M35A3 Questions?????

[RIDDLE1]

Ok so I am looking at picking up a M35A3 next week and have a few questions some of you A3 guy might be able to help with.

1. The tachometer is acting crazy. It only wants to read the RPMs some of the time. It seems that it only wants to work when you are mashing the throttle pretty hard. Anyone else had this issue? I found a tach on ebay I can buy if you think this will fix the problem.

2. The CTIS is unhooked but 4 tires loose air over the period of a week, Should I(can I) Just take the stuff at the wheels?

3. I need a picture of the driver side of the motor if anyone can get me one. The crankcase vent seem to have a spot for a screw on filter but there is not on there. Any ideas?

4. The tires on this truck bounce pretty good. Id this just an issue with the bias ply tires or can they be balanced?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[glcaines]

1. Don't buy a new tach until you diagnose the problem.
2. The most likely cause for the tires losing air is leaky grommets under the valve stems where the seal to the wheels. The o-rings could also be leaking. This is a very common problem.
3. There is nothing missing where you are looking. The CAT 3116 engine is used in many civilian applications where this port is used. The military does not use it.
4. All A3s wobble while driving. The tires are NOT bias ply, they are Michelin radials if it has the original tires.. I run 60 PSI in the tires instead of the 45 the Army used. This helps. Don't go over 60 PSI, because this is the maximum the Michelin two-piece wheels are rated for and you might blow an O-ring. You will likely need to break down each leaking wheel and replace the valve stem grommets and the o-rings. Valve stem nuts are torqued to 45-60 Lb-Ft, but it is common to find them loose due to dry and cracked grommets. Erik's has the o-rings and grommets.

 

[RIDDLE1]

Thanks for the info glcaines!

What I would really like to do is take all the CTIS stuff off the wheels and just have more conventional valve stems on each wheel. CTIS is nothing that impresses me! Just looks like a head ache!

 

[mktopside]

CTIS is a good system, and if you replaced all the grommets and o-rings on all the wheels it would probably work fine. However, I understand exactly what you are saying, and if it didn't look cool and wasn't a cool conversation piece, I would have ripped mine off a while ago.

If you do take it off, do so in a way where you could put it back on later if you wanted.

If you take off the CTIS, all the nuts and weights that go with it, and the shield..... Your wobble will be greatly reduced.

 

[RIDDLE1]

CTIS is a good system, and if you replaced all the grommets and o-rings on all the wheels it would probably work fine. However, I understand exactly what you are saying, and if it didn't look cool and wasn't a cool conversation piece, I would have ripped mine off a while ago.

If you do take it off, do so in a way where you could put it back on later if you wanted.

If you take off the CTIS, all the nuts and weights that go with it, and the heat shield..... Your wobble will be greatly reduced.

Getting rid of that wobble would be great!

Anybody got pics of an A3 with the CTIS stuff off of the wheels?

 

[mktopside]

Well, there are ways to get rid of the wobble without ditching the CTIS. Short version: Get yourself some RH lug nuts, and install them on the wheel weight side of the wheel.

There's a little more to it then that, but if you understand the concept of balancing the weight of all that crap on the wheel, you'll get it figured out. You jut have to play with it a little.

Driving also helps, put the front tires at 60 and go for a drive, you'll see the difference and after a few hundred miles the tires might start to wear out the flat spots that they all have.

 

[RIDDLE1]

Well, there are ways to get rid of the wobble without ditching the CTIS. Short version: Get yourself some RH lug nuts, and install them on the wheel weight side of the wheel.

There's a little more to it then that, but if you understand the concept of balancing the weight of all that crap on the wheel, you'll get it figured out. You jut have to play with it a little.

Driving also helps, put the front tires at 60 and go for a drive, you'll see the difference and after a few hundred miles the tires might start to wear out the flat spots that they all have.

Has anyone ever had any luck with balancing powder like goes is Semi's? I know it would screw with the CTIS but I really don't care.

 

[CobraCDR]

Definitely check out the seals and 0-rings before you fully scrap the CTIS. If the tires keep loosing air over time, it's most likely not the CTIS.

 

[RealCavDog]

Thanks for the info glcaines!

What I would really like to do is take all the CTIS stuff off the wheels and just have more conventional valve stems on each wheel. CTIS is nothing that impresses me! Just looks like a head ache!

One on E-pay from Odessa, Missouri awhile ago, tracked the numbers on it to a GL auction from Louisiana, and they all had it removed, kind of plain looking, I myself like the look with it intact. If it works, it is great, if not, your correct, a real pain !


Not a fan of the internal powders, but do like the Centramatic style balancers on over the road tractors, need to see if available in 6-lug 20 inch .

 

[mktopside]

Has anyone ever had any luck with balancing powder like goes is Semi's? I know it would screw with the CTIS but I really don't care.

I'm sure it would work fine if the CTIS was removed. With t still there you'd eventually end up with some of that balancing media stuck in a wheel valve.....or worse.

 

[PowerstrokeNC]

I just turned my CTIS off using the controller in the cab and all my "leaking" issues stopped. I manually adjust pressure by the valve stems on the wheels and all seems to be OK.

 

[AceHigh]

I have been doing a lot of work on my A3 tachometer. I did buy one off a vendor, supposed to be A3 but I am pretty sure it was HUMMWV or something, not a A3. Yours could be as easy as adjusting the sender on the bellhousing at the flywheel. It can get metal scraps on it or can become loose and be too far away from the flywheel teeth to read correctly.

Read this thread:

http://www.m35a3.net/forum/index.php/topic,218.0.html

Enjoy your new toy!

 

[olewhiskey]

Getting rid of that wobble would be great!

Anybody got pics of an A3 with the CTIS stuff off of the wheels?

Here you go,my latest, straight from the Georgia National Guard. BTW they replaced all the filters and hoses before they turned it in. They also completely removed the CTIS from the wheels and lines, with new stems and seals.

 

[RIDDLE1]

Here you go,my latest, straight from the Georgia National Guard. BTW they replaced all the filters and hoses before they turned it in. They also completely removed the CTIS from the wheels and lines, with new stems and seals.

Thanks for the pics! Does the truck still have the "wobble" since all of that has been removed?

 

[olewhiskey]

Thanks for the pics! Does the truck still have the "wobble" since all of that has been removed?

Can't tell you, no road time yet, just lot drive, Moving it from off base storage to about two hours way, we will know then for sure.

 

[jonsm114]

M35A3 Tire issues

Just picked up mine wednesday at Ft Riley. 2-semi flat tires and one really flat one. CTIS inop. Aired them up with compresser. Will be investigating the O ring issues.

 

[Monkeyboyarmy]

I would consider removing the vent line off of the top of the transmission. I know of a half a dozen trannys that have been ruined because of the vent line getting plugged.

 

[mktopside]

I would consider removing the vent line off of the top of the transmission. I know of a half a dozen trannys that have been ruined because of the vent line getting plugged.

Or just blowing it out with compressed air. There's no reason to remove it.

 

[CobraCDR]

Why would the military have removed the CTIS? Has anyone else run into this before?

 

[PowerstrokeNC]

Nice trucks!