M548

[karl_m38a1]

thanks a lot Rob

that's what I was thinking but... we never know !

maybe one day I will find one, but it should be on the US side like you said

[Robin Craig]

The Brits disposed of some of theirs and work was considering bringing one over but we decided if we got bogged down in paperwork it could ruin the parade so a Brit vehicle was substituted.

The Ontario Regiment museum has one. Not sure if it is genuine ex CF or US

[maple_leaf_eh]

There may have been one in BC about 5 yrs ago being offered privately. Not user what happened to it. Might not even have been a full 548 but a something similar on the "pickup truck" chassis.

[James P]

Karl, friends do not let friends buy a M548. They are six tons of work when loaded with cans or ammo and most importantly what Rob Loves says about them being a nightmare to maintain as you have to take the thing all apart to access anything, or work upside down trying to wrench on it......and have eight inch fingers with universal joints for knuckles helps. But hey, if you have some degree of masochistic vehicular desire go for it. Robin that is a X-CF 548, Deihl tracked, useless mod for snow grousers on side, CF paint.

[rob love]

One of the worst things I have found on the M548s is the fuel tanks are part of the floor/hull in the back of the vehicle. If parked outside and without their tarps, water inevitably leaks into the tank, eventually causing fuel problems. It doesn't really seem to matter how well you seal up the access plates on the top of the tanks.



From the water in the fuel comes the other problems....heaters that quit after 5 minutes run time, broken quill shafts from an engine that is not running smoothly, and engines quitting after the filters are full of water.



They are fun to drive, but not so fun to maintain.



Back in the day, the NSN was in the manual for the hardtop. I ordered one in, and sure enough for some reason the supply system had one. We had to make the windows, but it was still a very nice addition. If the vehicle had been assigned to me, it would have ended up with an Iltis hot water type heater instead of that useless inferno of a fuel fired heater that came with them. Heat was very important here in Shilo.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by rob love

....

From the water in the fuel comes the other problems....heaters that quit after 5 minutes run time, broken quill shafts from an engine that is not running smoothly, and engines quitting after the filters are full of water.

....

What is a quill shaft? Don't recognize the term.

BTW, the Alvis Stalwart is probably worse to repair. The engine is a Rolls Royce inline 8 UNDER the rear deck. Except for a few final drive and steering components, everything else is inside a semi-armoured monocoque boat hull. And the edge is eyelevel off the ground.

[rob love]

The quill shaft is a splined shaft that is about 1/2" in diameter and maybe 8" long. It drives the blower from the engine's gear train. It acts a safety fuse to prevent damage to the blower from things like a driver revving the throttle up or down pretending to be a race car driver. An engine that is hunting can also cause the shafts to break.



They are normally magnetic, so you can pull the broken pieces out with a magnet, however there were some batches that were non-magnetic so it was a lot more complicated getting the broken sections out.