TNriverjet's M1078 Thread

[TNriverjet]

Ok, It's time I get a thread started to chronicle projects on the truck. This is a 1996 M1078 with about 15,400 miles when we bought it. Here is a photo pretty much as we brought it home.

This truck was one that was owned by a local TN police department and then auctioned off. I bought it from the auction winner who never titled it in AL. I had no problems getting it titled and licensed as it already had a TN title from the police department.

Pretty quickly, I realized the fan clutch was not functioning properly. There is much good information and resources here in the FMTV area to document troubleshooting and fixes. tnmogger and suprman were great resources. I ended up replacing the air solenoid behind the passenger kick panel... Works great now.

The spares I bought came off a truck with dual solenoids, so now I have a spare.

I also spent a morning greasing and checking fluids. The oil and tranny fluid appear to be very fresh with new filters. I bet the 101st ABN serviced this one before it went to the police dept! It took a tube and a half of grease to get everything lubed.


I also checked the hubs. The rears are served by the diff fluid, so I just topped it off and it looks clean and good. The fronts were kind of dry, so I added fluid and have been driving a while. The driver's side hub is a bit noisy, so I'm keeping it on close watch and am planning to tear it apart to check the bearing, planetary gears and backlash, etc. Here is a picture of the original oil drained.

This weekend I dumped it and refilled with clean oil to see what, if any shavings were in there. I was pretty pleased with the results. It has quieted down some, but is still not perfect. I hope I don't have a wheel bearing trying to implode, but we will see...

 

[TNriverjet]

Through the course of taking the kids on short shake down missions, we had a passenger door handle failure. We were still able to open the door, but the handle was in danger of completely failing. I was able to source a NOS handle with keys from SS member recksmilparts. It was an exact replacement with two new keys. There is a nice youtube video explaining how to disassemble the door panel and remove the door handle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTjsqEsjkI

I was able to remove and easily install the passenger handle in about 30 minutes. It is important to have a good body panel removal tool for all the plastic plugs. Here is a photo of the handle partially out.

Once I got it installed, I began thinking of how nice it would be if these keys also worked on the driver's side... Sooo, I took the lock cylinder out of the broken handle and did my own re-key job to make the cylinder work with the new keys. Once I got it to work in the old handle, I removed the driver's side handle and just swapped out the lock cylinders.


As you can see I switched the wafers around to the spots where the protruded the least, then filed the end that was too long until it fit snug. Here is a photo with the key inserted once I got them all filed and working in the door handle.

I learned a bit about locks and keys... Now if I could only figure out how to get the 3 military pad locks off of items inside the truck! I'll probably end up with bolt cutters or a cutting wheel for those.

 

[TNriverjet]

Here I am driving down the road...

while I think about how I should mount and install the Cat power cutoff switch.

The obvious place is here:

But, I would really like to have it in the cab. I may dig underneath the power panel on the passenger side to see if there is a main lead coming in there.

 

[rtk]

Get yourself a LockPick set off Fleabay , they only cost a few dollars and try and pick the locks . You would be amazed at how easy it can be , BUT don't tell anybody the secret . BTW , I have picked a few with nothing but a bent paperclip , it's all in the touch !!! LOL

 

[TNriverjet]

In the process of doing the driver's door handle (key cylinder) R&R, I broke the window crank during removal. It was lodged pretty tightly and just broke while I was tapping the handle attachment.

Here is what I'm left with to roll down the window... I'm using gloves at this point


Ok, so the problem isn't as bad as it seems. There is an easy fix. Older Volvo window cranks are a direct replacement. They are formed a bit differently and don't mount as close to the door panel, but slide right on and attach with the same screw. Here is the passenger side that I've already replaced.


I've found another on the(auction)bay site and actually bought a lot of two matching black ones, so I'll have an extra.

 

[TNriverjet]

I also found a 24V back up alarm, but haven't decided to install it yet... I see the utility and safety value, but it removes all stealth capabilities


On a separate note, I purchased a NOCO Genius G7200 12/24V battery charger and maintainer. I originally did this to keep the generator batteries topped off, but quickly saw the utility for having a system that could quickly transfer to M1078 support duties. There is a good thread about charging through the slave port in the generator threads. The slave plug I bought from a SS member/vendor is a bit overkill for this duty, but certainly fit the bill as easily transferred between generator and truck.

One of the leads that came with the charger has ring terminals that bolt right on the lugs inside this NOS slave plug. I can also still unplug the slave connection and use the standard clamp attachments (not pictured) for normal battery charging duties.

 

[dmetalmiki]

I also found a 24V back up alarm, but haven't decided to install it yet... I see the utility and safety value, but it removes all stealth capabilities fitted reverse warning buzzers on all my trucks, All fitted with a switch on the dash to operate. (should you ever need stealth(for some reason..)

 

[TNriverjet]

I had a cup 'o Joe with my wife this morning... on the back deck. We talked about campers.

 

[mkcoen]

Glad you're enjoying the truck. I'm having fun breaking stuff then learning how to fix it

 

[TNriverjet]

I have been thinking about the noisy drivers hub and bought a shim kit off thebay for $13. I decided to tackle hub removal today and check things out. Photos loaded in reverse order of disassembly. Sorry.

Check out the wear/gear mesh pattern on the spiders

It seemed to me they were not engaging the full tooth face. Shimmed.

There was also a slight bit of rust on the old shims and one of the teeth on the inner gear. I cleaned that up and re-installed everything. No leaks and much quieter in test drive.

 

[Gunny 0369]

TNriverjet,
What year Volvo did you find that fits? or is there an aftermarket company that sells the door window cranks?
thanks

 

[coachgeo]

TNriverjet,
What year Volvo did you find that fits? or is there an aftermarket company that sells the door window cranks?
thanks

Unless your trying to be period/Military correct consider putting an aftermarket generic automatic window kit on passenger side with button reachable by driver. Then take the one good crank [assuming you have at least one good one in total] and put on driver side.

 

[TNriverjet]

TNriverjet,
What year Volvo did you find that fits? or is there an aftermarket company that sells the door window cranks?
thanks

I originally received the tip from suprman. Here is the description of what I bought:

Volvo 240 242 244 245 Window Crank Handle BLACK matched pair good shape OEM

I believe they are 1980's vintage.

 

[DiverDarrell]

Thanks for the info. Just ordered a four pack. They can also be used as interior door handles as well. I have a broken window crank and door handle to replace.

 

[coachgeo]

Thanks for the info. Just ordered a four pack. They can also be used as interior door handles as well. I have a broken window crank and door handle to replace.

They? Are you referring to door handles from same model Volvo or are you saying you can somehow fashion same type window crank into a door handle?

 

[DiverDarrell]

The connection point to the door is the same for the interior door handle and the window crank. So I will use a window crank for both.

 

[coachgeo]

Thanks DiverD. Interesting. Would think that design would make the door pull handle very weak and prone to break. Mine has a silver (not chrome) piece of metal you slide your fingers into to pull close the door.

hmmmm... now that think on it further; are you referring to an interior door opening latch and not the pull the door shut handle? Originally thought you were referring to door pull handle but latch makes ton more sense to what you're describing.

 

[DiverDarrell]

Exactly

 

[TNriverjet]

During a recent cold snap here in central TN, I had problems with the brakes not releasing. I had the problem once before but not quite as bad. The recent weather was down below 10 deg at night and never over freezing. I began to feel that there was water in the air system as the problem would go away when above freezing. I PM'd suprman and got one of the newest style air dryers with a bracket included on its way. Thanks suprman! Great service, great price.

So, I replaced the old dryer last weekend. Rain was forecast, so I set up some canvas over the work area. See photos below.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Bracket was an exact bolt-in with no modification. Then used a ratchet strap to hold the weight while I got a couple of bolts in...




I spent the most time and trips to the hardware store for the 90 deg npt-to-compression fitting for the control circuit. The old military compression fitting on the truck side was not meshing well with the new fitting. I ended up getting all new fitting, ferrule, nut and hose insert to make it all work.

This is a great improvement for a great price from a great SS vendor. $$ and time well spent.

 

[mkcoen]

Congrats on the easy fit. All the others I've seen they had to notch the bracket. Makes me think I might need to do mine now.