M35A3 Owners unite

[EXITNOONE]

MKTOPSIDE- yes, the egr tube that enters the upper exhaust pipe turns into a 90º elbow that points upwards to suck in the coolest (hot) gasses it can. that elbow takes up a lot of room as it is the same diameter as the external attaching point for the egr mesh spiral wind flex tube.

not only does it block the exhaust, but it also creates a vacuum that pulls rising exhaust gasses down, and that further increases the prevention of the gasses escaping smoothly.

i would think it also keeps the exhaust stack hotter as well by interrupting the free flow of gasses. it would be interesting to take temperature measurements of the the muffler before and after the egr tube removal.

to do the removal efficiently i used a 4.5" angle grinder and a sawzall. all you need to do is use the angle grinder to cut a square around the egr elbow, then use the sawzall to finish the cuts as they near the top of the muffler chamber so you don't acidently go through the muffler with the grinder wheel.

 

[mktopside]

MKTOPSIDE- yes, the egr tube that enters the upper exhaust pipe turns into a 90º elbow that points upwards to suck in the coolest (hot) gasses it can. that elbow takes up a lot of room as it is the same diameter as the external attaching point for the egr mesh spiral wind flex tube.

not only does it block the exhaust, but it also creates a vacuum that pulls rising exhaust gasses down, and that further increases the prevention of the gasses escaping smoothly.

i would think it also keeps the exhaust stack hotter as well by interrupting the free flow of gasses. it would be interesting to take temperature measurements of the the muffler before and after the egr tube removal.

to do the removal efficiently i used a 4.5" angle grinder and a sawzall. all you need to do is use the angle grinder to cut a square around the egr elbow, then use the sawzall to finish the cuts as they near the top of the muffler chamber so you don't acidently go through the muffler with the grinder wheel.

Wonder how removal would effect part throttle EGTs?

 

[EXITNOONE]

Wonder how removal would effect part throttle EGTs?

well i'm going to find out soon whether or not i like it...

m35a3's don't have temp gauges on intake/exhaust to my knowledge... do they ??
i've seen many of the a2 guys add gauges.
would be good to have real measurements and not guesses on the a3 temps.

 

[EXITNOONE]

anybody add lock out hubs to their a3 yet ??

 

[EXITNOONE]

MAVERICK1701- view the images for your measurements. realized i had 2 measurements missing once i got home. you will see those with ? in blue. will have those measurements soon.
all measurements in inches.

the bracket side profile follows the slope and angle of the fender. so measure the fender for those figures. the outboard side of the bracket extends down to the fender. the inboard side of the bracket which faces the engine compartment has a tab that rests on top of the fender. 2 bolts are drilled through the tab and fender. this is important, because the outer and inner sides of the bracket are different for mounting purposes.

hope this helps. it's a somewhat complicated housing for a headlight...

 

[mktopside]

anybody add lock out hubs to their a3 yet ??

YES!

I just put the AVM hubs on last week. BEST MONEY I'VE SPENT as of yet on the truck. The install took less than an hour (and I was being lazy and going slow because it was freezing out.) I haven't driven enough to comment on the gas mileage, but there is a noticeable increase in power when accelerating. The biggest benefit is to the steering, it half way steers like a normal truck now. I can easily (compared to before) turn the wheels lock to lock at a stand still, and the "judder" when steering at low speeds is gone. Also gone is the "tugging" and jerking at highway speeds (it's hard to describe, it just doesn't get yanked around by the contour of the road like it did before). Maybe it has to do with the reduction in the gyroscopic effect of having all that mass spinning that's attached to the wheels, I don't know.

I also perceive that it is much quieter while driving at highway speeds than it was before, but I have no way to quantify this.

The CTIS wheel covers will not go back on with the lockout hubs installed, so my project for this week is to trim them back so they fit, but for now I'm not too worried about it as long as I don't take it off road.

I can't recommend them enough.

As far as the EGT goes, the Autometer EGT kits are very simple and straight forward. I have one laying around, and if the weather isn't terrible I'll try to get it installed this weekend. If you get one, maybe we can make some comparisons. I doubt removing it will make any dangerous difference in the EGTs, as the 3116 in our trucks is turned down pretty far power wise. But it still would be good to know.

 

[Maverick1701]

MAVERICK1701- view the images for your measurements. realized i had 2 measurements missing once i got home. you will see those with ? in blue. will have those measurements soon.
all measurements in inches.

the bracket side profile follows the slope and angle of the fender. so measure the fender for those figures. the outboard side of the bracket extends down to the fender. the inboard side of the bracket which faces the engine compartment has a tab that rests on top of the fender. 2 bolts are drilled through the tab and fender. this is important, because the outer and inner sides of the bracket are different for mounting purposes.

hope this helps. it's a somewhat complicated housing for a headlight...

thank you sir!!!!

 

[EXITNOONE]

MKTOPSIDE- thanks for posting some feedback on the hubs. from what i'm reading on the forum it seems ouverson and avm are the best 2 types to get. i'm sort of leaning to the ouverson due to the construction & design, plus made in the USA vs. the avm hubs.

i just might have to look into the egt info more... item #823 on my to do list

MAVERICK1701- you're welcome and you owe me lunch at sonic on boykin next time i'm in texas.
attached is the side profile photo with missing measurements added.
also check out this site: http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=5115

 

[mktopside]

MKTOPSIDE- thanks for posting some feedback on the hubs. from what i'm reading on the forum it seems ouverson and avm are the best 2 types to get. i'm sort of leaning to the ouverson due to the construction & design, plus made in the USA vs. the avm hubs.

i just might have to look into the egt info more... item #823 on my to do list

MAVERICK1701- you're welcome and you owe me lunch at sonic on boykin next time i'm in texas.
attached is the side profile photo with missing measurements added.
also check out this site: MAZ-537 Tractor unit... - Military Vehicles

The OEM hubs are probably stronger and better built, but that's not to say the AVM's are not "Good enough". The AVM's are certainly stout in their construction, and I can't see any part of them failing in anything you can do with a deuce. The only thing I could see breaking is the outer cover as it's made of plastic...... but so are a lot of hubs, on a lot of trucks, and it doesn't appear that people break them with any frequency. If you smacked a large rock with the end of the hub it would probably break..... but I doubt the OEM's would still be functional after an impact like that.

If I was building a rock crawler with Rockwell's under it I would certainly go with the OEM's, but on a truck with open diffs; I don't see a way that they could break. For $515 shipped to my door, I just couldn't justify going with the OEMs.


YMMV, and no matter what brand you go with, it's a fantastic mod either way.

 

[Wolfen]

I don't own a M35A3 yet, but might Purchase one in the near future. I came across this Item, ether relocating kit. It fits the M35A3 military truck. NSN 2541-01-4901774 and was wondering why you would want to Relocate the Ether?

 

[EXITNOONE]

MKTOPSIDE- more great feedback. thank you.
i'd say the ouverson's extended length is a clearance concern too.

with the stock 37" tires and wheels, i'm figuring the height to the hub would be 28" from the ground. with 46" tires that should increase to 33" from the ground.

there aren't too many casual ruts that run 3' deep, but you never know what mother nature has lined up. the width of the truck and those few extra wider inches could make all the difference on some narrow trail though.

do the avm's extend wider than the front bumper ?

maybe it would be best to have the lockouts installed (either brand), and still have the original hubs stored on the truck in case of an emergency or other serious damage when off roading.

WOLFEN- i haven't been in enough situations to see a need for a new ether location on the A3. could just be a mod for guys who run in cold weather constantly, like snow plow trucks, which might need ether on a more regular basis, therefore making refills easier. or it could be a kit designed for guys who feel they need every mod ever marketed.

stay tuned, maybe one of the guys on here will answer back with some real world experience in favor of the relocation...?

 

[mktopside]

MKTOPSIDE- more great feedback. thank you.
i'd say the ouverson's extended length is a clearance concern too.

with the stock 37" tires and wheels, i'm figuring the height to the hub would be 28" from the ground. with 46" tires that should increase to 33" from the ground.

there aren't too many casual ruts that run 3' deep, but you never know what mother nature has lined up. the width of the truck and those few extra wider inches could make all the difference on some narrow trail though.

do the avm's extend wider than the front bumper ?

maybe it would be best to have the lockouts installed (either brand), and still have the original hubs stored on the truck in case of an emergency or other serious damage when off roading.

WOLFEN- i haven't been in enough situations to see a need for a new ether location on the A3. could just be a mod for guys who run in cold weather constantly, like snow plow trucks, which might need ether on a more regular basis, therefore making refills easier. or it could be a kit designed for guys who feel they need every mod ever marketed.

stay tuned, maybe one of the guys on here will answer back with some real world experience in favor of the relocation...?

<----- See avatar I'm pretty sure my trip through the ice that popped the tire would have broken the AVMs. But then again I was stuck no matter what even in 6X6. You can't plan for every eventuality, sometimes you are just screwed.

I'll have to measure the hubs tonight, but they really don't stick out that much further than the stock ones, and certainly not as far as the OEM ones. Since you have to cut down the CTIS shields anyway to get them back on, it wouldn't be that hard to make an extention that protrudes to protect the ends of the hub a bit.

 

[EXITNOONE]

MKTOPSIDE- that ice situation is one i'll be wary of for sure. about 15 years ago a buddy and i were hiking near an ice covered river. it had frozen in levels, creating deeper and deeper layers of sheets of ice as the river flow decreased during the winter. we were having all kinds of fun crashing through the top layers near the river bank where were "certain" there'd be no deeper layers or water beneath... well , just like your A3, we learned the hard way that freezing cold drenched shoes and scraped ankles aren't fun. thank GOD it wasn't any worse for us then, or for you with the A3. live, learn, and be prepared !!

when you get your ctis protectors trimmed, post some photos so we can see what it ends up like. i'd be interested to see that, and will do the same on mine soon.

 

[mktopside]

MKTOPSIDE- that ice situation is one i'll be wary of for sure. about 15 years ago a buddy and i were hiking near an ice covered river. it had frozen in levels, creating deeper and deeper layers of sheets of ice as the river flow decreased during the winter. we were having all kinds of fun crashing through the top layers near the river bank where were "certain" there'd be no deeper layers or water beneath... well , just like your A3, we learned the hard way that freezing cold drenched shoes and scraped ankles aren't fun. thank GOD it wasn't any worse for us then, or for you with the A3. live, learn, and be prepared !!

when you get your ctis protectors trimmed, post some photos so we can see what it ends up like. i'd be interested to see that, and will do the same on mine soon.

I definitely will. Ill probably take it to work tomorrow and get something fabed up. We'll see how it looks.

The Ice was really sneaky. It looked like two rutted out trails filled with a puddle of water. My buddies F150 went first and broke through the ice, it looked to be a 3" deep puddle. I took the rutted trail to the left of where he went..... Which was not 3" deep, closer to 4ft deep when I broke through. The ice was 4-5" thick and would support you if you walked on it. Even if I had gotten out, I still would have been fooled by it. I only got the left front wheel stuck, I stopped as soon as I felt the truck drop. The reason I couldn't get out was that the hole was steep and the drivers step bottomed out in the edge and all the weight shifted to the front. I could move forward if I wanted, but not backwards.

I decided that 1/6th stuck was better than 6/6ths stuck, and called the big wrecker in.
I made a half hearted attempt at digging it out, but ever shovel full I pulled out was replaced by more water flowing from under the ice.

What I learned? Well, sometimes it's your turn for a ****ty day no matter what. Other than that, if someone made a 7ton hilift jack I would have been fine, and that these tires are NOT as hardcore as they look. At least I was lucky and didn't end up like the guy who was stuck for a week in that field. That thread is what made me stop and cut my losses lol. Ice is dangerous stuff in all forms.

 

[EXITNOONE]

MKTOPSIDE- well i'm glad you were at least fortunate enough to walk away uninjured and smart enough to quit while you were ahead.

6/6ths stuck NOW THAT WAS FUNNY !!!!

i did see the week long mud trap thread. what a mess that must have been.

i wonder if a 5 ton with 53" tires would have made it out of the situation you ended up in ?

at least we're both still here, maybe a little wiser, but still just crazy enough not to give up having fun !!!

 

[Maverick1701]

MKTOPSIDE- MAVERICK1701- you're welcome and you owe me lunch at sonic on boykin next time i'm in texas.

holy cow!?!?!?! you have actually been to memphis tx?!?!?!
If any SS member wants to meet for lunch, ill buy...I love meeing other SS guys.

 

[EXITNOONE]

MAVERICK- to be completely truthful, the closest i've ever been to memphis, tx was when i was stationed at lackland in san antonio...

what i did do, however, was get on google maps and search restaurants in memphis, tx.
i knew you'd freak out if i found one that seemed casual on a major street in your hometown. that's actually one of my favorite little practical jokes on my veteran brothers, who were/are from every obscure place you could never think of.

despite that, i'll still take you up on lunch if i ever do make it out your way.

post some great photos of the brackets you're making once you have them ready !!!

EXIT

 

[Wolfen]

I have Two Questions. I have seen Fording and Artic Heater Kits for sale for the Duece. Would these work on the M35A3 without Modifications? If not, what would need to be Changed to make them work on the M35A3?

 

[EXITNOONE]

WOLFEN- can you post a detailed photo of the fording kit parts... the air filter box on the A2 and A3 are completely different. also, the A3 is already standard with a water tight intake that sucks air in from about 7 feet off the ground. A3's come with their own heater system, but i am not sure if the arctic heater would be any different in performance.

 

[Wolfen]

I'll have to see if I can find a Detailed Picture of the Fording Kit. As for the artic Heater, I was thinking of Putting one in the back for when I would be Carrying Passengers. I might just put a Propane Heater back there instead since it would be Cheaper.