Working on the M1078 LMTV

[mkcoen]

Sorry to hear about this. I wasn't in town on the 3rd. But if you have to be towed again I have my 813 running and a tow bar with the 5 ton shackles.

Thanks Mik! Luckily this way I just had to pull the rear axle shafts and not mess with the drive shafts. Flat towing requires a bit more work to get ready to tow. And WELCOME HOME!

 

[Another Ahab]

I won't know until April as I pay a year at a time.

I hope there's no hit.

 

[Lmtv772]

Tow bill is cheaper than a HET.

We have the HET anyway, so no it's not cheaper. Plus the tow company in Town keeps borrowing it, so it even makes money .

 

[mkcoen]

Keith_J was able to swing by today to help with the radiator. We wound up throwing out the TM directions for removing the radiator and intercooler together and just unbolted the radiator and came out the bottom. We still had to use the engine hoist and also had to pull the front left tire to get close enough. The other problem was the AC condenser was mounted on the radiator brackets so it had to come loose and be secured out of the way.

Once out Keith decided he could actually repair it by closing off the one tube that was damaged with a substantial amount of solder. When it was cool he McGyvered a way to pressure test it to make sure that held and there weren't any more leaks.

All appears good. Now its just a matter of getting it back in place.

 

[Another Ahab]

Keith_J was able to swing by today to help with the radiator.

All appears good. Now its just a matter of getting it back in place.

That went fast! Who says it's hard to find good help these days?!

 

[TNriverjet]

Keith_J is a good buddy to have! I'm glad to know the fix was doable without tons of expense and new parts (save the towing bill).

 

[Smike740]

Great idea taking the radiator out the bottom, did anything else need removed to have enough clearance? I hope to never have to do it again, if I do I will try this way.

Did you have any problem finding a new fan and clutch? I am now thinking to upgrade to the newer clutch with studs and fan when i start the A/C project

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Sounds like it is working out okay. Good luck.

 

[mkcoen]

Great idea taking the radiator out the bottom, did anything else need removed to have enough clearance? I hope to never have to do it again, if I do I will try this way.

Got the fan off eBay for $110 including shipping and got the new style fan clutch from my local source.

If you have someone strong enough they can lift the radiator straight up to get it back in place with the intercooler then just stick a couple of bolts in to hold it in place and finish the rest. Coming out is a bit of a dance. We had the jack in the way from taking the tire off so had to move that and just the size of the thing is a bit daunting. The good news is IT'S BACK IN! Now just a matter of getting all the items back together. The new fan should be here Thursday so with luck I may make the Saturday Air Show!

 

[mkcoen]

Keith_J is a good buddy to have! I'm glad to know the fix was doable without tons of expense and new parts (save the towing bill).

I seem to have a lot of good friends around here that are very helpful. I'm blessed that way.

The good news on the tow bill is the insurance company said they were covering the whole thing! I'll wait to celebrate until I have the check in hand but she said she was sending it out today. I apparently have coverage up to 200 miles and only went 86. They also didn't blink at the price. Still, not going to spend it until I have it in hand.

 

[reloader64]

(Relatively) Good news all around! I was bummed out when M813RC told me what had happened. I'm glad it's not going to cost near as much as we all feared. And, I'm glad to hear that you'll make the Burnet air show. Although I was looking forward to seeing Mrs. mkcoen's M37 out and about. Maybe a trailer hitch for the 1078?

Scott

 

[Smike740]

Wow, who do you have insurance through? I thought they would cap the towing at a $ limit like $250. I need to shop around at rewenal timing.

Glad you are getting it back together so quickly. Did you get the thickness spec for the spacer yet? If not what is your plan?

I was thinking of disconnecting the fan solenoid wire temporarily until I can put a spacer in. That way the clutch bolts don't rub the AC pulley.

 

[mkcoen]

Wow, who do you have insurance through? I thought they would cap the towing at a $ limit like $250. I need to shop around at rewenal timing.

Glad you are getting it back together so quickly. Did you get the thickness spec for the spacer yet? If not what is your plan?

I was thinking of disconnecting the fan solenoid wire temporarily until I can put a spacer in. That way the clutch bolts don't rub the AC pulley.

I have collector insurance through CHUBB. They don't have a "garaging" clause like most collector's policies so I can store my deuce and LMTV outside.

I haven't got the specs on the spacer yet and was thinking I might just shave a little off the bolt heads on the clutch. There was very little contact with the pulley so it wouldn't take much.

You could probably just use the fording switch on the dash to keep the fan from coming on so no need to disconnect anything.

 

[mkcoen]

Keith_J was back again today and we got most of the hard stuff back together. We can't put everything back until the fan gets here and that won't be until tomorrow afternoon. What was accomplished was getting the lower radiator hose, lower fan shroud, new fan clutch, and AC condenser back in. What's left is the fan, upper shroud, hooking up all the coolant lines, trimming to length the fan clutch air hose, putting the front left wheel back on, reinstalling the lower guard/apron on front of the truck, reinstalling the axle shafts, filling the coolant, and topping off the rear end. It seems like a lot but is really the easiest part to do.

The only part I couldn't get a replacement for was the fan clutch air line but Keith was actually able to fab one up with mostly parts in my shop. We did have to hit NAPA for 1 fitting and a length of hose but everything else was on hand. We didn't have an exact measurement since a portion of the hose was missing so just got one that had some extra length and once the fan shroud is back in place we'll trim it to length.

Comparing the old fan clutch to the new one it appears that the only real difference is the new clutch has integrated bolts that the fan slides on to while the old one you used a spacer, a non-metallic grommet, and a retaining plate that was all bolted to the clutch. Keith doesn't think the clutch was the issue in this loss but that the aluminum center of the fan gave out. Two of the fan mounting bolts were broken where they screwed into the clutch and the other 4 were all threaded all the way into the retaining plate and stripped the threads out of the clutch. Could this be a factor in why they went to a different style? Who knows.

The other issue I wanted to address was the clearance between the clutch and the AC pulley. I don't know if that issue was just with the old style clutch but since there wasn't much contact evident I thought maybe just shaving down the raised portion on the head of the bolts on the back of the clutch might work. I went ahead and used a file to smooth that down but it was probably only 1/64th of an inch or less. Once I mounted the clutch and torqued the mounting bolts down I've got almost 1/4" of space. There doesn't appear to be any difference in the old and new clutch thickness but I didn't take a set of calipers to them. Any way I don't think I'll have any rubbing issues there now.

 

[Smike740]

Mkcoen, the clearance between the clutch bolt heads and the AC pulley will get smaller when you apply air pressure to the clutch. When air is applied the portion of the clutch the fan is bolted to moves backward so there is clearance to the clutch facing and the clutch disengages. You may want to check the clearance under this condition and see if you need a spacer.

 

[mkcoen]

Mkcoen, the clearance between the clutch bolt heads and the AC pulley will get smaller when you apply air pressure to the clutch. When air is applied the portion of the clutch the fan is bolted to moves backward so there is clearance to the clutch facing and the clutch disengages. You may want to check the clearance under this condition and see if you need a spacer.

Thanks. I'll try applying some air to it tomorrow to see how it reacts.

 

[mkcoen]

Thanks. I'll try applying some air to it tomorrow to see how it reacts.

Okay I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I took the pressure set up we used to test the radiator yesterday and hooked it to the line for the fan clutch. After applying air and actuating the clutch I was able to stick a standard slotted screwdriver between the clutch bolts and the AC pulley. It went past the tip of the screwdriver which is 1/16th" on the very end then slopes upward so there's more than 1/16th" clearance between the 2. I think that should be sufficient. As I said, the old one had some scuffing but there wasn't any indication the bolt heads were digging into the face of the pulley.

 

[Smike740]

1/16 should be good I need to add a spacer to mine since I have contact. I am thing to use 0.1 inch aluminum sheet i have for the spacer. Now i just need to decide if I should upgrade the fan and clutch for peace of mind whiles its apart.

 

[mkcoen]

1/16 should be good I need to add a spacer to mine since I have contact. I am thing to use 0.1 inch aluminum sheet i have for the spacer. Now i just need to decide if I should upgrade the fan and clutch for peace of mind whiles its apart.

It would have been worth the price for me to do it if I could have avoided this. I don't think you can ever be sure unless there's a failure but the military must have had some reason to go back and change things. It should be a more solid foundation since you're actually bolting the fan to the clutch not pinching it between the clutch and another piece of aluminum.

 

[Smike740]

I agree, when you get the new fan tomorrow could you post if the hub material is steel or aluminum. If it changed to steel it seems like it should be much better.