My M35A2 story (so far)

[army_nurse]

I saved up enough money hauling scrap metal to buy a truck from GL. At the start of this week I drove it from San Antonio Texas to the family ranch in southwest Oklahoma. The trip was 425 miles of driving and no problems the entire way. The only down side was mine does not have a top so I got a bit of a sun burn and sprinkled on a time or two also. The truck ran GREAT!!!! It developed a small oil leak on the valve cover but nothing bad. My breaks were softer than I would like so a master cylinder replacement is my top order of business. Fluid checks ok and I noted no leaks on any of the wheels on the entire trip. There are a few things I need. First of all a new master cylinder, the best price I have found is $85. A head light which I think the best price is going to be around $26. A soft or a hard top install is in order as well. I need to get the TM’s. a bit of trouble shooting advice as well. the fuel gauge doesn’t work. Having said that and not having the TM’s to do the trouble shooting with advice on some steps to check it would be nice. I don’t want to spend the money to replace things without ensuring what is the problem first. Oh and if anyone has a set of the 14X20’s I hope to do the tire swap. I drove these trucks in the Army and have a good basic knowledge base of how they run and what they can do. I promised my wife I would only use my scrap hauling money so my budget is low so any help on finding parts or wisdom in any way would greatly appriceated. A last word before I post this. I have been reading the posts on steel soldiers and want to say thanks to those of ya’ll who give freely of you knowledge.

P.S. God bless America and named my M35A2 HARDSTRIPES

MARK

 

[tdoskey]

Mark,
Look at the menu bar just below the SS headliner. Click on "resources". The TMs are there. I downloaded them to my computer for easier access.
Praying for success in your repairs and restoration.
Tim

 

[stumps]

A soft brake pedal is virtually always the result of air in the brake system. Bleed your brakes and the soft pedal will very likely go away.

Pressure bleeding seems to be a method that works the best. Do a search on the website for "pressure bleeding" and you will find a couple of very simple methods to try. Always start by bleeding the air/master cylinder. Then go out to the furthest rear line, and work your way to the front. It will take you 1/2 hour at most. Your brakes use DOT5 fluid, most likely.

-Chuck

 

[FMJ]

Welcome aboard Mark!

You can rebuild the master cylinder with a kit if you are so inclined. And soft tops are pretty easy to come by as well.

Ed

 

[panzerjunky]

Hey Mark
Welcome to the board
Congrats on the truck you will love it and I am sure it will grow on the family when I got mine my wife was like "Oh thats nice what are you going to do with that" Now it's hey lets take the Deuce or my husbands army truck can haul that. All my little girs friends love to come over and climb on it or take rides .
As for help you came to the right place the guys on this forum have forgotten more than the averege guy will ever know about the M35A2 They might not even know your name but they treat you like a friend and are always willing to help.
As for your parts there are the standbys Saturn equipment , OD Iron, also try Boyce equipment talk to mark In my opinion he is a good guy also try desert deuce or memphis eqipment to name a few.
as for headlight and brake parts search E-Bay for a seller named delawarelister I got 2 axles woth brake shoes for 68.00 and a headlight for $20.00 and change Desert deuce and boyce have Fuel gauges for 39.00or so soft tops check e-bay or check Joe@armytruckparts.com he had some tan tops he might have other colors.
Good luck with the new toy
Jerry

 

[atankersdad]

Welcome to the club.
Bleed and if that dioes not work rebuild both the master cylinder and the air pack. It saves time. No reason to do one without doing the other.
Stay away from 1400's because they will rub...

 

[Speddmon]

Mark, welcome and congrats on the new "member of the family" so to speak.

I agree with all the posts above, bleeding the brakes will help with your problem most likely...however, since it's a new (to you) truck, and you have no idea of the maintenance that was done to it prior to you purchasing it, or how long it sat around waiting for you to become it's new owner. May I suggest jacking it up and pulling every hub and inspecting very closely the brake shoes, and wheel cylinders at every wheel. When you put it back together, please do the major brake adjustment procedure. Then bleed your brakes and you'll probably be good to go.

Remember, these are a single circuit braking system, and once you get going you NEED to be able to stop 13000 pounds of rolling OD Iron.

Just my

 

[Chow717]

Welcome to the site! and remember we like pictures

 

[gimpyrobb]

Wait till after tomorrow to buy a master cyl. There are soft tops available here in the classifieds for 125 + the ride. I agree, bleed the brakes and adjust them. Also, 1400s will NOT fit on a 6x6 deuce. 395 is as big as you can go.

 

[frodobaggins]

Welcome.


And maybe he meant 14.5-20s ? They fit.