What have you done to your 5 ton this week?

[topo]

For me mig welding when inside the flux core is best but outside the solid core is best just a small breeze blows the shielding gas away . Thanks for the pictures of your build.

 

[MyothersanM1]

M931 Air Brakes for M818

I picked up some front axle brake parts from an M931A1 donor truck this past Thursday morning up in the California High Desert. I am converting my M818 to full air brakes and have decided on wedge brakes for the front due to ease of installation without modification. Rears are going to be s-cams, but that is a story for later.

I took off the drums/hubs, air chambers and spiders from the tractor. AND, yes, I manhandled those drums/hubs off and loaded them into my pick-up myself. Luckily, I took air tools and I had access to a running truck for air pressure. That made life a lot simpler. My contact was surprised how quick I got it all done.

The right side had a bad inner seal so the brake shoes and pads were soaked in oil and grease. Luckily my contact had a bunch of brand new matched sets of four, matching lot numbers, brake shoes for a great price. So I ended up with those also.

The last couple of days I have been disassembling, inspecting, cleaning and some painting. So far only the shoes, plunger seals and diaphragms are being replaced. Once I get the old shoes off, I'll get a good look at the plungers. The wedges are in perfect shape, so I am fairly sure the plungers will be serviceable also.

 

[88sport]

replacing windshield seals and a passenger side door mechanism and then tomorrow it's going to be replacing the acid in the 4 batteries that came with it. Hope it all goes well. I need to find the small seals that go around the windshields because the big seals i don't think were causing my leakage.

 

[MikeGuti]

 

[Shirehorse]

Full seal and bearing service on the rear axles in preperation for the haul to Findlay. pressure washed the drums clean of caked on gear oil. Apparently the last military mechanic didn't think a seal in the keyway was necessary.



Edit: not sure why those pictures posted sideways, just pretend they're right side up. You know, for science.

 

[Another Ahab]

View attachment 558093View attachment 558094


Edit: not sure why those pictures posted sideways, just pretend they're right side up. You know, for science.

Maybe it was just windy outside when you posted them.

 

[Shirehorse]

Maybe it was just windy outside when you posted them.

That explains quite a few things!

 

[Another Ahab]

View attachment 558093View attachment 558094

Full seal and bearing service on the rear axles in preperation for the haul to Findlay. pressure washed the drums clean of caked on gear oil. Apparently the last military mechanic didn't think a seal in the keyway was necessary.

View attachment 558095

Edit: not sure why those pictures posted sideways, just pretend they're right side up. You know, for science.

Maybe it was just windy outside when you posted them.

That explains quite a few things!

Yeah, it's all science, and because I'm so intimately familiar with the internet I know these things:

 

[ODDBALL007]

Getting her ready to paint

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Got a call from the Ol' Lady at work yesterday. Said she wanted to pick up a new mattress. Told her I'd pick up the boys, pick them up some supper, drop them at my parents, pick up the trailer with my Nissan then swing by and pick her up.

None of that ever happened...

The starter on my Frontier decided to kick the bucket without warning. I never got to leave the house. That's fine...on to plan B. We're going mattress shopping in the big truck!



All went well with the mattress buying and loading. Even got a discount for the free publicity taking place in the parking lot out front. A crowd had gathered and some folks were making it inside.

We got clear of the crowd and headed home. We stopped for some supper, then we had to stop by Walmart then it would be bed swapping time. On the way to Walmart I noticed the truck felt a little funny after crossing a bridge approach. Only had about 2 more lights to go so we continued on at reduced speed. Pulled in the parking lot and when I made the turn I could defiantly tell something wasn't right. I had a feeling what it was and after taking a quick look under the truck I found I was correct...



The driverside dogbone on the forward rear axle had come loose on one end. The axle was slightly misaligned from the turn now. I placed a piece of crosstie in front of the wheel and eased forward to line the axle up. I beat the dogbone back on and and used a chain come-a-long around the dogbone and over the spring to keep upward pressure in an attempt to keep it in place. Made a couple of sharp turns in the parking lot to test things out and we were back on our way.

Had a couple of buddies give me a front and rear escort and we made the rest of the 10 mile trip at about 10 mph. Now the odd part...



Last weekend I completely greased the truck and while under there I did the test outlined in the picture above. All tested good and it sat in the driveway till yesterday evening. After making it home last night I did the test again and 3 out of the 4 lowers failed on at least one end. So time for complete replacement of them all.



Picked these up last year at my secret surplus place for cheap. Wish I had found 2 more there, as buying another 2 will cost me more than triple what I have in the 4 of these. Guess my vacation this month has been planned out for me...

 

[MyothersanM1]

Getting her ready to paintView attachment 558134

Better flip her back over first! OR, all that purty new paint's gonna drip right off into the sky

 

[Another Ahab]

Picked these up last year at my secret surplus place for cheap. Wish I had found 2 more there, as buying another 2 will cost me more than triple what I have in the 4 of these. Guess my vacation this month has been planned out for me...

That's a drag that you hit that snag, but it's good to know the solution (but then if only it didn't set you back so much).

What's the secret about your surplus place?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

That's a drag that you hit that snag, but it's good to know the solution (but then if only it didn't set you back so much).

What's the secret about your surplus place?

Er...um...naw nothing special. It's a local guy that sells surplus. When I leave he tells me every time not to be bringing all my friends with me. He acts like it's a big secret but you can see most of his stuff from the road, lol.

 

[Coffey1]

Swamp you can weld those in place and never have to worry about them coming off.

I had to weld one on at GA rally and was still going strong a year later when I sold truck.

I heard the loggers who buy these trucks that's the first thing they do.

 

[Another Ahab]

Er...um...naw nothing special. It's a local guy that sells surplus. When I leave he tells me every time not to be bringing all my friends with me. He acts like it's a big secret but you can see most of his stuff from the road, lol.

That's a special kind of business plan that guy is working right there.

But maybe he knows something that most people don't, who knows?

 

[ke5eua]

Swamp you can weld those in place and never have to worry about them coming off.

I had to weld one on at GA rally and was still going strong a year later when I sold truck.

I heard the loggers who buy these trucks that's the first thing they do.

Can you elobrate or point me in the direction.

 

[therooster2001]

Changed the front tire with the spare, it was a very bumpy ride, and had uneven wear that wasn't going to get better on its own. Got to use the tire davit, and put the Roboimpact to good use. Man those tires are a bear. Hassled with the CTIS to make it fit and finally won. The only time we had to use a cheater was to get the weight block lug loosened. It took way too long, but we got a lot of experience, and gave the TM's a good workout. Definitely needed soldier B for this excercise, although I'm sure you could do it by yourself, I just liked two brains on the operation, it would have been most of the day for just me..

I know some people don't like the Roboimpacts, but it saved the day, didn't even need the torque multiplier on the main lugs. Would have used the multiplier on the weight lug, but forgot my 3/4 to 1" adaptor at home.

Swapped an ECU on the CTIS when it gave us a hassle, and it worked just like it's supposed to. Don't know if the old one is toast or just finicky.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Swamp you can weld those in place and never have to worry about them coming off.

I had to weld one on at GA rally and was still going strong a year later when I sold truck.

I heard the loggers who buy these trucks that's the first thing they do.

I know what you mean. I plan to add something to the new ones and it will most certainly be done before they're installed.

You going this year?

Can you elobrate or point me in the direction.

Something along these lines. Just the first picture I came across as there are several ways to accomplish the same thing. Welded in the center to keep the rod from coming off.

 

[68hunter]

I would assume that the heat from welding would further deteriorate the already questionable union between the rubber and metal on the dogbone. Has anyone tried drilling and tapping it and then bolting a piece of flatbar across there? Not sure if that would weaken it to much or not

 

[Coffey1]

No mig weld did not hurt the rubber at all.
I run mine for a year and no problems then sold truck

Yes swamp I will be there