M923A2 came home with me today!

[steelsoldiers]

I made an early AM parts run to John Winslow's today. I picked up the last important bits to get my truck legal and road-worthy for Aberdeen. Well, except for the windshield glass and I'll get that from the local auto glass place.

I picked up the following:
- New bumper to replace my bent one
- Used tailgate to replace the mangled one that won't close
- New valve stem
- New wheel o-ring
- 50% used tire
- New Wiper motor to replace the one I snapped the shaft off of
- West Coast mirror kit
- 2 door hinges

That should just about do me for parts I think. Now I just have to put them all on. Work party at my house this weekend

 

[doghead]

You are doing a real bangup job there Chris! Good luck and I'm looking forward to seeing it in MD.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Hey Chris, if you need some help this weekend, let me know!

 

[steelsoldiers]

Thanks DH.

Adam, I may take you up on that!

 

[steelsoldiers]

I had about an hour to work on the truck after work last night. I decided to take the wheel apart with the bad valve stem. I needed a deep 1-1/8" socket to get the ring nuts off. I had one in 1/2" drive, but there wasn't nearly enough leverage there to break them loose.

I went to the hardware store to get a deep 3/4" drive, but they were out of them. Instead I got a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter, big mistake. I took it home and promptly snapped the 1/2" end off I took that back for a refund and went to NAPA to look for a socket.

Thankfully the parts guy found one in a set that he could sell me separate. I took that home and after jumping on the 3/4" ratchet I was able to break them all loose. Phew! Breaking them loose was only half the fun. The studs were nice and rusty so it took about 3 or 4 minutes to turn each nut off. I got 4 off before it got dark and my arms got worn out! I really need some big air and a 1" impact

 

[DMgunn]

Now that the headlights are in, time for a updated avatar? Just in case you find some spare time.

 

[jasonjc]

Hey Chris bring that over here to my shop. I'll let you work on it inside and I have 1/2" 3/4" and 1" impacts

 

[steelsoldiers]

DMgunn, don't worry, new avatar up soon.

Jason, I wish I could! It would save me a lot of sore back, neck, arms, etc... Anyone who is trying to put on some muscle or lose some weight is welcome to come over to my house any remove and install my wheel clamp rings

 

[steelsoldiers]

Here's some pics from yesterday's work party with my brother. We fought rusted and broken fasteners all day! We started by breaking down a rim to change the valve stem. A combination of 3/4" ratchet, 1/2" impact gun, Kroil, muscle and profanity finally got the clamp ring off. Then we had to wrestle the wheel out of the tire, change the valve, lube the rim and bolt it back together. The day's first snafu was when I discovered that the rim used a different o-ring than what I had. I took a chance and put it back together anyways... it leaked So, anyone know who sells the triangular "o-rings" for the 939 singles? The NSN is 5331-01-314-7598.

Next project was the driver's door and mirrors on both sides. We installed new hinges and then put the mirrors together using some old parts and some new parts from a multifuel kit. The 939 series' arms are a little shorter since the cab is wider, but the rest of the mirrors are the same. I hoisted the door into place while Chad steadied it. We got the hinges lined up and then pinned the mirror brackets and hinges together. We did the same thing on the passenger side, but the hinge pins had to be heated and beat out first since they were corroded and had snapped off at the top. The bottom one came out pretty easy with a drift and hammer. The top one required more convincing. I actually beat it so hard that I snapped off three of the hinge to cab bolts! A valuable lesson to the rest of you. Take the hinges off and beat them apart in a vise! So, after we removed the broken bolts, we were able to hang the door and mirrors on the passenger side too. They look great!

If anyone is curious why we mounted the convex spot on the bottom of the bracket instead of the upright as seen in the manual, it's because that's where it was when I bought the truck. It does seem to give just a little better range of vision there. The passenger side will be mounted higher on the upright.

So, I still need to get the bumper and tailgate mounted, the spare tire changed, the o-ring changed on the front tire and the electrical system gremlins killed. Crunch time baby!!

 

[maddawg308]

Looks great so far, Chris! You got the Seabees door all set to go already, no stenciling required. Can't wait to see that in the ECC!

BTW - does that have the internal tire inflation system? Or has this rig had it removed?

 

[steelsoldiers]

Thanks Mike. All of the CTIS components are still there and they all work. I do have a leaking hub seal in the left front that needs replaced before it will function normally. I will disable it for the trip to Aberdeen since there won't be time to rebuild the hub between now and then.

 

[M1075]

Chris, your wheel pictures have got me really confused. I thought the A2s used a 2 piece wheel with 20 bolts holding it together and the 10 bolt was used on the A1s. I must be mistaken. The 20 bolt rims I have seen also have extra holes for CTIS components. Do you know what these two wheels are from?

 

[JDToumanian]

Wow, Chris... You've really made a lot of progress! I had missed a few posts regarding the valve stem problems, so it's a little late now, but the valve stem is 5/16-32 NEF (National Extra-Fine). I used to have a die in that size, it came in a box of machinist's tools I bought but it disappeared many years ago.

Jon

 

[steelsoldiers]

M1075, the one on the left looks just like mine. I am not familiar with the 20 bolt clamp ring and boy am I glad mine only have 10!

Thanks Jon! Good info in case it happens again!

I looked up the NSN for the o-ring for my wheels in the parts and tools manual and it is the same number as the round one I got from Winslow last week. That makes me wonder if the o-ring in mine started out round and was made triangular from by the rim pressure. I'm going to give it a shot since the numbers are the same. I wonder if the rim has the o-ring number stamped on it anywhere? That would be handy!

 

[jasonjc]

Your "o"ring was must likey round. When I was working on helicopter we never reused a o-ring for that reason. They will take a "set". And on another note I remember a PS thing on your front wheel. When you bolt it back up don't put the wight back on. put all the nuts on and troqe them then put the wight on top of the nut and use a 2 nut. That way if you need to change a front it will be easyer to swap the wight out.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Cool, thanks for the tip on the o-ring and the balance weight, Jason! I will try the round one that I have on Wednesday. Does anyone have a NSN 5331-01-314-7598 laying around that they'd like to sell me? I need a second one for my spare tire swap.

 

[M1075]

I had some o-rings made to use with my 2 pc rims. I sent them the original and they copied it using a cheaper compound. They could do the original stuff for 3-4 times the price too.

I can check for an extra or give the contact information for ordering your own (good to have spares). Please let me know. Also, the info is posted here on the forum somewhere too. I have shared it with a couple others.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Good news is I just talked with another guy who messes with these 939 trucks and he is going to get me hooked up with some o-rings. I may still look into your offer M1075. I'll need 7 more next year when I put some "new" tires on it.

 

[steelsoldiers]

Well, I was feeling pretty stout when I got off of work last night so I decided to break the troublesome wheel down again and try the new o-ring. Man, a D-handle 1" impact sure would be nice! I got a heck of a workout with the 3/4" ratchet! So, after about 20-30 minutes of cranking I had the 10 nuts and the clamp ring off again. I took out the old o-ring and put in the new. Then, after about 30 more minutes of cranking I had the clamp ring torqued back down again. I fired up the compressor and put the air to the tire. I put about 60 psi in it. After sitting overnight it was around 59 psi, but given the fact that the air was hot coming out of the compressor, I would expect a little drop as it cooled overnight. I'll keep an eye on it, but it looks good so far. One more thing marked off of the list for Aberdeen. Phew...

PS, M1075, the 20 bolt wheel you have is the older 2-piece combat rim. I just saw it in the bridge truck 15.50's thread.

 

[Westech]

good deal chirs. like to hear it when things work out. I was pulling out of a fast food joint yesterday and heard a loud " ping" from the rear end, looking at it today at work. and what parts did you have for the cucv again? they say the mind is the 2ed thing to go lol