M211...custom??

[sandcobra164]

Russ,
Do you have some 15/16" pins that we can use? Also, people who may know more about this, can I use the feet from my medium towbar that is set up for pulling M35A2's, M809 series trucks?

Thanks,

Joseph

 

[Atomic]

Alright...I am about to go insane trying to upload these photos. Where's that little head banging smiley.

Well as I posted earlier I will try and uplaod them this weekend.

Post to the masses....What color would you go with???? OD? Sand? Both? Black?
Just looking for ideas and inspiration. Thanks.

 

[Atomic]

Joseph,

I think we posted at the same time here. What kind of pins? Screw or quick?

I was going to post this question tonight.

Russ

 

[Oldfart]

The medium tow bar seems to use several different feet depending on what you are towing. I recently bought a pile O'towbars from GL and all the mediums came with 3/4 inch pin feet. There are 1 inch pin feet and then I have seen a foot that has a 1 inch pin on one side and 3/4 inch on the other as well. If your purchase actually has 15/16 inch pin front shackle brackets, the 3/4 inch pins will be sloppy and the 1 inch will not fit. My M220 came to me directly from the army with no shackles on the front and holes in the shackle brackets that would accecpt 1 inch pins. At this point I am assuming someone in the motor pool drilled my brackets out so they could use a medium tow bar with 1 inch pins (ala M35) to tow it to DRMO in the neighboring state. I plan on using M35 lift shackles as they will fit my drilled out brackets.

I have modified several of my 3/4 inch pin feet to fit the holes for a 1 inch pin by using a farm tractor 3 point upper conversion bushing (number 2 to number 1) which has an outside diameter of 1 inch and an inside diamater of 3/4 inch. I had to mill or cut off about a quarter inch of the bushing so it made a snug fit in the foot. The bushings cost about $1 each at our local John Deere dealer. I have not yet found on the shelf bushings that are 3/4 inch inside and 15/16 inch outside.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

 

[sandcobra164]

My towbar feet are set up to use the 1" pins. Can I use them with a 15/16" pin and hook to the front of this truck I need to pull?

Thanks,

Joseph

 

[docfarmall]

 

[AMGeneral]

My towbar feet are set up to use the 1" pins. Can I use them with a 15/16" pin and hook to the front of this truck I need to pull?

Thanks,

Joseph

Should work,I have used the 3/4 pins and feet to flat tow a M135 with a M35,but as always,use crossed saftey chains of at least 1/2 inch diameter rated for the load of the towed vehicle.

 

[sandcobra164]

Well, the truck is safely in Russ's hands now. We ran into a few minor hiccups on the recovery but all together it went smooth. The brakes didn't want to release until Russ backed the adjustments back down all the way. Then the Deuce did fine with it. Enjoy the pics! The truck has some surface rust but I couldn't find any bad spots anywhere on it. It should be nice when he get's done with it. Russ is a heck of a nice guy for those that may not know him. Edit, this truck's front tow points accepted the 1" pins with no problem!!!

 

[nattieleather]

It's cool that it has the XT (XL? XZ?) tires on it. But they look like they are touching each other or is that a camera illusion?

Truck looks great. I'm looking forward to lots of pictures of it as you go through your rebuild and customizing.

 

[hndrsonj]

Are those 12.50x20's? Sandcobra what kind of tires are you running? Firestone 831's?

 

[sandcobra164]

Russ's truck has 14.5x20's in the pics. Yes the rears are nearly touching but there's a little gap between them. hndrsonj, those are indeed Firestone 831's, 11x20.

 

[sandcobra164]

I love pictures so here's some from today with a very young Steel Soldier and "Gertie". I left my truck at Russ's last night so it could take a nap after working a little on the recovery and the Family and I went to go pick it up this afternoon.

 

[Atomic]

Big thanks go to Joseph (aka sandcobra) and his wife for helping me get this thing home. Yep, I went with "Gertie".

Well, here is the bad part of the recovery.

Before I go on I want to say this: If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it. If after reading this, you feel compeled to say something that makes you look like the all knowing lord of everything and it makes YOU feel better, well then, go right ahead.

As sandcobra said the brakes were an issue from the first mile of road. We released the fluid, tapped on the drums, pushed it in reverse and then finally wound up cranking out the screw as far as it would go. That solved the that. I won on that account but I will be most likely be replacing the pads all the way around and get the drums checked for warpping.

Now the fun begins. While pulled over to check the tow, again, I noticed smoke coming from the cab. I open the door and smoke is coming out of the shift tower from the floor. Jumped under the truck only to find smoke and oil pouring out of the transmission. It was literally bubbling out between the gaskets and I could hear it bubbling inside.

Well my heart sank along with my wallet at that point. I had toasted the transmission before I even had the truck running.

After we hooked it up I natrualy went to the cab and released the parking brake, ensured the transmission was in neutral and then pushed down on the transfer case lever. It said down as neutral. What I did not understand is that there is a detent between the ranges and neutral is pushed over and then down.

In the end, we both arrived safe, the truck made it to my house and I still think the I got a good deal even if I destroyed the tranny.

I made a mistake to be sure and I only blame myself for not checking it over one more time. There maybe a silver lining to this though. Now I have time to really look it over. Check and recheck various parts and get to know the truck inside and out.

Honestly, when Joseph's kids were playing around it the following day I felt much better. One of those bright moments that you need when your down.

Thanks again to Sandcobra and the advise people have offered.

Russ aka "Atomic the bone head"

 

[Varyag]

Ohh man, my condolences on the tranny. Time for a stick!

You know what I think, a 6bt would be real nice with the new manual.

 

[AMGeneral]

Well Russ,I gotta ask,what gear was the selector lever in when you stopped?
The reason I ask is the GMCs with the hydramatic have a rear pump in the trans so it can be push or pull started,If it was in F1 high you may be OK engine wise,if it was in any other gear and the trans was in decent shape not only was the trans turning,but the engine was as well.

In the pics,it loks as if it was in neutral,so it may have just smoked the rear pump in the trans,so all may not be lost after all.

 

[jollyroger]

And BTW you are not a bone head. No one knows everthing. Most of us learn the hard way at some point with these trucks. What is important is that the truck is home and no one lost an eye or a finger.

The brakes may have dragged because rust builds up in the drums when they sit. If it builds up too much it will not let the tires turn. I bet if you get the drums machined at your local parts store on their brake lathe they will work again. Wheel cylinders not leaking or being stuck is a whole other matter. You can check those when you have the drums off. There is a rubber dust cup on both sides of the wheel cyl. Just carefully roll the dust cap away from the center of the cyl and see if any fluid drains out. If so they leak and should be rebuilt/replaced.

 

[Atomic]

You know what I think, a 6bt would be real nice with the new manual.

I think you may be on to something.

Thanks guys. Still hurts the ego some. As far as I know the trans was in neutral the whole time. It was the transfer case that was in low range. It was not smoking at all. Just the tranny and badly.

 

[Stan Leschert]

Pull it apart, and see what actually is smoked. These trucks were built tough for a reason. Post pics as you go.

 

[YkDave]

chit happens, not too much you can do other than fix your mistake and hope it doesnt happen again!

Like mentioned, these things have a rear pump. which, while allowing you to be able to pull start the truck, also was the killer for you.

Chances are, if it got hot enough to start burning the oil, their isnt a whole lot of salvageable parts left. maybe some of the hard parts if your lucky. but you wouldnt know until its torn down.

 

[nattieleather]

Been there done that! M211 died and I used a buddies 5 ton to tow it home. Went about six miles when my wife flashed the headlights on her car for me to pull over. Pulled over and the trans was pouring oil on the ground and smoking. I had done the same thing thought all was in nutral, but found out the transfercase wasn't. So don't feel bad your not alone. After that the rest of the way home the 5 ton pulled with ease...

BTW after I fixed the motor and got it running I topped off the transmission with fresh oil and it worked just like it had before. Just boiled a little oil I guess.... So maybe you'll get lucky like I did.