Deuce engines

[AtomicHillbilly]

Are all M35a2 engines forced induction? I seem to be finding conflicting information. I assume it is worth it to get the turbo'd version?

Also, I have been looking for information regarding how hard it is to raise the top speed. I'm sorry, but it just seems that at 56 MPH (and that's top- so cruise is more like 45-50?) it would take the proverbial forever and a day to get somewhere. I figure you should be able to up the wheel size, but at the expense of course of torque. How much would have to be done to obtain a cruise of 65-70? Is it safe? Brakes good enough?



Do people repower with other engines? 5.9 Cummins maybe?

~J

 

[KsM715]

70? In a deuce? You can up the tire size but then your pushing past the limits of the brakes if you need to stop in a hurry out on the highway for some reason. Not to mention the 30/40/50 year old steering components.

It took me 6 hrs to drive my Jeep TJ down to pick up my deuce, and 9 hrs to drive back. Didnt bother me one bit. Kind of relaxing actually, you dont feel like you need to keep up with the idiot that just past you. Just smile, wave, and keep on trucking.

 

[wb1895]

Unless you are changing the tranny and transfer case out you arent going to get much more speed than what the deuce has to offer. If you are planing on driving anywhere in a deuce PLAN AHEAD and give yourself plenty of time to get there..........just enjoy the ride

 

[Trango]

Welcome to the site.

Long answer:

1. The LD/LDT/LDS engines have all been available or retrofitted into the M35 platform over its 4 seperate versions, with differing turbos.

Check out the graphic in this post:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/188254-post11.html

Nonturbo trucks are generally older and much rarer (since they escaped the MWO's that turned them into the M35a2), and they are not desirable. It's worthwhile to get a turbo version. LDT at a minimum, LDS is a bonus if you can find a truck with it, but those are also very rare, generally local depot rebuilds using 5 ton motors, as is my general impression.

Top speed is gear limited. Block aeration is definitely possible running stock size tires at 60+ for long periods of time. Raising the final gear ratio or adding bigger tires is one purpose of this very forum.

2. Regarding repowers - you're in the right forum, and much information on repowers has been written here in even the past year.

Short answer:

Start searching and reading. Your questions are exemplary to one of the main meta-questions this forum is consistently trying to answer, which is how to improve road manners (in this instance, through speed and power).

Best,
Bob

 

[Trango]

Pardon me pardon me pardon me! I thought this had been posted in the Deuce Modification forum.

Sorry OP, you need to start reading the Deuce Mod forum.

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

First...

The West Texas Detachment of the Steel Soldiers welcomes the AtomicHillbilliy aboard As I tell all the new troops.... Find a bunk, stow your gear, and prepare to get underway

You will find answers to every one of your questions covered many times in the archived threads that you can easily search here on the site.... I would recommend that you do just that. You'll have A LOT of reading to do. You will also find many knowledgable mentors and some very strong opinions about some of your desires.

I'll address your top speed question here....
Remember that the M34/M35/M36 series TACTICAL Vehicle are essentially an OFF ROAD vehicle that happens to also be highway capable (at a compromised top speed). They were designed and built to GO ANYWHERE (almost) and to be able to get there over and around all sorts of obstacles. The design priority was not Atomic Speeds.

That being said, enjoy your research and reading... You'll get a lot more education than just answers to your questions by investing the time to STUDY what's available here.

Again....
W E L C O M E !

 

[emr]

actually a bazzilion times this all has been covered and covered and covered... just sayin..... Fast answer from me, if U want a truck that does 70, do not buy mil surplus, they have another need in mind, and it was never the type of driving many would like them to have, its not a safe truck after any mods.

 

[pittdog]

Look guy, Ret USA .ret 52-d ... Plus other MOS'S What ever the M35 sereis.... or, .. the type of tubo ! ... all ways keep it @ 25.OO G..... never.. I repeat .. ! never go over 60 MPH !! I'm tri'n to b a a(AS) ! but that thats the facks ! ... Sleep on it ! I look at my (MISS SEOUL) . every day at my window ! I drive her @ 1 or twice a week , keep in the yard ! It's like a guard dog ! even if It't a gasser.... same aplise's..... My 72 M35A2 ! ...Love her !

 

[wreckerman893]

The deuce is slow but they are steady.....figure it like this.....if (and this is a big if) you average 50 MPH you are going to cover 500 miles in 10 hours...that is a lot of real estate.....but after ten hours in a deuce you are going to be ready for a break...trust me....I towed a deuce with a deuce back from Ark a few years ago and I was begging for 50 MPH.

At 50 MPH you are going to have a lot more time to react to conditions, idiot drivers and emergencies.....if you blow a steeing tire in a deuce at 70 MPH you are going to have a real bad day.....no ifs, ands or buts.

As stated above these are special purpose trucks designed to be operated and maintained by 18 year old kids that have the attention span of a gnat.

Most of them (unless modified) have a single master cylinder...which means when all the fluid leaks out you have almost no braking power....the emergency brake is mainly a parking brake, it is next to useless when trying to stop a loaded deuce at any speed above a crawl.

Driving a deuce can be a zen like experience......you have to work within the limitations....increasing speed without addressing braking, handling and other issues is setting yourself up for failure.

There are a lot of ways to get more speed out of the old girl but speed cost money and can be dangerous.

If ya want a fast truck get a commerical vehicle and enjoy life in the fast lane.

 

[AtomicHillbilly]

Thanks for the replies- the answers are kind of in line with what I expected! I admit, I usually try to break the sound barrier when i drive. If I end up getting an M35, I guess I'll just have to settle for making a lot of noise. For speed, I'll just have to wait until I can score a surplus MiG.

Sorry if it seemed like I didn't search before posting- I did but couldn't find anything about the real intended topic of my post (turbo or non turbo) right off. Thanks for your patience fellas!

~j

 

[Recovry4x4]

There are many strong opinions in many areas of the hobby. There is also a lot if misinformation strewed about too. Some folk will tell you that things are written in stone and the truth is to the contrary. Lets just say that the RPM ceiling that most folks tell you causes the rods to leave the block are inaccurate. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I've been in this hobby and dealing with deuces more than a few years and my experience has shown me that a consistent 55 MPH with bursts to 60 to pass, has not had any ill effects on any of my deuces. There is one member (who will remain un-named) who ran his truck at 2900 for hours at a time. He sold the truck and as far as I know it's still trucking. With all of this said, I enjoy the 55 MPH ride. I see things in a deuce that I've never seen on roads I've traveled hundreds of times. It's like a dose of "Slow down and smell the roses". You will find that 55 is adequate for a deuce and you will learn to enjoy it!

 

[greenjeepster]

I will not complain about your use of the search function.... Because of the variations in the way people title posts the search feature is practically useless for when searching for really specific information like what you wanted to know... Plus some words are used often on the forum in every thread and if your search includes these popular words your search will come back with every thread on the forum.

So ask away.... This is a forum and most of us are here to help... even if that requires repeating the same information over and over again.

Like said above, a naturally aspirated m35a2 is few and far between, but they are out there. If that is what you find then buy it. The turbo was added more for emissions than power and it does not really add much in the way of power to the truck.

On the speed thing...If you are going 20 miles in a deuce at 50 mph it will take you 40 minutes to get there... If you are going there at 70 mph you will get there 12 minutes faster...But you will also be all worn out from trying to wrestle a vehicle down the road at a speed faster than it was designed to go.... In the grand scheme of things what is 12 minutes worth?

 

[RANDYDIRT]

On the speed thing...If you are going 20 miles in a deuce at 50 mph it will take you 40 minutes to get there... If you are going there at 70 mph you will get there 12 minutes faster...But you will also be all worn out from trying to wrestle a vehicle down the road at a speed faster than it was designed to go.... In the grand scheme of things what is 12 minutes worth?

Huh? 20 miles at 50 mph takes 24 minutes.

 

[alphadeltaromeo]

As Kenny says, going 55 allows you to see the sites while driving. Driving fast in a deuce is one thing, but I much prefer to slow-n-go.

 

[nk14zp]

GPS says mine does 72mph.

 

[greenjeepster]

Huh? 20 miles at 50 mph takes 24 minutes.

opps sorry; its a difference of 7 minutes. 24 minutes at 50 mph and 17 minutes at 70 mph.

 

[snakehunter1964]

I've put about 1000 miles on my deuce and I have to say when the road gets rough, it walks all OVER the place if I'm running over 50 (Can you say walking beam suspension?).

The amazing articulation of the rear axles on these trucks seems to make them do the jitterbug when you hit rough road at highway speed while unloaded. I've had this happen a couple dozen times to varying degrees.

I can't say this happens to all deuces but I can certainly say that mine even jitterbugged into the next lane last week while I was driving home from a long day at the office. There was one of those "lane changes ahead" highway construction areas with a 55MPH speed limit. They had actually patched the concrete highway with asphalt which had gotten really rough. It was very difficult to see the rough spot with the curving of the road and all. I was on a 13000 pound bucking bronco.

My new rule: if I don't know the stretch of highway I'm driving on, 50MPH is my target speed and any visible rough patches will dictate a reduction of speed below that.

BTW, my rig has 11x20 Michelin XLs times 10. Also not sure if NDTs like to dance over rough surfaces as much as mine.

Point is, if you want your deuce to be your old dear friend like many on here have done, then you need to learn the boundaries of the friendship carefully.

Good luck and happy trails.

 

[stumps]

The turbo got put on the LD465 engine purely to reduce the smoke from the exhaust. The non turbo engine couldn't get enough air to burn cleanly, and that makes them rather unpleasant to be around.

Clearly the army wanted to go let the deuce go faster than 45, or they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of modifying a big heavy diesel engine to go above 2200RPM, and they wouldn't have modified the gasser's transmission to have an overdrive 4th gear when used with the MF engine.

That said, pushing a deuce to speeds above 50-56, recommends lots of changes to make it safer: Balanced tires, better brakes, rollover protection, better lighting, collapsible steering column, noise reduction, 3 point seat belt...The list goes on, and on. Difficult stuff, especially since you have no economical way of testing to destruction to see if you got it right.

-Chuck

 

[gringeltaube]

...................... I assume it is worth it to get the turbo'd version?
..................................
Sorry if it seemed like I didn't search before posting- I did but couldn't find anything about the real intended topic of my post (turbo or non turbo) right off.
.....................................

In case you missed them....:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/23965-non-turbo-deuce-good-bad.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/38464-add-not-add-turbo.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/39189-turbo-finally-added.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/29308-non-turbo-turbo.html

G.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

MAy 23rd, 2010.

Atomic Hillbilly:

If you want to go anywhere fast, you probably don't want or need an M series vehicle, much less an M35A- variant, because like most off road trucks of their period, they were not designed for road speed, but rather off road capabilities. I will take extreme exception with Trango's comment about the non turbo Multifuel engines, they have the same speed limitations as the turbo'd versions, but fewer items to break, hence fewer items to maintain and repair. "Saddam's Nightmare" in the icon annexed is a two war veteran, overhauled last in 1990 for Desert Shield/Desert Storm operations, and other then a bad starter solenoid, which acts up in -32*F weather, she has yet to cause any major problems in maintenance or operation.
I would also say that other then smoke on accelleration, the normally aspirated Multifuel trucks are probably gonna be worth more to the military historians of the future, just because they did not get all the later modifications
that the later rebuilds M35A2,M35A2C, and the famous M35A3's recieved. Unfortunately they did not get the ESP split brake systems either...... Those who need a turbo are either afraid of making a little smoke, or they just have to be noisy (C turbo's), to which I paraphrase SGT Oddball's comment' We can't sneak up on them, they'll hear the roar of our Detroit Diesels".........

Just a thought,