Broken driveshafts, cracked transmission bellhousing, and an uncertain future.
This is a continuation of So I bought an LMTV… Pt1. Be sure to check that out, and the Finale here
Executive Summary:
14-21 December was a pretty stressful 7 days for me. I learned a lot about this LMTV, some of those things the hard way. Despite this catastrophic failure I am thankful it happened when/where it did, and for Warfox Equipment’s incredible support. In retrospect, this was an epic adventure.
13 December
The truck had some vibrations around 30-45mph during the test drive, but the tires were from 2006, so we agreed to put New Old Stock (NOS) tires on and re-assess. I was planning on having the driveshafts high speed balanced prior to driving back to NC, but we were hoping the tires were the culprit of this vibration.
14 December
Unfortunately the driveline vibrations persisted during the few short errands I ran (buying oil and other fluids) even with the NOS Goodyear MVT tires on. In less than 50miles of driving, the rear driveshaft snapped, breaking free of the rear output shaft and rear differential pinion yokes. For what it’s worth, the driveshafts and U-joints (All of them, including the hard to reach ones) were properly greased the day prior.
A short phonecall to Brett and he walked me through engaging the transmission in “MODE”, evenly distributing power between front and rear axles, to allow me to limp it back to the yard a few miles away where he said he would have a donor driveshaft and pinion yokes waiting.
As myself and one of Warfox’s mechanics crawled underneath the truck to pull the front driveshaft for rebuilding/balancing, my heart sank: there was a crack all the way around the Allison 3070 transmission bellhousing where it bolts to the Cat 3126 flywheel housing.
A short phonecall to Brett and he was on his way to take a look, reassuring me that if it was bad, he had a donor transmission on a pallet in his yard. Speaking of, look at how freaking cool his yard is:
Now if you’re reading this and thinking the seller knew about this, or that I should be upset: please don’t. I have met less than a handful of small business owners as earnest, passionate, and committed as Brett Fox of Warfox Equipment. He was nothing but upfront and inviting, giving me full access to his yard, employees, and knowledge for over a week. I was buying a 21yo vehicle “As is” that had sat for long periods of time and that the US Government (a very not-for-profit enterprise) had decided to divest of, for some reason or other. Not only do I not hold this against Brett, but his steadfast resolve to getting the truck road-worthy to take me home despite having no legal obligation to has made me respect the hell out of him.
“Last time I checked, you bought a complete truck”
Both major revelations made my heart sink, but his steady reassurance put me back on course. We pulled the front driveshaft, pulled a donor rear driveshaft, and took them + bearing cups to American Driveline in Fort Worth to have them rebuilt. Their customer service left a bit to be desired, but I explained my situation and desired use of the LMTV. Although they said they looked like they were in good shape, I asked them to put complete new U-joint assemblies on w/ fold over washers, cut them open to remove the cardboard deadener inside + reweld and finish with a high speed balance. Two business days later both driveshafts were done, placarded, serialized, and wearing a new black coat of paint. Gruff people, damn fine work; my kind of place. That night, we pulled the rear pinion yoke off and called it a week.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we cut the bed off the truck, transmission swap, and I finally make it home.
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