• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

more power out of a m35a3 ??

BKubu

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
4,727
1,096
113
Location
Gaithersburg, MD
what about a 923a2 ? r they any better ? but really want to keep my a3. i love it... just want to run 60 and have just a little more power. after i lift it iam going to loose even more. but i will look into injectors turning the fuel up and thinking about a bigger turbo or twins..
The M939 series trucks will be better, but not great. They are really underpowered, too, for pulling at highway speeds. Fortunately for you, FL is known for its mountains! :) The M915 is your best bet money-wise. They don't tend to bring crazy money and you are getting a lot of truck! Check the laws in FL, though, regarding CDLs.
 
748
5
18
Location
Woodstock, GA
and? your point?
The thread is titled "more power out of a m35a3 ??" not "What should I get to pull my toy hauler ??"

People searching for answers on the intended topic will not find them here because the thread has drifted too far.

Myself and other M35A3 owners are much more interested in how to increase the horsepower in the M35A3, the original topic, than we are about people's opinions on what the original poster should have gotten to pulls his toys with instead of the A3.[thumbzup]
 
Last edited:

swbradley1

Modertator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
14,206
1,572
113
Location
Dayton, OH
Someone already said replace the CAT engine with a Cummins 6BT. I suggested it be a Cummins engine (400) driving an Allison 5-speed with 915 sheet metal wrapped around it.

People go to a lot of trouble to make a truck that was never designed to do some of this stuff try to actually do this stuff.

It wasn't designed for 70MPH while towing, hey let's make it go 70MPH while towing. (70 is just used for effect)

I say go for the 1,000HP for hours mod if you just want more power out of the engine.

Sure it's only 100 hours but man what a 100 hours it would be.....
 
748
5
18
Location
Woodstock, GA
Someone already said replace the CAT engine with a Cummins 6BT. I suggested it be a Cummins engine (400) driving an Allison 5-speed with 915 sheet metal wrapped around it.

People go to a lot of trouble to make a truck that was never designed to do some of this stuff try to actually do this stuff.

It wasn't designed for 70MPH while towing, hey let's make it go 70MPH while towing. (70 is just used for effect)

I say go for the 1,000HP for hours mod if you just want more power out of the engine.

Sure it's only 100 hours but man what a 100 hours it would be.....
:funny:

An engine swap doesn't answer the original question either. I appreciate the sarcasm about the 1,000 hp mod. I really don't think the original poster is looking to get 1,000 hp out of his engine or to go 70mph either (he actually said 60 I think). Personally, a 10-20% increase is all I am after. Too bad it doesn't appear to be as simple as turning up the fuel like a lot of people do with their multifuels.
 

olly hondro

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
871
505
93
Location
tucson AZ
Repurposing MVs is what we're about. Few of us are restoring for the original battle intent. Jack it up, turn it up, add a thumpin stereo....pimp my army truck !!
 

porkysplace

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
9,604
1,486
113
Location
mid- michigan

EXPLICIT1

New member
23
0
0
Location
WINTER HAVEN FL
sry about that. i was only asking a question. as u can see i said "i like my truck i dont want another one" just sounds like nothing more i can do to the cat. but iam going to keep looking and let u guys know what i come up with....
 
748
5
18
Location
Woodstock, GA
Last edited:

jrobinson5093

Member
636
0
16
Location
jakin georgia
I understand that porkysplace, But all im saying is all that keeps a m35 of any kind from doing that is power, brakes, and adressing a few other weak points. Add some of each it should do what any one wants it to.
 

jrobinson5093

Member
636
0
16
Location
jakin georgia
I GOT THIS OFF OF DIESEL PLACE WEBSITE.
It is rather simple. Remove the valve cover, at #1 rocker stand one of the bolts will hold down a smal metal cover. Remove the bolt and cover. In between #1 & #2 rocker stand will be a small jam nut and screw on the rack bar. To increase rack travel on the injectors turn the screw counter-clockwise. Retorque bolt back to 22 ft. lbs

To advance inj. timing slightly break loose inj. lock nut on center rocker. Turn in the adj. screw roughly 3/4 of a turn. This should put you at advanced side of the spec for the engine/inj. combination.

The 3100 family is more or less a throw away engine, but can be a rather good unit. One of the biggest complaint I have seen with higher milage units is a customer that brings one in and wants inj. replaced. Reman inj. runs alittle over $100 a piece. If the inj. sleeves needs replaced along with parts and labor the bill can go up to around $2000. After good hitting inj. are put in and timing set to where it needs the engine has alot of blow-by.
One easy check for inj/cylinder condition you can do on your on is to remove the valve cover and get engine up to operating temp. With a screw driver go in from the exhaust manifold side and at the base of the inj. is a small link rod that turns the barrel in the inj. You can manually push the small rod back towards the drivers side and place each cylinder at full fuel on at a time to detect how well each cylinder is doing. Also you can watch the blow-by tube for signs of something not up to par for that cylinder as well.
You might want to check the diaphram in the air/fuel ratio in the govenor also. Remove small meal tube that runs from intake passage to govenor. The fitting on the govenor will be on the side. Apply 10-12 psi of air pressure to the fitting in the governor. Snap the throttle back and forth and watch the exhaust. With air applied you should get a big bloom of black smoke and without air applied not much smoke.

Also check the muffler. Unless the muffler has been changed it will contain a cat. converter. You could also be getting back pressure build up in it also.




The engines do have some other small quirks about them. The inj. syncheration and timing has to be done with dial indicators. The bottom sealing area on the injector also needs to be sealed special seating tool to crush the injector into the sleeve.

If the top end adjustment has not been done on the engine in long time it may need a trip to the dealer.
If the engine runs rough in the morning with lots of white smoke it could indicate that compression is getting into the fuel rails from around the lower seal area. If the engine does not show this signs you could get by with only turning the fuel up and advancing fuel timing.
 

seano11

Active member
878
102
43
Location
Edmonton Canada
I'd suggest going into a cat dealer and finding out what's on the marine version of this engine. 350 out of a 3116 doesn't sound bad
 
Last edited:

jaymcb

Active member
all the HP in the world isn't going to get you out of the 48-50MPH top speed when your tach sits against the 2700rpm redline in 4th gear.

395's exacerbate the power issue, but at least you get 54MPH against the redline then.
 

jaymcb

Active member
actually, Explicit1 asked about the viability of using an M35a3 to pull a toy hauler. On modern roads, a 50MPH top speed is a concern. The point I was making is that even if the CAT3116 was turned up to 350HP, without gearing changes, it is STILL not going to be a viable platform with a toy hauler due to it's inherent speed limitations from the gearing/transmission setup that the truck CAME with from the manufacturer.

I know, because I have this setup, drove it home 400 miles from Ft. Meade, and 2700RPM on the highway will set your teeth on edge. A toy hauler behind just becomes a danger.
 

59apache

Chipmaker
1,299
29
48
Location
Bavaria / Germany
is it possible to swap a manual transmission in? that would be the goal.... a turned up CAT, no power loss (or better: little) in the transmission, maybe with an overdrive....
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks