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Seriously looking at lmtv need input please

NDT

NDT

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tburk49760 said:
I plan on regearing the beast this weekend. The rear seems easy, the front not so much. It appears as though I will need to really disassemble the front end in order to slide the axles out enough to remove the center section. The thought of messing with the reduction boxes troubles me. Hopefully, I can remove the king pin bearings or whatever the equivalent thing is and pull the steering knuckle to slide the axle shafts out. Stand by for more to come with pics...
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Did you end up disassembling the king pins or the hubs on the front to pull the axle shafts?
 
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tburk49760

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I will post plenty of pics soon. The process was easier than I anticipated. Total cost around $750 ish all in. Well worth it! On the front axle, I disassembled the reduction boxes, pulled the brake backing plate and spindle and pulled the axle shafts. The rear was easy. Pulled the large dust cover and threaded a bolt into the end of the shaft and viola!
 
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tburk49760

Member
398
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spokane washington
Also found both u joints in the rear drive shaft have issues. Front has side to side or radial play. Rear binds at high angles. Napa should have replacements. R279x seems to be the correct one...
 
dalej

dalej

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Tim, when I start off in 2nd gear, I have to get almost up to 10 mph before it shifts into 3rd gear. Is that how yours did pre-gear change? What is your mph now before it goes into 3rd?
 
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tburk49760

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spokane washington
Whe I did the regear, I added Lucas synthetic about 50% as per the label. Didn't take hub temps before but felt them often. Pulled a heavy load this weekend and he hubs are way cooler... Hmm
 
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tburk49760

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Sure will. As soon as I get close to caught up with life. I can tell you it's lovely and loud. Some would find it obnoxious. I barely hear any difference in the cab. Unless I'm driving beside something it can echo from. My plans include some serious dynamat type products soon.
 
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tburk49760

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398
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Location
spokane washington
I was having some trouble starting the beast this morning. It was a balmy 26 degrees. Recently put a full bottle of ether on and tested the system. No worky his time. Got home after it almost not starting and diagnosed the ether system. Found a coolant temp sensor that had failed. I really don't need a sensor to tell me when it should or shouldn't need ether so I bypassed said sensor. All systems go!
 
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wallew

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tburk49760 said:
Sure will. As soon as I get close to caught up with life. I can tell you it's lovely and loud. Some would find it obnoxious. I barely hear any difference in the cab. Unless I'm driving beside something it can echo from. My plans include some serious dynamat type products soon.
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tburk49760

Try these guys - http://www.fatmat.com/

I did a deuce and now my Dodge Magnum Police interceptor. Works great and is MUCH cheaper than Dynamat...
 
G

grndZr0

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MT
I also am looking at the LMTV's that are currently on the market. Seem to be quite a few under 10K that seem to run. I know "running" and good condition are very different.

I live in Montana, and near mountains, and I lots of messing around on some friends ranches. Mountain roads dont get plowed much.

I have quite a bit of experience with LMTV's ish..

I drove one alot int a deployment to Iraq in 2005. Mostly night driving with NVG's. Always the slowest vehicle, so i learned quickly how to drive a slow vehicle fast.

I usually had enough wight in it to completely compress the rear springs, really should have had the 5 ton.

I completely ran it out of water twice, in over 100deg temps do to failed water pump gasket. 1st time i only had gasket material and rtv, and that didnt hold long. I was stuck a crapy base for a week.

The second time, tried putting more water in, and for some reason it didn't want to stay in, came right back out the resivour. Put the cap back on and took off to finish the 45 min drive to our destination. Temp needle was very high for about 10 minutes, then cooled off to much cooler than normal, im guessing that's because there was no more water on the sender. So flat out over 100 degrees, and no water for 45 min. Made it to the base, died and wouldn't start right as i was pulling in the front gate. Changed the waterpump and gasket the next day, and drove it home, and continued to use it for 2 more months like nothing happened.

That was the only major issue I ever had with it, and it was always over loaded, and always driven hard. I really liked the truck. Alot of people complained about them, but they seemed to be mostly issues when they were first released.

Most parts seem to be available commercially, at least the important ones. (engine, tranny, bearings, consumables...) Is this the case?

It would be sweet to build a couple of different boxes for the back depending on use. Camper, flatbed, maybe a dump...

I have driven the 939's quite a bit as well, but I think the LTMVs are just more friendly to drive.

Talk me out of it.

Ryan
 
S

scottmandu

Active member
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Texas
Engine and trans parts aren't hard to find.. They maybe expensive however! The body specific stuff however can get pricey, so I'd suggest find one that is straight and as rust free as possible. I'd avoid buying one that has sat with the roof cover off, I've seen lot of floor rot. There is still a hefty amount of surplus parts out there and the government is still unloading them by the pallet load. The same thing goes with cars as they do these trucks.. Buy the newest one you can afford. Personally I'd look out for the A1 series but those are pricey or if they are cheap they need alot of work.
 
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grndZr0

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MT
scottmandu said:
Engine and trans parts aren't hard to find.. They maybe expensive however! The body specific stuff however can get pricey, so I'd suggest find one that is straight and as rust free as possible. I'd avoid buying one that has sat with the roof cover off, I've seen lot of floor rot. There is still a hefty amount of surplus parts out there and the government is still unloading them by the pallet load. The same thing goes with cars as they do these trucks.. Buy the newest one you can afford. Personally I'd look out for the A1 series but those are pricey or if they are cheap they need alot of work.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks. What kind of miles are you guys putting on them?

What kind of money in servicing can one expect to dump into a "Running" one off of Gov Planet?

I think the one I had was a 3116 Cat, sounds like the C7's are a better option. Are the Mods just easier on the C7, better MPG?

Ryan
 
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