Re: [MV] '43 GPW Brake problem

Antoine Compin (acompin@earthlink.net)
Thu, 06 May 1999 14:51:51 -0700

At 09:09 AM 5/5/1999 +0100, Dean L. Kellogg, Jr wrote:
>I have a problem with a front brake on a '43 GPW. When the brakes are
>applied the jeep pulls to the left>

A nother couple of things to watch for, as it has happened to me on my MB:
It will pull to the left if you are not using the proper leaf spring for the
left side which is rated for a substantially higher weight than the right to
compensate for the off-centerline position of the engine. Your jeep leaning to
the right when viewed from the front will tell you that you have the wrong
leaf-spring assembly.
Also, make sure the pivot for your bell crank (positioned of the front axle
housing) is not worn out..mine was, and changing it improved things quite a
bit.
And of course, as someone already told you, check all of your steering linkage
and tie rods and suspension shackles and U bolts.
It goes without saying that you must have the proper toe-in and camber on your
front wheels. Toe-in is particularly important.
As for checking that you have the appropriate left front spring assembly,
it is
trickier... As far as I know this assembly was identified with a "L"
painted on
one of the leafs, which obviously is gone when the original paint goes... My
left spring is still probably a right side type. My jeep was purchased in 1976
from the French Army Surplus and had been rebuilt at "La Maltournee" a number
of times in it's 30 years of post-war service in the French Army... For that
matter I do not even know if Hotchkiss-built (WOF) spring assemblies were
different from the left to the right: a lot of the M201's look like they are
sagging a little bit to the left.... And to complicate matters, Hotchkiss came
up with springs with a higher weight rating for their models carrying
recoil-less guns or missile arrays on the back...
If anyone has a trick to identify this part when all paint markings are gone,
let us know...

and, by the way, my MB still pulls to the left if I brake hard..I just keep it
in mind and grab the wheel firmly...

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