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when your NDT's wear out, what have you all done?

Monster Man

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just curious what all the options for getting new tires will be. The local Les Schwab does heavy truck tires, but I haven't really looked into it further. Mail ordering is something I want to avoid with the shipping cost.
Are NDT's the only tires you'd consider or will normal heavy truck on/off road tires work?
I'm looking here:

http://www.lesschwab.com/tires/truck/onoff_traction.html

are those out of the question? As said I'm a tire novice <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve">
 

Recovry4x4

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<font color="green">[3][/3]<font face="Comic Sans MS">Surplus, surplus, surplus. I've bought complete trucks before just to get 10 new tires. Always seems to work out. I know that they have gotten more expesive lately but going back about 10 yrs ago I bought around a dozen m105 trailers from MCLB Albany just for the tires. Trailers sold for $90 each. I swapped out all the tires and sold the trailers for an average $150 each. Worked out for me!</font id="Comic Sans MS">[/size=3]</font id="green">
 

Dieselsmoke

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I run mine until they are drag slicks. Surplus market is the best deal you can find. You'll want to come to our military vehicle shows over here on this side of the mountains, you can find anything and everything for your truck there.
 

Recovry4x4

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<font color="green">[4]<font face="Comic Sans MS">Hmmm, your mileage may vary. I've heard folks say no more than 3000 miles. My backs were about 50% on my little tractor when I got it. I've put close to 10,000 on it and they're about shot. Heres the trick on tires. Match up the best 8 tires you can get and size em up on the rear. Fronts will wear quicker so just factor in replacing them especially if you drive a bunch in town. I keep my fronts ant 60 psi and it sure makes a difference in steering. matching backs can be a pain in the butt if you don't understand the gearing deal between the 2 live axles. Here's how you do it. Measure a rolling circumference of all your tires. You want to use the 8 that are closest in circumference. Take your 2 tires with the greatest circumference and pair them together. Now take the 2 tires with the smallest circumference and pair them together. These pairs go on the same axle be it fwd or rear. Now take the next 2 in circumference and pair them then the last 2 get paired. Those go on the remaining axle. What this does is averages total rollout between the 2 rear axles. <font color="red">Some </font id="red">folks say it doesn't make sense but trust me, it's the best way to match without shaving tires. Keep your rear tire pressures all the same too. I have a little hose that I can attach to both valve stems of the tires on an axle and and it balances the pressure between them. Also be cognisant of front wheel bearing adjustment and toe in. All these factors can make or break the tire wear bank!</font id="Comic Sans MS">[/4]</font id="green">
 

Monster Man

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cool- the last issue of MVM had a great article on front end alignments and said disconnecting the interaxle driveshaft is the number one thing to reduce front tire wear. Is your interaxle shaft connnected? Also SRW'ing is huge, both of which I plan to do. The tires on the truck are good 9x20's. I have two options, run those til they're worn and then swap, or swap now and sell the 9x20's while they're still good.

Alex was going to swap all mine for 11 20's but he can't find even a matching set of six at the moment <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_shrug.gif" alt="Shrug">
 

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Recovry4x4

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<font color="green">[4]<font face="Comic Sans MS">My shaft is in. I've been known to pull one rear axle in highway trips which nets the same results. Doing it this way keeps me out from under the truck. When I drove the truck home from MD I pulled the front drive flanges and one rear shaft and at 52 MPH got 11.5 MPG.</font id="Comic Sans MS">[/4]</font id="green">
 

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Monster Man

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cool- just curious, I'd figure pulling the driveshaft would be easier. I'd mentioned to Alex about pulling the axle shafts and he asked if I had covers for when they were pulled out, I acted confused and he said they'd need a cover? What does that entail? Can you just pull one shaft and put the "flange" back on? Is there a flange like the front? Also, you don't want to pull out both shafts right? I heard that would cause problems and you have to get into the differential to put them back in?
 

Recovry4x4

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<font color="green">[4]<font face="Comic Sans MS">I can tell you from personal experience that pulling an axle shaft is a whole lot easier than pulling that driveshaft. <font color="purple">I mean lots easier</font id="purple">. As far as problems inside the diff, fooey! Thats hogwash! I've heard the unknown say that pulling only one shaft can cause the spiders to pop out. Whomever says this have never had one of these rears apart. It has a 4 spider carrier that is completely encased in the carrier assy. Alex is mostly right on covering the hole. If the truck is still as the military designed it, the bearings are lubed using wheel bearing gease and not gear oil from the housing. With all this being correct, you could run it that way. I always cover mine up anyway just to make sure. The flange and axle shaft are all one piece so you can't put the flange back on. Didn't you make up some dummy flanges for the front in anticipation of pulling the front drive flanges? If you did than you're all set. Take one of the flanges pulled from the front to cover the spot where a rear axle is pulled. It will bolt right on! If it all doesn't make sense I can explain ot a little deeper but I've got thousands of miles of experience like this and I assure you it works. If you do go the route of pulling the axle, take an old milk jug to cut up and put on the wheel. When you pull that axle, some gear oil will drip out. I say, go for it! </font id="Comic Sans MS">[/4]</font id="green">
 

Monster Man

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Originally posted by Recovry4x4

<font color="green">[4]<font face="Comic Sans MS">I can tell you from personal experience that pulling an axle shaft is a whole lot easier than pulling that driveshaft. <font color="purple">I mean lots easier</font id="purple">. As far as problems inside the diff, fooey! Thats hogwash! I've heard the unknown say that pulling only one shaft can cause the spiders to pop out. Whomever says this have never had one of these rears apart. It has a 4 spider carrier that is completely encased in the carrier assy. Alex is mostly right on covering the hole. If the truck is still as the military designed it, the bearings are lubed using wheel bearing gease and not gear oil from the housing. With all this being correct, you could run it that way. I always cover mine up anyway just to make sure. The flange and axle shaft are all one piece so you can't put the flange back on. Didn't you make up some dummy flanges for the front in anticipation of pulling the front drive flanges? If you did than you're all set. Take one of the flanges pulled from the front to cover the spot where a rear axle is pulled. It will bolt right on! If it all doesn't make sense I can explain ot a little deeper but I've got thousands of miles of experience like this and I assure you it works. If you do go the route of pulling the axle, take an old milk jug to cut up and put on the wheel. When you pull that axle, some gear oil will drip out. I say, go for it! </font id="Comic Sans MS">[/4]</font id="green">
OK, COOL as long as I know I have some sort of cover (the front flange) then I'll pull the shaft or shafts out. Thanks for the tip on ease of removal- I'd have been under there in the rain cussing and hitting stuff. I always say work smarter, not harder <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve">
 

Recovry4x4

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Thats it my friend. There is really no need to pull the secind axle either. If you were to pull the interaxle drive shaft and both axles, you could eliminate a little additional rotating mass but the advantage would be negligable. The absolute biggest advantage to pulling the driveshaft or axle is eliminating conflict between axles. Another naysayer group says you get stuck real easy driving like this. Thats another advantage of having one shaft out, its a quick job to pop it back in when needed. Are you taking an air line and impact gun? These work great on the axle bolts. Pop 8 bolts and knock that axle out. The gasket may make it stick but its no big deal. I take a tube of cheap silicone too just in case!
 

Recovry4x4

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Slides right back in. Unless you jack up the truck, you need to try to keep the bolt holes aligned. Very easy. When it gets close you may have to tip the flange back towards you just a bit to lift the splined end up but its really easy.
 

Monster Man

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hot DIGGETY DAMN!!!!!!!<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_angry.gif" alt="Angry"><img src="emoticons/icon_smilie_bitchin.gif" alt="Bitchin"><img src="emoticons/icon_smile_angry.gif" alt="Angry"><img src="emoticons/icon_smilie_bitchin.gif" alt="Bitchin"><img src="emoticons/icon_smile_angry.gif" alt="Angry">

holy crap, just got off the phone with Les Schwab. You're right. For six (6!) 10x20 tires and tubes, $2566.44! INSANE!! Looks like we'll become surplus dealers, buy trucks just for the tires<img src="emoticons/icon_smilie_bitchin.gif" alt="Bitchin">
 

Monster Man

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......and he also said that 11x20's were out of the question on those rims, he wouldn't mount them. I mentioned the military put 11x20's on deuces and he said they're too big
 
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