WSUCougarx's M561 Gama Goat Acquisition and Build Thread

[ust24474vt]

I believe that that cushion is for the front bulkhead of the carrier. There is a R and a L for each side so the trooper sitting in the carrier bench seat ribs won't hurt (HA HA!} as much when the driver goes from GO to STOP !!! See the TM . I don't see any backrest for the Med version. I can very much stand corrected. Thank you for selling your extra parts to help the rest of us !!!

 

[CombatJack]

One thing I have noticed about the Goat is that there are not NEAR the extensive photos of the vehicles like there are with the M151, M37, on and on. I am constantly looking at my goat and trying to figure out how things mount or bolt up, besides what I see in the manual. Like the soft door kits, it took me a while to figure it all out, as I didn't find any really good photos of this type of installation. Its crazy to think there aren't the amount of photos other vehicles get.

 

[ust24474vt]

If you do not have it, David Doyle's book Gama Goat has helped me alot.

 

[Superdave]

As far as I know those cushions were only used on the Ambulance units.

 

[CombatJack]

Extremely useful photo!! Thanks a lot for showing that.

 

[wsucougarx]

Public Service Announcement

This is a public Service announcement.
As you Goat owners know, draining the crankcase can be a bit of a messy endeavor. To solve this, I installed one of this "convenient" Fumoto drain valves with a hose to keep the tub nice and clean. Right?!?
Well, yesterday, I jacked up the middle of the Goat to get her up on blocks to problem solve the popping/clunking. I decided to jack up the front of the tractor as well. As I placed the blocks under each side, my attention was diverted to the 4ft diameter shadow under my Goat. What the heck was that?!?!? I crawled my way back to investigate. It was black sooty Rotella 40W....all 12 qts!! I keep all the hull plugs in her so there was no way of knowing what was going on
That "convenient" Fumoto oil valve decided to have a mind of it's own and slowly leaked out all the oil since July. So do yourself a favor, get rid of that Fumoto!

 

[CombatJack]

Wooooooooow. That freaking blows. Sorry to hear that. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[wsucougarx]

Fumoto Oil Valve Failure Confirmed

I got under the Goat today and ripped out that Fumoto. I was a bit apprehensive thinking if the valve was clean, then the source of the massive oil loss was something more serious. I got the valve out and removed the hose I had hooked up to it. I gazed down the chute and saw was I suspected....black sooty oil. This was the first time I was happy to see oil on the wrong side of this valve. At least this mystery got solved quick, now onto the clunking in the middle axle....

 

[wsucougarx]

Transfer Case Oil Pump Inspection Tube

A few posts back, I mentioned I had issues with a clunking/clanking around my middle axle back in JULY 2018. The issue arose only after she was warmed up AND after having been driven on the highway. Many felt it was due to possible U-Joint issues or maybe the clutches in the differential. All were plausible issues for the problem I was having. So, I have some time to finally get in and inspect her over the course of the past two weeks. Thinking it was the differential I decided to drain the fluid to see if there were any clues. There were no brass chunks or dust in the fluid nor was there a hint of a burnt smell. My attention then shifted to the many U-joints. I put the goat up on blocks and slowly rotated the tires while inspecting the U-Joints for any sloppy movements, noise, or vibrations...nothing. I decided to throw her in Hi and went through the gears while she up on blocks. Somewhere in my shifting, I missed a gear and she started to clank/clunk once again. Being void of road noise, I was able to isolate the noise to the area under the doghouse. I took the doghouse off and inspected the many U-Joints there...good to go. I started her back up and immediately started her off in 4th gear. Immediately I knew the horrible noise was coming from the transfer case. Just prior to the start up, I noticed there was no gear oil in the short 1" clear tubing just north of the oil pump. It crossed my mind the upper gears in the transfer case were not lubricated and the gear to gear contact would cause the noise I was hearing. Well, it was confirmed the oil pump had lost her prime somewhere along the lines. I changed out the fluid and noticed there was some brass dust in the fluid but zero chunks of any kind. I'm now hoping permanent damage wasn't done. I added a length of clear yellow oil resistant tubing to extend up past the top of the transfer case to keep better tabs on the oil pump. So far so good. The clunking went away immediately.
https://youtu.be/FaMQ_o96Nzk

 

[wsucougarx]

CB mic holder re-purpose

Seems like I'm forever looking for just one more part for this Goat. As you know, parts come and go. When you don't need them, they're available. When you need them, they are nowhere to be found. The little simple yet annoying to find retaining clip for the winch PTO lever is the case. I did get a full winch kit a couple years ago. However, the little paperclip lockout for the winch lever was nowhere to be found. In the meantime, I've been using a pioneer tool strap to keep the lever at bay. As I was messing around with the doghouse, I remembered I had a spare stainless steel CB microphone hook in my pickup. I figured it was about the right size for the job. After a little manipulation with a pair of channel locks, I had a field made part that fit the bill. I can scratch this little part off the list.

 

[wsucougarx]

Soft Door Refurbished

I've had a pile of soft Gama Goat doors sitting by my garage for a couple years now. Just one of those out of sight out of mind kind of projects. As we get closer to July 4th, my memory took me back to driving to Centralia for their July 4th festival. I shivered a good part of the way down due to my lack of clothing, low temperatures, and wind chill through my doorless truck. I thought it was a good idea to get those doors back into serviceable condition and get them mounted.
First order of business was scrubbing the heck out the doors. They had a few decades of desert dust/sand/grime baked on them. It took some doing. Next I shot a few coats of Behr Forest Green on them and redid the MERDC camo pattern. Once dried I sewed on [FONT=&quot]Clear Vinyl Marine Fabric 40 Gauge Isinglass Double Polished, [/FONT]I used a C.S. Osborne sewing awl for the job. Besides a few puncture wounds in the fingers, a couple broken awl needles, she turned out great. A great tip for anyone re-doing the windows, leave on the old window while you sewing on the new window. This will keep tension on the door skins for a proper mounting.
Luckily the

 

[wsucougarx]

Follow Up to Post #493

Here's a little follow up to my issues found in post #493. To summarize, a couple years ago, I found I had an issue with my rear tractor axle. After driving the Goat 60 miles, the Goat would make a loud audible clanking sound that could be felt after coming off a stop. The issue was only after the Goat was driven while she was warm. There was no issue while she was cold. This really had me boggled. I went so far as to change ALL the fluids in the Goat, jacked her up and went through the gears....etc etc. After a couple years, I finally found out the issue. Originally I thought it was the transfer case, then the clutch packs in the middle differential, then it went to the U-joints and then back to the differentials. I'm a bit embarrassed to report it was a brake hanging up all along. I was having an issue with a warm hub for a couple years now. It happened to be on the middle axle. I took the hub off to find there was a strange sticky residue on the inside of the brake drum and was coating the brake pads. Not sure where this stuff came from as I cleaned everything in the hubs when I got her. This sticky residue would get really tacky after she was warmed up. So the issue was the brakes would grab and cause the axle to shift ever so slightly and that was the cause of the clanking. Man, so glad it was something minor.
23,279

 

[PointnShoot4WD]

A timely post/find, just bought a set of doors in similar visual condition and will likely have to replace the window as well, tempted to install flymesh and then have the clear roll up an zip/velcro down.

Spock

I've had a pile of soft Gama Goat doors sitting by my garage for a couple years now. Just one of those out of sight out of mind kind of projects. As we get closer to July 4th, my memory took me back to driving to Centralia for their July 4th festival. I shivered a good part of the way down due to my lack of clothing, low temperatures, and wind chill through my doorless truck. I thought it was a good idea to get those doors back into serviceable condition and get them mounted.
First order of business was scrubbing the heck out the doors. They had a few decades of desert dust/sand/grime baked on them. It took some doing. Next I shot a few coats of Behr Forest Green on them and redid the MERDC camo pattern. Once dried I sewed on Clear Vinyl Marine Fabric 40 Gauge Isinglass Double Polished, I used a C.S. Osborne sewing awl for the job. Besides a few puncture wounds in the fingers, a couple broken awl needles, she turned out great. A great tip for anyone re-doing the windows, leave on the old window while you sewing on the new window. This will keep tension on the door skins for a proper mounting.
Luckily the

 

[Another Ahab]

A timely post/find, just bought a set of doors in similar visual condition and will likely have to replace the window as well, tempted to install flymesh and then have the clear roll up an zip/velcro down.

Would that rip out of the opening when you're underway?

 

[B HIGGINS]

why am I having such a hard time watching this sights videos ? I am selling my gama goat tomorrow and the new owner wants the hubs maintained Ib can not get any info already spent too much time wasted on this sight Do Not like

 

[wsucougarx]

Last week I had but one mission. The mission was to head down to my son's daycare to celebrate his 5th Birthday. I took these pictures right before my departure. At the last minute, I remembered I probably should remove all the weapons off the truck. The school district would have had an absolute fit and probably would have called it in. So to alleviate any issues and keep the attention on my son, I remove all traces of weapons. I didn't have time to throw the end curtains on, so I just rolled without them. I forgot to mention, the reason for the picture. I finally secured a carrier cover for this truck.

 

[Amer-team]

Last week I had but one mission. The mission was to head down to my son's daycare to celebrate his 5th Birthday. I took these pictures right before my departure. At the last minute, I remembered I probably should remove all the weapons off the truck. The school district would have had an absolute fit and probably would have called it in. So to alleviate any issues and keep the attention on my son, I remove all traces of weapons. I didn't have time to throw the end curtains on, so I just rolled without them.

Beautiful. Hope the truck was a hit with the kids.

 

[Another Ahab]

Last week I had but one mission. The mission was to head down to my son's daycare to celebrate his 5th Birthday. I took these pictures right before my departure. At the last minute, I remembered I probably should remove all the weapons off the truck. The school district would have had an absolute fit and probably would have called it in.

Yeah, that move was plenty sensible!

And Happy Birthday to wsucougarx Jr!!