M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

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m3a1
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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 18th, 2017, 6:45 pm

Well, we fired the M38 up today...without the carb and just a can of starting fluid. It took right off! (These maneuvers were performed on a closed course with unprofessional mechanics.) In other words, don't try this at home, kiddies. Do as I say, not as I do, because a backfire through the intake while you're squirting starting fluid could be detrimental to your health.

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Anyway, it didn't run smoothly (owing to our flakey method of fuel delivery) but it did run and it wanted to run and there were no detectable odd noises. It made nearly 40 lbs oil pressure and a little over 12 volts, according to the cheesy gauges. So, with a proven engine, we are moving forward on the other issues with a clear conscience. With so much to do, we have yet to spend a dime on this project, save for paint and primer and a lot of time standing in front of the blast cabinet and a fan. We're just slogging through the steps to inspect, assess, tear down, and make incorrect things right.

After a long hot day, we have the rear brake components blasted and recoated, some broken brake drum retaining screws removed from the drive flanges, not that anyone will ever use them again (as they are completely unnecessary). I even blasted the rusty base of my drill press and recoated it as it was desperately nasty and it gave me the chills just looking at it.

So, it's been a very good day and I am appropriately exhausted from working outside all day in the triple digit heat.

Before & after pics... We could have used this as a foundation for our brakes once the adjusters were loosened up. The round thingies (about the size of a quarter) are the toe-adjusters for the brake shoes. They are small discs offset on a bolt much like a cam. The large holes at the bottom are for the heel adjusters and they work very similarly. So, each shoe can be adjusted to it's optimal position relative to the internal face of the drum. I've always liked this design.

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But this condition is SO much nicer than that rusty mess. Craftsmanship is important. Which would you rather have? The plates get a good scraping and degreasing prior to going in the blast cabinet.

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That's Rustoleum red primer or rusty metal red primer in case you're curious. Whatever is cheapest.

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Tomorrow I'll coat the outside of the plate gloss black. Lipstick on a pig!

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Even the shoes get a makeover.

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Slingers. All this stuff hangs in the Texas heat and the paint eventually gets as hard as nails.

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That angled bit on the slinger is actually a drain-way to allow water to go directly out a dedicated drain hole (provided that hole isn't plugged!) Pretty ingenious.

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Thermostat housing. Looking good for a piece that I will probably discard!

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What, Yellow? - Why?!! - Because!

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Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on April 12th, 2018, 4:50 pm, edited 9 times in total.

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by rickf » August 18th, 2017, 7:05 pm

Don't need no stinkin' carburetor! Pump type oil can full of gas with hose attached and run from passenger seat to hole where carb used to live. Kid in drivers seat. Brakes are not needed. You squirt he steers. What can be so hard about that? Got to be plenty of stuff around that can be used for brakes.......................... like the wifes car? :roll: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 18th, 2017, 10:09 pm

Nah, I'm good.

This is Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas.

Car crashes, explosions, ......settlements in lawsuits. :lol:

Did I mention that everything thats hung between the engine and driveshaft has, over time, come together to form a rather efficient oil distribution system. Sooooo, we will soon be taking our power pack out. For those who are interested in the "mouse ears" on the top of the engine, the loop furthest forward is for pulling just the engine. The loop furthest back, is for pulling the whole power pack. SOMEBODY had it in their head that pulling these engines was going to be a regular occurrence! Cool, huh?

TJ

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 19th, 2017, 3:35 pm

Easy day today. We set our sights on removing the rear axles and that was about it. Another G838 member, our very own Xloflyr came by with a heavy slide hammer which had a fitting that was the perfect thread pattern for threading onto the ends of the axles. We hooked up to that and with several firm slides each axle popped right out. The kid is looking mighty pleased because, finally, we're getting lucky.

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Examination of the bearings revealed them to be better than I had imagined but still, only marginal. They, and the seals behind them, are to be replaced.

It's time to use that new $89.00 Harbor Freight press again! It made short work of removing the bearings from the axle shafts. Worth every penny.

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My son got a big surprise because sometimes things finally start moving with a loud pop. I wish I had caught that on camera! He's grinning because, "No, you didn't break it..." and, "Yes, you DID forgot your eye protection.....again"

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It is quite likely that the interior of the rear end has not seen the light of day since 1951. The gear oil I drained out was darker than a witch's heart. I'll probably get cancer just from looking at it. Nasty stuff. Here's the one of the build tags for the rear end. 43/8 means the ring gear has 43 teeth and the pinion, 8. Thus, 43 divided by 8 = a gear ratio of 5:38, or 5:375 to be precise. Stout, and no speeding tickets to be had in this rig!

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Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on April 12th, 2018, 4:55 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by rickf » August 19th, 2017, 7:41 pm

I "THOUGHT" this was the boys project to build up? Seems you have taken it away from him. He will never learn with you doing all the work.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 20th, 2017, 3:33 am

Nope. I just haven't added the pics showing him in action to the posting, which I will do. I got busy on other things so I only got the text knocked out. The kid is involved, though he can't handle a rattle can worth a darn.

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by rickf » August 20th, 2017, 9:07 am

And how in the world did you manage to lose the beginning pictures already? You must have moved the album or deleted them from somewhere.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 20th, 2017, 2:59 pm

Go back and review the post. Edited it, with pics added.

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 20th, 2017, 3:12 pm

Sunday morning. I'm awake. Everyone else is sleeping in. It's the only temperate time of the day. Sat down with the carburetor, which is a Carter W-O series and gave its exterior a cleaning. I got a old pan and a toothbrush and the stuff in the picture and laid it on. "Paint remover?!!" you say? Yup, paint remover but it's the citrus in it that does the job. It's very user friendly, you can get it on your hands with no worries. It lingers because it's a gel so you can work it as long as you'd like and after it's done it's job, simply rinse it off. Removes paint, and also degreases like a champ...and for this particular type of application (such as a simple exterior clean-up), is so much cheaper than carb cleaner. Results were excellent.
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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 20th, 2017, 9:55 pm

Got to looking at things in an effort to see where we can move forward and where we're stalled. Discovered one of the ears on the bottom of the exhaust manifold is broken and rigged....badly. Well *sigh* doggone it! My comment that it "needs one of everything" is turning out to being closer to the truth than I had imagined. Grrrrr. :evil:

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by rickf » August 21st, 2017, 8:31 am

If it is just the ear then it can be built up by welding with N99 rod and then ground flat and tapped. It is not structural. Nickel rod is rather pricey though. You can also use 308L stainless wire in your MIG if the welder is hot enough. You will need a quality drill bit to drill the hole for tapping, Best to use a new bit or freshly sharpened one.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 21st, 2017, 10:58 am

Excellent and thanks for the advice. I eally have nothing to lose at this point. Not sure if the ear is missing altogether or just need to be reattached properly. I'll take a closer look today.

I have a Millermatic 200....pretty sure that'll produce enough energy. I don't remember ever even having it up to the maximum settings.

Would I need to heat up the casting first? All of this will be addressed when we remove the power pack so I could leave it on the engine, apply heat as necessary and let it cool and in doing do reduce any risk of warpage to almost nil.

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by rickf » August 21st, 2017, 8:31 pm

The pre heat is to prevent cracking, especially along the new weld as the new and old metals heat and cool at different rates. Preheating gets everything on an even keel. For what you are doing you are on an edge so preheating is not going to do much. The actual welding will throw a lot of heat into it. If it is bolted on it should be alright. If it is off I would heat it up just to be on the safe side and prevent a crack halfway down the manifold.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by m3a1 » August 21st, 2017, 11:41 pm

Ok, when it comes time to do the deed, I'll consult with you further on this. There is absolutely no reason to tackle this while the engine is still in the truck.

Update - Did very little today but did do something. I directed the kid to daub the bolts holding the floor plate in over the transmission with paint remover, which he did yesterday. The whole floor is covered with a layer of undercoating and paint. We just let it sit overnight. I hit those spots with a wire brush and exposed the bolts so as to make it easier to unbutton this thing when I'm ready. There are so many little things to do like that. Knocking them out will really add up in the long run.

Current plan is to get it back on it's wheels, with brakes, and drive it just to see where we're at with things like clutch, transmission and transfer case. We know they leak like sieves but we don't know how well they work, or don't work.

By the way, for those who are interested there is a whole series on YouTube about rebuilding manual transmissions, axles, transfer cases and the like, by a guy who goes by "Metalshaper". His submissions take a lot of the mystery out of these things, whether you are working on a Mutt or a Jeep.

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: M38 - Nothing at all to do with M151s

Unread post by SturmTyger380 » August 22nd, 2017, 9:53 am

Other than preheating I have used a box full of sand to cover or bury the welded part in to allow it to cool slowly over a number of hours.
45' MB, ??' MBT, 47' CJ2A, 48' CJ2A,
51' M38 #1, 51' M38 #2, 51' M100,
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53' M38A1, 53' M211, 65' M151A1, 67' M416,
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