M35A3 service garages in Maine?

[dkconfiguration]

I'm in Bangor and I have a M35A3 in great shape but am told it needs "rusty airlines / brake lines" addressed, and there is some grease or oil leaking from the front passenger side hub near boot, and something about the dissintegrating flex hose coming off the air cleaner going in under the hood. Seems like this would be generic enough work, but two big truck garages already looked and turned it away after saying they didn't know about how to get parts if they need. Any good outfit around me that isn't scared off by a simple deuce?

 

[glcaines]

I replaced the lines myself with new lines from the local NAPA store, available in many lengths. As far as the flexible hose on the air cleaner, I looked up the part number and found them on Ebay, but listed for HMMWV . The identical same part and cheap and took approximately 15 - 20 minutes to replace. You can find it also at Oshkosh, sold by the foot. Air Cleaner Preheater Hose - Oshkosh Equipment As far as brakes go, make sure that whoever works on it understands that your truck uses DOT 5 silicone brake fluid and doesn't do something stupid like adding DOT 3 and contaminates the entire brake system. You need to find a small garage where they work on anything including cars, trucks, tractors, agricultural equipment, etc. These are very easy to work on, parts are readily available, and you have a complete set of TMs showing exactly what to do, part numbers, etc. Look for someone in a rural area, not someone in the city, or simply do the work yourself.
Nice looking truck!

 

[HDN]

I second the recommendation of taking the truck to a smaller shop. From my experience, commercial truck shops aren't really interested in working on former military trucks (or antique trucks for that matter) unless it's a HMMWV, and they'll make excuses to refuse to repair and/or inspect it. It sucks but that's the reality. Though if you were really having trouble getting an inspection on a fully-functional and safe vehicle for the above reasons, you could try to file a complaint against a shop with your state's DMV and see what happens.

Like what @glcaines said, try finding someone who works on ag equipment too. They work on old weird stuff all the time, so this shouldn't be any different. Or you could learn a thing or two and do it yourself - I got a lot more tools in my shop that way And I can even use them on my daily drivers and bigger stuff!

 

[Elk1111]

Sounds like a great time to get to know your truck and get your hands dirty. There’s nothing better than the feeling of doing the work yourself and the sense of relief know that if something goes wrong you understand the system/truck and know what to do.
Saves a lot of money too!!