M35A3 TIRE Size

[clb076]

Went to Pineville GL site to pick up my A3 friday. Got there and there was a representative there to help. all three tires on the right side were flat and dryrotted. When we tried to air them up off my Peterbuilt the right rear blew at about 40 psi. At that point the representative (a large 6-4" Black Lieutenant) screamed and did everything short of dive from the cab of the truck. It shook him up to the point that he didn't have any intentions of trying to start it anymore, so he loaded it with a crane.



When I got it back I replaced the fuel filter, batteries and gave it some new diesel and the 9K mile truck started right up. 4 hours later and a changed front right tire I drove it off the trailer. Mechanically it seems that everything works with little or no surface rust on any of the drive gear, but the Cab is going to require some fairly extensive sheet metal work. Marks on the truck show that it was stationed in Belize. Nothing like sea spray .

My question is where can I find O-Rings for the A3 wheels? Also, what is the size difference between the tires at the attached link and the 14.5's that came on the truck? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Goodyear or Michelin XL 14.00R20 47" x 20" 4x4 Military Construction Tires | eBay

 

[M35A2-AZ]

The 14.5x20 tires for the A3 are hard to find and they COST A LOT new!!
I have seen $600-$1000 plus for NOS tires.

The A3 has MPT type tires and wheels and that limits the tires you can run.
Some say the 395x20 will work, but I have no first hand use on this.
The 14x20 are to big for a standard A3, They are like 53" tall, I think?


I would try to find some used tires at some of the supplies guy.

I think Erik has the o-rings.
Rim O-Ring For Two Piece Rims on M35A3 / M939A2, 12363606
Some good tire supply houses may have them also.

Good luck!!! and welcome to SS!!

 

[MrM4]

16.00-20s are 53" 14.00-20s are 49" IIRC.

 

[clb076]

As cheap and close as the 14.0R20's are to me it may be worth a shot at least for a spare and to keep my right rears off the ground for the time being. I plan to get my bob project underway as soon as my EUC clears on the M105. Honestly, I'm surprised the beast ran as well as it did. Nothing more gratifying than driving it off the trailer after watching it get picked up and put on like a heap of scrap . In the mean time do you guys have any suggestions on what I should check out mechanically? Thanks for all the help again!

 

[M813rc]

14.00s are too big for you truck. 14.5s are roughly the same height as an 11.00.

And no, I am not suggesting replacing 14.5s with 11.00s (they won't sit properly on the rims) it is just a size reference.

Cheers

 

[CanonNinja]

no comment on the tires, but from what I've noticed on my Pineville truck, and what appears to be obvious signs of being in a flood i'll offer this:

Check the air dryer thoroughly, as well as CTIS manifold for issues... my manifold was doing funny things and causing **** until I disconnected power to it.

Check all your filters, air included... my air cleaner box was full of scaley rust and had a nice little water line.

Check all the electrical gear, I had a few bad grounds causing all sorts of weird issues.

Check your wheel valves, I had 2 bad ones what needed cleaning out... would hardly take air in, and had slow leaks.

Check the battery box connections for corrosion in the back

Cab rust - dont forget to check underneath in the "channels" that run front to rear under the doors, mine were in serious need of attention to prevent any cancerous rust

Check the bed around ALL the added tie-downs... I had essentially new CARC paint in the bed, but underneath was some pretty decent rust starting to do bad things.

 

[abh3]

Help me understand two things:

1) Are MPT tires are just on/off road with more flex in the sidewalls OR do they have a different bead angle, etc. like 16.5 tires? Manufacturers of MPT tires just tout the tires' capabilities and say little about technical aspects of the bead in the results of the limited searching I've done.

2) 14.00 tires are pretty common on GL, will they be too close together on the tandems, cause clearance issues on the front or all of the above?

Thanks!

 

[clb076]

Mine doesn't seem to show flood damage, however there are several areas where the rust is serious. Door jambs, windshield frame, battery box internals and hood are probably the most critical. It appears that the rust got to the venerable sheet metal. in those areas (i.e, around rivets, etc.) I checked the air filter prior to start-up and the inside of the breather is rust free with what appears to be a new filter. My truck still has all the CTIS valves on the wheels, but all of them are disconnected. The CTIS module was disconnected in the cab. I don't think that I am going to hassle with the CTIS system. From an electrical standpoint Everything appears to function correctly. All lights function. There is a radio installed in the cab that I cannot find any information on. I could not get to turn on, I am just going to have to research it more.

 

[CanonNinja]

post some photos of the radio if you can.

I have almost identical rust spots, mostly in the door jambs and in the bed, and little areas like fender seams and whatnot. No real bad cancer, thank God, shouldnt take but a weekend or 2 to hit it with a wire wheel and some rust-stop to get it ready for paint.

 

[clb076]

Will do. It will be later this week until I can make it back out to our shop. When did you win your truck?

 

[CanonNinja]

i actually bought it from a member here, he got it from pineville earlier this year.

 

[michaelpilot1]

I also had to deal with some tire issues on my A3 and found that since I needed two tires I could purchase a whole set of larger tires for the same price as two of the 14.5s. Before making the jump I did some research and although many think the 14.5 MPT has a different rim bead shape I am not convinced. The Bridgestone MPT is listed as a Multi Purpose Tread design and nothing is said about the bead being different. After purchasing my Goodyear 395R20 MV/T tires I compared the the bead areas and the Goodyears have a wider bead area to accomodate larger rims and higher pressures but I can not tell any difference in the bead shape. Attached is a photo of the truck with the new tires. There is a problem mounting the spare since there is not enough space between the tool box and the from drive axle tire for the larger tires. I think the 395s are as large a tire as will fit on the M35s and although the 11R20 tires are the same diameter as the 14.5s they are narrower and I dont think they would fit the wide A3 rims without distorting the tread. Good luck.

 

[CanonNinja]

oh, forgot to add.... OP, check the headlight mounts as well, mine both have some nastiness that needs a good bead blasting and repaint

 

[Rustygears]

The mpt is a different bead configuration in both size and angle than other rims. Your choices in stock replacement tire are either the Michelin 14.5 R20, which rot and wear quickly or the Continental mpt-81 in size 365/80 R20. The 14.5R20 size designation is now obsolete and you'll do better looking for the 365/80R20 as the search term. Even with the more modern tire designation, it is very difficult to find anyone who makes that size with the MPT style bead other than Michelin and Continental. New mich are virtually impossible to obtain. There are some folks selling pull-offs from their bob-jobs, but I would be very wary, as most of these tires have dot date codes from the 90's and should be avoided, especially on a front axle. A front blow out has the very high likelihood or roll- over, which is certain death.

I have replaced both my rotten fronts with new (2011 date codes) conti's and they cost me around $650 each, but can be much more easily obtained through a tire dealer than the original michelins. The conti mpt-81 is the stock tire for Nato and used on mil unimogs. Learn how to read the date codes to avoid old tires and search the threads here on A3 tires. There are many discussions and tales of death and near-death. True $650 for a tire isnt cheap, but neither are funerals and liability suits. You'll spend more on a surplus mil radio rig than a new tire and only one of those two will prevent a death.

 

[michaelpilot1]

The MPT tire does have a different bead seating area due to it's ability to run with extremely low tire pressures and according to Continental is therefore unsutable for truck rim and that I do agree. The depth of the seating area on the multi purpose tire is shorter and will not fit correctly on a rim with a wider seating area. However I see no safety conserns with running truck tires on the narrower lipped rims. Truck rims are designed for much higher air pressures than the A3 rims and therfore require a wider sealing area to hold the pressure. Much of this is oppinion but it is based on information that I got while researching my initial desision to purchase other than MTP tires. There is a wealth of information on the MPT tire design at the Continental website Continental Industry -MPT tires
. I feel that I made a reasonably well informed and safe desision, but obviously there are differing oppinions on that.

 

[oldguy]

A continuing M35A3 tire query

I have an A3 deuce (actually, mine is an M36A3 but the tires and wheels are the same as for the more plentiful M35A3).
My truck rides rough as **** at max speed on the highway (52 MPH) and starts getting bad at about 40 MPH. Riding behind the deuce in a chase car, I can clearly see the wheels and axles bouncing around in the rear. I am seriously thinking about installing the beads that automatically balance the tire and wheel assembly as it rolls but I have some practical concerns:
1. The A3 models have the automatic tire inflation system controlled from the driver's seat allowing the tire pressure to be made go up and down based on the traction and speed requirements. Does this in-and-out "breathing" cause a buildup of water condensate inside the tire and would this lead to the need to break the wheels down and bead blast and repaint the insides of the wheels to preserve them?
2. Does anyone know how much the tires (without the wheels) weigh; the makers of the beads say I should install 1 ounce of beads for every 13 pounds of tire weight?
3. To avoid having ceramic dust that would clog the tire valve, I am planning to use #4 lead bird shot. My thinking is that the bird shot is nice and round so it would easily roll as needed inside the tire, would not corrode inside the tire even if there is water condensate, is large enough (.130" diameter - just over 1/8") that the shot spheres would not clog the tire valve themselves. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Wayne

 

[flyxpl]

not sure if it would be an issue , but the soft lead shot may not stay round very long .

 

[Rustygears]

Please search the posts. The subject of balancing has been discussed to death. Just last week there was a new thread that has all the weight info that was requested as well as how to balance using golf balls and adding extra lug nuts at select positions.

 

[SniperCow]

I also had to deal with some tire issues on my A3 and found that since I needed two tires I could purchase a whole set of larger tires for the same price as two of the 14.5s. Before making the jump I did some research and although many think the 14.5 MPT has a different rim bead shape I am not convinced. The Bridgestone MPT is listed as a Multi Purpose Tread design and nothing is said about the bead being different. After purchasing my Goodyear 395R20 MV/T tires I compared the the bead areas and the Goodyears have a wider bead area to accomodate larger rims and higher pressures but I can not tell any difference in the bead shape. Attached is a photo of the truck with the new tires. There is a problem mounting the spare since there is not enough space between the tool box and the from drive axle tire for the larger tires. I think the 395s are as large a tire as will fit on the M35s and although the 11R20 tires are the same diameter as the 14.5s they are narrower and I dont think they would fit the wide A3 rims without distorting the tread. Good luck.

how did this work out for you?I am considering a simple bed mount spare tire holder from the 5 ton, using a bed mount crane to hoist the spare up and down. Using the spare tire room for additional fuel tank. I like the MV/T size. How did it tow with those tires ?