M977 FOV maintenence

[Bogibar]

I need to talk with some people that have experience jacking or lifting the M977 FOV. I need to find out how the jacks work and if there are any problems with the current system. Any insights would be helpful.

 

[Heavysteven]

Bump, any one?

 

[Stalwart]

I have a M977 HEMTT, but I don't have the jacks that are standard issue for the truck. I use a 20 ton floor jack, NOT a bottle jack, floor jack that weighs 600 lbs.

 

[Bogibar]

It's unclear about what is standard equipment. What I have deduced so far is that there are one or two hydraulic rams used as jacks that attach to a single hand operated pump that has two outlets.

 

[Stalwart]

I'll take a look at my TM's in an hour or two and let you know what I find.

 

[Westech]

we just used a 20K bottle jack that was BII.

 

[Stalwart]

My TM's only mention a bottle jack and the use of jackstands. The photo I've seen in one TM looks like a common 20 ton jack.

 

[Bogibar]

Anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Stalwart]

Sorry but I seem to be at a dead end, at least with the TM's I own.

 

[Bogibar]

Stuart, Thank you for looking! I really appreciate your effort! Maybe you'll run into someone that really knows this stuff. Richard

 

[Stalwart]

Richard, you have any pics or diagrams of the jack you are talking about?

 

[Bogibar]

I have next to nothing at this point. I have some photos of surplus units. That gets me to. Why surplus them instead of recondition them. I'll see if I can get these photos scanned to a reasonable size and forward them to you.

 

[Stalwart]

If the pictures are of sufficient quality and you have a good camera, I've taken a digital pic of a photograph with very good results. stalwart -at- mac -dot- com

 

[Bogibar]

Were doing it now. Standby.

 

[Stalwart]

That is a slick looking jack in your avitar, looks like a HMMWV lower control arm.

 

[Bogibar]

It's the real deal! It adjusts to the movement of the vehicle. It works on hill sides and it works very fast. It was originally designed for the up-armored HMMWV. Now we have 10 ton versions of it. I am just launching the commercial versions of this unit. I've had photos sent to me by guys in Iraq that were using it on a Hemtt. On the other end of the spectrum, I designed a jack for the Predator Drone UAV.

 

[Bogibar]

We are working on the other photos. This is what the pump is supposed to look like? Ever seen one of these.

 

[Bogibar]

This is the only photo I have of the jack. Looks like a bunch of surplus units tossed in a pile.

 

[Stalwart]

I'll go grab the hard copies of my latest TM's. I only did a search of the PDF versions of the manuals (700+ MB), not flipping through the hard copies.

The pump unit looks familiar somehow, but I don't have one. Must have a single piston pump with a check valve on each circuit with the hand valve to return to reservoir. The jack is strange, I'll have to go look under my truck where the flat top might sit securely under. With that jack, if you twist up the collar, you have no need for jackstands because the threaded collar will hold the load if the hyd. pressure drops. My guess is it's somebodys idea that you don't need to have jackstands as well as a jack. Sounds like a lot more cost for minimal usefulness. Plus spinning that collar would be slower than using jackstands. Can you imagine if those threads get rusty or lots of sand stuck over all those lubricated threads?

And how much will this Commercial verson of your jack be? For most things it would be a LOT more handy than my jack:

OTC Tool Manufacturer for Cars and Trucks : Products

OOPS, it is only 531 lbs NOT 600.

BTW, I'm a 1988 Embry-Riddle grad: A&P, Dispatcher

 

[srodocker]

bogibar you havea m977?