m35-a2 vs m35-a3 whichn is better

[ken326@yahoo.com]

I bought an a-3 and put about 400 miles on it with no major issues only has about 15k miles on it and i changed all the fluids and filters. It seems after reading alot of the posts that the cat engine is not what I expected. I thought they were good engines and I went to a few truck places locally and they said they were good engines when properly maintained and will give years of good use, and the transmissions do hold up well too. It seems that after reading the posts on here makes me nervous about keeping the a-3 in the event of a probable failure. is this true is there a lot of a-3 owners out there having alot of trouble with there trucks?
let me know if i should keep or sell.
i intent on driving it around on weekends and showing it off.
and guess what my ctis works fine?
let me know and thanks
Ken

 

[Divemaster920]

Go to a Ford site and ask them if a Chevy is better than a Ford.
On here it is about afford ability and preference.
You will find a few a-3's but most a-2's.
There were 1000's of a2's made....not so many of a3's.

I have an a2 and LOVE it.
Thought about an a3......and said to self..."Why?"

 

[chgofiveo]

I agree with DM...Its more about what you like/want or can afford...Im not sure one is any better than the other. I own an A2 my buddy has an A3. Both have had very minor problems...Neither has had a major issue...

 

[papabear]

My only concern with the 3116 CAT engine is the name = expensive

I think I've had 6 of them because we could get better deals on cab/chassis assemblies from GM and then add our roll back bodies. Out of those 6 we only had one MAJOR engine problem and that engine was refurbed under warranty by CAT...twice.. for broken piston rings.
These trucks were averaging about 40-50K miles a year...24hr wrecker service and very well maintained.
The transmission should not be an issue IMO...very good.

I think if you service the truck and don't abuse it you are safe as I doubt you will put that kind of mileage on it.

Just keep in mind...CAT is extremely PROUD of their parts

 

[Jake0147]

The engines are not the "best" engine out there by far. But they're good enough to have had a couple of generations of them see widespread usage in a vast array of applications. Keep the oil clean, keep the fuel cleaner, and the engine is a "good" one. While there are replacements, Cat branded filters have no equal in the aftermarket, and they are not expensive at the Cat dealer.

As for the transmission... I can't speak to that specific model, but Allisons in general like the right fluid, they like to run (in neutral) for a few seconds to get oil through them before you put the hammer down, and they like their coolers to be free of obstructions. Beyond that they (in general) are the transmission of choice in the medium duty market.

It's easier to have faith in an old and tired machine when you really like the old tired machine. Being as there are mixed opinions about the A3, I expect you'll find mixed reviews of it. I say that if you like the A3 you should keep the A3. Remember that the A2's are not without their problems and pattern failures either.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

January 10, 2010.

Ken326@yahoo:

Given our druthers, I suppose a lot of us would be driving A-3's if we could afford to buy them. I saw one recently go up on GL in California with like 37 hours after total rebuild. I can bet I don't live in a rich enough neighborhood to buy that baby......
In any case, I am not impressed with the CAt 3116, but if you keep it up it and the tranny should do the job. It's just gonna be a pain on parts when you need to buy them, as there were many more A-2's built then A-3's, so A-2 parts are generally around and cheaper.....
WHAT would worry me are the 6 o rings in the CTIS hubs.... any failures and you get 6 flats instead of one. The Russians had a much better and more robust CTIS on their trucks.
Enjoy the cab heater and all the frills, and keep us posted how she, he or it (your truck) behaves....

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[emr]

They just do not look right to me. sorry. And the ctis is a mess in these trucks the round about way they get to where they gotta go is a nightmare. The hood scares me.

 

[12345]

I'd trade my titled A2 for a titled A3.

Just Saying.

 

[velociT]

The more expensive parts and the slushbox of the A3 were the deciding factor for me to get an A2.

IMO if I had an A3, I would swap out the motor oil tranny fluid ASAP.

 

[BKubu]

I think that you will find that those who own them LOVE them and those who don't own them dislike them for whatever reasons, mainly because of the trucks' looks or the CTIS. There is no way to defend either aspect of the M35A3. I will add that the looks kind of grow on you after you own one. I found myself forgetting about the bastardized hood! With regard to the CTIS, you are better off disabling it as it will probably fail eventually! With all this said, I'd take the M35A3 over an M35A2 any day.

 

[tm america]

i like all the improvements they did to the a3 except the fact they got rid of the multifuel and added the uphill hood.to go with the motor .i think if they would have just added an innercooler to the multifuel or installed lds motors they would have had it just about perfect.oh and the the ctis is as reliable as mail delivery on christmas day

 

[tm america]

as far as the trans it is one of the most used medium duty autos out there it is a good trans very basic.and easily found .brake parts and ctis parts are hard to find especially the master cyclinder but they can be rebuilt if needed.most guys put a block off plate on the ctis when it quits working that way you can still fill the tires up.

 

[emr]

I just couldnt do it, a trade that is...I have heard it said once driven they are awesome. I like all the things that makes me want sleep after a long drive in a M35A2, ..I need to shift and fight and growl, it to me is what a deuce is, but by all means it sure is a good thing we all do not have the same truck......I do think a gamo goat is beautiful though...

 

[swbradley1]

I can buy enough A2s to have a fleet instead of buying just one A3. Especially after seeing that A3 went for over $13k last Thursday on GL.

Just a matter of tastes and the size of your wallet.

sw

 

[m16ty]

You will never get everybody around hear to agree on the A2,A3 debate. Some love them , others hate them.

I don't care too much for them myself but it's mainly because of price. IMO an A3 is not worth the price difference over an A2. If they were closer to the price of an A2 I might would buy one.

The main drawback I've seen (other than being ugly ) is hard to find parts. Some of the parts will interchange with an A2 and other parts can be found in the civilain world but there are a few parts that were only made for an A3. A3 specific parts can be very hard to find in the surplus market.

 

[Floridianson]

January 10, 2010.

Ken326@yahoo:


WHAT would worry me are the 6 o rings in the CTIS hubs.... any failures and you get 6 flats instead of one.


Kyle F. McGrogan

You are wrong with this stament.
On a leak that the compressor can not keep up with shut down the CTIS and the damaged portion will remain isolated.

 

[markmontana]

M35A3-- let me know if i should keep or sell....
thanks
Ken

I think you should sell it- to me

My thinking (and I'm at an early stage of accumulating this stuff) is that if you like deuces- then the A3 should be part of your collection. Don't worry about issues they might have. And your next one can be the A2.

Dave

 

[BKubu]

You will never get everybody around hear to agree on the A2,A3 debate. Some love them , others hate them.

I don't care too much for them myself but it's mainly because of price. IMO an A3 is not worth the price difference over an A2. If they were closer to the price of an A2 I might would buy one.

The main drawback I've seen (other than being ugly ) is hard to find parts. Some of the parts will interchange with an A2 and other parts can be found in the civilain world but there are a few parts that were only made for an A3. A3 specific parts can be very hard to find in the surplus market.

M16TY is right on the money with this regarding parts availability. Some parts are indeed A3 specific and they will cost you...and that's IF you can find them! For anyone who wants an M35A3, I strongly suggest talking to Terry McClanahan (on this list). I don't think there is anyone more knowledgeable about the A3s than him.

 

[Scarecrow1]

The difference between a good truck and a bad one is often the upkeep on them. A3 s are on the high end of the totem pole .This means not to many out there yet . If you are happy then keep it ,if not then mayBut that's be another truck might be in order . I think if it runs good and makes you feel good when your in it ,then what else do you want from a truck ..If your scared every time you turn the key then there's no way your ever going to be happy with it . But then again that's just me ......

 

[Andydieselpower]

my thoughts

I've owned over 35 M35a2's to date and have owned 2 A3's one which was just sold to a fellow SS member. Here's my thoughts-

The A2- Overall a great truck. The multifuel will start better in the cold than the Cat 3116. The A2's have overdrive and will run at 59mph with the pedal to the floor (The A3's like 50mph and thats spinning to quick for the 3116 in my opinion- 4th is direct in the A3) No CTIS issues. The Spicer 5 spd is fun to shift and I personally like a manual trans. I love the sound of a multifuel especially one starting up in the cold. The multifuel is a very reliable and simple to work on motor. Unless you buy a later air force A2c you will have a single circuit brake system on an A2. A2's are dirt cheap to keep on the road. Take out motors for $600, trans for $150, etc.

The A3- Cat 3116 in alot of equipment that I deal with at work needs a rebuild around 10-13k hours. Realistically 99.9% of M35 buyers won't ever reach that hour mark on their truck and I doubt a multifuel would make the 10,000 hour mark before a rebuild. The Cat HEUI injection system is overly complex for what it does and that drives up costs on repairs. You cannot run WMO, etc in the 3116 and expect longevity of injectors. As stated above even with the larger 14.5 tires on the A3 they only run around 52mph and thats around 2,600rpm which is WAY to high for that engine. The Cat has a more refined automotive exhuast note but we plan on removing the muffler on our M36a3 to correct this problem... The Allison is a 1545 which is kind of an oddball trans. Approx $2k to rebuild which is alot less than 3000 World series trans typically used behind the Cat 3116/3126/C7 engines. The a3's all have dual circuit brake systems. The hood will grow on you. The heater kit setup in the A3 is a better setup than the A2. Parts as hard to find for some items. I don't recommend buying an A3 if you only have $500 in a repair budget.

Either truck you will enjoy. We ented to keep both series in our collection.

Andy