A3 pickup from Barstow, front flat tire

[Dave Kay]

You didn't say; when is your planned loadout date? If I'm available, may be able to assist, I'm 30 mins away from Barstow.

 

[LORENZ]

My EUC is pending. I don't know how long those take to clear. I won't turn away a helping hand, especially if you can give me a quick 101 on how to operate it and some quick ins and outs. Are you familiar with the beasts?

I'd trade you dinner at outback for a hand.

 

[LORENZ]

You don't happen to have pics of that large o ring on the wheel do you? How about a link to the best price you found for them.

 

[Bolkbich]

my m35a3 had an air hose,chuck and a jack in the tool box.. bring bolt cutters.. my a3 had 1 flat tire it was the ctis valve at the tire. it just sat there and honked. i disconnected the system and plugged the lines put 55 in all tires and its all good. oh and if it shakes at 50 mph justin wehrans lug nut tip works great.

 

[Rustygears]

Warning on A3 front tires. Check the dot date codes. Many of those Michelin X tires are original for these typically low miles/hours trucks. That means these tires are mid '90's vintage (more than 15 years old). Michelins are notorious for dry rot and as well indicated in other recent postings, they detereriorate even more when run flat, under inflated, or sit flat because of the stress on the sidewalls. They also deteriorate on the inside due to these same conditions and the side load stresses of a steering tire position really rips the sidewalls up when under inflated. The outside may look pretty good and the insides are shredding. Again, others have some pretty explicit photos of these tires ready to fail and the aftermath.

I have the same issue on my a3 and drove it 100 miles on freeway and mountain roads with a rotted right front. Now seeing it leak down in a few days and the cracked sidewalls that open up when near flat, plus the education you get on this site showed me how truly lucky I am to still be alive. Please also download the tech manuals for the A3. They are readily available for free and will answer all your basic questions.
Also, make sure you have at least a class b cdl to drive it from Barstow to sd, but I would agree with the other sages here and strongly advise trailering it home and go through it with a fine tooth comb. You have no idea what condition the brake components, air assisted steering and other critical systems are in. Again, this site is full of horror stories of decent appearing trucks that were basket cases and were ruined because of a lack of reading and a little patience to do a thorough PM and safety check.
One example is that I would not drive the truck home from Barstow without first changing the auto tranny fluid and filters and make sure the correct (per Allison) fluid is in the tranny. The govt used motor oil and that reduces tranny life and has a much higher operating temperature. The govt has unlimited funds and labor to replace transmissions at many thousand$ each in exchange for a reduction of one extra type of fluid to keep in inventory. Dexron is cheap and will extend your tranny life.

 

[Bolkbich]

i drove my a3 50 miles or so with the motor oil then i switched to dexron III much nicer .. runs cooler ,alot cooler..shifts smooth but still solid

 

[Dave Kay]

My EUC is pending. I don't know how long those take to clear. I won't turn away a helping hand, especially if you can give me a quick 101 on how to operate it and some quick ins and outs. Are you familiar with the beasts?

I'd trade you dinner at outback for a hand.

Thanks for the Outback offer but heck--- a big ol' Fatburger would do me fine!

To answer your last question; NO, am not overly familiar with A3's ins-n-outs, don't own one. Though my background is in heavy equipment, my knowledge is in operating and troubleshooting--- NOT full-on mechanics. (more mechanic's assistant) Sorry if I gave the impression otherwise.

QUESTION; When did your EUC go to Battle Creek? That should give us some idea of how much time you have before you need to do loadout/drive-out, AND---- time to study the TM's on these beasts. Think; plan A and Plan B, then maybe even PLAN C in case all fail.

Also; myself, I would heed the wise and worldly A3's sages here, they know of what they speak.... so---LET'S

 

[Barneyszoo]

You don't happen to have pics of that large o ring on the wheel do you? How about a link to the best price you found for them.

Erik's Surplus has the O rings he's in Escondito. I may also be able to help if your loadout is on Tues or Wed, or if you have a prob passing through the area. PM me when you find out.

 

[lonegunman]

My truck came with 2008 dated steer tires, it was headed for Iraq when they stopped unarmored trucks from entering the country, it then got disposed.

Check the tires, I'd replace that one with the spare, call a tire serive truck if you have too. That will be the best money ever spent if things are rusting or tough. Erik's has tons of parts and good advice, he was really helpful in getting my power steering up and running before I headed home.

Tires can be found, I found a pair of 1998 dated tires that are brand new and had been stored in a tire warehouse for a reasonable price. They are older and I will use them for rears, one per side. Always put the two best tires on the front.

 

[LORENZ]

Thanks for all the advise so far gents.

Insurance is asking what year it is. I don't know how to tell from the tags. Can anybody get the history on this beast for me?

Also, my EUC is in the first stages of being processed. I sent it in a couple days ago and revised yesterday. I guess I have weeks to contemplate my navel before I can pick it up...

 

[LORENZ]

id 502124 / NSN 2320-01-383-3850 / contract no. DAAE07-93-c-r110

 

[bulldog_mack13]

For that model Allison per Allisons web site you can use 15W40 under normal conditions. Try flushing and refilling it with the Aliison synthetic (transynd I think) and tell me how bad your wallet hurts. Dexron is another good one that was said.

Your year of mfg is on the axle tag from what I know.

Listen to the guys on this forum , read the TM's over and over and you should be ok. And yeah your going to have to have at least 10lbs of air in the tire for CTIS to work , Jay

 

[Rustygears]

Transynd is overkill. Dex III is cheap and plentiful. I use Napa Industrial Transmission/Hydraulic Fluid. It carries the same Allison ratings as Transynd as well as Dex II ratings and Cat ratings, etc. It comes in a 5 Gal pail and is cheaper than lots of quarts of automotive dex III. The tranny holds 9 qt in the pan for refill, the filter is 1 more. If you flush the tranny, empty capacity is 21 qts as I recall.

 

[glcaines]

As others have said, be very careful with that tire as it has obviously been driven flat. I recovered my A3 at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and drove it home to Georgia and blew a tire in Kentucky. Bad news. I would put the spare on if it has a good one. One thing I have found out is that tires that leak down are seldom due to faulty CTIS or O-ring. It is usually the rubber grommet behind the valve stem on the wheel due to rotten rubber and loose nuts. You will need to replace the O-rings when you replace the grommets. The brass nut on the valve stem shoi;d be torqued to 45-60 lb-ft. Also, the CTIS will pump up a totally flat tire, but it requires cycling the CTIS off and on repeatedly until the pressure builds to the minimum. It is easier to use another source for the air. Your truck is most likely listed as a 1993, but is likely a lot newer. Mine turned out to be a 1998 model. Check the date codes on the axles, date code on Allison transmission, date code on winch hydraulic reservoir if you have a winch, etca. When you order your SF97, put the date your truck really is on the application and the SF97 will arrive with the proper year. Good luck with the recovery.

 

[pjvargas]

Truck year

Contract no. DAAE07-93-C-R110........
93 is the year the contract was let/signed which is 1993.
Since the truck cannot legally be bought by the government until the contract is signed your truck should be 1993 or newer.

 

[LORENZ]

I noticed there are two of you guys over in my neck of the woods in Ramona, San Diego County.

Would you guys be up for a short 1-2 hour lunch get together at my ranch this weekend with your M35's. I'd be happy to throw some Salmon on the BBQ to get a couple of these beast in my yard to drool over while I wait to pick mine up. It would be an awesome heads up if I could get the correct tools and socket sizes in my Recovery bag. I want to see how hard it would be to block off the CTIS System, how hard it is to drain the trans on the spot, and what it's going to take to get these 43" tires off. Being able to look over a truck would be a super big help in getting my stuff together for my Recovery.

I live at the base of Mt Woodsen on Archie Moore's Old Property and Salt Mine Training Camp.

 

[Rustygears]

Looks like we have a fleet in our little town!

I'm going overseas on biz in a couple of days. Won't be back for a few weeks, but you're only about a mile or two from me! I pass Archie Moore all the time on 67 or Highland Valley Rd.

You won't need to do anything to the CTIS. There is a high probability it is already disconnected. Many were during disposal prep. I'm restoring mine, but doubt that I will actually use it since it takes years for it to fill those tires because it will try to fill all of them at once, so if more than one is low (not flat) the compressor is flat out. The compressor has little capacity and those tires have a huge volume.

 

[pjvargas]

Vin

Hey, I forgot. This truck should still have the original A2 VIN stamped on the frame, if I remember right it should be on the foreward frame drivers side.

 

[AceHigh]

You won't need to do anything to the CTIS. There is a high probability it is already disconnected. Many were during disposal prep. I'm restoring mine, but doubt that I will actually use it since it takes years for it to fill those tires because it will try to fill all of them at once, so if more than one is low (not flat) the compressor is flat out. The compressor has little capacity and those tires have a huge volume.

Hmm, mine can fill from about 38 psi to 45 in about 5 minutes. I have come to really like it! There, I said it.

 

[glcaines]

Hmm, mine can fill from about 38 psi to 45 in about 5 minutes. I have come to really like it! There, I said it.

I admit I really like my CTIS also. Especially once I found out that my tire leakage problems were not caused by the CTIS, but instead by leaky valve stem grommets. My problem is that I run 55 psi in the tires because it drives and handles much better than 45 psi. I could probably get the unit re-programmed for 55 instead of 45, but the wheel o-rings are redlined at 60 psi.