Willys M38 A1 - "Klinger"

**pajeff02** · 09-02-2018, 02:23 AM

I had to run Klinger out yesterday to free up the lift bay for some work on my nephew's car. When we were all done, I went to move him back inside and the engine would start, run a few seconds and die. I was finally able to get him to move by immediately dumping the clutch and then coasting as the engine sputtered out. The only thing I did to the engine yesterday was fiddle with the throttle linkage, turn up the idle a touch, and after installing a section of shrink tube on the wire I connected the temperature sender. I can't imagine that any one of these would cause the issue.

**pajeff02** · 09-08-2018, 02:17 PM

I checked fuel pressure and flow and after reinstalling the fuel line was able to get Klinger to fire up and run again. Not a clue.

Swapped out the front driver side brake wheel cylinder this afternoon. It must have sprung a leak on our last outing as I noticed that the inside of the wheel was wet while it was on the lift a few weeks ago. I have new wheel cylinders, hoses, brake shoes and springs for all four corners. If I recall, we were only able to remove 2 of the brake drums when we were initially checking everything out so I may be in for some fun.

**pajeff02** · 09-15-2018, 02:48 AM

Front brakes are all done and I have moved to the rear. So far, everything has come apart with minimal fuss. The back driver side drum needed some coaxing with a BFH but it eventually worked its way off. I may replace at least one section of brake line in the back. Have to take a closer look at it where it runs through the retainer clips on the axle.

**pajeff02** · 09-15-2018, 04:24 AM

Went out and greased the rear wheel bearings this morning. Pretty cool setup - there are plugs on each side near the bottom of the axle. You remove the plug, thread in a grease fitting (I found one that would work on the steering bell crank) and them you slowly pump grease in until an indicator pin on another fitting located on top of the axle starts to rise.

**pajeff02** · 09-15-2018, 05:41 AM

**pajeff02** · 09-22-2018, 04:55 PM

Scored some parts at the military vehicle show and swap meet today -- oil pressure sender, engine ground strap, rubber cap for the starter pedal, throttle cable barrel nut, and the big win: NOS front seat bottoms in the boxes.

**pajeff02** · 09-23-2018, 05:04 PM

I am all set up to drill the rear oil galley plug. Point. Of. No. Return.

Maybe tomorrow night.

**pajeff02** · 09-25-2018, 02:56 AM

Finally had something go right. I was able to extract the oil galley plug located on the back left side of the engine that feeds the head.

I had to purchase a right angle drill with the smallest head profile I could find to get in between the engine and steering shaft in order to drill out the plug. I ended up shattering one drill bit when it caught breaking through the back of the plug. Hoping that I can locate all the pieces. I fished both the upper and lower galley holes with a magnet several times and retrieved hopefully all of the metal shavings, but no drill fragments.

***SMWS6TA*** · 09-25-2018, 06:12 AM

Check the broken bit you have to see if it's magnetic.

**pajeff02** · 09-27-2018, 02:56 AM

It is. I fished out both the upper and lower galleys with a magnet. I also slapped an allen wrench on a magnet and used it to probe down into the galleys a bit. Pretty sure I retrieved most or all of the metal shavings, but no drill bit parts. I have to search the floor under the jeep as it may have flown clear.

**pajeff02** · 09-27-2018, 03:04 AM

Top fitting is the oil line that runs to the head and the bottom fitting connects to the oil pressure sender on the other side of the engine.

And with the engine running we now have a working oil pressure gauge. I still need to attach another gauge to verify that this one is reading correctly.

**pajeff02** · 09-28-2018, 03:00 AM

Installed the PCV valve last night and a cone shaped strainer that mounts under the outlet to help cut down on any oil draw. Dawn came out to assist so we replaced the passenger side seat back cover and the new seat bottom. The seat bottom is a shade darker than the back, but nothing I am going to worry about as it will all fade in the sun. Hoping to tackle the front oil galley plug this evening so I can finish plumbing the oil filter. This requires removal of the fuel pump and I will replace the short rubber feed line and bend up a new line to connect the pump to the carburetor. Right now, we have 2-1/2' of rubber hose running up to the carb.

**pajeff02** · 09-29-2018, 04:19 AM

After running great the other night, I tried to pull Klinger out of the lift bay to clean up after the last round of work and it stalled in the driveway. Same deal as last time, it would not re-fire unless I allowed it to set for awhile between attempts. Then it would start, run for a few seconds and die. Obviously a fueling issue.

I pulled the feed line at the carburetor and slipped it into a water bottle. With the engine cranking, I could see it "puff" but no fuel came out. I then pulled the line at the pump and verified that it was free of blockages. Upon removal, fuel did run out of the fitting on the side of the pump. This meant that at least some gas was getting to the pump.

I removed the driver seat and then disconnected the fuel line at the tank. Under the hood, I unscrewed the feed hose to the pump and attempted to blow air through the line from the tank pickup line. I had immediate back pressure between my air nozzle and the pickup line. I tried to back blow the line and again had immediate back pressure. Removing the feed hose from the end of the line (which desperately needed replacement) I still had a blockage.

Working back, I then removed the fuel shutoff valve adjacent to the radiator and the next test was successful. Inspecting the shutoff valve I found the debris that was blocking the flow of fuel. I blew this out, but elected to bypass the valve for now as it is inoperable. I then back blew the line to clear it of any remaining debris, hooked everything back up, and at 9:00 last night we were able to go for our first jeep ride in over a month.

**pajeff02** · 09-29-2018, 01:07 PM

Our first test drive today went well. The second, not so much. There was a parade in town this afternoon for something (that's how much I pay attention to stuff) so we had to loop around campus to get to a gas station. At the south end of town as we popped back out on Main Street we smelled brakes. Sure enough, it was the jeep and it got worse once we left the gas station. I pulled off in front of a vacant business and surmised that pressure was building up in the brake system as I had just replaced all the wheel cylinders and adjusted the brake shoes. There is a heat shield that is not yet back in place adjacent to the master cylinder so I thought that was the issue. Of course, my only tool was a pocket knife so we placed a rescue call to a friend who was working up the road. After opening up the cap on the master cylinder and confirming that that it was not under pressure my brother went to work adjusting the pedal. There was zero free play and the master cylinder had been recently replaced by a prior owner. Once he obtained around 3/4" of free play everything was fine. Apparently, the rod was not traveling back into the cylinder far enough for the fluid to flow back into the reservoir.

**pajeff02** · 09-29-2018, 03:35 PM

We went for a final ride this evening and all seemed good. We probably put around 15 miles on it today so it was a good overall test of things. Now I need to plumb the oil filter, work on the lights, figure out how to install turn signals, buy new tires, and add seat belts.

**pajeff02** · 10-01-2018, 02:59 AM

Took Klinger out again last night. Fired up fine, went up the road about a quarter mile to meet my brother with his M151A2, and it stalled in his driveway. Would not re-fire and acted like it was not getting fuel again. A shot of starting fluid and it rumbled to life and then everything seemed fine so we went for a ride. Brake pedal acted up again and started to get hard. I could feel just a bit of brake drag so we looped back home after a quick stop at a friend's to check out his latest truck project. During our ride, I shut the engine off twice and it started fine both times. Not sure what exactly is going on but it may have just sucked up some more junk from the tank.

**pajeff02** · 10-04-2018, 03:00 AM

Sunday afternoon we went for our first "convoy" ride. Granted, it was just our jeep and my brother's M151A2 but it was still pretty cool tooling around town. The brakes acted up again so I did some more work on them. Hopefully we have the issue solved or I will likely be replacing the master cylinder.

I ordered up tires from Universal. About choked at the final price tag -- 4 tires, 5 tubes, 5 flaps and shipping came to just over $1,000. I had a hell of a time dismounting the old tires. The one that I really wanted to save, marked "Pennsylvania Mud & Snow", I ended up cutting the bead and sidewall to remove.

At least one tire date coded back to 1962. I knew they were old, but had no clue they were from the '60s. Damn glad I replaced them before one went boom on us.

***SMWS6TA*** · 10-04-2018, 05:51 AM

I know there's a place in Chattanooga, TN that makes classic tires for all kinds of old, discontinued vehicles. Sorry I can't remember the name.

**pajeff02** · 10-04-2018, 03:52 PM

Too late now, but thanks.

Was hoping to debut Klinger at the cruise in tonight but we were rained out (of course). We did get in a ride around the hill after dinner. Damn deer were running and jumping all over the place on the other side. Dawn was afraid one was going to try jumping into the jeep and take her out. Probably be payback for her killing its grandfather deer with her car.

**pajeff02** · 10-07-2018, 04:34 PM

Finally found the wiring issue for the right side brake light. At some point in time a hook must have been attached through a hole in the rear crossmember (rather than using either of the rear shackles) and it ripped into the wire harness. I repaired the broken wire and think everything is working now, just not the way I originally thought. Turns out the left rear light housing has the service tail light and service brake light. The right rear housing has the blackout tail light and blackout brake light.

I originally thought that the service brake light circuit would energize both light housings so I chased myself in a circle for a bit after making the repair and then finding that I still did not have a service brake light on the right side. Since we will be driving Klinger on the street, I will probably clip the connection for the blackout brake light at the harness junction and connect it to the service brake light wire. This will give me dual brake lights which is probably a lot safer with all the dumbasses on the road these days. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I will leave a short pigtail at the harness junction that will allow me to re-connect the blackout circuit.