Patrick Tipton

I have been playing with other toys and doing just a little work on the T24. With the June MVPA convention looming, time to get back to work. I will be making a lot more posts again. Based on what I have seen (and nothing else) so this is speculation, I believe the T24's had matching engine numbers to their ordnance numbers or at least they were very close. This engine is a lot later than my hull number 127 but it was cast in 1943 and has a relatively early number at 689. Good enough! By the way, the casting numbers in the last picture mean W (1943) and Sept 20 (9 20). I dropped the crank and block off at the machine shop to have the crank turned and the block cleaned and inspected. The engine had a spun bearing so the crank definitely needed grinding. We shall see what the block needs - it may not need much. IMG_9251.mov

@OZM29C Totally agree - most guys don't have a mill so repairing the surface like you did is next to impossible. But, if the surface is bad, this is a great fix, even if you have to find a machinist to do the work. These water pumps are getting scarce everywhere, so you have to make them work.. As for shafts, seals and parts, the rebuild kit is the same as several later truck water pumps that are widely available here. PM me for a part number. @Pips_Blaauw If you have a press, this is easy - just a little scary the first time out of concern for the housing. Once you get it apart, check the seal surface and go from there. If the surface is just a little ugly, you can use sandpaper to polish a little...you just need to keep the sealing surface flat and square so if it needs more than a little, better off heading to a machine shop and have them clean the surface up or do John's repair. Patrick

Great solution John, as always. You probably saw that back in the day they made a special cutting tool for cleaning up the sealing face. It is shown in TM 9-1772. So far, i have rebuilt two Weasel water pumps and both were in nice shape...just a little 3m pad to polish them up. Given how hard it is to find one, though, this is a great way to fix one with a pitted surface. Cheers!

Check your emails Dan - I do have a couple left.

Greetings Rob: Sounds like the seals and/or bearing are failing. This is a video I made for the WW2 jeep water pump. The Weasel water pump rebuild is exactly the same process and steps. Don't forget to install the one bolt in the Weasel pump before you press on the pulley.

@OZM29C Happy New Year John! Thanks for continuing to make such an impact on the Weasel community by sharing this information with great photos and detail.

Billy Joe Hopper is selling the WW2 variety on Facebook....if you don't know him/have access etc.....let me know and I can get you in contact with him.

Interesting and nice looking work! I look forward to seeing the build thread! PS - where are you located? Patrick

Look great. How is it driving and steering?

Congrats. One little step at a time! On the wrist pins, it is a little strange that they are different. Wrist pins/pistons/connecting rods are very precise parts.....and there are a whole bunch of related tolerances. On page 300 of TM 9-1772, you will find all of them. I would sort this out before putting the engine back together - easy fixes at this point, not so much once the engine is together. I have sets of NOS pistons if you end up needing them - most are standard, but I think I have a few sets of .20 over etc.

Awesome - thanks Corey!

Sorry - no brush guards at this point. Do you have an M29 or M29C? I don't have plans, but can take pictures.... Also, how did you put the holes in the conveyor belting? Ty!

Looking good! How thick is your belting?

Always impressed my friend! Very nicely done.

That looks fantastic! What are you going to do for the bands?

Great stuff Fred. I think your observation about the center bands being really important is spot on. These tracks need to be very tight to run well. If the center bands aren't doing part of the work, there is a lot of leverage/stress on the center of the grousers. If the grousers have not been too abused, they appear to hold up OK with this stress and the outer bands doing the work...but if the grousers have been weakened by rust....good chance of breaking them.

That is a great solution John! I have a couple of pretty rough main shafts that have out of spec needle bearing ends.....

Congrats on the beautiful machine Rob! That looks like a nice Weasel that you can enjoy almost immediately😍 Enjoy and keep us posted. Glad you are enjoying the videos, I am having a lot of fun making them. Patrick

That is the correct starter Jim and the only starter used on the M29/M29C. I sent you a PM. I don't know of a substitute.

Drive Removal.pdf Second time is a charm.

Nicely done - and you missed all the fun!😂 I have Gary's article, but am not being able to post it Check your email.

The original transmission as you know is a T84J....they are a little hard to find, but you will. The Army replaced the T84 with a side shift T90 and there is an MWO so you might find a T90 too...depending on how original you want the Weasel to be. The bracing rod is a very late modification - your Weasel is a '44 if my memory is correct so no bracing. It is a great idea to slurp up that oil if you have a vacuum pump etc...on my list of tools to acquire. The fan definitely pulls air into the engine and sends it out the back duct by the muffler. The engine is turning counter clockwise. The personnel "heating" system for the Weasel is that air flow...across the engine...through the ducting/small holes behind the driver seat in the bulkhead and under the rear floor. I understand the need to edit audio😅 Good luck!

Oh the fun of the rear drive! I have had three out over the last 6 months. First, if you want to remove the whole unit, you need to take a 3/4 inch box/combination wrench and bend it like a banana. Test and adjust until you can access the rear lower bolt from the top rear down and the one under the rear drive from the front. Generally, the closed side of the wrench will stay on once you start unscrewing...so you can use an impact/socket on the outside and get it right out by yourself. Now, you can absolutely just pull the front half and leave the rear case mounted to the hull. It is an even messier way if that is possible, because you will get 1 gallon or so of oil all over the place, as opposed to pouring some amount out of the sides when you lift it up. Please take pictures....I guess you could just flip the guts and have the pinion gear line up? Very interested to see what they did here. Good luck!

That is a crazy amount of effort ...would love to know what they were thinking....I doubt they did anything to the actual rear drive - bet they just lived with two speeds. If they did, please share! If you are aiming to get it back to original, @David Yamulla has either all or nearly all of the control stick parts. The actual base on the hull is angle iron with one pressed piece - I may be able to come up with one that you could repair. Otherwise, doesn't look like they goofed up too many things....a little welding and grinding and it won't be Wrong Way Corrigan anymore. Congrats!

Greetings Jim. The spacing is 4.5" on center - that tracks with the spacing/timing on the sprockets. There are several varieties of tracks so it depends on which ones you have.....as to the number but 56 grousers are the most common. I know there are also 55 grouser tracks, but I don't have any and have not been able to measure a set. If you have pictures, you might post a few.