOT 5 BRAKE FLUID.

If you have to take the master cylinder out...its kinna a pain.(Looks at mine sitting on the work bench) I took mine out last weekend, you would think they wouldn't hide the bolts so bad .Had to take the storage box off the drivers step to get to the pedal assembly which has to be loosened to get the master cylinder out. I can give you more tips if needed, just let me know.

Good luck

Mark (deuce newbie)

I can take my vent line and cap off from inside the cab to check, I think all it requires is a 7/16s or 11mm wrench. I don't want to be 'that person' but really you should have learned how to check the brake fluid first thing. These trucks have a scary single circuit braking system and problem one place = no workie in all places. Even at 10 mph, 13,000#s could be hard to stop with the parking brake.

Yep, shoulda checked it before now. Didn't even think of it though, it's strictly a "back 40" truck, hasn't been off our property since we got it.

Thanks all for the quick responses! I'll dig into it and see what I can find. Much appreciated!

Also, when you bleed em, you have to start at the airpack ,then the farthest rear axle and work up to the front , these trucks have dot 5 silicone fluid in em from the military, sprucemtsurplus.com has this fliud in 1 gallon cans for thirty bucks.

you should also search brake bleeders, as this makes it much eaiser to bleed the system by yourself

NewMVGuy said:

Also, when you bleed em, you have to start at the airpack

Click to expand...

Ok now I feel stupid, I've never bled anything at the airpack, how do I do that ?

There is a bleeder on the airpack.

I would look around the tire for the brake fluid leak (normally easy to spot) as a oily black discoloration on the tires. That will point you in the direction of which brake cylinder is leaking. The cylinder is not so hard to fix but removing everything is a Bi*<h. You must be able to jack up the axle that has the leaking cylinder!

OK, so I don't have a service manual, just a parts book...and I found the MC under the floor and it looks like the parts book drawing (bonus). There's a fitting on top of it. The parts book is...shall we say, less than helpful? Do I pull the fitting off the top and fill from there? Or is there a DOT5 reservoir somewhere that I can't find (either on the truck or in the book)? I'm used to automotive and motorcycle stuff - pull a cover, have a big fluid reservoir to fill, replace cap, start bleed procedure.

Specifically, in publication TM 9-2320-361-20P, figure 91 - do I remove (2) - which on my vehicle seems to have a vent cap on it, not a connection to (1), which is hanging freely - from (*a), and fill it through the opening there?

If it just has an axle vent in it, you can just take the whole top of the master,If i remember correctly it takes a 3/4 wrench

Part #2 you describe should screw into the MC cap...remove the cap and fill it there, the reservior is built into the MC. Do yourself a favor and go to the top of the screen and click on the "Resources" button and then "Technical Manuals". That will take you to the old site where all of the TM's are located. Once there look through them until you find all of the TM's starting with TM 9-2320-361. Those are all of the TM's for the deuce, and they are free to download and look at any time you need to.

Speddmon - THANK YOU. I got the publications list off the dash yesterday, I'll pull the right ones off the resources page.

Logistical question. I've worked on a ton of cars, and a ton of bikes...I have jacks, and engine hoists....but nothing that will lift something THIS large. If I do need to take off a wheel (it looks like the right rearmost has a wet spot)...any recommendations? Equipment ratings? The truck is not tagged for road use (not that anyone will probably try to pull it over, LOL) so I can't really get it "to" anyone...and it is on unimproved property we own (i.e. no pavement or concrete slab). Can I roll the front-rear wheel up on something tall and will that let the rear-rear wheel 'hang'? Or do I need to get a 5 ton floor jack, and will it be enough? And since I'm still technically recovering from a hospital stay last year (still waaay out of shape; 2 months learning how to walk again)...just how heavy *are* these wheels/tires (with the mil-spec Armstrong tires)?

Or...does anyone know folks at Ft Detrick, MD? My wife works on post at NCI...maybe I could get her to drive it to work one day and drop it at the motorpool. LOL.

Thanks again for all the help!

Go to Pepboys, or Walmart, and buy any hydraulic bottle jack that will lift 5T or more. It ought to set you back $25.

While you are out, stop at Home Depot, and buy a 6x6, and cut it into 2 foot long pieces. They make great jack stands. It too will set you back $25.

Always chock the wheels before jacking. If you are jacking on soft ground (aka dirt), stack a couple pieces of 2x12 cross grain and put the jack on top. Stacking them cross grain is important, if you don't, they are likely to split, and dump over the apple cart.

Never use the jack for support, only to lift. Lift the truck axle, and stack the 6x6 pieces under the axle, and then let the axle down onto the 6x6's.

-Chuck

Expect the tires/rims to weigh in at about 150 pounds each, or somewhere in that neighborhood.

You will need a 1 1/2" socket to pull the outer lugs and a 13/16 square socket for the budd caps on the rear duals...a combination budd lug socket can be had on E-pay for about $25 or so. REMEMBER THEIR ARE LEFT AND RIGHT HAND THREADED STUDS ON THE TRUCK!!!!!!! The left hand threads are supposed to be on the left side of the truck, but they may not be...there will be a "L" or an "R" stamped on the head of the stud to tell which is which.

Once you get the wheels off, you'll need an 8 point 3" axle nut socket to get the axle nut of and back on again...again, they can be had on E-pay pretty cheap.

Expect the rear hub (or front hub for that matter) to weigh about 120 pounds or so...they are heavy!!!!!!

On an unloaded M35, all you need is a 4 ton jack BUT it is mandatory that you place it on a GOOD jack stand. And if you have no concrete pad to work on, you need timbers under the jack and stand.

Without a wheel dolly, you would be best to remove the wheels, even then it is HEAVY as indicated above. Once the outer bearing is off, cover the threads on the axle with tape to prevent damage to the inner wheel seal.

Brake cylinders are easily overhauled. Keep the master cylinder cover on when you get the parts out, otherwise it will drain the master cylinder. Use golf tees to block the line when the cylinder is removed.

Bearings need to be cleaned and regreased, adjust to remove all play but still turn easily. Do not bend the tabs until the adjustment is perfect, the play in the axle nuts makes this more difficult because the bearing clearance will tighten slightly when the outer nut is installed.

Because of the rear suspension articulation, the rear axle will not "hang" if you try to back it off something. You might be able to chain the rear axle up and do this, but this seems like more work and perhaps more dangerous than just jacking it up and cribbing it.

I did a whole Duece at one time. jacked up each wheel just enough to insert a piece of plywood 2 by 3 feet under the tires with three pieces of pipe under the plywood. Remoeved the axle and retaining nuts and lowered the axle slowly until there was no weight on the wheels. Rolled each complete unit out off the axle. Blocked that position and moved on to the next until the whole truck was sitting on blocks and all the hub assemblies sitting by the truck. Rebuilt all wheel cylinders and then replaced seals and using the jack to get each axle to the proper height, rolled each assembly back onto the axles. Use a shorter block under the axle when using the jack just in case it fails to catch the axle before it hits the fllor and hurts you.