M35A2 Duece & a half engine?

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

i know this is probably a longshot but...... is there anyone on here that has experiance with the engines used in the 2&1/2 ton M35A2 6x6 military trucks....the LD465 LDT465 or LDS465 multifuel engines.

 

what i want to know is what they are like reliability wise

 

i'm sorta thinking on would make a good conversion engine(and the spicer gearbox that goes with it) for my housetruck....being able run on free waste engine oil appeals to my cheapskate side...plus it would mean i would be able to travel more and work less if i'm not paying for fuel.

[GeneralDisorder]

I've worked on them. Reliability seemed alright - we had lots of them in our inventory from the 1960's and 70's. But the military rebuilds stuff occasionally as well so it's no gaurantee they had the original engines. That said - not a single one of them ever let me down. I particularly liked the M35A2's because of the 6 wheel drive, 5 speed D/R and air lockers. They will climb tree's if you know how to drive them . The duals are a pain in the neck off-road though.

 

The multi-fuel 6 cylinder's have a "viscocity compensator" that allows them to run on just about anything except av-gas (too hot for them I think). They will run on Deisel, Kerosene, and Gasoline and any mixture of same. Plus whatever else you might have on hand if it's mixed in. . They prefer Deisel though.

 

I had to change a few starters and such in them from time to time - that was a HUGE pain in the a$$. The starter is under the freakin thing and it weighs just about a ton. Took two or three guys to do it easily. I'm not sure one person could easily do it since holding it in place while starting bolts is nigh impossible with two hands IIRC. But it's been a few years since I did one.

 

I would rock one - the beauty of that plan is that there is tons of surplus parts for them I'm sure. The military pretty much wrote them out of the system about 10 years ago and the only one's left in service are in the Reserve and National Gaurd units and stuff that's been sold to Forestry services and independant contractors, etc.

 

I approve of your plan. Military hardware (especially something like the M35A2 which saw service for 40+ years) is rarely a bad choice.

 

Oh - don't expect it to be fast. Top speed in a duece is like 45 to 55 MPH and they are straining to maintain that. The gearing in the transmission is designed for off-road and low speed use. But at least you probably can't break one.

 

GD

Edited September 7, 2010 by GeneralDisorder

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

thanks GD thats exactly what i wanted to hear....i figger'd that military surplus stuff is normally pretty good...as it should be if your relying on it when someone is shooting at ya

 

as for the speed issue i've run the ratio numbers thru a gearing calculator and if i was running the stock trans out of a M35A2 (0.85OD) with my diff in high ratio i would be running about 2350rpm at 55mph....max speed on the 2600rpm governor would be around 68mph.

 

as you say, not real fast but when your already home its not so much of a problem:grin:

 

lol now i have another big dollar item to look forward to shelling out money on