PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-579

PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly

ISSUE 579

FEBRUARY 2001
PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-579 - Page 8 of 33
J
ust because you can use the
brightness control knob to completely
dim the lights on the commander’s
panel of your M1A1 tank doesn’t mean
you should. In fact, you
shouldn’t
.
Dimming those lights completely is
a real safety hazard—especially when it
comes to the warning lights.
PS 579
FEB 01
13
M1A1 Tank . . .
Aluminum Shoes
Protect Sling
M1-Series Tanks.
..
Don’t turn brightness control
knob all the way down.
One crew learned that lesson the
hard way when the NBC filter on their
tank caught fire after the air cycle tur-
bine failed. The crew reported that the
NBC OVERHEAT SPONSON OUT
light didn’t provide any warning. It
turned out that the warning light was
working but had been completely
dimmed.
So follow the procedure on Page 2-
179 of TM 9-2350-264-10-1. It tells
you how to adjust the brightness con-
trol knob so the lights are dimmed but
still readable. Never dim them completely.
For the M1/IPM1, cut the same size
deflector, but attach and bend it like this:
As part of before-operation PMCS,
M1 crews should make sure the deflec-
tor is bolted in tight. If the deflector’s
missing, report it.
M1/
I
PM1 tank shield
The shoes are 2 inches long by 1 inch
wide by 2 inches high. Cut them from
aluminum stock, NSN 9530-00-232-
5584.
T
he M1 tank’s engine and trans-
mission sling, NSN 4910-01-086-6837,
is a heavy piece of equipment. That’s
why it’s usually dragged to where it’s
needed in the motor pool.
But dragging puts a lot of wear and
tear on the sling’s rivets. Sooner or
later the rivets snap and the sling col-
lapses in the middle of a lift. You don’t
want to be nearby when that happens.
Protect the sling’s rivets by welding
small aluminum “shoes” to the under-
side of the sling.
PS 579
FEB 01
12
A
fix has been around for years to
prevent the M240 machine gun’s feed
tray cover from being torn off when the
M1’s main gun is lowered. But some
units haven’t gotten the fix and are still
replacing covers at $250 a whack.
The fix is a deflector that fastens to
the turret’s ceiling. If the M240 cover is
left up after loading, the deflector push-
es down the cover when the main gun is
lowered.
To
make
a
deflector
for
the
M1A1/A2, cut out a 5x18-in piece of
thin metal—tin’s good, so is aluminum.
Wrap the edges of the deflector with
duct tape so it won’t cut your hands.
Use the two existing ceiling bolts to
bolt the deflector to the turret ceiling.
Bend a curve in the forward portion of
the deflector so it will push the M240
cover down.
M1A1/A2 tank shield
Weld shoes to
underside of sling
579. 12- 13 (C)
1/11/01
4:23 PM
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