M35A3 Owners unite

[seve7]

i should have said, they all have comsec, but i'm sure you can get a ham or 10 meter to work with it

 

[rivercreek]

New A3 Home.. Cool. Steering Problem.. Not Cool.

Mornin Fellas, picked up my A3 in Richmond yesterday. The one I bought and paid for in February... But I digress. All in all, very pleased with it. Didn't even have to jump it! Turned over twice and fired right up! All tires up, lights working, CTIS functioning. I was able to drive it home (about 150 miles). Prior to leaving, the only thing I did was add 1 qt of oil to trans. Unbelievable luck, considering others' experience I've read about. One major issue though.. Steering. That was a white knuckle ride to say the least. The steering wheel is binding, almost feels like a bad steering shaft u-joint. Steers easy, then a hard spot, then easy, etc. Biggest problem was the "hard spot" is right at dead center straight. I've searched forums here and read a ton of articles, but so far havent come across any that describe my particular problem. The steering shaft doesn't appear to have a u-joint, so that isn't the problem of course, just trying to describe my problem. Haven't dug into it yet, hoping for some input from all you seasoned A3 owners. I did close the air-assist valve on the firewall at one point wondering if that would affect it all all with no result (besides hard steering). Air supply stays at 120, no problems there. No obvious air leakage anywhere. My uninformed impression is that binding is likely inside steering box. No, haven't checked gear oil in box, will do that this evening and start there. Any ideas? Secondly, not having driven an A3 before, shifting question: 1st to 2nd smooth shift, 2nd to 3rd feels like it's skipping a gear almost. Like it shifts from low range to high range. BIG drop in RPM's. Feels like I hit the nitrous button. Tons of power, truck surges forward. Isn't skipping a gear though, I still have 4th. Not alarming, but seems odd. This sound normal? Your trucks shift the same? I appreciate any input you all might have. Regards this thread subject, I couldn't agree more with a separate A3 Forum. It's often difficult to sort through all the A2 posts to find pertinent info on the A3. Don't really care about the ugly comments, it's different strokes for different folks I guess. Personally, I think the super singles alone make the A3 look way cooler than those old A2 oil guzzling jalopies...

 

[lonegunman]

The trans sounds pretty normal actually. I grilled my brother, he has been a commerical truck mech for twenty years and he is ok with it. I swapped mine back from motor oil to ATF as soon as I got it. That runs a lot cooler and has less chance of failure. You can buy the internal filter and gasket kit from almost any Allison dealer, the external filter is easy to find and I found a Baldwin in stock so I bought it.

Mine has a low low first, then a fairly quick and hard second gear, then a surge in third and a seamless smooth fouth. Downshifting is backwards and hard as well. Not violent and bad just what I'd call big truck crappy shifting.

No idea on the steering, but as it has been said here before. Erik at Erik's Military Surplus got me sorted out on steering, he is the man. Mine was manual hard to I had some regulator tweaking and air leaks to hunt down.

My CTIS was garbage, it is to spendy to fiddle with and all it will do is break again. CTIS either works or it does not and on trucks that have problems, they never seem to improve.

I picked my truck upin Georgia and made a massive cross country road trip with no problems. 2500 miles in five days, no A2 guys are pulling that one on here.

 

[ClarkeF]

Mornin Fellas, picked up my A3 in Richmond yesterday. The one I bought and paid for in February... But I digress. All in all, very pleased with it. Didn't even have to jump it! Turned over twice and fired right up! All tires up, lights working, CTIS functioning. I was able to drive it home (about 150 miles). Prior to leaving, the only thing I did was add 1 qt of oil to trans. Unbelievable luck, considering others' experience I've read about. One major issue though.. Steering. That was a white knuckle ride to say the least. The steering wheel is binding, almost feels like a bad steering shaft u-joint. Steers easy, then a hard spot, then easy, etc.

Check your front axle lock to ensure it is not engaged. If your on soft ground, not pavement do you have the same problem?

 

[rivercreek]

Thanks for the input. I should've mentioned I did check for front axle engagement. It's disengaged. I will, however, add that I did once getting safely home drive it on grass and engage the front axle. Driving slowly and turning lock to lock I did NOT feel any of the expected wheel hop normally experienced in 4(6)WD. I was surprised by that. What's your experience w/ front axle engagement? Does it act just like a 4WD truck in 4WD (Front wheels hopping during turns)? I suppose barring some other ideas on things to check/correct this steering problem, I will call Eric and see if he has any ideas. Im glad to hear that the trans shifting seems normal. It certainly performs fine, just an unusual pattern.

 

[highpockets]

I wonder if some of you A3 owners might enlighten a newb considering purchasing one ? I figure if I am gonna spend $5K for an A2,why not bide my time and see if I can find an A3 for less than $10K ? Am I being realistic ? Possible to puchase an A3 for less than 10 in good condition ? With the mechanical upgrades the A3 has I feel that it justifies the additional $$$,anyone that has/does own both please enlighten me.Thank you !!

 

[flyxpl]

I wonder if some of you A3 owners might enlighten a newb considering purchasing one ? I figure if I am gonna spend $5K for an A2,why not bide my time and see if I can find an A3 for less than $10K ? Am I being realistic ? Possible to puchase an A3 for less than 10 in good condition ? With the mechanical upgrades the A3 has I feel that it justifies the additional $$$,anyone that has/does own both please enlighten me.Thank you !!

All depends where you buy from . I have seen A3's go on GL for as little as $ 6000 driven onto lot . If you buy in private hands with a title you will spend over $ 9000 . Some guys just like the looks of the A2 .

 

[MATT]

Where's the external transmission filter located? Is it a spin on? I have replaced the internal(pan) filter.
Thnx

 

[AceHigh]

Where's the external transmission filter located? Is it a spin on? I have replaced the internal(pan) filter.
Thnx

It is a spin on located in the same place under the alternator on the frame as the primary fuel filter on the M35A2.

 

[EXITNOONE]

HIGHPOCKETS- i got my A3 from a private owner for less than $10,000. and a darn good deal too, because the transmission and differentials were all replaced with new by the army in 2009. the records are in my log book... about a $17,000 job for all the parts.

to answer your question more specifically, YES, you can definitely find A3's under $10,000.

RIVERCREEK- i won't be much help to you on the steering issue, but i'm glad you posted your question. i think as we A3 guys post more and more info and experience, we'll have pioneered a great section for A3 members. let us know what you find as the cause of your steering issues.


so far the AT1545 trans sounds a lot like most heavy auto transmissions. i have a 2000 gmc 6500 automatic. on mine, 2nd & 3rd both slam into gear. 4th is smooth. when down shifting coming up to a stop, 2nd slams down into 1st. it's a serious truck rattling shift !!

big truck drive shafts coupled to auto trannies can also have some slip yoke play as well, which causes the feeling of gears slamming.

if i accelerate very slowly, there is no slamming on the way up, but always on the way down.
if i really get on the accelerator, 2nd shifts with all kinds of torque. and 3rd does also, but not as severe.

 

[EXITNOONE]

HEY GUYS... POWER STEERING QUESTION.

so i just got my A3 cross country... from philadelphia to los angeles.

the power steering doesn't seem to be working as i would expect.
there is no power steering while the truck is idle.

as i begin to inch forward or backwards... then the steering wheel turns easier...
but that is exactly what zero power steering is like.

can anybody detail how the A3 power steering should feel and function ??

THANK YOU

 

[AceHigh]

Aaron, great that you have your truck! The "power steering" is actually the Air O Matic that is written about on this site in many posts and is not the same as hydraulic steering you are used to. As long as you have air pressure it should be working but at a stop it might not be effective. Also yours may have the regulator installed in the air line- a few brass fittings from Home Depot and you can get rid of it. Lastly you should add oil to the cylinder.

 

[lonegunman]

Before you start taking things apart for no reason you might want to check a few things.

There is a valve on the firewall above the engine in front of the driver, make sure the petcock is closed. This provides air to the steering. If it is still to heavy, there is a regulator on the left frame rail at about the front wheel, use an allen wrench and give it some adjustment.

With the big tires, turning anything while sitting is going to be tough. Mine is stiffer than what you would find in a car but works fine. I set my regulator about 1/2 way between full in and full out.

 

[EXITNOONE]

ACEHIGH & LONEGUNMAN- THANK YOU BOTH !

i am going to go through the steering system today, and i'll post any helpful updates i can for the rest of the M35A3 guys on here. i have good air pressure, so it's got to be a matter of adjusting the firewall and fender regulators.

i ended up having my A3 hauled home. the hauler's price was only $300 above my estimated cross country trip costs. and he packed the A3 in his enclosed trailer, so without door locks, and no real certainty that the A3 was fully road worthy, i thought having it hauled was the best option for mechanical and security reasons.

there was about an inch on each side of the A3 to spare in the enclosed trailer. so we backed it out on a midgit loading dock that i found near my warehouse. the loading dock had a forklift access ramp. we had the A3 aligned with the ramp after about 40 minutes of zero power steering. the A3's passenger side 43" tires hung off the edge of the forklift ramp by about 5"... and with 1" on the driver side, we slowly eased the A3 back to earth.

i drove it to the local gas station about 3 blocks away for a fill up, and already, people were just completely in awe, gawking, and wondering what the heck was coming at them.

so far the transmission with transynd feels good.
1ST is short and slow, but will jump nicely with good accelerator pressure.
2ND is almost unnoticeable if accelerating fast, but will hold on until 2400 rpm
if accelerating in a gradual normal manner.
3RD is a smooth ease out of 2400 rpm to 1800 rpm and is great.
4TH i haven't had it above 50mph yet, but 4th seems smooth and steady so far.

the engine sounds just like an A2, but just quieter with the muffled exhaust, even without the top half stack installed, it's still quieter.

getting on the brakes under 10mph is like nosing a motocycle.
the A3's brakes grab like they mean it. above 10 mph, the brakes have a relatively smooth
deceleration.

as that's going on, the engine and downshifts seem aligned.
once back down in first the engine goes almost to stall rpm's, but recovers in 1 second.

so far, everything seems ok.... except for the steering...

 

[EXITNOONE]

LONEGUNMAN- i'm attaching a photo of what i assume is the petcock you were describing.

i didn't have a chance to adjust it as i was taking care of some other small things on the truck like re-installing the pintle hitch, exhaust half stack, and giving the truck a general once over, because the small things like marker lights are getting guys in all kinds of trouble with california chp at the scales lately. my passenger rear marker is out, and my reverse lights aren't engaging, so i have to get that squared away.

if the photo is of the correct petcock, i'll go ahead and adjust it and post more details once i do.
with so much else going on, i forgot to look for the regulator on the frame.

if you have a photo of it, please post it. thank you !!!

 

[AceHigh]

Aaron that is the valve, all you have to do is make sure it is fully open, no adjustment needed. It should be open but who knows.

I took my advice yesterday and eliminated the regulator and added a small amount of lube to the mechanics of the steering and it worked! I have great steering again. I knew the A3 steering was underperforming as I added a kit to the A2 and it was much stronger. Now both are equal. If you follow the output line from the valve you will be opening it goes down to the inside frame. That is where the regulator is. Just past the regulator it does a ninety and goes thru the frame. The regulator is a small black cylinder about the size of a whisky jigger glass.

The back up lights on mine did not work either. BE SURE you are doing everything to make them active, it is easy to miss a step.

1. The light switch and master switch must be on.

2. The engine must be on

3. The e brake set

4. The transmission in reverse.

The engine must be on because it works off pressure from the transmission being in reverse. The switch that turns the back ups on is the same as the brake light switch, a pressure switch.

Once I did all this I found voltage at the lights but both were corroded so I replaced them and they are working great now.

Good luck and keep moving forward.

 

[renovate7]

My A3 is due in this week and I'm reading and re-reading all the threads. I've thought about the similarities between the A2 and A3 and there actually aren't many. Different engine, transmission, brakes, steering, axles, tires, wipers, CTIS, winch. None of my A2 manuals have much relevance to the A3...I second the idea of a seperate A3 section.

 

[AceHigh]

Don't forget the really neat new aluminum fuel tank! Anyway, welcome to the big ugly truck club.

 

[lonegunman]

LONEGUNMAN- i'm attaching a photo of what i assume is the petcock you were describing.

i didn't have a chance to adjust it as i was taking care of some other small things on the truck like re-installing the pintle hitch, exhaust half stack, and giving the truck a general once over, because the small thinks like marker lights are getting guys in all kinds of trouble with california chp at the scales lately. my passenger rear marker is out, and my reverse lights aren't engaging, so i have to get that squared away.

if the photo is of the correct petcock, i'll go ahead and adjust it and post more details once i do.
with so much else going on, i forgot to look for the regulator on the frame.

if you have a photo of it, please post it. thank you !!!

That's the one. Close it and adjust the regulator to suit your needs and life should be a lot better.


JollyRoger, as they say, "Don't go away mad, just go away". I stay out of A2 posts when I do not have useful input. I don't feel the need to call them cheap, or ugly or to comment on some rust bucket a guy just won for 2K. Guys with rust buckets are thrilled toget them too. Why be a thread killer or buzz kill?

I'm happy that you and every other A2 driver with zero experience on A3 particular items are offering advice on a truck you know little or nothing about. It thrills me to hear about my mystery "electronics" and crappy engine. Or those witty, "it's ulgy" comments, boy they set me to laughing.

If you don't like A3's stop posting in A3 posts. It really is quite simple.

 

[EXITNOONE]

ACEHIGH- thank you for the detailed info and air line trace to the frame mounted regulator.
i'm thinking all they need is proper adjustment. once i go through them, i'll post some pics for the rest of the guys !!

you most likely described the missing link in my back up light question... i was checking lights with the engine off.
the bulbs looked brand new upon inspection, so off to do some more inspection with engine running.

LONEGUNMAN- thanks for helping me be sure about the petcock. between you and acehigh, i should have the system correctly figured out by the end of today or tomorrow in my spare time after work.

JOLLYROGER- i replied to your pm...

M35A3 GUYS- I THINK THAT IF JOLLY AGREES TO DELETE HIS POST, THEN WE SHOULD DO THE SAME IN RESPONSE.

THIS A3 THREAD IS A VALUABLE GUIDE FOR SPECIFIC ISSUES....

SO CLUTTERING IT UP WITH FORUM ETIQUETTE DEBATES IS A WASTE OF SPACE AND ONLY GETS IN THE WAY
OF FINDING ANSWERS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.


EXIT