Waking up a Texas M151A2

A place to post pics and descriptions of ongoing restoration projects

Moderators: rickf, raymond, Mr. Recovery

Post Reply
User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » September 16th, 2017, 8:16 am

.61mm difference = .025 thousandths. Not much. It sounds like the disc has swelled for some reason. Loose rivets, oil on the disc, cracked disc support. Another possibility is a cracked clutch pivot arm inside the bell housing that holds the throwout bearing. I assume you have already checked the Z bar, Richard in Germany had a similar problem and his Z bar had a cracked arm on it.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » September 16th, 2017, 11:02 am

I'll pass all these things on the xloflyr. We've been pretty attentive to everything and I saw nothing out of the ordinary along the way.

In the plus column, he's got some stellar brakes now! It'll stop on a dime and give you nine cents change!

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » September 16th, 2017, 4:05 pm

It just won't go, minor detail. :roll: :lol: :twisted:
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » September 16th, 2017, 5:51 pm

Oh, NO! It goes like a champ...full lockup! But if you're stopped, it doesn't want to go into 1st/reverse. Grinds the gears cause as you know those aren't synchro-ed and something is still spinning, even with the clutch in. We're right on the edge of it because once you're in gear with the clutch depressed, it sits there just fine...makes no attempt to go until you let the clutch out. Weird, huh?

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » September 16th, 2017, 6:42 pm

Does the clutch "feel" normal? If so are you sure the pilot bearing is not seizing up?
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » September 16th, 2017, 10:22 pm

Nope. Installation was perfect. I was in on it and double checked everything. No mistakes. (I know, Famous Last Words) I think he just has it wayyyy out of adjustment. We discussed it this evening at the car show while using my truck as a visual aid and I'm almost absolutely sure he adjusted it in the wrong direction.

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » September 17th, 2017, 10:02 am

Adjust it too far out and you will unscrew the rod out of the adjuster. Getting it back in while in the transmission is an exercise in uber patience.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » October 8th, 2017, 10:55 pm

On the eve of going overseas for a week, the darned truck decided it didn't want to start! GRRRR! I can hear the starter spinning but it's not engaging the flywheel. Ah well, something to look forward to tinkering with when I get home. We'll make it better, fixing one problem at a time. 8)

Any advice, tips, tricks in the meantime would be appreciated.

Cheers,
TJ

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » October 9th, 2017, 9:40 am

Do NOT take the starter drive apart! You will never locate all of the flying pieces. (now we all know where this is headed :roll: ) This is on good authority from Ken who apparently has a bit of experience in this. Usually it is just a matter of lubricating the starter drive. The drive can be replaced as a whole.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » October 9th, 2017, 10:59 am

:lol: I always wanted a "sanitary room" for jobs like that. You know, perfectly white surfaces, exceptionally well lit, no corners and a concave floor....like working inside an egg shell....for those special moments when everything goes, SPROING!

Well, I'm very glad to hear a little lube should fix me up. We had about six days of rain and days upon days of humidity and my truck sits outside all the time so I figure that was what did me in. Everything had been working fine...until it didn't. :shock:

User avatar
rickf
General
General
Posts: 19738
Joined: November 26th, 2007, 1:28 pm
Location: Pemberton, NJ.

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by rickf » October 9th, 2017, 11:14 am

Na, It is probably that severe lack of maintenance on your vehicles that caused it! :lol: :lol: :lol: :twisted: :twisted: I thought you were leaving the country?
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » October 9th, 2017, 10:39 pm

I am on the move now.

My excuse is, it weren't broke before!

Plus, there's that Jeep in the driveway....

SturmTyger380
Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class
Posts: 299
Joined: October 1st, 2015, 2:31 pm
Location: Upstate SC

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by SturmTyger380 » October 10th, 2017, 9:36 am

I always wanted a "sanitary room" for jobs like that. You know, perfectly white surfaces, exceptionally well lit.......
Yeah, right..... there are still parts in my shop that flew off years ago that I have not seen. The last two years ago was even a cylinder hone shoe! I even saw the direction it flew off in and can't locate it. :shock:
45' MB, ??' MBT, 47' CJ2A, 48' CJ2A,
51' M38 #1, 51' M38 #2, 51' M100,
52' M37, ??' M101A1 (1st Gulf War Vet),
53' M38A1, 53' M211, 65' M151A1, 67' M416,
MVPA #31724

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » October 31st, 2017, 11:55 pm

So, in tracking down whatever was sucking the life out of my batteries I decided to remove and replace my starter switch since it wasn't working quite as well as I would have liked. The plunger was getting hard to depress but only occasionally and, as it turns out, it was very slow to return to its neutral position. My truck is equipped with a ROPS which didn't make the job especially miserable but the ROPS was something of a hindrence, particularly when it came to putting everything back together. So this post is going to be about the starter switch and some of the little hiccups that you might encounter, particularly if you are using a 'new" switch.

The bolts that secure the switch housing to the floor pan are 7/16". There are two at the bottom and two at the top, and all bolts go through slotted holes in the housing. There is really no need to remove the top bolts entirely. Just loosen the top ones, remove the bottom ones and the entire switch housing comes down and away. BEFORE removing these I would suggest loosening the two small screws at the top of the housing. They secure what is a cap of sorts (with sides), to the housing.

Image

Note the cable coming in from the left. Two cables joint the lead on the left side of the starer switch which is easy to remember as the cap of the starter switch housing has a short side on the left to accommodate it.

Image

Now is also a good time to mention that the two top bolts, like the two lower bolts, all have a washer and a lock washer. These washers have a natural tendency to lay flat on the floorboard which makes getting the starter switch housing back up and underneath the top ones a bit of a bugger. I just put a tiny bit of grease on them to hold them up just before reassembly. If you have normal sized hands it is possible to reach up there and get those bolts in place but the presence of the two primary leads makes it difficult.

Image

The nuts that secure the leads to the terminals are 9/16". The nuts that anchor the terminals to the starter switch housing are quite a bit thinner than the ones on the new switch. I will swap them onto the new switch in order to maximize the amount of terminal I have to work with. This will allow me to shorten the length of the terminals because, as you will soon see, they are longer on the new switch.

Image

Take note that the cap or cover has a non-conductive coating on it and the short side is oriented to the left (driver's side). Remove the leads from the terminals and the switch and housing come away entirely.

Image

Two large screws secure the switch to the housing from the inside. There are captive nuts on the outside.

Image

There is a generous amount of space between the terminals of the original switch and the housing. If you have a 'new' starter switch, you may find that the terminals on it are just a bit longer than the original.

Image

Image

Image

This switch was made on the quality control guy's day off and this tab didn't quite make it. It's not a fatal flaw, however.

Image

Longer terminals mean less space. In this case, I can't even get a nut on it.

Image

Image

Here we see that the terminals on the new switch are clearly longer than the original.

Image

So, I put a regular nut on the terminal, cut away several turns and then removed the nut and in doing so, trued up the threads. A bit of careful hand-filing and the ends of the terminals were as good as new.

Image

Here, I have opened up the original switch, looking for evidence of a circumstance in which the switch is not returning to fully open, or a carbon trail or debris that might conduct electricity. Along with bending back the tabs, I also had to drill out the collars at the screw holes to separate the halves. There is really no need to worry about that. They are unnecessary because when the switch is installed, the screws that hold it to the housing will serve to hold halves together at the screw holes.

As you can see, I did not find evidence of a power drain at the switch but I did find evidence that the switch wasn't opening promptly which is something that was very evident even before I took it apart. I will see what I can do to make the plunger move less sluggishly, then clean the contacts, reassemble it and put this switch back on the shelf for use later.

Image

I am happy to say that while I was looking for what was draining my batteries (and didn't find it here), I did get a new switch installed, which was something I had been putting off.
Last edited by m3a1 on April 13th, 2018, 1:25 pm, edited 5 times in total.

User avatar
m3a1
Lt. General
Lt. General
Posts: 4027
Joined: August 7th, 2014, 6:36 pm

Re: Waking up a Texas M151A2

Unread post by m3a1 » November 1st, 2017, 12:08 am

Later in the day, I came home and found what was draining my batteries! Drove up to the house in my Yukon and the MUTT's brake lights were on! Whaaat the ****? This turned out to be a very simple matter.

Now, I normally leave my light switch set with the service lights in the 'ON' position because, frankly, I have a tendency to forget to turn it on. As it turns out, you can have the master switch off and still have functional brake lights if the service lights are switched on. But, how is this possible without touching the brake pedal?

Well, the brake light switch has a helical spring inside it and because of that spring, the switch always wants to be 'ON'. When the brake pedal returns to its neutral position, it actually pulls on the connecting rod (which joins with the armature of the switch) pulling the switch to the OFF position.

So, when you depress the brake pedal, this allows the spring inside the switch to bring it ON and conduct power to the brake lights -or- if the connecting rod is out of adjustment and too long (such as mine was) it can also allow the brake light switch to come on. So, I have to tighten the nut on the connecting rod and I'll be good to go. There it is...problem found and we're back in business.

Cheers,
TJ

Post Reply