Alley Cat 151

A place to post pics and descriptions of ongoing restoration projects

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rickf
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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by rickf » June 7th, 2017, 8:31 pm

Where you were pointing at the hub and said "this is where the bearing rides., you want a good amount of grease here", You do know that the only thing there is the inner race of the bearing and the last thing you want is for that to turn right? You only need just enough grease there to keep it from rusting and really, considering where it is you don't need to put any there since it will get there on it's own. The correct preload for setting the bearing is 35-40 ft.lbs. and then spin the tire a few revolutions in each direction and then back off a quarter turn. I usually then turn the nut by hand back in till i feel resistance and back it out to the next cotter pin hole. Either way will work, I just mention it because I have seen many loose trailer wheels that were done by the hand feel method.

Other than that this is a fantastic thread for showing people how to service a wheel bearing and breaks. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
When I get some time I am going to copy and paste this section about the bearings and brakes into a new thread and make it a sticky.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 7th, 2017, 8:45 pm

Thanks Rick. I've been writing these in this way so as to help owners who might see these things as mysterious and daunting projects. They are not, of course and most anyone with basic tools can get through them, especially with a little guidance.

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Fil Bonica » June 7th, 2017, 9:10 pm

The adjusters and springs are different for riveted and bonded shoes .
The bonded ones should be blue.
Not that the color is important but the size is.
You had done such in depth work I thought it might be good to check when you had thngs open.
Keep up the great pictorials

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 8th, 2017, 2:40 am

Well, I sure didn't know that but that's good to know! All my trucks have the bonded shoes. Are the riveted shoes normally found on earlier models?

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Fil Bonica » June 8th, 2017, 9:38 am

All the stuff on the market today that I have seen are bonded so any riveted ones would be pretty well gone.
Have takem apart a lot of running 151s with riveted shoes on them so they are still out there.
Typically when you buy a set of bonded shoes you will get the blue adjusters and springs with them.
If by chance they arent there go find a set and dont use old ones.
Just a bit of info to tuck back in your brain for later use.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by rickf » June 8th, 2017, 11:32 am

What is the difference in the springs? The shoes are the same thickness and shape so I do not understand why the springs would be different?
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 8th, 2017, 12:57 pm

Well, I will say again that this project was focused solely upon renewing the bearings and seals so, had the brake backing plate not needed renewal, I probably would have set the brakes aside to be dealt with at a later date.

I took the time to clean up some of this stuff in order to show the readers that with some patience and effort (and a few choice tools such as a blast cabinet) you can really make some positive changes to the quality of your vehicle for not much more expense than a couple of cans of spray paint. Heck, the Alley Cat doesn't even run right now!

But since we are on the subject I will say that "old" isn't necessarily "bad". I will also say that I believe it is a "best practice" to replace old with new when doing a brake job. But -

The way most of us perform brake jobs (i.e. replacing almost everything) comes largely from the ease by which we can acquire parts. Most of us have an out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new attitude when it comes to brakes. Even I do because parts are cheap and easy to find so there is really no reason not to. I recall at some point in the past I have even spoken up about how it is better to install new wheel cylinders over renewing old ones. But I also think acquiring the skill and experience of renewing wheel cylinders is important to the making of an experienced mechanic but a public street ain't no place for amateurs. What we are discussing is safety.

And since a public street ain't no place for amateurs we take the time to discuss this sort of stuff at great length to ensure the best information is available to the readership. And there are plenty of FNGs coming aboard who are relying on us to help them.

Springs, being the weakest parts in the system, can be damaged if handled improperly but if they are not, and if they are not otherwise compromised by their environment, there really is no reason they cannot be used several times. Again, "old" isn't necessarily "bad". As you can see from the condition of my A2, I don't get hung up on lack of paint or a little surface rust.

By way of example, my A2 is running on "old" brakes right now. That is to say that I'm sure they have been renewed at some point in the past. I looked them over before and found them to be entirely adequate before driving on them but, again, they are not new and pretty. They work properly and do everything they are meant to do.

As we saw on the Alley Cat, both return springs aren't perfect but I would not go so far as to say that they are critically damaged to the point where they absolutely must be discarded. They are just a tiny bit longer than they were when they were new and that isn't a fatal flaw. Would I run them? Yes. Should we give counsel to someone else to run them? Nope. Not really.

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Because we are on a site where safety has the value of gold, and advice is dirt cheap I suppose we must have a policy that takes the high road such as, replace those damaged springs -and- ensure your vehicle is adequately supported and so forth.

We see the limits of use for our vehicles in different ways. I have seen guys driving their M151s out on the expressway just as fast as the little trucks will go. :roll: I choose to limit the use of my truck to putting around town and I have little opportunity to do anything off-road so some people would probably describe me as a "parking lot commando." I think every one of us should be extremely conscious about how the quality of the work we perform on a vehicle, the condition of our vehicle and the manner in which we use it as it will effect our safety and possibly others.

My parting point is this - We are the diplomats of this hobby. Many people don't understand what we do or why we are passionate about it. Whoever you are, whatever your experience is, whatever you do, whatever you drive, USE GOOD JUDGEMENT and BE SAFE!

Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on May 12th, 2018, 10:15 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Fil Bonica » June 8th, 2017, 4:38 pm

Amen my Son!

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Fil Bonica » June 8th, 2017, 4:46 pm

Rick , if you have a set of replacement bonded shoe you will note in the accompanying instructionsvthat Blue colored adjusters and springs are to be used.
Cant tell you the specific difference but that's what I always followed.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 8th, 2017, 7:15 pm

I just found that I had a bunch of those....brand new! Certainly enough for a whole back axle group. If only I had known!

Pulled my M109A3 out today for a good bath, a tidy-up in the cab and a long idle because that fuel needs to be used up and replaced with fresh stuff. Pictures to follow, maybe later tonight.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 13th, 2017, 9:11 pm

Today looked like a fine day to do a little project so here we go. Along the way we'll uncover some of the mysteries of these axles.

The simple fact is, poorly or improperly maintained wheel drive shafts (or, axle) can lead to a lot of trouble for the M151. If you are acquiring one of these trucks or if you are raising one from the dead, the health of the wheel drive shafts are among the first things you should check.

If the axle cannot efficiently change its length to suit the needs of the suspension, rotational movement becomes lateral movement (particularly upon compression.) That energy has to go somewhere and it works hard against the differential drive flanges which will eventually get out of spec and begin to wobble in such a way that would lead you to believe they are loose (which they will be, at that point) or, it works hard on the universal joints which can and will eventually fail. A failure of this sort can lead to a runaway axle which will beat the you-know-what out of the bottom of your truck and can potentially sever a brake line and you know what that means....no brakes at all!

So, here we have the right rear axle of my Alley Cat. Since we know this particular truck (which is being raised from the dead) hasn't seen much maintenance it is probably going to be worthwhile to really look closely at all the components of this axle. It looks nasty but it moves fairly free and it can change its length but only reluctantly. However, it feels spongy upon compression, like air is trapped inside and that can be an indication that something isn't quite right. So we're going to take it apart.

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Note that tape used to secure the loose bearing cups (or caps, if you prefer) If these bearing caps fall off and hit the ground you'll be searching for lost needle roller bearings for a while and there are 23 or 24 of them in there!

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And remember....

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This is a good place to start. I keep a dull pocket knife in my tool kit for moments just like this. It's a great tool for scraping away old grease and debris. If the tape is off, secure those ends with your hand while you're manipulating it so as not to let those bearing cups get away from you. Getting rid of most of the junk will allow you to have a better look at the project and it forces you to slow down and contemplate the job at hand. A good mechanic is tuned in to what he's doing and works methodically.

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If there is a great deal of grease at this end of the axle (meaning the end of the axle that has a grease zerk) and if that big glob of grease is located between the body of the u-joint and the end of the axle, there is a problem! For one thing, this means the axle has been overly lubricated at some point. We want to keep this end of the axle absolutely clear because, believe it or not, these axles have to breathe. More on that, later.

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Some time ago we took a moment to go over this area with the wire wheel, lube it with PB Blaster, unscrew this cap, and clean up the threads. The shiny part is well-machined, polished and plated with what looks like chrome. If this area is compromised by pitting, it would be in your best interest to obtain a new shaft because the purpose of this plated area is to help create a seal.

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With the cap unscrewed, take a moment to prepare to expose some greasy parts. This is when all those rags you've been saving are going to come in handy! Separate the two ends of the axle by pulling them in opposite directions. With that done, gently push the seal and the split washer out of the cap.

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Gently separate the split washer and the seal. Occasionally you may find two washers where there should only be one. The seal is properly named a Welch plug or slip yoke plug. It rides against, not within (as the term 'plug' implies) the face of the opening of the slip yoke. It serves to seal in grease and seal out water and debris and it rides on the smooth surface of the aforementioned chromed area. Compression of the slip yoke plug by the threaded cap serves to create pressure to cause the plug make a seal. The threaded cap does not have to be gorilla tight to achieve this.

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The slip yoke plug can be removed from the shaft by sliding it over the splines of the yoke shaft. CAUTION: This is extremely hard on these old plugs because they may not want to stretch. If you choose to remove it, you will run the risk of damaging it. It is far better to clean it in place. The split washer is very malleable. It can be bent so as to be brought over the shaft for removal. It is also far better to clean this washer in place. But, both the plug and washer must be removed before you can remove the threaded cap. I elected to clean everything in place.

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While you are wiping down the plug note that it has a very definite shape. It's not just a rubber ring. For a moment I'm going to engage in a bit of conjecture. If your plug is split and if you absolutely have to put the axle back in service you might try to clean it up so that it is absolutely free of lubricants and attempt to mend it with super glue. I know that Loctite super glue sticks to rubber like a champ! (Don't ask me how I know :roll: ) Of course, using parts in good condition is always your best option.

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Here is a view of the splined shaft from the end. This machined area is called a slip spline. Note that one of the splines appears to be missing at the 11 o'clock position. It's not actually missing, of course. The gap creates a keyway. This serves to ensure that the other end of the axle shaft can only be installed one way, so that it is in the proper "phase" (or alignment).

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Here are the splines inside the opposing end of the axle shaft. This component is called a slip yoke. See the big wide spline? That is the key. The key goes in the keyway. So, these two components can only go together one way. It is impossible to get these two ends back together while out of phase!

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Let's have a look at the health of the universal joints. It's time to carefully remove those bearing cups. Set them aside in a secure place. You can clean them up now or later. Later might be the better option if you find the U-joints to be in need of replacement. Repurposed chip dip containers are my weapon of choice when it comes to this sort of thing. If you intend to replace the u-joints and if the old ones are not excessively worn, at least SAVE the old needle bearings and their cups...maybe even the whole thing. Why? Because occasionally, Murphy's Law happens and you'll need something just to get you home. Ask me how I know. They're a great addition to your Oh-S**t Kit (which is another topic altogether).

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Here is the bearing cup with a rubber lip seal. Like wheel bearing seals, the lip seal serves two purposes - to keep grease in and to keep debris and water out. Don't use a U-joint with a lip seal that is compromised. If you do, you are risking a great deal, starting with the eventual failure of the u-joint and when that fails you will be risking the loss of your brakes if the runaway end of the axle takes out your brake line. There's a helluva lot riding on that little bit of rubber!

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With the bearing cups removed we are now ready to locate the ends of the semi-circular clips, called snap rings, that serve to hold the bearing cups in the bores of the yoke cross hole. These snap rings ride in the snap ring grooves machined in the bearing cups. Here's the end of one, located at the point of the knife. See the little shadow?

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Use a punch or similar object to engage the end of the snap ring and tap the snap ring straight out of the snap ring groove. Despite all the dirt and debris this shouldn't take much effort. If it won't budge you might have to tap the bearing cup inward, toward the body of the u-joint. Don't tap the snap ring all the way off unless you want to risk losing it.

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Just ease it the rest of the way, straight off. You might also just trap the ring between the screwdriver and your thumb. If you don't manhandle this part and if you don't lose it, it is reusable. Most new u-joints will come with their own set of snap rings.

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Again, secure those parts and set them aside.

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A little PB Blaster never hurts. Dose the part and set it aside while you work the other end. We'll soon be removing these u-joints entirely. Zapping it with the wire wheel also helps to remove dirt which helps to let the PB Blaster in.

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The part of the u-joint upon which the needle roller bearings ride is called the trunnion. Wipe it down and inspect it for irregularities. It should be smooth and even without flat spots or other evidence of wear. In this case, we have what is called, brinelling. See the striations or lines on the long axis of the trunnion? That's not just leftover grease from removing the bearing cup. Those are wear marks! Essentially, grooves are being worn into the trunnion of this u-joint. When I turned the bearing cup on the trunnion, I could actually feel the needle roller bearings going up and over the high spots in the trunnion.

Brinelling is a result of several causative factors such as - excessive continuous torque loads, seized slip yoke spines, excessive driveline angles and sprung or bent yokes. Seized slip yoke splines would be the most common factor for the M151 series, right? So this u-joint is done for..

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Look closely and you'll even see some evidence of high heat.

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Ok, let's get this clanker out of our axle. Take note of the flat surface area machined into the yoke. It encompasses approximately 3/4 of the circumference of the bearing cup in the bore. Below that machined surface is the shoulder of the yoke. Now time to decide how best to remove the bearing cup from the yoke.

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Old school method (and by this I mean really old school method) would have you supporting the shaft and rapping on the shoulder of the yoke with a hammer. provided the yoke isn't too beat up. Hopefully you'd elect to use a softer metal hammer or a dead blow hammer for this (if you had one) and if you don't have one....get one. The effect of rapping on the shoulder of the yoke is to walk the bearing cup out of the bore owing to a combination of inertia and the cruciform body of the u-joint acting somewhat like a slide hammer on the inside. With the bearing cup exposed you can then grab it with pliers and twist it free of the bore. I am not a fan of hammering on parts I intend to reuse but I will say that in a pinch, this is one way to do it. Another option is to use a hammer and socket but today, I am going to use my brand new press that cost me a mere $89.00. (Harbor Freight)

In this case, the plates provided with the press weren't going to be my best option for supporting one end of the yoke while pressing on the bearing cup on the opposite side. I couldn't orient the plates to provide sufficient and safe support to the yoke. So, I started with pressing the bearing cup to the point where it was flush with the edge of the yoke just to see if it was going to move without a lot of trouble. Sometimes it pays to sneak up on these things. Well, Gentlemen, let me say this.....a press makes this job the easiest thing you'll do all day.

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And it having offered no real resistance, we see the bearing cup has been moved down so that it is now flush with the side of the yoke.

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I went nearly the rest of the way by using a large socket to support the yoke. It allowed sufficient space for the bearing cup to come out the bore and past the face of the yoke.

I will admit, a better way to do this would have been to ensure that the grease zerk was facing up, right? In other words, I should have pushed out the bearing cup that is opposite the grease zerk. We can see that, had I attempted to push the u-joint further, the grease zerk would have ended up crammed against the inside of the yoke.

The bearing cup need not be pushed completely out of the bore. It is advantageous if you do not push it completely out. At this point this one is really only being held in by the lip seal and can be removed by my fingers which is better, because if it drops out we risk having needle roller bearings everywhere.

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The lip seal took a beating in the process of removal. We really aren't concerned about that because this u-joint is never going back in service but don't get in a hurry to throw these old u-joints away. It doesn't hurt to keep a few used needle roller bearings on hand just in case you lose some from an otherwise serviceable u-joint!

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With the bearing cup removed it is a simple matter to remove the u-joint from the yoke.

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This looks important (and it IS)! I love crazy little contraptions like this.

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Here we have a spring loaded one-way valve. It can be removed with a 7/16" wrench. It allows pressure (and the excessive amounts of grease someone might have put in there :oops: ) to escape from the void between the end of the spline of the yoke shaft and the interior of the slip yoke. (And properly lubed, you shouldn't have grease squirting out of this vent) This facilitates venting during the compression (shortening) of the axle while at the same time allowing the assembly to remain well-sealed. Genius!

Here we have another axle (actually the left axle of the Alley Cat) that very clearly has it's vent completely obstructed. I can barely extend it and compressing it is nearly impossible.

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Clearly, excessive amounts of grease can create more problems than they solve so lubricate responsibly and keep this device clear! Allow this vent to be covered in grease and it will not vent properly and your axle won't compress and lengthen properly! And, if the grease is so old that it has hardened, it won't vent at all. Such a small thing, and yet, so important.

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Here is the yoke shaft coming out of the blast cabinet. I could have just as easily wire-wheeled these parts and the results would have been nearly as good. If you choose to blast these parts, first, degrease them completely and do NOT blast the surfaces of the bore or the splines or the chromed areas! Mask, or plug those areas where you don't want abrasives. As you can see, the edges of my masking tape are quite tattered. Not only did I have the bores masked off, I had my big, fat rubber glove-covered fingers in the bores while I was blasting that area.

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The slip yoke, blasted, primed and finally in paint! That odd-looking vertical thing is a wood plug I made from a dowel rod and I used it to plug the threaded hole for the one-way valve (which has been removed.) I've come to like the Rust-o-leum Painter's Plus Gloss Black paint. Goes on thick, it's not prone to runs and it's a little slow to dry but you can handle it after several hours (especially in this Texas heat) after 24 hours, it's as hard as a rock. Good stuff!

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Here we have the yoke shaft coated in primer.

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Everything is hung up to dry. This is as far as I'm going with this for now....until the new paint dries and hardens and some new u-joints arrive.

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In examining the other universal joint, I found more problems, and a mis-matched bearing cup from who-knows-where. So today, two bad u-joints went on the scrap heap and our parts got cleaned, checked and recoated. We are preparing this axle for some nice new parts. It'll be better, and safer if the day ever comes when I get to actually drive the Alley Cat.

Cheers,
TJ
Last edited by m3a1 on March 15th, 2019, 11:55 pm, edited 16 times in total.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 14th, 2017, 4:36 pm

The paint is dry! Here we have the slip yoke with the one-way valve cleared of most of the grease and reinstalled using a 7/16" nut driver to hand-tight. Don't over tighten! This is another one of those low profile nuts that would require that you use a wrench or a socket of some sort with as little chamfered edge as possible.

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Last edited by m3a1 on May 13th, 2018, 1:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by Mark » June 14th, 2017, 6:22 pm

Excellent post, Thanks for the info/pictures
mark


1968 m274A5
1960 m151
1981 m151A2
1964 m416
1971 m416

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by rickf » June 14th, 2017, 6:34 pm

Hey, how are you getting around Photobuckets new adblocking campaign? you can't have it on or photobucket will not let you get to your pictures but if you turn it off then the ads completely overwhelm the site and you can't get to your pictures.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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Re: Alley Cat 151

Unread post by m3a1 » June 14th, 2017, 6:40 pm

Oh THAT's what's going on, eh?

I've been reloading the page every time and clicking on the link just as fast as I can. :lol:

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