Safety Warning for M-38A1 Owners

[rob love]

I have owned and been working with M38s and M38A1s for 40 years now. I have never seen anybody so sloppy as to put the smaller thread tie rod into the larger diameter tube. In this day and age of do it yourself, there are some people who should be paying for labour, or at a minimum, asking questions when something doesn't seem quite right.

I did have a similar experience with a CJ7 back in the 80s. I had been driving on the highway at 100 kmh the day before. Next day, the ex took the jeep and turning onto the road, the tie rod came out of the tube. The vehicle was an ex-Ontario vehicle, and at that point was just 8 years old. Turns out the clamp bolt had failed. We don't see corrosion like that here in Manitoba.....8 years is still not half life for a truck in this province.

The next year I spotted a crack in the frame, and a month later the side frame actually split. When I went to rebuild the jeep, I actually removed the rollbar without using any tools.

I have never bought another Ontario vehicle again, other than a Bren carrier which sure enough needed pinholes patched n the floor.