Working on the M1078 LMTV

[aleigh]

Perhaps worthwhile to get something like a movin-cool or other portable A/C or even a cheap window A/C and rig something up with a duct hose to blow into the cab. I don't know what your land situation is there but getting some shade up couldn't hurt either if it's sitting out in the sun. Even just a big tarp can make a real difference.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Mark, it is not the Army, it is an adventure.

 

[mkcoen]

Perhaps worthwhile to get something like a movin-cool or other portable A/C or even a cheap window A/C and rig something up with a duct hose to blow into the cab. I don't know what your land situation is there but getting some shade up couldn't hurt either if it's sitting out in the sun. Even just a big tarp can make a real difference.

I have A/C in the shop so I can pop in there every couple of minutes and cool off. I'm sure Home Depot sells a tarp big enough to cover the LMTV but my wallet, at the moment, isn't big enough to cover the tarp.

You going to make it down in time to do the Big Bend adventure? There's 2 and possibly 3 LMTVs that are going to be there. If you left now you could make it by the end of October

Mark, it is not the Army, it is an adventure.

I was in the "Be All You Can Be" Army. I was all I could at that point. Now I'm in the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" retirement mode.

 

[Another Ahab]

I was in the "Be All You Can Be" Army. I was all I could at that point. Now I'm in the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" retirement mode.

So there you go; you got nothing to lose! Go for it all, Brother.

 

[mkcoen]

Keith_J was over today and we got a lot accomplished on the truck. Before he arrived I was able to get the back panel reinstalled and buttoned down and had started on the insulation for the passenger side of the floor. He jumped on the A/C issue and discovered it was too much Freon from when we were trying to get the temps down. Apparently once the system was completely warmed up on the road it was developing too much pressure and making the cutoff switch shut the compressor off. It would cycle on and off but wouldn't be on long enough to produce cold air. Sitting in the driveway with the doors shut we took the inside of the cab from 113° down to the mid-90s in about 10 minutes. We couldn't do a road test as I've got the seats out for the insulation so will need to wait for next week.

I finished the passenger side insulation and needed something to cover the aluminum foil where the mat was open for the drain holes. Yes I covered the holes up. I'm not going to be in any environment that the military was where I need to worry about massive amounts of water draining out of the floor. If I get mud or water in there I have a wet/dry shop vac that can take care of it. I did take a fair amount of Simple Green and clean the heck out of the mats though. Just like in the headliner space where the rifle barrels poked through I took some of the tattered remains of my original cargo cover and cut a piece large enough to stick over the area where the holes are in the mat. Now instead of shiny aluminum you see the inside green of an old cargo cover. Worked great.

Keith soldered the connectors for the accessory plug box and once installed fashioned a fuse holder out of a couple of blade connectors and wired that up. Now that part of the dash is complete but I am going to have to loosen the evaporator unit to get the engine cover section of the floor mat out to insulate. I have a new section courtesy of Suprman and, unlike my old mat which was straight rubber, the new mat has foam insulation so will add to both sound deadening and heat reduction.

At this point I may be finished with the insulation by Monday and can get everything back together and take it for a nice long test drive. Temps are still going to be 98°+ for the next 10 days so I should be able to tell how good things are working.

 

[M813rc]

I got something for you.

Cheers

 

[Keith_J]

I got something for you.

Cheers

No paint needed too! Not that we dread painting, the temps plus a now clean shop just make that a sweaty job.

 

[mkcoen]

I got something for you.

Cheers

That is an awesome find and I'll cover your chow at the next pre-meeting as a finder's fee

No paint needed too! Not that we dread painting, the temps plus a now clean shop just make that a sweaty job.

A little touch up of the green and add the camo and it'll be perfect.

The Mrs is actually working on a Sunday, which is rare, so I've been sitting in the truck running in the driveway with the A/C going trying to finish the floor insulation. I had to loosen all of the bolts holding the evaporator down and then thought I might have to loosen the bulkhead fittings for the lines to get the middle floor mat out. Turns out I was able to pry up on the unit with a large screwdriver to get the old one out but not sure if that'll work when putting the new one in. Found more glass and even after vacuuming the thing a dozen times the undercoating still sparkles a little. I guess it's going to be one of those things that just stays with the truck forever.

 

[m38inmaine]

Sort of like sandblasting sand in the Goat..

 

[mkcoen]

Sort of like sandblasting sand in the Goat..

And Waffle House Yellow paint (at least in mine).

 

[mkcoen]

I got the insulation done on the floor this afternoon and loaded the new center section of the floor mats. I'm hoping that after it sits in the hot truck for the day it'll start laying a little flatter. It's bunching up real bad in front of the evaporator but I believe I have it as far forward as it's supposed to go. I believe part of the issue is having been rolled up in a box for so long that it just needs a little breathing room to slide into place. We'll see how it looks tomorrow. One thing for sure is that it'll look a lot better than the 2 side mats. There's a new passenger side mat on eBay but I haven't seen any for the driver side.

 

[aleigh]

I got new visors installed in mine today. Passenger-side one was missing when I got the truck, or never installed since it was missing the nut clips. People were complaining. Wear sunglasses, I would say. Some days it's the little things, right?

 

[agazza2]

Looking good Mark. I am sure the Texas heat and humidity with allow it to settle just fine. Can you take a photo of the evaporator that you installed? Eventually I want to start on my AC.

 

[sargentwolf]

I got new visors installed in mine today. Passenger-side one was missing when I got the truck, or never installed since it was missing the nut clips. People were complaining. Wear sunglasses, I would say. Some days it's the little things, right?

Mine is the same way. I haven't had any passengers yet besides the guy who delivered the truck, so its a non issue....

 

[mkcoen]

I got new visors installed in mine today. Passenger-side one was missing when I got the truck, or never installed since it was missing the nut clips. People were complaining. Wear sunglasses, I would say. Some days it's the little things, right?

Absolutely. After I get done with this project it's only going to be little things from now on. I really want to start enjoying it versus just working on it.

Looking good Mark. I am sure the Texas heat and humidity with allow it to settle just fine. Can you take a photo of the evaporator that you installed? Eventually I want to start on my AC.

Allen, mine is a Gen 1 evaporator (single round vent in the center). I hear the Gen 2 evaporators (multiple round vents) are better but there're not as "plug and play" in the 1st Gen trucks.

 

[agazza2]

Absolutely. After I get done with this project it's only going to be little things from now on. I really want to start enjoying it versus just working on it.


Allen, mine is a Gen 1 evaporator (single round vent in the center). I hear the Gen 2 evaporators (multiple round vents) are better but there're not as "plug and play" in the 1st Gen trucks.

Thanks Mark, just what I needed to know. Maybe one day there will be a complete original install instructions with all the PNs from one of the original kits that had everything.

 

[mkcoen]

I got most of the interior back together this morning. So far the only major hiccup is the passenger side seat belt. It's retracted all the way and I can't get it to release so I can unspool enough to bolt it back in place.

I haven't put the center seat back in yet as I'm undecided whether to put the gunner's platform I have in the truck or not. The center seat sits on top of it and then the seat bolts secure everything. I did pressure wash it this morning then hit it with some Simple Green so it's ready to go whenever I make my mind up.

To celebrate the completion and the working AC I drove down to the Shell station at the entrance to our subdivision and filled the tank up. Pulling back into the driveway the odometer turned 13,300 even. Of course there's no way to know if that's original mileage or just odometer mileage.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Looking great Mark.

 

[tennmogger]

Mark, I took my gunners platform out and have preferred it that way. If you have passengers in the center seat, the soft padded cover is much more comfortable on the backs of their legs than the edge of the platform, which catches a normal leg just above the ankle. My platform also had a rattle. YMMV

Bob

 

[mkcoen]

Thanks for the advice Bob. I had actually just finished sitting it in there to see how it looked and was going to require some modification as the holes weren't lining up. That had me leaning against it and your comment pushed it over the edge.