M46A2C Brutus lives on

[TB58]

I one go out before I left, a different one go out in Canada, both of those and one more went out when I was almost to Bragg. Possibly how I am assembling them?

 

[red]

Could be corrosion on the axle at the sealing surface.

I'd also check the weight at another scale location, just to verify. Granted the deuce will handle the weight, you are finding the weak links.

Is that camper made from a old shop trailer, like a m750?

 

[TB58]

One of the hubs has new bearings and seats which is what the seal seals to. When I pull the. Apart I will inspect them thoroughly, see if there are any burs or gouges.

The box is original to the truck. It was a water filtration unit commonly called an ERDLator. The link is to some info on it. The pictures shown are the smaller version, mine was the 3000gpm version. Not a whole lot of info out there on them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERDLator

 

[rustystud]

One of the hubs has new bearings and seats which is what the seal seals to. When I pull the. Apart I will inspect them thoroughly, see if there are any burs or gouges.

The box is original to the truck. It was a water filtration unit commonly called an ERDLator. The link is to some info on it. The pictures shown are the smaller version, mine was the 3000gpm version. Not a whole lot of info out there on them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERDLator

I'm sure the military never had the ERDLator running over rough terrain. Just bring it into a site and leave it there until the camp moved. It is a beast of a thing though and should have been installed on a 5 ton truck !

 

[TB58]

I certainly agree this thing should have been mounted on a 5 ton. The Deuce can handle it on the flat just fine, but even there it is really pushing its limitations. I am waiting for the day that some one stops to talk to me and says, hey thats an old ERDlator, I used to drive one of those. I would really enjoy picking their brain. All in all it seems to be doing what I need, just need to get everything up to date. I really think the transmissions were due to disuse. The hub seals I am just going to have to learn how to properly install them. It may take me a few sets but I will figure it out.

 

[TB58]

I am pretty much done in processing, and will be reporting to my unit on Monday. I am not sure how this will affect my ability to work on the problems. I went by the Auto Skills shop today (I don't think the camp ground would be happy with me doing major maintenance in one of their RV spots) and they have one spot that Brutus will fit into. The down side is they are open, IIRC, 0800-1800 on Saturday then are closed until Thursday. This puts a time limit on projects I can do.

I decided that since I will be pulling four of my six hubs apart I may as well do a brake job while I am in there. I will also be pulling apart the front end to replace boots and try to track down some shaking issues that have developed.

The other major maintenance procedure I will be doing is replacing the head gaskets. I have the complete motor gasket set. I haven't opened it up to verify which head gaskets I have. I will be doing that before I take anything apart. I have been reading through threads on this and I think I have a decent grasp on the task. I hate doing major maintenance on my only vehicle, but it needs to be done. Supposedly the motor only has about 5000 miles on it, so I'm sure only one of the heads will be horribly warped. Maybe I will rent a car for a week or so, that will allow me to take my time on the work and do all the fine details that make all the difference.

 

[TB58]

Well I got off work a bit early today and thought it would be a great time to head over to the Auto Skills shop on post. I got there about 1530 and they close at 8. My plan was to rebuild hubs, starting with the rear axle and work forward. I thought I could get through at least one axle today no problem. While I had it apart I was also going to replace the rubber brake hoses, wheel cylinders, shoes and springs. Not having any issues with the brakes, but figured since I will have them apart, again, I should do some preventive maintenance. Turns out I was way over optimistic in my abilities.

I got everything set up and ready and dove into the left rear hub. It was leaking bad so when I got the hub/drum off I took it to the parts washer and cleaned it up really nice. Then I knocked out the old races, packed the bearings and did a time check. Wow, already 5, well no worries I should have time to do the brakes and hub on this corner and be done with at least one. outer race went right in no issues. then the inner race. That one probably took me an hour by its self. I started out being very methodical about it, trying to keep it nice and even and not just beat on it. It would start then go off axis and bind. Eventually I lost my patience and just started banging on it and well, that just happened to work. Seems to be a reoccurring thing. Got the race in about 1845, the staff had been bugging me about getting out of their shop for a while at this point. Lucky I hadn't started taking the brakes apart yet and they were in good shape. I quickly put everything back together and pulled out of the bay at about 1950, they close at 2000.

Got one hub mostly done. not as much as I wanted but it is at least a start. On the upside I got invited to be in a car show on October 3rd. It will be at the Ft Bragg fairgrounds and is open to everyone. He really wants more MV's to be in it. Though if I am the only one I will be able to say that Brutus won at a car show.

 

[Tracer]

Great rig, a go any where hotel! Just out of curiosity how did the Subaru come out after the altercation with the ladder?

 

[TB58]

You know tracer when I realized what she had done I envisioned the bumper hanging off dragging on the ground and all kinds of carnage. To my surprise I couldn't even find a scratch. All I can figure is she cranked the wheel full lock, backed up and caught the ladder with the tread of the tire. In the end I guess we were lucky, also compelled me to find the folding ladder which is much easier to handle than the military ladder.

I have come to a decision. Brutus will be painted white. I was going to try and edit a photo to get an Idea how it would look but either I or my computer aren't smart enough to do it. I am thinking a semi-gloss. Would prefer the look of flat but that would look good for about 5 minutes then soak up every drop of oil, speck of dirt and what ever else and just look nasty.

This will be more of a tribute truck than anything else, I want to paint the hood markings, door/hood star and bumper numbers from the unit I was in up there that is now decommissioned. I was going to try and edit a photo to get an Idea how it would look but either I or my computer aren't smart enough to do it. Haven't decided if everything will be white or if it would look better with the grill, mirror brackets, wheels, and the rack on the back painted semi-gloss black.

I have quite a few things inline ahead of this project but would really like to get it done before I go to Korea next year. I will take some pictures of the current paint to see how in depth people thing the prep work will need to go.

This is all assuming I don't find a M928 for a really good price. If I do find one it may end up still being white. Or Brutus with the 928's cargo bed may end up white while frankentruck becomes green.....who knows.

 

[TB58]

Got up this morning and headed over to the Auto Skills shop to get some work done. By the time I got into the only bay I could fit in and set up to start work I had about 5 and a half hours to work. Turns out that is exactly how long I needed to get one wheel done.

I am going through each hub replacing seals, bearings, brake shoes, wheel cylinders, and brake hardware. It seems like it shouldn't take that long to get it done but one wheel a day seems to be what I can get through.
you can see that the hub seal has been leaking, half the friction surface is oil contaminated. I cleaned the drum up in a solvent tank and replaced the shoes

I first looked at the wheel cylinder and was tempted to be lazy since there was no evidence of leakage on the outside of the boots. found this and was happy I didn't go the lazy route,

everything removed and a can of brake cleaner later ready to reassemble.

By now the people running the shop were giving me a countdown to closing so I didn't take anymore pictures. It is amazing how quickly being reminded every 10 minutes you have a deadline approaching gets annoying.

Next weekend I will have Friday off. I am trying to decide if I should continue on the hubs or tear into the head gaskets. I found a place in town that will be able to resurface the heads, but it will take them anywhere from one to three days. That would mean a rental car and hotel for at least a week.

When I do take the heads in what all should I have them do? Boil the heads, check for cracks, resurface, grind the valves?

 

[rustystud]

Don't feel so bad about your progress. At work (transit agency) we can take up to a week to do all the brakes on a 60ft bus. That is 3 shifts working on it. Of course we replace everything including the "S" cam bushings, plus our brake drums weigh in at 250Ibs and the whole wheel assembly weighs in at 850Ibs . It takes time and care to install big stuff.

 

[red]

I'd finish the brakes first, one task at a time.

With the heads you could pick up a spare to have rebuilt at the machine shop and swap it out. Might be cheaper than the hotel and car rental. For a week.

 

[TB58]

I was looking at a little 1969 CJ-5 at the lemon lot the other day. When I looked underneath it I had a sudden urge to buy it just so I could work on something that small and light.

I'm not overly upset at the progress I am making, Just way slower than anything I have worked on before.

Red, you are probably right, stick with one thing until it is done so I don't lose my place. I dream of the day that I have my own shop and a second car to drive. I hadn't thought about getting a second set of heads, I will do some price comparison and see which way to go.

This evening I went over to the car wash and went to town on the underside and engine with degreaser, even scrubbed the sides down. Doesn't look much different, but I think I dropped a few pounds of dirt and grease. This should make working on it in the future a little more pleasant. Any recommendations for cleaning gear oil off of tires?

 

[red]

Simple Green works pretty well on other oils, worth a shot.

Being on the east now parts are much more common so shouldn't be hard to find some spare heads to have worked over.

A second vehicle is nice to have. That's what I use a motorcycle for haha.

 

[TB58]

I'll give simple green a try. looking at the parts houses, anywhere from 3-500 per head, now to dig through the classifieds to see if anyone is selling some cheaper.
I was going to do the motorcycle thing, but I will have to get back to Alaska to get the endorsement on my license

 

[red]

Hahahaha wow I hope that's for new or rebuilt heads. Might have a usable set available for an LDT, will know this weekend.

 

[TB58]

upper end is new, lower end is "good used"

 

[TB58]

Made a disheartening discovery today. After only about 1000 miles the first hub that I had replaced bearings, races, seals, and all brake components on started to leak again. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. As the bearings wear in will they become looser and need to be tightened to set the seal?

On a brighter note, I have a set of heads, head gaskets, manifold gaskets, and hardware waiting for me at my brothers shop. Over the Thanksgiving weekend we will be going through the engine in the attempt to stop oil and exhaust leaks. It will be nice to be able to close the windshield and not breath exhaust fumes. While in there we will also mess with the fuel settings and see if we can't stop the smoke.

Also waiting for me at my brothers place is an arctic grill cover. I drove around quite a bit this last weekend, probably around 100 miles up and down the Nc hills and was fairly adamant about maintaining speed. Through the drive the temp never went above about 155*F. I have verified the accuracy of my temp gauge with an IR thermometer so I am confident that it isn't lying to me.

Still so many things I need/want to get done, all it takes is time and money. I look at other trucks on here that so clean you could eat off the axles, I dream of the day that I am not loosing fluid of one kind or another. I keep working my way to that goal, some days I feel I am closer to it, and others I feel like it is unattainable. I am close to 8000 miles since I bought Brutus so I guess I can't be too upset about the issues that are coming up.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Only 8,000? I've put 4,000 on mine since I put my new motor and trans in, literally finishing a couple of days before the GA rally.

 

[rustystud]

Made a disheartening discovery today. After only about 1000 miles the first hub that I had replaced bearings, races, seals, and all brake components on started to leak again. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. As the bearings wear in will they become looser and need to be tightened to set the seal?

On a brighter note, I have a set of heads, head gaskets, manifold gaskets, and hardware waiting for me at my brothers shop. Over the Thanksgiving weekend we will be going through the engine in the attempt to stop oil and exhaust leaks. It will be nice to be able to close the windshield and not breath exhaust fumes. While in there we will also mess with the fuel settings and see if we can't stop the smoke.

Also waiting for me at my brothers place is an arctic grill cover. I drove around quite a bit this last weekend, probably around 100 miles up and down the Nc hills and was fairly adamant about maintaining speed. Through the drive the temp never went above about 155*F. I have verified the accuracy of my temp gauge with an IR thermometer so I am confident that it isn't lying to me.

Still so many things I need/want to get done, all it takes is time and money. I look at other trucks on here that so clean you could eat off the axles, I dream of the day that I am not loosing fluid of one kind or another. I keep working my way to that goal, some days I feel I am closer to it, and others I feel like it is unattainable. I am close to 8000 miles since I bought Brutus so I guess I can't be too upset about the issues that are coming up.

Oil leaks happen. That is just the nature of moving vehicles. There are many reasons why the seal could be leaking in so short a time. You used new bearings right ? Did you get them tight enough when you assembled it ? I torque the wheel bearings down to around 250 to 300ft Ibs, then back them off about 60 degrees then tighten then up 30 more degrees. This seems to help "seat" the bearings better then what the manuals say to do. Also did the seal go in straight ? If it got "cocked" any at all it could cause a leak as the seal is not setting on the shaft properly. Did you "knick" the seal during installation ? This happens a lot when trying to guide the hub back on the shaft. The seal catches the threaded shaft and gets a slight tear on it. Did the seal feel tight in its bore ? Sometimes the hub itself is worn out where the seals mount into
the bore. I always use a RTV sealant on all my seals mounting surfaces. I really like the "Ultra Gray" Permatex as it can handle high heat applications.
These are just some of the things that can happen when installing new bearings and seals. Sorry you're experiencing all these difficulties but just remember your gaining experience and "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger" !