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updated pics of my hemtt restoration

dma251

Member
648
15
18
Location
Arlington, Washington
It is SO much fun to drive!!! Even though it's big, as long as you keep an eye on your mirrors, and keep in mind that they hang out on the right side and are at perfect street-sign smacking height (I learned this the hard way), it's not too bad.

I keep the yellow line right at the left edge of the window in the floor, and that keeps me perfectly centered in most lanes.

I can only hope driving it with a tight, well calibrated transmission is going to be even better! I'm already planning a 400 mile trip east over the mountains to visit a friend of mine with it. I will probably tow my jeep on my car trailer behind. Probably in a month or two.
 

EZFEED

New member
880
0
0
Location
Lafayette, LA
It is SO much fun to drive!!! Even though it's big, as long as you keep an eye on your mirrors, and keep in mind that they hang out on the right side and are at perfect street-sign smacking height (I learned this the hard way), it's not too bad.

I keep the yellow line right at the left edge of the window in the floor, and that keeps me perfectly centered in most lanes.

I can only hope driving it with a tight, well calibrated transmission is going to be even better! I'm already planning a 400 mile trip east over the mountains to visit a friend of mine with it. I will probably tow my jeep on my car trailer behind. Probably in a month or two.
Sounds like the makings of a rally!:-D
 

dma251

Member
648
15
18
Location
Arlington, Washington
Why don't you put your jeep on the back with ramps?

I thought about that, but ultimately I think it would be easier to just hitch it up on my car trailer. That way if I have any kind of mechanical problems I can get it off without needing the crane so I can get to help if need be.

My Jeep is a lifted and locked Grand Cherokee one 1-ton axles, so it might be a bit too heavy for the crane to lift anyway.

I may use the crane this summer to hoist my Jetskis on the back, though when I take them to the lake!!! Don't worry - I'll post pics!

You guys are great! Sharing the fun in this is really a huge part of what makes this project so enjoyable. I am sure you all know what I mean when you get someone new to MV's in the passenger seat and you see that big grin on their face. I wish more of you were closer so I could have a better selection of passengers.... My wife hates the thing!
 

dma251

Member
648
15
18
Location
Arlington, Washington
As I said, any of you are welcome to come out and we'll go burn up some diesel!

Just shoot me a PM or call me at home - 360-386-8856 and give me some notice and the first two beers are on me!
 

dma251

Member
648
15
18
Location
Arlington, Washington
Okay, update time....

The trans is out of the hemtt, and down at the Allison shop in Tacoma. They disassembled it and had some surprising things to say about this transmission...

It is definitely not a hemtt tranny, or anything that came with a Detroit 8V92... It is from the mid 70's, has a Cummins torque converter and starter ring (surprised it even worked), a very incorrect valvebody, the wrong pan, etc, etc... The mystery of what this was for will probably remain a mystery, but we know that it failed because of mismatched valving and torqueconverter failure, not fluid.... It simply was not the transmission that should have been behind this engine... But on the bright side, they are going to be able to rebuild it into a very nice transmission that will shift crisper and function better then what it came stock with. Not to mention that it has an extra gear then stock, which is nice for that narrow 8v92 power range.

All for the bargain price of $8000.... Actually these guy are really cool to work with, and they are very interested in the project and are trying to save me money where they can and still build me a first-class transmission. They even are willing to travel the 100+ miles to supervise the install and provide technical support for the initial setup. So this, and the r/r costs, I'll be in it about $10K or so. It's pretty much all I have left on the budget for this truck for the year, but it has to be done.

On a side note, I consulted with the Allison Factory tech support folks, and obviously the builder here. They all told me that running anything but C4 ATF in this is a huge mistake. Allison doesn't okay 15w40, and the local shop won't warranty it. The history of the US Military using it had to do with fluid commonality and pressure on Allison to get the contract. They tell me the heat handling ability of the C4 ATF is just as capable as the 15-40 oil and oil will be to thick to function reliably in the colder weather.

Bottom line is this - I know some of you guys strongly recommend the 15w-40, but for what I am paying for this, I would be a fool to do anything except what the factory and the experts say to do. There are allison autos running in heavy-duty rigs all over the world on C4 ATF, and they seem to work.

I will be adding a second spin-on aux filter on the fluid return line from the cooler, to filter any particles that may be trapped in the cooler, also, by the way on Allison's recommendation.
 
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Elwenil

New member
2,190
40
0
Location
Covington, VA
Wow. Well, there is a lesson for all of us who dream of owning a HEMTT. They are pretty expensive to own and maintain, lol. I'm glad you are getting it fixed so you can enjoy it but I don't envy the cost.
 

Jones

Well-known member
2,237
83
48
Location
Sacramento, California
I know it's a lot of money but down the line I think you'll be happy you went for it.
Good idea on going with Allison's fluid recommendations too. They're the ones who'll be telling you they will or won't warranty any repair work in the future.

Uncle can make some pretty strict contract stipulations to mfrs who want the government's business;
and, if a piece of equipment breaks own it's not like the guys in the motor pool have to wait for their next paycheck to be able to afford the repair parts.
 

madsam

New member
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M
They even are willing to travel the 100+ miles to supervise the install and provide technical support for the initial setup.
They just want to see the Hemtt, as do we all.
 
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