M35A3 Owners unite

[Deuce007]

I have posted this in another thread, but I haven't found a good way to fix it yet. The problem is that by the air line that hooks up to my front axle switch leaks a lot of air. I tightened up the brass piece but now the air leaks from between the hose and the brass fitting. Does anyone have an idea of how to stop it from leaking?

I hi-lighted where the air is leaking from in pic 1 and pic 2 is the actual picture. By the way, I know that my air buzzer alarm isn't hooked up at the time that I took these pictures.

If I coated the fitting in thread lock glue would that help at all?

 

[jaymcb]

M109a4 here. 460 miles on it when I bought it last Fall. Like everything in the truck but the top speed

 

[kc2vwi]

A3 Club

M109A4 Here as well, late '98 mfg based on high VIN and component tag dates.

750 miles on the clock when I got her from Sparta, mostly have the minor issues ironed out now at 1100 miles. Swapped over the tranny fluid to Dex III and she shifts much better now. This site as been a great resource for my adventure with this truck.

Here are some pics from last weekends outing, the ARRL (Ham Radio) June VHF contest. Our QTH was near a fire tower on the AT in NJ. The Van Body makes a super place to camp out.

 

[AceHigh]

Ham radio field day is approaching. I always take a deuce out to the site, usually the A3. Nice pictures.

 

[Deuce007]

Does anyone else have the problem on their a3 about the low air buzzer turning on whenever you make a turn? I recently hooked it up because it wasn't before and now I think I know why. When I turn the steering wheel the air gauge always jumps up and down then the buzzer sounds to tell me that I have low air. Any ideas on fixing this besides unhooking the low air buzzer completely?

 

[Hoefler]

I had a similar situation-given the high humid weather you might weant to drain-and re-drain air tanks. I let mine build full pressure, then open petcock to drain. Let the tank go to zero then close pet cock.
Works on mine.
Pete

 

[AceHigh]

Does anyone else have the problem on their a3 about the low air buzzer turning on whenever you make a turn? I recently hooked it up because it wasn't before and now I think I know why. When I turn the steering wheel the air gauge always jumps up and down then the buzzer sounds to tell me that I have low air. Any ideas on fixing this besides unhooking the low air buzzer completely?

I just "cured" my problem. It started with occasional low air warnings, finally got worse till it took forever to fill the tanks. I could not turn the wheel without the buzzer going off.

Did the air tool oil fix, but that did not work. Got under it and started tracing air lines and found a regulator like device near the air tanks. Just out of curiousity I wacked it with a hammer and the truck suddenly vented loudly like it had a bad case of gas and since then everything works great. A simple percussion tool fix.

 

[jaymcb]

I run a purge on my tanks after every drive. I had that issue in cold weather or after a lot of brake pumping. Seems better since I did the air system purge. Probably need to service your air dryer as well.

 

[AceHigh]

Jay is right, if you are getting water into your tanks on a M35A3 your air dryer needs servicing bad.

 

[319]

Does anyone else have the problem on their a3 about the low air buzzer turning on whenever you make a turn? I recently hooked it up because it wasn't before and now I think I know why. When I turn the steering wheel the air gauge always jumps up and down then the buzzer sounds to tell me that I have low air. Any ideas on fixing this besides unhooking the low air buzzer completely?

Did you happen to check the steering for air leaks?

 

[319]

Do all A3s have insulated cabs? My A3 floor is fully insulated, and the soft top is insulated with about an inch or so of insulating foam (different than an A2).

 

[glcaines]

I just "cured" my problem. It started with occasional low air warnings, finally got worse till it took forever to fill the tanks. I could not turn the wheel without the buzzer going off.

Did the air tool oil fix, but that did not work. Got under it and started tracing air lines and found a regulator like device near the air tanks. Just out of curiousity I wacked it with a hammer and the truck suddenly vented loudly like it had a bad case of gas and since then everything works great. A simple percussion tool fix.

Where exactly is this device? Can you take a photo of it?

 

[BIGDDV]

Do all A3s have insulated cabs? My A3 floor is fully insulated, and the soft top is insulated with about an inch or so of insulating foam (different than an A2).

wow, ours is bare metal floors and no insulation on the soft top.

 

[AceHigh]

Where exactly is this device? Can you take a photo of it?

I will get a picture next week- the truck is at work and I am not!

 

[319]

wow, ours is bare metal floors and no insulation on the soft top.

That's what i've seen also. I've been inside five or six and they all have been bare, excpet for mine.

 

[OldSchoolAmerica]

Mine is at the very end of the production run and has what you described. Insulated soft top as well as thick rubber mats on the floor. Could this be an upgrade mod when they switched to fiberglass hoods and relocated the ether container?

 

[glcaines]

Mine is an early 98 with a steel hood and it has the floor mat and insulated soft top. However, my soft top was the same as an A2, it had simply deteriorated and the foam had expanded to become thicker and crumble all over. It has now been replaced by a new GMA top. I have seen a lot of A3s and I have never seen one without the floor mat. In my opinion, the rubber floor mat is a bad idea as it collects moisture under it and causes rust. Perhaps a lot of A3s from certain units had their floor mats removed.

 

[OldSchoolAmerica]

Well, so much for that theory. Regarding the mats, good point, it probably was not an issue with my truck as it was recovered from the desert. So moisture/rust was not an issue.

 

[Hoefler]

I have three A3 trucks-one has a full set of new mats complete with part number stickers. One truck had driver side only-other had none. The full mat truck has rusty rockers-the other two trucks are clean as a whistle. I like the look of bare metal floors with maybe Line ex or a protective coating. One thing for certain-with owning a Duece, three A3's and a M923-I can say I like the A3's the best.
Pete

 

[AMDOOR]

air leak

If I coated the fitting in thread lock glue would that help at all?

I have two A3's and had the same problem on both. I replaced the push in air tube fittings and it fixed the problem. There are two fittings on the air switch. All of mine were John Guest plastic fittings. They are available from McMaster-Carr. Each valve has one straight and one 90 degree swivel. Below is part of my order. You will need one each.

51055K47 Moisture-Resistant Acetal Push-to-Connect, Swivel 90 Degree Elbow for 1/4" Tube OD X 1/8" NPTF Male 3.76 each

51055K971 Moisture-Resistant Acetal Push-to-Connect, Adapter for 1/4" Tube OD X 1/8" NPTF Male Pipe, Gray 1.47 each

Three of the four fittings that I replaced broke when I removed them. I had to use a screw extractor to remove the broken end. Put pipe thread compound on the threads before you install them. The easiest way to install them is to remove the switch by removing the two screws on the faceplate.

I guess that these fittings get old and start to leak after 10 or 15 years.

Good luck,

Dale