M1079 check those hubs!

I bought my LMTV M1079 back in October and am new to the military vehicle stuff but I have had a lot of advise from Steel Soldiers.

I took my truck to the GA rally and got a lot of great information. I had only had the truck a couple of weeks but I took notes from what everyone told me. One of the tips was "be sure to check the front and rear hub oil."

With winter leaving our area I was able to check the hubs today and I am very glad I did (I plan on a road trip to the NC rally in April). Both front hubs were bone dry! I got less than an ounce of fluid from them. Here are a couple of pictures of the drain plugs (front right and left).



The rear hubs were full but I drained and put in new fluid.

Lessons learned:
1) Listen to the "experts" (especially those Steel Soldiers with lots of experience)
2) follow the TM 9-2320-365-20-1 (is for my vehicle)
3) don't delay on maintenance (I am very thankful I did not make another road trip with dry hubs!)

Special thanks to these Steel Soldiers who have answered so many of my LMTV questions... Andyrv6av8r, Coffey1, SSG Gibb

It's part of PMCS. you're singing to the choir. But good you decided to do the necessary maintenance BEFORE you got stuck

I believe the rear shares fluid from the differential if I remember correctly?

Shark Bait said:

I believe the rear shares fluid from the differential if I remember correctly?

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It does. Luckily I think my truck had a recent service done before they sold it. Both front hubs have oil, and it is clean.

Shark Bait, I read through the TM and you are correct, the rear hubs share fluid with the differential! The rear hub fluid was "cloudy" so I am glad I added back some to it. Probably time for me to drain and fill the differential also. Thank you!

Do the wheels need to come off to check level? I need to do this.

Ukraine Train said:

Do the wheels need to come off to check level? I need to do this.

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No sir
As per TM the wheel in 4 o'clock position if fluid drains out the fill/drain hole it's filled to drain put in 6 o'clock position- to fill in 12 o'clock.
rear axle is a different story. I just checked for proper level in the diff there, as there is a connection to the hubs and you'd drain the differential. (ask me how I know).

I was out on a drive yesterday and I always feel my hubs to see if they are getting warm/hot to the touch. This time I took my temp gun, I shot temps on all 4 hubs, fronts run around 119 deg. the drivers rear was 150 and the passenger rear was 145 deg. Does this seem to be the normal temp that others are seeing? My lube is correct so I'm not really to worried, just wondering.

Good idea. On my next ride (usually once a week) I will take the temps on my hubs.

Thanks! I would worry if the temps side to side were much different (sign of friction) but there is nothing in the manuals that say what they should be around temp wise.

When I regeared my truck, I put Lucas oil addative in with the gear lube and the hub temps went way down. From about 130 to less than 100 degrees.

If you guys need new complete hub internal kits for your Meritor RF-12 axles ( M1078 and up), $125.00 ea.

What is in a complete kit? Is a kit for one corner, one axle, or one truck?

Thanks

tennmogger said:

What is in a complete kit? Is a kit for one corner, one axle, or one truck?

Thanks

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One hub kit, no wheel bearings or seals.

When you added the Lucas additive, how much did you add per axle?

Duckworthe said:

When you added the Lucas additive, how much did you add per axle?

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As much as it is recommended on the bottle

Yep got it. I'm pumping out in as we speak.

Does it feel smoother driving with the additive? Once it gets warm I am going to switch to synthetic lube. The Meritor ref guide said 75w90 for my temp range I believe. Is that what you used?
Will

I'm getting ready to head out in a overnight camping trip in my mountains in about an hour. I will let you know how it feels and temps. It said to use 50-100% Lucas on the bottle. I just put in 1 gal. It was hard to put in as it is thick. I will report my findings today if I have signal on my phone out there.

And yes, 75/90 is what I have in axles. With Lucas additive.