Splash Panel Weather Strip?

[rboltz]

Still taking the M37 apart. I took off the front fender splash panels and there is weather stripping on them. Don't see the reason or any listing in the parts books so maybe it was added for rattles by someone?

 

[Mike_L]

The '54 edition parts manual lists an "Anti-Squeak, front fender rear splash shield to bracket (use 2 pieces 1 1/2in square)" on page 283. I'm supposing this may be it. No pictures but the description sounds like the same piece. My truck has them too. So, you are right, a sound muffler.

 

[WarrenD]

Don't know why, can't hear much of anything over the whine of the transfer case. Since when did the military care about squeaks? Maybe it's for the M-37S (S= Stealth)

 

[rboltz]

The '54 edition parts manual lists an "Anti-Squeak, front fender rear splash shield to bracket (use 2 pieces 1 1/2in square)" on page 283. I'm supposing this may be it. No pictures but the description sounds like the same piece. My truck has them too. So, you are right, a sound muffler.

Interesting. I went through the parts book and never saw that. Like the note above says, why did anyone care? Must have been an MWO.

The parts books for the M-37 leave a lot to be desired. I like the later truck manuals (1968 and onward) that show much more detail and show a picture of every assembly.

 

[Mike_L]

In Germany, I do remember being able to hear a tracked vehicle coming a lot easier due to the squeaking of the tracks than a wheeled vehicle so there may actually be some merit to "anti-squeak" use. I could see a rock or something coming up and hitting that panel. Rather than giving a gong ring it might muffle it enough to shorten the distance the sound carries.

I don't recall ever seeing an MWO on anti-squeak. It is in the '54 ORD 9 parts manual, the second edition of the manual (superseding the '51 edition) since the truck was introduced so I doubt it was an MWO. rboltz's truck has them and it is a '52 so I'm thinking they are part of the original design.

I find myself preferring the older manuals as I restore my truck. They describe the hardware in detail (size, finish, pitch, material, etc.) rather than the later series which just say "screw" leaving you to figure out what characteristics it had. I do admit that I have spent quite a bit of time looking for something that isn't called out on the IPB but I've learned a bit about these trucks doing that.