Operation AWOL

[ZEUS]

Yeah, I want to upgrade the rear, I just haven't done enough research to even begin to understand what I need to buy. What on this page would help me???

Bart

You need to figure out what gears you have now - if you have 4.56's you may want to step up to the 5.38's: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=369
.or: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=225

You will be hard-pressed to find the 5.38's for the front tho. Missed that window... Unless of course you are thinking about the SAS...???????

[nfpgasmask]

You need to figure out what gears you have now - if you have 4.56's you may want to step up to the 5.38's: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=369
.or: https://www.independent4x.com/mercha...roducts_id=225

You will be hard-pressed to find the 5.38's for the front tho. Missed that window... Unless of course you are thinking about the SAS...???????

Well, wouldn't upgrading the rear still help a lot?

The SAS crossed my mind, but this truck is not intended for a serious rock crawling. My Trooper will be my daily driver and expedition rig. With the 33s I am pushing it, but I don't think a SAS is really necessary until I get over 35s. I am thinking about Joe Darlington's diff drop and some upgraded (beefier) components for the front end.

So much to do, such little time and money.

Bart

[tom4bren]

Man, that looks just like the one I used to drive around Ft. A.P. Hill alla time. It was even in similar condition. IIRC mine was gas tho - they had prolly already run outta spare diesel engines.

Don't know if the story is true but I'd heard that GM took such a bath on the diesel engines that the Gov't bought the CUCV to bail them out & the engines were so bad that part of the contract was for a spare engine with every unit produced.

[pbkid]

ya, my dads diesel took a crap..otherwise he would have kept it...IIRC the gas motor actually gets better mileage and has more power...

[Joe_Black]

ya, my dads diesel took a crap..otherwise he would have kept it...IIRC the gas motor actually gets better mileage and has more power...

A gasser V8 that gets 25+ MPG in a 1 1/4 ton 4x4 truck? What's he got in it?

[pbkid]

A gasser V8 that gets 25+ MPG in a 1 1/4 ton 4x4 truck? What's he got in it?

no no...the diesel he had was only getting 4 or 5 mpg when he got it (hence the reason for the replacement)

his is strickly a farm vehicle...almost never driven on the roads, so he doesnt really measure mileage...but a tank of gas lasts WAY longer now...

[Triathlete]

Justin, over on Pirate " 100dollarman" does a lot of military surplus vehicle sales HERE. Might be an option for parts or donor vehicles. He is in north central Arizona (just north of Show Low).

Off topic...what was the brand of bed liner you used on your cladding and who sales it?
Back on topic...that stuff might be a good option IF you decide to repaint the AWOL and if it comes in the right color!

[Joe_Black]

no no...the diesel he had was only getting 4 or 5 mpg when he got it (hence the reason for the replacement)

his is strickly a farm vehicle...almost never driven on the roads, so he doesnt really measure mileage...but a tank of gas lasts WAY longer now...

Crikey! Yeah, I'd fix that too. Pity he didn't know much about diesels, they're way simpler than gassers and it likely just needed the pump adjusted. Before it was "squished" our M1028 made it from Kansas City to St. Louis running about 70MPH and averaged 24MPG. And that was with the stock 3-speed TH400 automatic.

Well, I started looking into rebuilding mine just to be on the safe side and found this buildup article: http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/c...dup/index.html

It is what kinda scared me off and into thinking the 6.5 would be a better candidate for me to build up. And since '94 was it's 1st year of production as well as the 1st year of production for the NV4500 (with the 6.34 1st gear) I figured I could have one donor truck with everything hooked up together without needing gueeswork and adapters. I can buy a complete '94 for around $2500 whereas fitting just the Banks turbo on the 6.2 would run me $2000+. I still think the 6.2 is a fine motor but without an OD the CUCV is not going to work for a loooong road trip so I am trying to kill 3 birds with one stone.

Gotcha. I'm going to hold off on the turbo for a while as I was duly impressed with the M1028's get-up-and-go abilities. Definitely will be on the hunt for the 5-speed manual so we'll have to compare notes whenever I get to that point. Right now my focus is putting a flatbed on the Mack and overhauling the brake lines on the M35A2 since it likes to blow a line every time I want to stop on asphalt.

[ZEUS]

Man, that looks just like the one I used to drive around Ft. A.P. Hill alla time. It was even in similar condition. IIRC mine was gas tho - they had prolly already run outta spare diesel engines.

Don't know if the story is true but I'd heard that GM took such a bath on the diesel engines that the Gov't bought the CUCV to bail them out & the engines were so bad that part of the contract was for a spare engine with every unit produced.

Really? That's odd. I don't believe it because like Joe says the motors had a great track record. Now the 5.7 gas converted to diesel was a pile of turds!

[ZEUS]

Well, wouldn't upgrading the rear still help a lot?

The SAS crossed my mind, but this truck is not intended for a serious rock crawling. My Trooper will be my daily driver and expedition rig. With the 33s I am pushing it, but I don't think a SAS is really necessary until I get over 35s. I am thinking about Joe Darlington's diff drop and some upgraded (beefier) components for the front end.

So much to do, such little time and money.

Bart

NEVER EVER change the gear ratio one axle at a time! As soon as you put it in 4wd the front and rear axles will turn at different rpms and will break something. But with the extra weight and diameter of those tires you really do need gears. The 2.8 is such a weak motor... as you know. The 3.4 will still be under powered for those meats.