M1078A1 "Pandora" Build | 2024-??? | ***Picture Heavy***

[coachgeo]

1st 5-10 pages of every procedure at the bomb factory was/is the definitions of acronyms. I was going to postulate that ELA meant English Language Arts but then I remembered what forum I'm on.

soo instead of repeating that mistake.... DON"T USE ACRONYMS in here and we wont need but one page of definitions instead of ten... especially if acronym is only 3 letters or less... cause basically 3 letter searches on a website.... is not searchable.. on the global net results will be so full of irrelevant replies it be useless.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

soo instead of repeating that mistake.... DON"T USE ACRONYMS in here and we wont need but one page of definitions instead of ten... especially if acronym is only 3 letters or less... cause basically 3 letter searches on a website.... is not searchable.. on the global net results will be so full of irrelevant replies it be useless.

I mean...... acronyms are just a fact of life in any technical field. Also "jargon" - you just have to immerse yourself in the FMTV ecosystem (well - and electronics, and mechanics, and welding, and all aspects of DIY ownership of "technology") If you are on this forum regularly it's probably because you want to learn this stuff and not pay someone else to wrench on your hobby for you (never understood that mindset).

Hey - at least people here are civil and helpful and willing to define stuff if you ask.

I welcome new information including acronyms that widen my understanding and ability to digest documents on the wider internet that may not be attached to a forum where I can simply ask for a definition.

 

[Mullaney]

I mean...... acronyms are just a fact of life in any technical field. Also "jargon" - you just have to immerse yourself in the FMTV ecosystem (well - and electronics, and mechanics, and welding, and all aspects of DIY ownership of "technology") If you are on this forum regularly it's probably because you want to learn this stuff and not pay someone else to wrench on your hobby for you (never understood that mindset).

Hey - at least people here are civil and helpful and willing to define stuff if you ask.

I welcome new information including acronyms that widen my understanding and ability to digest documents on the wider internet that may not be attached to a forum where I can simply ask for a definition.

.
Absolutely.

There are FLA's and TLA's - Four Letter Acronyms and Three Letter Acronyms - and then there are others that are just arbitrary.

 

[Aviator4x4]

1st 5-10 pages of every procedure at the bomb factory was/is the definitions of acronyms. I was going to postulate that ELA meant English Language Arts but then I remembered what forum I'm on.

Our aircraft pubs have a glossary in the back, acronym soup cover to cover. haha. Occasionally they'll slip out...

soo instead of repeating that mistake.... DON"T USE ACRONYMS in here and we wont need but one page of definitions instead of ten... especially if acronym is only 3 letters or less... cause basically 3 letter searches on a website.... is not searchable.. on the global net results will be so full of irrelevant replies it be useless.

I generally try and define them first before using them. My fault. Had ELA on the mind from an ongoing aircraft integration.

I'll admit the interchangeable IAH and AIH usage on here has confused me and I will do my best to define any acronyms I use.

I mean...... acronyms are just a fact of life in any technical field. Also "jargon" - you just have to immerse yourself in the FMTV ecosystem (well - and electronics, and mechanics, and welding, and all aspects of DIY ownership of "technology") If you are on this forum regularly it's probably because you want to learn this stuff and not pay someone else to wrench on your hobby for you (never understood that mindset).

Hey - at least people here are civil and helpful and willing to define stuff if you ask.

I welcome new information including acronyms that widen my understanding and ability to digest documents on the wider internet that may not be attached to a forum where I can simply ask for a definition.

.
Absolutely.

There are FLA's and TLA's - Four Letter Acronyms and Three Letter Acronyms - and then there are others that are just arbitrary.

Let's not forget that all acronyms are initialisms but not all initialisms are acronyms. Since technically ELA is an initialism, but something like RADAR is an acronym because its pronounced as a word.

I joke that the military is an ARE: Acronym Rich Environment.

 

[hike]

This thread is supposed to be APRE: A Photograph Rich Environment. Enough with all the letters and what they mean. A photo's worth a lot of letters—

 

[coachgeo]

[thanks for answer.. tis one reason why asked.... "Electrical Load Analysis"

Another reason asked was to get the whole words into the thread so someone searching in future might be able to find it now. aka- sense one can not search nor find post or threads for learning new information.... with 3 letters or less... on a bulletin board... then they wont get new knowledge for say "ELA of LMTV" nor "TCM location A1" on our or any bulletin board. (too few letters)

Ok.. off my soap box now LOL (oops that is three letters)

 

[Aviator4x4]

[thanks for answer.. tis why asked.... Electrical Load Analysis"

PS- we also can not search threads to learn new information.... via 3 letters.... another reason why not to use them on a bulletin board. Example you cant search "TCM location A1" TCM and A1 is not searchable cause they are too short

I actually maintain a rather lengthy acronym post on coloradofans for this exact reason and try not to use too many, or at least do the whole: Acronym Rich Environment (ARE) thing to spell out an acronym.

I've found forum search functions to really only be helpful when I want posts from a particular person (advanced search on some forums, but the default on here. yay !). For information purposes, adding the site: prefix to a google search is my preference, IE "site:www.steelsoldiers.com"

 

[coachgeo]

I actually maintain a rather lengthy acronym post on coloradofans for this exact reason and try not to use too many, or at least do the whole: Acronym Rich Environment (ARE) thing to spell out an acronym.

I've found forum search functions to really only be helpful when I want posts from a particular person (advanced search on some forums, but the default on here. yay !). For information purposes, adding the site: prefix to a google search is my preference, IE "site:www.steelsoldiers.com"

yep.. google advance is helpfull. Sadly you cant hone "site" in the advanced google nomenclature.. on down to particular forum within a bulletin board. Have tried numerous ways.... and found it only allows the "site" to be the main/root board's url and not a whole url for a particular forum. (root / forum name)

Love you do the acronym thang for your friends on coloradofans. Great idea

 

[GeneralDisorder]

yep.. google advance is helpfull. Sadly you cant hone "site" in the advanced google nomenclature.. on down to particular forum within a bulletin board. Have tried numerous ways.... and found it only allows the "site" to be the main/root board's url and not a whole url for a particular forum. (root / forum name)

Love you do the acronym thang for your friends on coloradofans. Great idea

If you use the google "site:" operator it pulls up this thread. It's the third result. Put this into google:

site:https://www.steelsoldiers.com ELA

 

[coachgeo]

If you use the google "site:" operator it pulls up this thread. It's the third result. Put this into google:

site:https://www.steelsoldiers.com ELA

does not surprise me.... most folk dont know how to use advance search features beyond what is provided by a bulletin board... (and many wont even do that... they start new threads instead.... "what oil xyz" LOL)

 

[Aviator4x4]

Got the brackets that I designed and ordered from sendcutsend delivered today.

Rear bracket for mounting all the busbars and breakers to:




And the mount for the vanner which supports the mounts for Dual Circuit Battery Switch and future ML-RBS (Remote Battery Switch) for the winch.







Also did a bunch of notching and drilling and cutting... if anyone needs a total amateur to cut something with an angle grinder, hit me up !

 

[Aviator4x4]

Small progress today but finished with what I believe to be is all of the drilling. Base plate, rear plate, and new holes in the battery box to secure it with.





8 new holes to mount the unistrut to through the baseplate so there are just as many of the same bolts holding down my try as OEM.

The planned 24M AGM batteries shouldn't move at all, in any direction, but I'll make sure to flick the strap and repeat the incantation "those aren't going anywhere" just to be extra sure.

I've considered painting those pieces, but I've never been happy with the results of painting aluminum even after cleaning and using an etching primer...

I've considered powder coating those pieces, but that's $$$

So they will remain bare, but maybe down the road I will. Bigger fish to fry... like ecohubs, stripping the entire cab, air conditioning... probably should fix my valve body gasket leak... Oh and it would be nice to have more shade cloth covering the truck now that summer is here and I had to take down the heavy canvas since it was holding water and looking like an inverted camel.

 

[Aviator4x4]

Others are best at the math, though we have decided to mount a rooftop 24v AC unit on the cab which adds a 'new' 70a at max.

[@GeneralDisorder and I have had several conversations upon this and I understand his points well. If we find a complete RedDot Gen2 kitted unit I'd likely purchase it, though spending the time to source all the bits and pieces and installing the separate items, adding another idler to the main shaft just doesn't add up with my skill set and time available right now. Using an electric rooftop unit is not likely the best choice for most folks here.]

Since the cab and chassis need (and CAT specs) only two batteries we are splitting the four into two 2-series banks separated by a Victron Cyrix unit. That way the cab and chassis 2-series bank is maintained 'first' and the added accessory 2-series bank is maintained with the excess the cab and chassis bank does not draw. The Cyrix also allows the second bank to be used at start, if needed. This way we have a 'back up' bank of batteries with us at all times to run the main systems.

Maintaining four batteries with only a 100a alternator is likely fine when the batteries are fresh, though when they are drawn down significant our understanding is they bring us too close to the alternator's limit for the kind of travel we typically do.

I thought I had photos with a tape measure for the Neihoff, though not finding them. I believe it is a long J180 and the tabs are offset, not 180° from each other.

View attachment 923334

View attachment 923335

We did need to modify the bracket and add a rigid upper arm. The original length serpentine works without adjusting the tension pulley.

View attachment 923336

View attachment 923337

View attachment 923339

@MatthewWBailey went with a pad mount and I like that idea very much.

View attachment 923340

Hopefully that helps—

Could the OEM alternators be this T1 RH swung mount style ? If so, this 24v 155A alternator might fit a nice middle ground for $525. I tried to measure the bottom wings of mine, while still mounted... not terribly successful but seemed like 6", shorter than the 7.1" of this diagram ?



Genuine Prestolite Leece Neville New 1277A720 New Alternator, AC172 T1 Series, Swung RH Mount type, 24V, 155A - 1277A720 (prestolitesuperstore.com)



Delco-T1-Single-Page-Brochure-10-15.pdf.aspx (delcoremy.com)

 

[hike]

Could the OEM alternators be this T1 RH swung mount style ? If so, this 24v 155A alternator might fit a nice middle ground for $525. I tried to measure the bottom wings of mine, while still mounted... not terribly successful but seemed like 6", shorter than the 7.1" of this diagram ?

View attachment 923622

Genuine Prestolite Leece Neville New 1277A720 New Alternator, AC172 T1 Series, Swung RH Mount type, 24V, 155A - 1277A720 (prestolitesuperstore.com)

View attachment 923621

Delco-T1-Single-Page-Brochure-10-15.pdf.aspx (delcoremy.com)

Longer is easier to adapt to existing bracket. You could get Hillman Zinc Heavy duty spacers at Tractor Supply matched to the bolt sizes and cut them to fit what you need to fill the gap(s). You'll likely need them anyway to align the ears and brackets to match the belt path(s)–

 

[GeneralDisorder]

The Niehoff alts use a different hinge mount spec. The ear distance (on the 260) is 5.5", and the backside of the front ear is 3" behind the back of the drive pulley.

It's not that hard to one-off fabricate a mount. Some 1/4" steel plate, and a bit of heavy-wall tubing for the hinge bolt. Some calipers, some cutting, grinding, drilling and welding.

 

[Aviator4x4]

I'm sure this all seems like over-planning, but I find planning kind of cathartic. Through focus on the task to the exclusion of stressors and also knowing I have a plan ahead of time...

I am definitely worried about my voltage regulator having issues with over-voltage spikes. I need to scope it but have to finish remodeling the battery box first. Which means it needs to not be raining lol.

Re: regulator I have both an intermittent D1323 ( ECU INPUT VOLTAGE HIGH ) trans code but also I see the headlights get very bright for a second during night driving (have only noticed it during sustained highway driving). The headlights are incandescent, and their brightening hasn't coincided with the trans code coming up to my knowledge, but would rather have a plan.

The Niehoff alts use a different hinge mount spec. The ear distance (on the 260) is 5", and the backside of the front ear is 3" behind the back of the drive pulley.

It's not that hard to one-off fabricate a mount. Some 1/4" steel plate, and a bit of heavy-wall tubing for the hinge bolt. Some calipers, some cutting, grinding, drilling and welding.

Thanks for reminding me how far back they are for whatever reason from the pulley... I did not think about that during my perfectly normal late night alternator deep search.

I might end up hand making the first bracket, but was hoping design something in CAD that was shareable/could be reproduced by others. Designing the 1/4" 4130 chromoly plate wouldn't be difficult since the pad mounts are a known standard (3126 has both long and short pad bolts based on Hike's pictures), but aligning the support brackets or barstock (similar to the stock A1 bracket) would be the challenge. Since it's been demonstrated that the 28SI pad mount bolts up, it looks like aligning the barstock to the pad mount front bolts would give proper pulley spacing.

Longer is easier to adapt to existing bracket. You could get Hillman Zinc Heavy duty spacers at Tractor Supply matched to the bolt sizes and cut them to fit what you need to fill the gap(s). You'll likely need them anyway to align the ears and brackets to match the belt path(s)–

Can you confirm how aligned these are in real life ? Seems like it is inline now with your rigid bracket and spacer(s).

 

[hike]

Can you confirm how aligned these are in real life ? Seems like it is inline now with your rigid bracket and spacer(s).
View attachment 923658

No idea.

Our focus was upon the plane created by the inner rear edge of all the pulleys/serpentine belt. As we roughed in the cuts to the original bracket we used the offset as measured between the ears on the original Niehoff and new Leece Neville. Then added custom cut spacers to fill the voids as needed. If your alternator has similar offsets perhaps it would be worth looking at to tighten things up—

 

[aw113sgte]

I'd give oshcut a try, when quoting they were significantly less expensive that send cut send.

 

[Aviator4x4]

I'd give oshcut a try, when quoting they were significantly less expensive that send cut send.

Thanks, I will ! I like how on their website they list the pros and cons of themselves vs sendcutsend and 2 others... but fairly. Makes me want to give them my small, paltry amount of business.

They do say that sendcutsend is more capable for things that I don't care about, but also better prices for small one off so we'll see !

 

[Aviator4x4]

Over the last few days I've completely removed the battery box. What started as replacing the dry rotted rubber for the tank bands with some 1/16"x1"x20' Solid Neoprene Rubber Strip Roll led to finding cracked paint and raw metal, which is not really fixable (sandable + paintable) without either pulling the battery box or removing the tanks. I didn't want this to spiral into replacing all the air lines just yet... so I pulled the battery box.




Cracked paint down to bare metal was present on every tank. This area isn't too bad, there is a baseball sized area on the rear of this tank visible in bottom picture.


What purpose do those brass nutted socket cap bolts serve ? On the green bracket ?


These guys ? For future reference they are 5/16" allen and 3/4" nuts.


Rest of the battery box brackets were 15/16 for the nuts and 21mm for the bolt heads. Probably some metric for the nuts, but I didn't have a box end wrench that big.


Frame looks pretty good but I'll be sanding the area behind the battery tray and spraying it rustoleum black with the tanks until I get around to pulling the bed and properly stripping the frame to paint it.