52 M38a1 Motor Pool Resto

It's worth leaving the axle nut loosely threaded on the end of the shaft when using the puller. That way it doesn't all fall on the floor or shoot across the shop when it pops loose.

 

I too envy your parts stash! Especially since I'm working on similar areas of an a1 now.

 

For further information on reman military engines, I offer the data plate for the engine I'm working on. Manufactured in 1953, rebuilt in 1956.

 

Nice! I wonder how it found it's way back to the USA?

 

That's a pro tip...And a pro I am not!

 

Blalp! (Shaun) was here today. I got a jump start on him quite early but here are the highlights. I did what I could to get ready for the work on the tranny/transfer, mostly scraping and cleaning and washing parts.


Front bearing retainer off. Pulled out 72 year old seals which was interesting. A joint effort was in order. Probably a better idea to do this BEFORE the retainer is off but success. My bad.

Shaun insists upon strict cleanliness. All seal surfaces to bare metal and wiped with acetone before paper gaskets and sealer is applied.

Seals installed with correct sealer, oil resistant of course.

And rear bearing retainer with shims. Thread sealer applied to squeaky clean bolts. Spray sealer applied in between shims as advised.

Almost done. The bolts for the companion flange and the drum must be installed before driving it home. I might have omitted this information to Shaun on the first try. No worries.

Not shown is lot's of mundane blasting and cleaning very old grease off of great parts. Life is good, and thank you Shaun for your expertise today!

 

It was a fun day! Always a pleasure to chat and work on Jeeps. I think we make a good team.

I like the look of the military park brake to the civilian version. It seems like it has better ground clearance, and possibly stronger holding capacity. Perhaps someone can confirm.

 

Do you guys hire out?
Nice work. You make a good team indeed.
Looks like you got a lot done. Both M38A1's like to leak gear oil. They will both probably need a reseal on the transmission and transfer cases eventually. I just keep them topped off. Seems like if I drive them more, they seem to leak less.

Dave

 

I have wondered the same thing.

Was or is there a felt seal installed behind the metal/neoprene seal?

 

Yeah. My M-715 had served in Germany. I always wondered who brought it back and how.

My Dad brought a Jeep back from Japan after WWII, which was supposed to have been dumped in the ocean. But he nearly got court-martialed.

 

I feel sure that the M38A1 my dad had in Vietnam is still over there as a taxi. They replaced the M38A1's with the M151's and my dad tried to keep the M38A1 at 1st Hospital Company, but it got traded out and stayed in country. Maybe a trip to Vietnam would yield a bounty of surplus military Jeep parts.

Dave

 

No we're not for hire ...YET!

 

There was but it was disintegrated, almost beyond recognition. Yes, we did install the felts behind each yolk.

 

I may have just come inside from the shop and found a steaming pot of squash soup with croutons and the wood stove doing it's thing. Bless my wife on this crappy/snowy/rainy day.

 

Belly of the beast. Trying to get this wrapped up and put back on the shelf until reassembly in the spring. Getting this thing sealed up took much longer than anticipated. I hope the sucker doesn't leak after this effort. One by one, I even sealed the bolts that mate the two gear boxes without divorcing them. No thank you. Takes time to get things squeaky clean before reinstalling bolts. I'm under strict instructions from Blalp! to keep assembly on the up and up. Thanks Shaun!

Gears look practically new. Hell of a day to misplace my gasket scraper and I'll be dammed if I can find it. I literally had it in my hands for an hour yesterday. I should have checked Shaun's pockets before he beat it out of here. I have an alternate thankfully.

 

OK, razor blade clean and wiped down with acetone.

I should be a poster child for Permatex. All sealed up, I hope. I'm not painting now. I have not decided on this yet...Appreciate your thoughts but I like things a bit on the rough side personally.

I have to say that I'm really digging the sturdy rolling cart that came with the new (old) blasting cabinet. It's pretty sweet and I didn't need to build it. Someone put some nice effort into it. Thank you!

 

Looks good! The time spent now is worth it. I prefer to keep the leaks to a minimum.

As for your gasket scraper; it’s not sitting inside that transfer case is it?!

 

I knew that I should have check you for silverware.....Bastard.

 

No that's the cheap *** Lisle scraper that I dislike. My preference is that old Craftsman that I've been abusing for almost 30 years....

 

Not gonna just shoot it with the OD green?