PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-581
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 581
APRIL 2001
MLRS Carrier…
PS 581
APR 01
16
M2/M3-Series Bradleys…
•
Don’t move out until you’re sure your Bradley’s ramp is up and locked. An open
ramp gets warped by bumps and jars. Locks break, hinges are damaged and the
cylinder arm and ramp pump break.
Double-check the ramp before you move out. That means checking the ramp indi-
cator light to see that it’s out. Just “thinking” the ramp is up won’t cut it.
•
Never drop the ramp on uneven ground. That puts a big strain on ramp hinges
and can cause warping.
Just remember that the ramp also serves as an armored door. If it’s messed up
and can’t do its job in combat, your vehicle—and everybody in it—makes an
inviting target.
Driving with ramp down damages these parts:
Ramp light on?
Ramp is unlocked
I
f your MLRS is blowing
smoke so bad that you could
mistake it for a smoke genera-
tor, you must have some major
problems, right?
Maybe not.
The problem could be as sim-
ple as a defective check valve
on the cold start pump. This
valve, NSN 4820-01-297-8296,
is supposed to prevent fuel flow
unless the COLD START
switch is on.
If the check valve is bad, fuel
flows all the time and your
vehicle can’t burn it all. Heavy
smoke and a damaged cold start
pump are the results.
Call in your mechanic to
check it out.
Tap Your Way Out of Trouble
Tap Your Way Out of Trouble
C
rewmen, when it’s time to drain or
refill the roadwheel hubs on your MLRS,
you may run into a little problem.
To get each hub off, you must first
remove the two retaining screws.
Problem is, the screws have often been
painted in place with CARC.
If that’s the case, those screws are
almost impossible to remove. When you
try, the heads of the screws get chewed up
and your mechanic has to get involved.
Here’s a little trick that may solve
the problem:
Tap the head of each screw twice with
a hammer. Lightly now—you don’t want
to crack the hub.
Lightly tap twice to
break paint loose
That may break loose the paint hold-
ing the screws in place and let you screw
them out easily.
Next, put a cross-tip screwdriver on
each screw and lightly tap its handle twice.
Cylinder arm
Hinge
Ramp pump
Defective
check
valve
won’t
stop fuel
flow
581. 16-17 (C)
2/28/01
7:15 PM
Page 1
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