M1 / M1A1 Heavy Wreckers and Accessories

[Osgood]

Respect for your perseverance, Sam!

[kw573]

Thanks Osgood.

I pulled the brake drum to re-grease the bearings and this is what I found! This is the axle with the spring brakes on it.


A test weld showed it to be cast steel, a LOT easier and cheaper to weld than cast iron. Yes, not accepted practice for brake systems, however, I don't plan to have this truck road usable.


Also the lower brake shoe had lost its' S cam roller.


Some of the bits were jammed in the brake lining . . . .


. . . and had gouged a sizable score in the drum. This score is beyond machining by the look of it.


Fortunately I have the bare bones of a tandem, which may have some usable parts. Also, I have a mate who has the bones of a Federal 604 which may have the same parts.
Does anyone know of an M1A1 wreck that I may be able to buy parts off if need be.

I was relieved to see that the M1A1 uses lip-type hub seals rather that the felt grease retainers used on the Diamond T. (Why did such a good quality truck use such a primitive method?)

Anyway, I am running out of time before the local MV meet on 10 April. So I am going to be busy!

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[kw573]

. . . . . so the bracket welded up without great problem. Just a bit of care so that the brake shoe will lay straight in the drum.



And the assembled shoes on the repaired bracket. Good enough for me!


I have stripped the tailshafts for inspection/repair while they are off the truck. The main shaft was missing the cap off the spline, so I made one from 1.6mm MS, dishing it with a hammer so that it would lock in place like a disc type welsh plug. No problems.


Next is to repack the wheel bearings.

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[kw573]

Hi all,

Yes, progress has been made. Both wheel hubs have been reassembled, using a hub and shoes off a wreck I have.


Then fitting the tail shaft between the rear diffs. I was not looking forward to this as the yokes are part of the diffs so that the universal joints have to be assembled under the truck, without getting any dirt in them. A LOT harder than it sounds as access is poor at best. And the caps were a firm fit in the yokes, good for reliability, but difficult for assembly. I had to use bolts of varying length to pull them into place. It is no surprise to me that this tailshaft failed on a truck in Europe, I was told. Fair dinkum , the difficulty in assembling it cleanly, and then getting at it to lube/inspect it periodically make it, to my mind, very much the weakest link in the whole truck. If you own one of these trucks and drive it at any sort of speed at any time, I STRONGLY advise that you be familiar with the condition of this drive shaft in your truck regardless of the difficulty in doing so.


But it worked.


Then the main tailshaft and wheels. It is hard to believe that I actually got it done.


A few other things I did was re-fitted a rear brake chamber that had needed a new diaphragm and changed the oil in the trailing rear axle. The first 1/2 pt that drained was more like grease than oil but at least it didn't have water in it.

Then I took it for its' first drive in about 6 months. HOORAY!!! What a relief that is all done.

Next is a bit of a drive to seat the brake shoes then a re-adjust to see how well the brakes work. They seemed a bit sharper as I drove it into the shed. Also, the brake foot valve is leaking air when applied. Probably air getting past the stainless steel diaphragm. Yesterday I stripped down a spare valve I have to clean/inspect/repair/test it and then swap them over.

I am still stiff and sore from that day.

Thanks for looking. Have a nice day.
Sam

[kw573]

Hi all,
The Bundaberg Swim-in is only three weeks away and I want to have the Kenworth reliable and usable for that. Now that it is driveable, I have adjusted the brakes and it stops fairly well, but it should put you through the windscreen. So I fitted a repaired Brake Valve, aka Foot Valve, which improved things. It took a bit to get the used main valve to seal reliably. Sanded it and lapped with valve paste, but still had to work it under air pressure for a positive seal to happen.

Then pulled the front brake chambers as I figured that as a piston type, they were probably suffering from very old dry sticky oil/grease making operation slow at best. Cleaned, replaced some hardened felt seals, lubed with air tool oil, reassembled, tested and painted. That should make a bit of difference.
Can't post pictures today, the G503 Album won't load this morning. I'll try another time.

Have a nice day.
Sam.
PS. Wanted to buy CO2 Fire extinguisher and/or bracket for Diamond T 969 Wrecker.

[kw573]

Now it is working.

Testing the brake valve. The cylinderical brass valve you can see is the dump valve, normally open and prone to mud wasp nests. The air hose is connected to the main valve.


M1A1 front brake chamber as removed.


. . and stripped down . . .


. . assembled ready for paint.


Sam.

[kw573]

. . . . . and ready to be fitted.


Unfortunately, one is quite badly pitted inside, but still holds air on the test bench.
Anyone got a good take-out/NOS that I could buy?
Or overhaul kits for them?

The battery carrier under the drivers seat has been rebuilt and I am fitting new cables and batteries in the next day or so.

Have a nice day.
Sam

[kw573]

Wow,
It is a long time since I posted on this thread.
All went well at the Bundy Swim-in, as reported elsewhere.

A general M1A1 Heavy Wrecker question.
Recently, a tool rack for M1A1 and others was on ebay, reported as an original rack to take 2 sledge hammers and a short handle shovel.
This is news to me!
The TM lists 2 sledge hammers and 2 short handle shovels in a 'bracket'. But no listing of the bracket/rack in the TM or parts manual.
The bracket in ebay (ex-Kronland apparently) clearly holds 2 hammers but only 1 shovel.
My truck has the holes to mount a standard Pioneer Tool Rack on each side step.
The standard rack is clearly longer than the one for the hammers. So the hammer rack won't mount there.
Can someone tell me about this rack? Where did they mount? Are they ex-factory or a field mod? Any pictures?

On a similar note, there are, apparently 3 small fire extinguishers with the M1A1. Two on the cab and one on the cranes. Where does the one on the crane mount?

Pictures and part numbers to follow when I get organized.

Have a nice day.
Sam.

[40 Chevy]

Sam;

I have the tool rack for the 2 sledge hammers on my truck. It is mounted on the passenger side. It is specific for the 2 hammers. I will post a picture when I get home.

John

[scott mc]

I also have one on my truck same side . I remember asking Kevin if thease wear Factory along with other items win I baught my wrecker from him and He did say they are Factory. and as far as I know he was the only one who had thease Racks for sale at one time . I will also say all the M1A1 wreckers he Had did have thease on them . I will post some pictures also tonight

[40 Chevy]

Sam;
I was able find one picture, the oil on the running board is from when the oil presuure feed line to the guage burst.
What a mess.

John

[kw573]

I saw the oil leak photo before but didn't spot the hammer rack. Duh!!!

So what shovel goes in this rack?

The shovel for the Pioneer Tool Rack is a standard number 2, stock number 41-S-3170, 26" long.

But apparently, the Hammer Rack takes a short shovel, number 41-S-1372. What does it look like?

Here is the picture of the one for sale, with a number 2 shovel sort of fitted.



John, when the time comes, I'll ask for the sizes, that I can fabricate one for my truck.

Thanks for the replies.
Have a nice day.
Sam.

[kw573]

John or Scott,
At your convenience, could you measure the length of the hammer rack for me please?
No hurry, I'm just curious.
Sam.

[scott mc]

sam the rack is 38 3/8- long & 12 1/4 - High. hope this helps. I may still Have the extra Rack I to Baught from Kevin. if your Looking for one Let me know.

[kw573]

Hi gentlemen,

I was using the Kenworth Heavy Wrecker a few day ago when the slew stopped working. The boom would pull sideways if the slew was engaged at the same time. But not by itself. Shear pin, I suspected. Over the years, the shear pins tend to be replaced with bolts. Not good. I had shortly before hand slewed uphill. Not recommended. From memory, the manual gives a maximum side slope of 8 degrees when working the crane. Anyway, this shows the slew drive, with the cover off.


And disassembled. It is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to get apart. Not as simple as it looks.


Here is the offending sheared pin. It was very short and only engaged the shaft on one side. I suspect that it had failed at some time in the past, and someone had simply drifted the pin along a bit to re-engage the shaft and left it at that.


The drive shaft.


More to come . . . .

Sam.