Check your front brake hoses!

[Recovry4x4]

I've been sneaking up toward completing a total brake restoration on the M108. So now all the rear wheels are done and I'm preparing to start on the fronts. The M108 is 53 yrs old so I knew that the front brake hoses would need to be replaced. There is a section in the 361-20 that deals with updating the older style rubber hose to the newer longer one. Seems the older style creates tension on the rubber hose in sharp turns and it subsequently fails. When I came home from work tonight I figured I'd compare the hoses and routing on the M108 to the newer M275A2. Imagine my surprise when I looked under the M275A2 and found the older lines still installed. Not only that, one has a serious crack in the rubber hose. After seeing that I checked the TM and found the modification directions. Luckily I have 4 new front hoses so I'll be fixing all these this weekend. Check out chapter 8-16 of TM 9-2320-361-20 for this mod and see if your truck is updated. Couple of reference shots from the TM.

 

[Desert Deuce]

Kenny, Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I'll check my trucks in the AM. Losing a hose on this system would be a problem .

 

[Djfreema]

I found a spot on my passengers side front brake hose where it had been rubbing against the edge of the rim. Luckily I cought it quick enough and re-adjusted the spring keeper to give it proper clearance. I am going to replace it just to be safe. If there is one thing constantly going through my head while driving these trucks its, "what if my brakes fail". Has anybody ever had to yank up on the E-brake while at speed because of a brake failure? I wonder if it would hold up long enought to stop the truck or if would just fade out.

 

[hndrsonj]

With all the M35's out there why isn't there an easy master cylinder kit to adapt to a newer two resevoir type for safety??

 

[Recovry4x4]

As good as the parking brakes are for parking, they are useless in an emergency stop. When I was delivering Devilman96s truck I had a steel line rupture. The parking brake did nothing but smoke and stink up the cab. Don't bank on it working for a crisis stop. As far as a split system, don't be surprised if one shows up in the future. The latest deuces have the split system using 2 boosters. John Tennis and I were talking a while back and he was looking for a US foundry to cast the master cylinder for just this purpose. Don't know how its going but JT will probably produce this system in the future.

 

[clinto]

I would definitely buy a split system setup if someone tooled up and made one that was good and could be considered mil spec.

 

[devilman96]

In stumbling into some of the things I have with my truck and seeing Kenny loose that line with my truck in tow. I don't see how anyone could "responsibly" buy one of these and not go through the braking system before putting it on the road. I don't mean "look" at it... tear it down and rebuild or replace the whole system. Brake parts are to cheap and to easy to get!!!!

Im also surprised no one has said it yet... Mental note to yourself...If you loose your braking system first thing to do is slam the gear box into low range... THEN start playing with the E brake and gearing to stop... Last resort pull the engine kill...

 

[Recovry4x4]

Tractor is next. Wrecker has new master, air pack, most steel line new, 5 new brake hoses, 6 new or rebuilt wheel cylinders, new front shoes, all new hold downs, all new rear seals. Front comes tomorrow and I have everything here. So far 3 of the 4 drums I've pulled needed replacement. I hope the front drums are OK but if not I'll need to find some drums in the weeds and clean them up. I know I have them just can't remember what weed pile they are in. I've had 2 complete brake failures in the last year and they can humble you. Side note, all of the wheel cylinders I've removed from servicable trucks for rebuild, had some type of residue garbage in the wheel cylinder. Considering the relative cheap cost of the wheel cylinder kits from Ted Hils, I'm going to make a habit out of rebuilding them every couple of years just so I can keep track of whats inside them. I would also urge you guys to build one of the redneck bleeders for your deuce and keep it stocked with BFS or DOT3. It makes bleeding your brakes a 10 minute job by one person, even roadside. Any deuce road trips will be with the bleeder on board. Don't screw with these brakes and don't take them for granted. Top Priority!