Bought my first Deuce, brakes seem weak

[welldigger]

Wednesday of this week i took delivery of my first deuce. She made the four hour drive

from Monroe LA to Shreveport LA with no problems.....except I must stand all 165

pounds of me on the brake pedal to have a prayer of stopping. I keep reading threads

stating that other members can lock their brakes up. I did a search and I'm not sure any

of the threads I read describe my problem. I'm new to the deuce so forgive me if this has

been covered already. I seem to have a full pedal. If I pump the brakes then the pedal

gets firmer just like with any other hydraulic brake system I have dealt with. I seem to

have good air pressure so im suspecting my air pack is the problem. When I push the

brake pedal i hear a hiss of air escaping. It does this when I'm pushing/holding/ and

releasing the brakes. It will even hiss a second or 2 after I let off the pedal. Is that

normal? Again I believe the air pack is going to need to be rebuilt. But, I'm not positive

on this. All suggestions would be appreciated. Also, I have the new style/ short air pack

on my truck. Is there a TM on rebuilding these? Or is there someone who has rebuilt

one that could steer me in the right direction? Where would I find a rebuild kit for one of

these?

 

[Ranger390]

Sounds like the air pack for sure. In the TMs list on the site there are older TMs and Newer ones, maybe the newer TMs would cover what you have. Warrens a pretty good dude and hes holding onto a trailer for me so I'll be doing business with him again. Good luck with the Deuce, I'm sure you'll get it fixed right up.

 

[welldigger]

Yea Warren was a real strait shooter. I fully agree with you there. In fact I mentioned I may bob this truck and he wanted first pick on my left over parts. Which I have no problem doing. But basically I think im gonna start with the airpack and probably go ahead and rebuild the MC. I figure while I have everything apart ill get those parts rebuilt fresh so I dont have to worry about them. At some point in the near future i will also pull all wheels and rebuild the wheel cylinders also. Or replace any that appear too far gone to repair. Then I will adjust the shoes while im at it. I'mjust hoping someone more knowledgeable than I will chime in and point out anything I missed. O and ranger I hope you enjoy your truck as well. Me and you got the last 2 trucks Warren had and appaerntly someone got their feelings hurt here in Shreveport that I had bought the last truck. If I happen to run into the guy I'll happily give him a ride.

 

[Ranger390]

If you go that route you are sure to have a dependable set of stoppers and good PM never hurt nothing. I'm going to leave mine as is but I'll look forward to seeing yours bobbed one day. That's unfortunate about dude in Shreveport but that's why I jumped on the one I got as soon as I found it, the price was great for a winch truck in good shape in our area.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

I've had to redo my brakes on all 3 of my M35s. One master cylinder was the worst job. All the others had blown wheel cylinders. Not sure I'm clear on the air pack rebuild, but it can't hurt. Is it leaking? Easy to tell, usually. Run the truck till the air pressure is as high as it will go on it's own, shut it down and start looking/listening for hissing (leaks). As I said most of my problems have been wheel cylinders. Easy way to tell if one let go is look at the inner side of the inboard tire. If you see any evidence of liquid, you've got to pull the wheel, pull the drum and check the cylinder. Not a complicated job; in fact easier than my F-250. Another point to check is the master cylinder oil level. If there is a bolt holding the panel down on the drivers floor board, remove it, disconnect any lines and using some kind of wrench, pull the plug. You should see fluid almost to the top. The exact level is in the book. If it isn't, try to determine what type fluid is in there by it's color. Purple is good, means it has the DOT 5 fluid. any other color means a complete bleeding of all cylinders. There is a ready made brake bleeding tool that'll do most of the job. Can't remember the name of the company that makes them but they are reasonably priced and easy to use. Whatever you put back into the system has to be the same throughout. DON'T mix DOT 5 with anything else. Bad things happen, like losing your brakes at the worst possible moment. DOT 5 is what's called for in the TM but it's pricey. I only use it regardless of the price. Last note: brake shoes with oil on them is bad, replace them. The silicone won't burn off; it'll just make the brakes not catch. Most of the surplus stores have brake parts, you just need to figure out what you need.

Good luck, read the book (TM 9-2320-361-20&20P) it's in the resource tab. If you run accross anything that's confusing, post your problem on your thread; this one) and I or maybe one of the other members with brake experience can help.

Congrats on your purchase, may it bring you many great adventures.

 

[197thhhc]

Congrats on the truck. Keep us informed on your brake issues and what it takes to get them right.

 

[Walt4653]

Can any one help

Bought a mep003 with 131 hrs,gl and would like steps to bring this back to life. Wife is on o2 , we lose power several times a yr, and need reliable genset. Also maint, info etc.
Appreciate any help from anyone,
Walt

 

[renovate7]

If you have a good hard pedal doesn't sound like a master cylinder. One of my Deuces had the same symptoms. It had been sitting a while. I finally determined (I think) the piston was sticking in the booster. I removed the small plug on the end and squirted some air tool oil in it. After driving a while the piston freed up and I had good brakes.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Bought a mep003 with 131 hrs,gl and would like steps to bring this back to life. Wife is on o2 , we lose power several times a yr, and need reliable genset. Also maint, info etc.
Appreciate any help from anyone,
Walt

You need to start your own thread in the Aux Equipment forum. Nobody will see your question in this thread.

 

[welldigger]

So I have an update on my situation. I had a chance to crawl under the truck today and i pulled the boot back on my MC and fluid came out. The MC is going to need to be rebuilt. I'm starting to think the air pack may in fact be functioning. Now off to order parts.

 

[sandcobra164]

My deuce was hard to stop when I first got it. Ask Atomic, he drove it for my one time while it had the issue. I removed the J-pipe that feeds the airpack, squirted some oil in there, removed the plug on the back of the air pack and squirted oil in there. Now it stops with about as much effort as my CUCV. As for the boot on the Master Cylinder leaking oil. Yes it's due for a rebuild. Make sure to get a short wrench for the top bolt inside the frame rail. Either that or be prepared to cut a wrench in half as there is not other way to pull the master cylinder. It's not a bad job though.

 

[welldigger]

My deuce was hard to stop when I first got it. Ask Atomic, he drove it for my one time while it had the issue. I removed the J-pipe that feeds the airpack, squirted some oil in there, removed the plug on the back of the air pack and squirted oil in there. Now it stops with about as much effort as my CUCV. As for the boot on the Master Cylinder leaking oil. Yes it's due for a rebuild. Make sure to get a short wrench for the top bolt inside the frame rail. Either that or be prepared to cut a wrench in half as there is not other way to pull the master cylinder. It's not a bad job though.

I don't think it's going to be too much trouble to pull the master cylinder. Now as far as my air pack goes I'm tossing up the idea of rebuilding it as well. My problem here with oiling/rebuilding my air pack is i have the newer short style air pack. My truck was rebuilt by the military in 91 according to the plate on the dash. Anyways, my air pack does not have the oiling plug on the back and my j-pipe is different. It is also frozen in place so im gonna have to free the fitting up. I'm also having trouble finding rebuild kits for it. All I can find is the old style rebuild kits.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Here ya go Welldigger...

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/67711-brake-bleeding-doesnt-seem-going-planned.html

I believe there is a pic of the setup for the pressure bleeder in there somewhere, I got all of my setup from the big orange store...

 

[welldigger]

Here ya go Welldigger...

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/67711-brake-bleeding-doesnt-seem-going-planned.html

I believe there is a pic of the setup for the pressure bleeder in there somewhere, I got all of my setup from the big orange store...

Ya I'm going to build a pressure bleeder. But at the moment that is not my direct problem. I know I'm going to have to rebuild the MC. That is a must. My issue now is should I rebuild the air pack as well. If so where can I get parts since I have the A3 style air pack. My air pack is possibly functioning but it may not be. I'm tossing up the idea simply because I will have to bleed the brakes anyways so if I rebuild the air pack now its one less thing I have to worry about. I'm going to re-do the wheel cylinders as well since I noticed a ripped cv boot and will have the whole front end apart anyways. My OCD is kicking in pretty hard right now. But, I guess the light at the end of the tunnel will be my brakes will have 100% been gone through.

 

[welldigger]

I do want to thank everyone who has responded to my problem. I generally do most of my own mechanic work including some larger trucks in my fleet. However this is my first Deuce and I do not know the in's and out's of this particular truck. I learn a bit more day by day thanks to everyone here.

 

[frank8003]

air hydraulic brake cylinder "Air-Pak"

Steel Soldiers has wealth of information this subject.
It is suggested study TM....209-20 TM....209-34-2-1
LO...209-12-1
and after all that it seems for people like me they made
issue #91 of Military Vehicles Magazine
and some pictures for the General

 

[frank8003]

air hydraulic brake cylinder "Air-Pak" too

Oh, and for bleeding brakes this thing works fine and price is now 10 bucks less now than what I paid. Worth every penny. Motive Products 0090 bleeder.

Here is part one of two of how its done on youtube.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RazeaTyiIFU[/media]

Here is part two of two.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyQ7pZPiqnI&feature=relmfu[/media]

this is impressive
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtTDosJFVTU&feature=related[/media]

and here is a airpak youtube
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q74Hkk0m4g&feature=relmfu[/media]


That is the pictures for the General

 

[welldigger]

Thanks there is a bunch of good information in those videos. But, again my air pack is not the same as the one in the video. How similar are the 2 styles when it comes to rebuilding them? I know I will need a different rebuild kit since they are not the same. I finally found a new style rebuild kit at TNJ Murry's web site. I guess I'll just order the MC rebuild kit and the air pack rebuild kit at the same time. Now is there a tech manual for the new style or am I just going to have to wing it?

 

[Tlauden]

My deuce was hard to stop when I first got it. Ask Atomic, he drove it for my one time while it had the issue. I removed the J-pipe that feeds the airpack, squirted some oil in there, removed the plug on the back of the air pack and squirted oil in there. Now it stops with about as much effort as my CUCV. As for the boot on the Master Cylinder leaking oil. Yes it's due for a rebuild. Make sure to get a short wrench for the top bolt inside the frame rail. Either that or be prepared to cut a wrench in half as there is not other way to pull the master cylinder. It's not a bad job though.

Actually a 1/4 ratchet with about 2ft of extesions lets you work through the frame behind the master cylinder. its hard as $h!t to loosen it the first time though if its on there snug

 

[welldigger]

That trick could come in handy.