Info needed: 1967 M38A1 Lubrication?

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by rob love

...

... It only takes a couple hours and you will be good for another 30 years. I had to recently do this on the parade Jeep here in Shilo. Only 2300 original miles, but the coolant got acidic over the years and the gasket failed along with some of the aluminum heater hose fittings. ...

...

Apparently there is another 1953 1/4-ton ceremonial Jeep in 25 CFSD Longue Pointe. Out of curiosity, what is the ERN and CFR of Shilo's? It would be interesting to see whether there are any others in the system.

[rob love]

It is held as an artifact rather than a CFR'd piece of equipment. ERN forany CDN3 will be the same, it is the ECC that will be different. There was a specific ECC for the ceremonial/VIP trucks.

Les: Drain your rad so you are just slightly above the rad core, then take it for a drive and see if it is puking a/f. You may have nothing more than a overfilled radiator.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks to all for your valuable input!

1. To Rob....the jeep passed inspection this AM and I got plated! It was a real crock....they never even took any wheels off to check for brake shoe wear!

2. I will have the front wheel balanced next week.

3. To Rob.....I tried the rad test.....started engine and ran for 1 min....appears to be no pressure when rad cover taken off.

4. Right now the rad fluid is very bright green and about 2 inches above the core.....however, the rad appears to have stopped puking fluid onto the front axle....for now!

6. Rad temp as per gauge goes to about 130-140 after 20 min drive with 2 aboard...is this a normal range?

7. As per #6.....the temp gauge get slightly fogged up in the center after about 3-5min.....is this normal?

8. Changed both diff fluids with 80W90 Motomaster GL4-5.....rear diff fluid was so discoloured (malted milk) that it may have ingested H2O at one time or another. I will change rear fluid in another 1-2 weeks.

Rob....please respond to #6 if time permits.....not sure what temp should be
when run for 20 min.

Still looking for trans oil.....I hear that Redline makes a 75W-90 that does not affect "yellow metals"

Regards for now,

les

[maple_leaf_eh]

If your HMV passed one inspection, don't let the licence lapse. It will only get harder from here forward.

[rob love]

130-140 is a little low, normal would be in the 160 to 180 range. Normally, if the jeep had the heater, it should have had a 180 thermostat, but you don't know what others have put in there for a thermostat over it's decades of civilian service. Remember the gauge and sending unit are likely almost 50 years old, so it would not be inconceivable it could be out 30° or so. The moisture in the gauge is not ideal, since they were a sealed unit. You can either live with that or replace it. I suppose you could run the Jeep and check the engine temp at the upper core of the rad with a digital thermometer of some kind.

It sounds to me like your radiator may have been simply overfull. The Jeep will find it's own level.

Re the rear fluid, another good indicator that you need to check the rear bearings. If the Jeep was deep enough to ingest water into the diff, then it was deep enough to contaminate the rear wheel bearings.

[Les Kovacs]

Hi Rob....I have driven the jeep only for 10-15min intervals and then slowly with no high speed and with only 1 person aboard.....maybe 130-140 is correct but I doubt it as it is more than likely the original thermostat.

Both axels have now been drained and refilled with motomaster 80w-90 Gl4-5.

I have found the 1/4 inch plugs at the rear wheels....the overflow plug works-plungers move freely....all I need to is buy 1/4 in zerks from CT.

I have also purchased 3 liters of Redline 75w-90 MT-90 trans oil to replace oil in trans & transfer case....this oil is GL1, 2 & 3 rated....its a full synthetic so I hope it does not puke out too much at $21 CDN a bottle.

Again, thanks for all the tidbits.....they are priceless.....If you have anymore maintenance items for this novice M38A1 owner...please do not hesitate.

Cheers,

les

[rob love]

The Cdn Army had those two zerk fittings removed as they did not properly grease the rear wheel bearings. As well, if you over-do pumping grease into there, it has to go somewhere. I suppose putting grease into there is better than nothing, but ideally you remove the axles, clean and inspect the bearings, I go with new inner and outer axle seals (since they are fairly cheap) and set the axle preload/endplay at the same time. Then you can drive with confidence. But it is a big job for a novice.