Fixing the 1998 HMMWV

[mrandig]

I was able to accomplish a few other items this week.

Fuel filter and water separator - this is a pain to get to.



Remove the two upper hoses (fuel inlet / outlet), disconnect the transducer, remove that lower hose (drain), and unscrew the bolt clamping the bracket together. Bend open the bracket. Bend it open a lot*, then remove the fuel filter housing.

*Note - there's probably a gentler way to do this, but this way works for me.



Access the fuel filter element and water separator by removing the top cover - there's three bolts at the top of the housing. In my case, neither the filter nor water separator looked particularly bad, but now it's done; I don't have to wonder if they need to be changed.



Replace the fuel filter, water separator and o-ring, then replace the cover (50-60 in/lbs.) and reinstall the assembly back into the bracket. A small pair of vice grips helps to clamp the bracket together until it is screwed tight. Reconnect the transducer as well as all three of the hoses (10-20 in/lbs.).

Finally, the fuel filter will need to be bled. I can't perform this step right now, as I don't have batteries installed and it requires the engine to be turned over a few times. I'll do this once I get further along with my repairs.

 

[mrandig]

Air obstruction gauge - A few weeks ago while replacing my turn signal lever, I had managed to bump the reset button on my air obstruction gauge, damaging it. Basically, I broke it off.



Needless to say, it was probably on it's way out before my help. Apparently, it had either deteriorated badly or had been gorilla'd into place so roughly both the gauge assembly and the face plate were also cracked.



The replacement kit comes with a new gauge, new vacuum hose, and a replacement fitting. I didn't need to replace the fitting, but a few minutes to replace the vacuum hose, and two screws to replace the gauge, and we're good as new.

 

[mrandig]

Parking brake replacement - It's only taken six weeks, but I did get a replacement parking brake and finally was able to get it installed.

The release button on the original parking brake had basically disintegrated, due to age and exposure.



Probably the worst part of this project was removing the insulation. And cleaning. Lots of cleaning. It was really dirty underneath. It's still kind of dirty, I'm just over it at this point. It is an improvement however...



Looking at the insulation after having been removed, I don't think there's much to save. What's a little more money at this point?





The removal of the old and the installation of the new parking brake wasn't too bad. Both the insulation and the parking brake does require two people, which is why this particular task has taken this long. There's nothing heavy or complicated, it's just that the fasteners all bolt through the body and are fastened on the opposite side.



Looking good. I'll probably run this truck without insulation for the time being, until I decide it's too hot and/or too noisy. I'm more interested in getting on the road at this point.

 

[mrandig]

Tarp tie downs - this task was not important and definitely not urgent. However, there is something to be said for therapeutic and thoughtless.

There's a total of 14 tarp tie downs that are attached to the body. Each one is fastened with two nuts and two bolts, or in my case, a piece of string. They are all in pretty bad shape.





A few were missing. I'll purchase a couple of these over the weekend, just so we've got a complete set. I still don't have a tarp to tie down however. I just can't stand for things to be incomplete.



Everybody into the pool.



I think these turned out pretty good. One is too damaged to use, but the others seem fine. Based on the surface finish, my media may be a little too coarse, but the end result should be OK.



I'm going to put a black oxide coating on these tonight. I'll follow up with the results in a few hours.

 

[mrandig]

Here's the completed tie downs after black oxide.

Before:



Caswell black oxide concentrate. 1:10 mixture with distilled water for 10min.


Caswell penetrating sealant. Dip for 5min. and air dry.


Finished product. They take a while to dry, so they will lose their gloss by tomorrow.

Should hold up for a long time. Looks snazzy.

 

[mrandig]

Two-man soft top kit - I finally got around to installing the soft top kit. Working inside the cabin, I needed as much ambient light as possible, but now that we've made some progress, it was time get this kit at least partially installed. It takes an extra pair of hands, and I've got some today.

Rear curtain - the bottom still needs to be tucked behind the cab partition, but I can't move the driver's seat forward (yet). At least it's in for now.


Repairs needed - any damaged turnbuckles (are they?) can be repaired by with new rivets.






Roof & Doors - the soft-top slides into the channel at the top of the front windshield, then gets a flip. Once the doors are assembled, they get a bit of grease on the pins, and then just need to be tweaked until they close properly.






That's about as far as we can get with this right now. What's left to finish will only take a few minutes when the time comes. I've still got a few things to do inside the cabin, so the roof is just folded forward for now (for light).

 

[mrandig]

This is an ominous sign of what's about to come next. Engine parts on are on order and inbound...


Next up for replacement:
- Water pump
- Belt tensioner
- Power steering pump
- Serpentine belt
- Hydro-boost unit
- All high-pressure steering hoses
- All low-pressure steering hoses
- Heater core
- All flex-ducts

This is assuming I don't find more along the way.

 

[mrandig]

I decided to replace the radiator also. I should have it from Champion by the end-of-week, or early next.

I guess I'll go work in the garden until everything shows up.

 

[mrandig]

This morning, I decided that one way or another, the driver's seat was going to move; and it was going to be a battle to the death.

First, some light persuasion with a dead blow hammer. I didn't have much room to get behind the seat, as it was all the way back. I was really just hitting the base with the side of the head.


After some PB Blaster, some stronger persuasion including a few dozen more strikes, it looks like there's now some movement.


Now in a frenzy, after a few dozen more strikes, now it's starting to noticeably move.


At this point, some white lithium grease on the seat tracks. I may come to regret this later, as old lithium grease becomes sticky, and this truck is full of sand.


Now a bigger hammer.


Success! I win.


Now I'm going to have to remember where I put the seat bolts to reinstall. Before that, however, it looks like there's going to need to be more cleaning. More cleaning...

 

[mrandig]

You'd think there was only so much I could post about tie-downs. I have more.

If I can save $100 on something, I'm going to do it myself.

Here's the tarp tie-downs after treatment and drying.


Even though I want these to be matte black, I am putting a coat of wax on these tie-downs just for protection. I'm sure it will dull quickly. It's unlikely I'll be doing this more than this one time, as I can't see ever waxing an HMMWV.


New hardware. From the good people at Amazon. #10-32x5/8".


Final install pics.

 

[mrandig]

For the last activity of this evening, I'm going to spend a little while cleaning hardware.

Is this activity essential? Not particularly, if we're solely focused on operation; but if the goal is to turn back the clock a while on this truck and freshen things up, then something has to be done with all of the little pieces and parts. Besides, I hate working with all of this fine sand.

For this cleaning extravaganza, I've got four different options at hand, as I speak:
1. Wire brush;
2. Blast cabinet;
3. Media tumbler; or
4. Ultrasonic cleaner.

Tonight, we'll use the ultrasonic cleaner on all of interior parts we removed last weekend. I've had this cleaner forever, and it works great (Amazon??). It uses high-frequency sound waves to scrub the parts clean. For the bath, I just have these parts in @4:1 mix of water and simple green.


Here's the parts before cleaning. This is a mix of hardware used to secure the cabin insulation, seat hardware, hood hinge pins, footman loops, etc.


Here we go. The parts are a little crowded here, but it should be ok.


The timer is set to 480 seconds, and temperature is on high.


Results after first wash.


Results after second wash.


Caution: parts may be hot.

These turned out really good. If I really wanted to go nuts, I could break out a toothbrush a give them an additional scrub, but this should be enough. I'll put them up to dry overnight and we'll take another look tomorrow morning.

 

[mrandig]

I wasn't planning on writing about radiator combs this morning, but here we are.

This is actually an alternative to radiator combs. This works for me; your results may vary.

Here's a plastic tool for interior trim. I don't remember how expensive it was, but I don't think it was very much. I know I bought a full set of these back in the day at O'Rielly's Auto for maybe $25?


The nice thing about this tool is that it is tapered and longer than most combs from Amazon or the local parts place. It only does one row at a time, but it does a good job. This is tedious, but if it's worth doing...

Obviously don't use the wide face; use the narrow side.

Below are some pics of today's battle with my transmission cooler. It was beat like it had owed someone money at some point. I'm not done yet, and there's still some additional straightening needed in spots, but good enough for now. There are some areas that are so bad they're not going to be fixable.

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Full view after <1 hour's work:


This also works great on the power steering cooler. The radiator should be getting replaced sometime over the next few days.

Until next time, friends!