I just made a Redstone Recovery and had great luck. Four hundred and twenty miles home and my M35A2 ran better every mile. On pick-up the truck had two flats in the rear but looked intact. The truck was started on a jump and out the gate we went to WALMRT. The truck took a gallon of antifreeze and no oil. Guages came up steady and drove down to the Michillin tire store on University Drive.
Gave a nice yound man ten dollars to air all the tires. One tire would not air because the tire stem had been torn out of the tube. Went to The Mc Grif tire company on 1111 Putnam Drive 256-895-0123 office, 1-800-388-2805 roadside, and they pulled both my far rear right tires and installed a tube.
Purchased two tractor batteries, cable, two gallons of antifreeze, one tube, labor and tax to remove and mount two tires, $272.00 Great service and great guys.
Batteries wouldnt run the buzzer twenty minutes after the truck was shut off so I purchased two truck screw post batteries and we blocked and strapped them in. Using a new cable after market to crossover electrical connections, fired right up. There there was a slight leak on the floor of the garage, looked like the oil pan. The truck had the firewall and hood coated with a built-up oil but it looked like an old dried leak, I was proven wrong.
We pulled out of McGriff and got on the road and headed north. The first twenty gallons had a Lucas cleaner in it and the truck ran right through the twenty in no time, say 4 miles per gallon. The second tank lasted for ever and got us out of Kentucky and into Indiana. The third tank took me sixty eight miles and still says 3/4 full. Started the truck comming out of the McGriff garage and turned it off in front of mine in Indiana.
The truck soon developed a fuel leak that just won't show with the hood open and seems only to leak on the road under power. The fuel was hitting the firewall and coming into the cab through the pedal holes and any open hole it could find.
My Dad who decided he wanted to be chase and Mom came along to keep us legal. Dad being an old driver himself looked at the pattern and said he thought it would take alot more fuel and a hotter sourse to catch fire. All the leak was on the drivers side of the engine .
Ruff year for the family and we were having such good time I decided to go for it. With my truck that had strong brakes and a strong runner that just getting better.
If it caught on fire it would have been the high point of the trip.
We kept the cameras ready and ran from the state of ALABAMA. Teresa let me in an hour early and was very nice. The guys on the lot drove a truck over and jumped mine, very polite and timely. There was this huge forklift moving trucks around and I just cringed. Saw the M36A2 that just sold get its fuel tank bent up in the process.
On the pictures of my truck after the trip you can see all the fuel that leaked out. Dad with the chase van called once to ask if I was tired, I had weaved a bit . I said no the glovebox had an Army roll of paper towles in it. And I was moving wads around to soak up the fuil on the floorboard. So after that if we had the road all to ourself I would tear off a wad and call back to say I would be dancing for awhile, and not to worry.
The truck stayed wet but never got any worse than the innitial flow and the leak was not to be found. New steering gear box and collum. Drives as easy as an F150, except curves.
Lots of pictures in my album, more to follow.