Info needed: 1967 M38A1 Lubrication?

[Les Kovacs]

Wow...quick reply...thanks for the more detailed info as per carb adjustment.

Never heard of plastic "horse hair" filtration media...but, if it does not become too brittle and fall apart....I am not worried. I have however poured kerosene into the top half/cover with the "horsehair" in it...swished the kerosene around for 3-5 min then poured out the mean looking goo....did this twice until what came out was somewhat clean....also cleaned the SOS pad like media in the lower half as well as replace the oil at the bottom and cleaned out the whole housing. Hopefully, kerosene was the proper cleaning fluid to use.

Thanks again,

les

[Les Kovacs]

Hi Rob....it has come to my attention that I had an important question to ask as per safety but totally forgot over the last two weeks....it is regarding the front original OE hubs. While at a military vehicle show...while I was away from the jeep my wife was talking to an MV collector (he was showing off a British Scorpion of the early 80's and a 40's Willy's jeep)....he mentioned to my wife that I had better replace my front hubs with a Warn or other selectable hub as the OE hub was known to crack and grenade the front axle (happened to him). He was pretty insistent explaining this to my wife at the time. She has since brought it to my attention again and being that safety is paramount with me I though I would ask you for your opinion. Is this a none issue?... or have there in fact been problems?....or this is a problem but most likely due to lack of proper maintenance?

PS...out of the hundreds of pics of jeeps of all ages I have seen on google & other websites I have never seen one with aftermarket selectable hubs....just all OE hubs.

les

[maple_leaf_eh]

I'm not Rob, but I'll jump in.

Yes and no. Locking front hubs were all the thing in the past for civilian pattern CJs. The hubs serve a purpose, but HMV owners typically do not modify service pattern vehicles to suit civilian quirks. We'll put a roll bar on for safety, but not jack up the suspension for clearance. That said, I don't remember the last time I saw even a CJ with locking hubs, so either tastes have changed or technology has gotten better.

[rob love]

Les:

He is likely talking about the axle knuckles grenading, which was applicable to the older knuckles with 4 large ball bearings acting as the U-joint. With a bit of wear, and a full turn, a ball could pop out, and the force of the jeep was now pushing against a locked up knuckle. It usually happens at slower speeds since any full turn over about 18 miles an hour results in a Jeep rolling over.

Good news is that there is a 99% chance your Jeep has the more simple standard Cardan type U-joint. That is to say that, inside that knuckle is a normal universal joint much like your drive shaft. It does not have seals on it like a drive shaft U-joint. Instead the knuckle is packed in grease. In all these years, I have never had to replace a U joint on a CDN2 or CDN3 front axle shaft.

So don't bother with the locking hubs. That said, I did see some of the earlier knuckles find their way onto the Cdn2s. That is where the 1% comes in. There was an overlap for several years between the 52 and 53 Jeeps and the CDN2 and CDN3, so if there would be a problem in the front end, the whole axle or axle shaft could get changed with an earlier assembly or component.

On the earlier Jeeps with the early knuckles, the axles can be changed up to the more modern type, but usually guys do not do that until they have experienced the failure.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks Rob & Terry for your input on my last "hub" question.

Rob......update on the rad/coolant/temp issue.....so, before work on the cooling system (old coolant, old leaking water pump, puking rad coolant after shutdown, temp gauge always fogging up and no thermostat whatsoever, the temp gauge never read over 140 F.)
Now, after professionally flushing the rad, adding in a 160 F thermostat and a new 3 pulley water pump and adding new coolant at about 60/40 coolant to water ratio regardless how the jeep is driven, the temp gauge rarely fogs up, the rad never pukes coolant anymore, however, the temp gauge now always just gets a hair past 180 F (never any higher)...why? and what may be the issue?....bad thermostat?.....bad temp gauge? or bad sender?....just after shutdown the rad coolant temp at the rad cap always reads about 155-160 F.
Is the thermostat not opening?

Thanks,

les

[rob love]

If the temp is truly 185*°, that is not a problem, the cooling system is fine at that temp. Did you try a mechanical gauge to confirm that temp though?

I had our ceremonial M38A1cdn3 out for a run the other day and it too runs at 185*°. I can't say what mine runs at....unless it crosses the 200 mark I don't consider it a problem. The real problems start at around 230 to 240, when the coolant will start to boil.

[Les Kovacs]

Hi Rob....no, I have not tried a mechanical gauge as I do not know how and I have never seen a mechanical gauge that replaces a proper sending unit.

As previously mentioned, several times right after shut off I cracked the rad cap and quickly put in a temp gauge meant for fluid immersion and the temp is always at 155-160F.

Where can I get a mechanical gauge and where does it plug in?

Also, why would the average coolant temp rise from 130-140 F to 180-185 F after having the rad flushed, a thermostat installed and a new water pump?

les