Seriously looking at lmtv need input please

[tburk49760]

I located a 1995 m1078 and it seems in great shape. I have lost many hours reading the adventures of others on this forum and have come to know that the wonky shifts are likely tied to the wonky speedo. Seems simple enough to fix. learned of some cool mods as well. Me thinks more power is a good idea as well as regearing for better top speed and economy. This too seems like a straight forward job once one locates the gears. Two questions though, As I understand it, this truck has the mechanical as opposed to electronic controlled fueling system. Adding power should be simple enough?? This one has a pretty damaged passenger side front fender flare thingy. How difficult will it be to find one? Thanks for the input... As you can see by my sig block, this is a disease I have...

 

[Gunzy]

FMTV/LMTV parts are a bit trouble some to get as there isn't a lot out there like in the M939 series. They tend to have a bunch of electrical gremlins in them too. I personnaly wouldn't take one and I prefer my M923 for parts availability and ease of working on. But it's your money and do as you feel you want. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[wehring]

There are 2 camps when talking FMTVs and you will find arguments for/against both. The main option is a 3116 or C7 powered truck. The basic benefits seen in both camps are: great visibility, comfortable ride, very maneuverable.

the reason many of my mods have been "easy" is based on the C7 being a computer controlled system. Speedo correction, cruise control, power upgrades, shift points, diagnostic system.... All Easy with the C7 powered trucks.

completely my opinion.... The 3116 trucks don't have enough power to handle an axle gear change and a load. I am sure some on here will disagree but I challenge them to take a road trip in one so equipped. I just took a 3 hour road trip with a 13,000# APC on a 5,000# trailer behind my heavily modified LMTV. This truck has replaced my F350 for hauling loads under 15,000# and it works very well. I set the cruise, lean the seat back (try this in an m923) and let it go. No struggle to: maintain speed, stop, turn in tight areas or keep up with traffic. Even when getting onto a road the rear windows give you great visibility to oncoming traffic.

It even turns a tighter radius than my F350 with a 6' bed!!

justin wehring

 

[Suprman]

I prefer driving the M1078 to my A2 5tons. It does a cool 57 1/2 mph on the highway but does not bounce around like the older trucks do. It has plenty of power for me like it is. I can easily keep up with street traffic though. I believe the Cat dealer can easily bump the power a bit if you want more. I don't take it on long trips or do any real work with it. I miss having front windows that open up. The electrical system is quirky and if you are not good at troubleshooting electrical then you will need to find a friend who is. The first variant is a mechanical motor the a1 trucks have an engine computer. They both have electronic transmission control. Parts are a bit harder to find but a lot of stuff is civ available. Other than door handles. I would like to get an M1078A1 I'm sure it will come along in good time.

 

[tburk49760]

I am now the proud owner of a 1995 M1078. When I picked it up at the dealer it had 615 miles on it! The dealer gave it a pretty good preparation for the trip, changed the fluids, filters,batteries, belts and pretty much checked everything out in general. I proceeded to drive the 400 and some odd miles home with very little trouble. Early on in the trip, the fan solenoid started acting goofy and the engine was beginning to overheat. I stopped by a friends place and he and I figured out how to bypass it without losing any air The only downside was the fan stayed engaged all the time. That thing is quite noisy! Fortunately I brought my noise canceling headphones with me. The rest of the trip was uneventful but slow. Topped out seem to be right at 55 mph. About 30 miles into the trip the speedometer went wonky and now reads about 130% of what you're actually doing. I guess I'll be chasing the ground demons for a bit. Pictures to come soon. By the way, does anybody know where I can get the Berkert replacement fan solenoid?

 

[tburk49760]

Forgot to mention while on the trip back, and the tiny little town of new Meadows Idaho, met another forum member who had recently picked up his LMTV from Colorado! What a small crazy world we live in! Dale, it was a pleasure meeting you look forward to seeing your posts. I'm pretty excited to copy your ideas for your hatch as well.

 

[Lmtv772]

welcome and congratulations to your new truck. Let me know if I can help with anything

 

[tburk49760]

a few Pics

here are a few pictures...

 

[dalej]

Forgot to mention while on the trip back, and the tiny little town of new Meadows Idaho, met another forum member who had recently picked up his LMTV from Colorado! What a small crazy world we live in! Dale, it was a pleasure meeting you look forward to seeing your posts. I'm pretty excited to copy your ideas for your hatch as well.

Jan and I made it back from touring on our Harley yesterday. After unpacking, mowing the lawn we had our first beer driving in the truck in the hay field. We ended up right at 4700 miles on our bike touring the Northwest and Canada.

 

[FloridaAKM]

These kinds of posts are like waving a bottle of good bourbon in front of an AA member who has been off the stuff for a long while. Thanks for the posts & the pictures of your truck. The green iron disease is strong with this one on me, but finding the truck as good as yours has been the problem. Keep posting & I'll either go crazy or go for broke on a M-1078. Carry on!

 

[tburk49760]

Your list is longer than mine, so you are clearly late stage... I looked for many moons for this one and paid a premium price... Now I'm broke and crazy... Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Andyrv6av8r]

These kinds of posts are like waving a bottle of good bourbon in front of an AA member who has been off the stuff for a long while. Thanks for the posts & the pictures of your truck. The green iron disease is strong with this one on me, but finding the truck as good as yours has been the problem. Keep posting & I'll either go crazy or go for broke on a M-1078. Carry on!

I have a very nice 1079 ..

 

[dalej]

These kinds of posts are like waving a bottle of good bourbon in front of an AA member who has been off the stuff for a long while.

I hear what your saying..... I just went and bought a trailer from Fort Riley in Kansas. It's a M1095A1 MTV Cargo Trailer and will go great with my LMTV. I told my wife.... THAT'S IT, I'M NOT BUYING ANOTHER ITEM. The sale was on 8/19/15 and it's item #641301. We are taking the LMTV or "MAN TRUCK" to Kansas next week to pick it up.

 

[captkennyboy]

just out of curiosity what kind of fuel consumption did you get?

thanks

 

[Lmtv772]

just out of curiosity what kind of fuel consumption did you get?

thanks

Very low. Why do you ask?

 

[captkennyboy]

I just bought one and waiting delivery. I get around 10-11 with my 5 ton 923A2 so I was wondering what the M1078 gets and saw your post about your trip

ken

 

[tburk49760]

On the long road trip with it wound up always, about 6 mpg. As I drive it around home, I try not to keep it at 55 and it seems to be more like 8mpg. Regearing it will need to happen. Or taller tires..,

 

[tburk49760]

Silly me, I always try the easy fix first. Now I have an extra trans speed sensor... The speedo is still wonky. Where to start? Ground where to where?

 

[tennmogger]

Does your odometer read wrong too, in the same direction? I ask because my speedo reads way too low, about 5\8 of correct consistently, but the odometer reads just a little too high (slightly too many miles). I'm thinking if the odometer is close but the speedo is way off, and the speedometer unit is fed by one signal, then the error has to be internal to the unit.

Oddly, on only one occasion the speedometer jumped to correct speed while driving and stayed correct for the remainder of the trip. Next startup the speedo was wrong again.

Note that 5\8 ratio is miles to km conversion factor. Coincident???? Do these speedo units base computing power inside?

FWIW, Allison checked my speed sensor and declared it perfectly operational.

Bob

 

[Suprman]

Mine was shifting funny I replaced the speed sensor with a used one from another truck I have and right away it shifted better and the speedo started working correctly. 2 weeks later the brand new sensor that I ordered came in and now it shifts even better. I could see harness issues arising though. You can probably follow the wiring back up and along the engine it should be in a harness that goes into the cab on the left side of the center hump up into the dash. You can check to make sure the plugs on the back of the ecu (behind the keypad) are in nice and tight. And check the dash grounds.