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M35A3 new owner has questions
- Thread starter HTCS
- Start date
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Welcome to the Outfit!
Need to know about the steering... Does this machine have an aftermarket "power steering" installed? Does it have enough fluid in the reservoir? Send pictures?
As far as fluid for the transmission is concerned, you should have an Allison Transmission... 10wt hydraulic fluid is the right stuff. See the attachment.
NICE. you beat me to the Tech file
I don’t know what the best fluid is, hopefully somebody will chime in. I do know that the transmission is the weak Link in the A3‘s, so treat it like your baby.
For the loose steering, start by having somebody saw on the steering wheel back-and-forth while you look for any sloppy joints in the front end. if nothing obvious, I would check the toe. Excessive tow out can cause severe wandering, shoot for a little toe in. If the toe looks good, jack up one side at a time and start wrestling the tires around, to see if you feel/see any slop in the wheel bearing, king pins or any thing else. IIRC the A3s all came with air assist steering…
For the loose steering, start by having somebody saw on the steering wheel back-and-forth while you look for any sloppy joints in the front end. if nothing obvious, I would check the toe. Excessive tow out can cause severe wandering, shoot for a little toe in. If the toe looks good, jack up one side at a time and start wrestling the tires around, to see if you feel/see any slop in the wheel bearing, king pins or any thing else. IIRC the A3s all came with air assist steering…
The steering has an air assist system with a control valve attached to the pitman arm and a rather big cylinder attached to the tie rod. The thing steers harder than I think it should with an assist system. I am thinking that the big cylinder is blowing by and equalizing pressure on both sides of the piston but I am unsure how to verify that suspicion. Also was thinking that I might have some backlash in the gear box. I believe there is an adjustment screw on the side of the gear box to set the proper backlash...again uncharted waters for me.
HDN
Well-known member
I've read on here in the past that there's an air pressure regulator that can be adjusted or bypassed to make the steering work better. The air assist system always worked well enough on my truck that I haven't messed with it.
As for the transmission, some members here have switched the fluid to Dexron III. There are posts about the swap-over procedure. 15W-40 is an acceptable oil to use in the transmission, and that's what it should've been filled with coming out of the military. My truck still has 15W-40 in the transmission and it shifts pretty smoothly once it's warmed up IMO.
I consider the AT1545P the weak link of the truck. The transmission has a max payload of around 26000 lbs including the weight of the truck itself. Overload it and you risk breaking stuff - there's a lot to read about that on here too! Other than that the truck is pretty solid. I've enjoyed mine a lot!
I'm fortunate that it seems the Army babied this truck. It was an Army Reserve mail truck down in Queens for awhile, and its past two private owners treated it well too.
EDIT: I just noticed you're in the Rochester area. There are a few other M44A3 owners around us, but many of them don't participate on here as far as I know.
Also
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HDN
Well-known member
All four of us right?
Oh there are a few more than that. I've seen M35s of all flavors and even a few M211s around here. Some ran when parked!
