The primer pump was handy, but there were perceived problems with operators overusing it, or trying to use it while the vehicle was running. Both were fiction in my mind. It was still hooked up on my first M37, and was handy when starting the vehicle after running out of fuel. So was the primer lever on the side of the fuel pumps.
Another thing that was commonly disconnected were the ether start bottles on the MLVW. Kind of a shame because they worked well. There were mechanics who thought the drivers would use the bottle while running for a supercharge, but that was of course nonsense since the solenoid only worked while the starter motor was engaged, and it only allowed a predetermined amount of ether to go into the manifold.
The other thing that was commonly disconnected on the SMP fleet was the mico brake. They were almost always disconnected on the old deuce, and that continued on to the (new) MLVW. There was nothing wrong with them, as long as an operator did not try and use it for a long term park brake. It was meant for a temporary brake for something like winching.
All of these things worked fine, and really did not need to be disconnected. On a single owner vehicle, there certainly would be no issues.
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