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Replacing M936A1 Wrecker Hoist Cable

nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
My first task for this long weekend is to remove the old, rusty cable from my M936A1 wrecker's crane. I could probably get the old cable working more smoothly by lubricating it and working it back and forth, but 100' of new wire rope just cost about $220, so I'll just replace it instead.

Once I have the old cable out, I'll dig inside the hoist gearbox and brake housing to see if I can find the cause of the unpleasant noise that the hoist makes in operation. I hope it's just the brake band chattering on a rusty drum or something like that, but I just won't know until I'm in there. Once I have everything inside the hoist looking right, I'll install the new cable.

So far it's not cooperating, so here I am chatting while I take a cooling-off break and top up my sweat tanks.

The nut on the clevis pin wouldn't budge, and I ended up using an impact wrench to get it off. The threads don't look good, so I'll replace that pin. I'll need to order a replacement, but I can at least use the old one to fit things together temporarily.

I haven't tried detaching the clevis from the old cable yet. I shot it with some liquid wrench a couple days ago. I hope that I'll be able to reuse it. If not, then I'll need to order a new one, and that will mean that I won't get the crane put back together this weekend.

Meanwhile, I'm having trouble getting the old cable disconnected from the hoist drum. The setscrew is rusted in there pretty well. I managed to back it out part way, but it doesn't want to budge further. Maybe I'll need to drill it out? I had the foresight to order a new setscrew to have on hand (actually a box of them, so I'll have many left over), because I figured the old one might be all rusty. The cable still doesn't want to come out of the hole, but I'm not sure whether it's because the setscrew needs to come out farther, or I'm just not pulling the cable hard enough. My arms got tired and I ran out of energy, so I'll try some more after I rest up a bit.

Other plans for this weekend include fixing a leaking axle seal, draining out the hydraulic fluid, cleaning the hydraulic filter, and pumping the fluid back in through a spin-on filter. I may not get that all done.

So, how's your day going so far?
 

Csm Davis

Well-known member
4,151
376
83
Location
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Been looking into replacing mine with synthetic wire rope if me and the engineer for the company that makes the termination fittings can figure out how to make it work. :grd:
 

nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
Here are some pictures. The old cable is off, and I need to clean up the drum and get inside the gearbox. It turns out that the lower sheave at the base of the boom isn't turning, so I'll need to free that up. That was probably the main cause of my cable not spooling out under the weight of the block, rather than just stiff rusty cable. I still want to replace the cable, anyway.
 

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nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
One of my dogs, Lugnut. He found me out at the Chino Airport way back when I had my first MV there (an M109A3). He likes to hang out with me while I'm working on the trucks.
 

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nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
He sure was shopping for a new pack! That was a very happy day for both of us. Since then I've rescued four more dogs; one lives with my folks in NV, and the other three are part of our wonderful pack here at Mark's Green Truck Ranch. They were all happy that I had today off, and spent the weekend at home working on the wrecker so I could give them lots of attention.
 

nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
Cool! I'm looking forward to seeing how that works. That's barely a hundred bucks more expensive than the steel cable.

I ordered a new clevis end today. Made by Esmet, part number GD-150-X, ordered from American Rigging in San Diego, price about $68.
 

nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
Ah, I almost forgot. I have some questions for you rigging experts. Is it OK to use anti-seize compound on the sleeve threads when I assemble the clevis end? About how much torque is appropriate for the sleeve? Are there any other details I should know about? Should I untwist each of the six strands around the wedge, or just lay them as-is in the six wedge slots? Should I cut away the fiber core where the wedge goes? I've read the TM instructions for assembling this type of fitting, but I want to make sure that I don't miss any important details.
 

zebedee

conceptualizer at large
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,605
660
113
Location
Central NY
... and if you do get a PDF from Esmet, please shove it on S/S for all to see.
I re-did the clevis on my front winch cable, wedge bent and nut damaged, did remove some of the fibre core to allow space for the wedge - seemed logical to me!

Not sure of the purpose of the little hole - possibly a depth gauge to 'sight' the cable being in far enough.

Made a cable clamp to hold the cable in the vise to enable thumping on of the clevis without kinking or damaging cable. Also keeps track of depth.
Cable clamp.jpg
Just remember to either saw cut in half after drilling a one piece block, or if making from two rectangles, put some paper between the two pieces before drilling ( ~ hacksaw blade thickness). Then there will be clamping pressure. Could also turn down and drill a piece of barstock then cut in half. I'd leave a bigger shoulder if using round bar.

Will make others for rear and hoist cables later.
 
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WILDBOY6X6

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
608
38
28
Location
Newark ca
Temp

HI was looking at chats n saw where you said need a break its 91 here.

Well to me thats only warm,try 135-145 an avarage summer in IRAQ.

We had M931A2'S W/O A/C too.
 

nf6x

Feral Engineer
1,630
49
48
Location
Riverside, CA, USA
I haven't made more progress on my cable replacement because some stuff came up that kept me from working on the truck last weekend. I hope to get wrenching on it again in a week or three. My old M543A2 should be leaving for its new home this weekend, though, and I hope that its new owner will start a thread soo to show us what he does with it!

Based on the assembly instructions I have seen, that small hole in the clevis end fitting is indeed a sight hole. The wire rope will be visible through it if it's properly seated. The only details missing from the assembly instructions are a torque recommendation, and any comments about whether it's good or bad to use antiseize on the threads. I'm leaning towards using antiseize to ensure that the clevis can be disassembled again after living out in the weather.
 
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