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Ongoing Log Of My 1987 HMMWV

Milcommoguy

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DIY alignments

When I got my rig squared up it was time to work in an alignment. To pay for one, no problem. I use my allowance LOL for parts not procedures. As it goes, it a hobby rig and a learning platform AND it keeps me out of the way for honey doo's. (someone thinks it's a money pit)

No guarantees here, but it worked for me. Thousand miles later, spot on. Balanced tire wear, no cupping, hopping, steering tracks nice, no wiggle / wobbles, no out of pocket $$. Simple tools, square, some string, good tape measure, protractor, straight edge (12 foot angle iron) patience and some band-aids. Well it is a HumV LOL. For the REAL breakdown see the TM's

Since my needs are reliability, highway safe, better than parade ready, camping, desert off road travel, trailer to the dump, weekend kick' it... and who loads them up to payload capacity? It was time to get to it.

Shims IMG_7393.jpg Piano keys.

Rear shims placement is easy (per wheel) to set camber. All the nuts and bolt can be a pain.

The way I did it was to pull all the shims, (wheel at a time, as I work alone) replace cup bolts with standard nuts (easier to spin with me fingers for test) Put truck back on the ground.

Then with a prying tool, wedge, flat blade, etc. working it between cup and frame. You can easily open or close the gap / spacing to get the desired shims thickness needed. If your tires are new, one thin shim will change the stance. You can see the results in real time. Measure the gap, size up the shims, slap them in, replace nuts to top locks and torque. Know there are thick and thin ones.

They hang on the top bolts and if lucky can be slipped in and out. There may be a thick one (backing plate) that is held in place by the bolt which needs to be backed out to remove, Guess they could fall out??

Front
a bit harder with interaction with camber / castor, but basically the same. If you look at the upper control arm and mounting location of shim placement will shift the pivot-line (castor) between the ball joints. Between the two shim positions, front and rear (likely not the same) you should be able to walk thru a range of camber /castor setting, hitting the specification. measure the gap, replace with = shims (unless something is wack)

Toe-out
on the rear another simple measurement. It can get a bit squirrel-ly if the wheels aren't squared / parallel to the thrust lines (down the center full time HumV) to start with. If not, excessive tire wear when trying to head straight, rear end crabbing left or right. Think four wheel steering.

Toe-in
on the front is a bit tricky, as to which way is straight ahead. Steering box left to right to the stops, find the center and lock steering wheel down. Are wheels really tracking straight ahead?? DO NOT allow steering wheel to turn from this point on or you will be chasing your tail. Any loose joints or sloppy steering box is a deal breaker. Keep those tie rod clamp nuts and bolts near the wheels on the forward side of the wheel when done.

The big deal here (TM) is that tie rods pivot ends have about the same thread count left / right wheels. Make your measurements, adjusting to keep the balance of tie rods lengths and heading true straight, see above DO NOT.

As an added bonus... the steering wheel spoke should be pointed straight down (TM). It's an indexing thing, don't worry, most never are. Personal preference up, down, sideways, somewhere in between ?? Easy fix (note: it's not at the wheel)

Watch after removing shims that you have enough threads to pull it all together to torque specs. If you pull the backing plate with four holes to get spec. (rare) put it on the inside of frame and note something is wack.

Refresher > https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=4 <

Work safety and hydrate. UPS just show up with the T-case seals. Back to playing.

Hobby HUMMWV alignment. In the driveway, at home. Save money too, CAMO
 
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Milcommoguy

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Opps. Didn't mean to hijack your thread TOBASH. Your getting ready for the winter. Send it over to "What have you done or ??

Sorry, CAMO
 

TOBASH

Father, Surgeon, Cantankerous Grouch
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Opps. Didn't mean to hijack your thread TOBASH. Your getting ready for the winter. Send it over to "What have you done or ??

Sorry, CAMO
No worries. This was not a hijack and it was very informative.

Thanks for the info.

Best,

T
 

TOBASH

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Windshield wipers work but driver's side wiper is loose, and water pump is not pumping fluid.

Most concerned about water. What should I check first?

If wipers get power, can I assume pump gets power, or are they separately powered?

Best,

T
 

juanprado

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Windshield wipers work but driver's side wiper is loose, and water pump is not pumping fluid.

Most concerned about water. What should I check first?

If wipers get power, can I assume pump gets power, or are they separately powered?

Best,

T
Pump is in bottle and seperate power circuit. Common failure item. Oem is stupid crazy in price for a squirter. I used a 24v Asian pump off a truck. Check my Thread for part #
 

TOBASH

Father, Surgeon, Cantankerous Grouch
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OK Juan… Thanks. I will look into that and order one.

Now the dashboard is my next big thing, because without idiot lights and idiot gauges I can get into trouble.

Right side light works. Left does not. High beam light bulb indicator in the dash works.

None of the electric gauges work. Oil flickers almost 1mm movement when I turn the truck on. I disconnected batteries and then removes screws holding gauge panel in place. I saw some ground wires to the upper left of the dash and I loosened and tightened back down, but not change. All wires are plugged in and all nuts tightened.

Only other idea I have before I begin looking at the sender units is dielectric grease to all connections.

Because 1 light works, some electricity is getting to at least part of the darned thing.

Ideas?
 
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TOBASH

Father, Surgeon, Cantankerous Grouch
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Opened gauges. Cleaned and dielectric greased everything. Disconnected ground wires. What a joy. Bolt goes through the fire wall and into the engine bay. Got it all cleaned and dielectric greased. NO CHANGE. :/

I need a picture of wires to gauges to ensure mine is wired correctly. Maybe they are all connected to the wrong circuits?

What a frustration!!!

T
 
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Retiredwarhorses

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The TM has all the troubleshooting guides in them, each gauge has one thing in common, they all have a ground, 24volt wire and the source wire.
assuming gauge is good, the main place to look is the connection at the sending unit, if your not sure it’s the right wire, ohm out the wire from the dash to the sending unit.
 

TOBASH

Father, Surgeon, Cantankerous Grouch
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The TM has all the troubleshooting guides in them, each gauge has one thing in common, they all have a ground, 24volt wire and the source wire.
assuming gauge is good, the main place to look is the connection at the sending unit, if your not sure it’s the right wire, ohm out the wire from the dash to the sending unit.
Some electricity getting to voltmeter to make it shutter when I turn the rig off. So it’s a possibility that live plugs placed on incorrect gauges.

Gotta go to manuals to see if gauges plugged in to proper circuits. I have no idea what PO did or did not do so everything is suspect.

A friend has three M998’s so I am going to open up one of his dashboards and compare where things are plugged in.

If if that fails, off to the TM’s as you have suggested.

Thanks!

T
 

Retiredwarhorses

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Some electricity getting to voltmeter to make it shutter when I turn the rig off. So it’s a possibility that live plugs placed on incorrect gauges.

Gotta go to manuals to see if gauges plugged in to proper circuits. I have no idea what PO did or did not do so everything is suspect.

A friend has three M998’s so I am going to open up one of his dashboards and compare where things are plugged in.

If if that fails, off to the TM’s as you have suggested.

Thanks!

T
TM has the schematics, all wires are banded with numbers.
when the ignition is turned on, the gauges energize..so they will jump, normal

oil gauge is
36A
58G ground
27H
 

TOBASH

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OMG! Lotsa time spent on gauges, but now they work despite the PO’s best efforts.

Left side illumination light ground screws corroded. They are placed backwards and can only be accessed from the front of the ground plate. Unfortunately the ground plate is covered by a facade. I’d have had to disassemble the whole unit, so instead I ran a short wire to an alternate ground point.

Voltage meter gauge did not work because the PO placed ground wire in the wrong anchoring post. I placed the ground wire properly and all is well.

PO had fuel gauge wires on backwards. Now gauge is working.

PO had temperature gauge wires on backwards. Another 50/50 chance that he blew.

I got got to go over the whole thing with my oldest son helping. Nice father son time!

My vehicle now has all gauges and illumination lights functioning. I feel safer, especially about thermostat.

Oil registers just under 30 psi cold and when warm moves to just above zero. Is that normal?

Best.

T
 
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Coug

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Oil registers just under 30 psi cold and when warm moves to just above zero. Is that normal?
Mine is doing the same thing, sits at or barely above the zero mark when the engine is hot and idling. I don't know if it's normal or not, but I'll see if it still does it after I change the oil (truck only has 400 miles on it at this point, so hoping it's either normal, or just an issue with oil that is in it)
 

TOBASH

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Screaming alternator belts...PO used unmatched belts that might be a bit large. I re-tensioned and one is tight and one is OK. I need new ones... What are the proper dimensions for alternator belts on a 6.2 with 60 Amp alternator? What are the smallest and largest acceptable belts, and who sources matched sets? Any site vendors? I might as well replace all belts and not just alternator set.

Wiper water pump changed and now works. Thanks Juan, but I went OEM as a pump was available affordably. I will keep your fix in mind for future though!

Need wiper sprayer, and ordered it a few days ago.

Windows seem to attract a lot of dust, so I washed them. Guess I won't be driving on the sidewalks anymore.

Heater works BUT heater pull knob sticks. Is there a source? Is there a site vendor?

Is there a source for the heater valve also? Site vendor preferred.

Need a central hood rubber bumper that mounts to the firewall centrally in front of windshield. Need a vendor.

Gauges still working great. Fuel gauge moves a lot with 1/2 tank. I guess there is no baffle to limit sloshing. Bounces all over the place, so I cured that by filling the tank.

I hope there is a site vendor with all the stuff I need, and thanks in advance for suggestions.

Best,

T
 

Bulldogger

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Screaming alternator belts...PO used unmatched belts that might be a bit large. I re-tensioned and one is tight and one is OK. I need new ones... What are the proper dimensions for alternator belts on a 6.2 with 60 Amp alternator? What are the smallest and largest acceptable belts, and who sources matched sets? Any site vendors? I might as well replace all belts and not just alternator set.

Wiper water pump changed and now works. Thanks Juan, but I went OEM as a pump was available affordably. I will keep your fix in mind for future though!

Need wiper sprayer, and ordered it a few days ago.

Windows seem to attract a lot of dust, so I washed them. Guess I won't be driving on the sidewalks anymore.

Heater works BUT heater pull knob sticks. Is there a source? Is there a site vendor?

Is there a source for the heater valve also? Site vendor preferred.

Need a central hood rubber bumper that mounts to the firewall centrally in front of windshield. Need a vendor.

Gauges still working great. Fuel gauge moves a lot with 1/2 tank. I guess there is no baffle to limit sloshing. Bounces all over the place, so I cured that by filling the tank.

I hope there is a site vendor with all the stuff I need, and thanks in advance for suggestions.

Best,

T
NAPA has belts back when I needed them. I will do some digging and see what I can turn up.
Bulldogger
 

Daves86

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When I changed the water pump a couple months ago no one locally did matched pair for belts. I went to 4 different sources (+ one online) and had to settle for a set that was close (about 1/4 inch off). I did see a site last night that had a matched set but I do not know if it was P/S or Gen belts.
 

Bulldogger

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On my 1987 60 amp alternator engine:
Water pump belt (2 needed), NAPA 25-7490
Alternator belt (2needed), NAPA 4215SS

Hope this helps.

These have done me well, with routine checkups and occasional re-tension.

Bulldogger
E51AFB62-74A4-48D6-B33D-261BBD6DAEF0.jpgAF6AF9A5-1F64-4565-87B1-5C87C8C27262.jpg
 

Milcommoguy

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If the oil pressure gauge is to be believed... That would be a big concern for me.

Oil pressure can be all over the place for all kinds of reasons on 6.2L trucks. TM minimum would be 10 psi and hard to get a good read on those gauges. A tight engine average 40 to 60 psi hot, higher side cold. The two I have rebuilt have held those higher reads hot or cold, working or playing.

Engines with worn bearings, guides, tired pump, etc. might start out 45 psi cold idle. Dropping to low values rather quickly say 10 psi hot at idle. Spin up the RPM and you might hold 20 - 30 psi only to drop to the low end at stops. IMO, the very low reads are a problem somewhere.

IMG_5509.jpg IMG_6401.jpg
Permanent mechanical diagnostic instrumentation shop modification under the "hood of heavy" for field peace of mine.

More cheap help for everyone. Winter is near.

Darn over priced sprayer pumps leak, rusted up, gummed up and burned up. Go with the "Juan" fix. Use the leads off the old one. Plug and play.

Did you clean out the sprayer nozzle tips. Old truck with old clogged crud, even in the small hoses.

Heater pull controls bent, rusted, pinched, missed adjusted. Check heater control valve. Valves leak, clogged, not adjusted to full open.

Divert-er box vanes not fully engaging for proper flow. Don't forget the outside cold air inlet. Clear out leaves, nests, oil rusty thumb screw. Replace split, cracked or missing ducts. May need all the heat you can get to defog windows or warm those buns.

buns.jpg What were you thinking TOBASH ?

As for vendors... Not going there. But if one does, use the TM > https://gear-report.com/wp-content/...0-280-24P-1 HMMWV_M998_series_Parts vol 1.pdf <
Find the part in pictures (mostly illustrations) and using the part number, making all vendors happy. If you search the P/N good chance you will find many sources. Prices may vary when shopping, minimum orders, shipping gold plated parts for the rich and not so famous HUMMWV owners.

It's the hunt of the part, not the part, CAMO
 
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Bulldogger

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A cheap auto parts store manual oil gauge can be had for little $ and plumbed long enough to double-check your military gauge's accuracy. In my case the Mil gauge and/or sensor was off by 30psi (reading low). I had the exact condition you describe, and it was fixed with a new sender and new gauge. They are not as readily available at competitive prices as they were last I looked, but they can be had readily from the usual aftermarket sources. The auto parts store gauge will tell you where to begin.
BDGR
 
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