I spent the last two days working on a M113A2. I'll likely be working on it for another day or two. Everything in the engine compartment requires gymnastic abilities. The engine has a way of sucking you in. You start off working from on top of the wooden trim vane, then you have to go a little deeper and your knees are on the hull. Eventually you are twisted into the compartment and only the legs and boots are emerged.
I brought it in just to replace a bad coolant hose. That job has multiplied about 5 fold, with more and more problems emerging. I found my self cussing several times, but not so much at the APC, as it is just a dumb beast that does not know any better. Rather I was cussing at the guys who did not put it together right over the years. Linkages in the wrong spots, hydraulic hoses routed wrong and against the exhaust manifold, an electrical switch held together with electrical tape....it just doesn't end. To top it off the transmission oil is a frothy pink. I'll change that tomorrow, and hopefully it is just water from someone steaming the engine, and not antifreeze from the oil cooler.
Compared to the M113, I suspect the Ram will be a breeze. Whoops, Freudian slip...that should be "would be a breeze".
Last edited by rob love; 16-10-14 at 05:55.
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