BLUF: The M-ATV's steering wheel can be hard to turn if the vehicle has been sitting for a long period. Here's what you can do about it.
Operators, it’s hard to turn the M-ATV’s steering wheel, especially when the vehicle has been sitting for a while. That’s because wet sand and mud corrode the steering wheel shaft where it mounts into the cab’s floor.
Here’s what your mechanic can do to improve steering:
- First, remove the driver’s and passenger’s blast-absorbing floor mats.
- Use a 7/32-in hex wrench to remove the bolts that hold the steering column plate in place. The wrench is in a handy key set that comes with NSN 5120-01-473-9592.
- Now use a brush or low-pressure air (30 psi) to clean the area around the steering column.
- Next, you’ll want to use a dry-film lubricant spray on the steering column shaft. You can get an 11-oz spray can with NSN 9150-01-260-2534.
- While you’re at it, use a grease gun and lube the shaft’s U-joint with three (3) or four (4) pumps of grease.
- Replace and re-bolt the steering column plate and put the blast-absorbing floor mats back. If they’re damaged or missing, replace them. Get a driver’s floor mat with NSN 2540-01-577-0620 or passenger’s floor mat with NSN 2540-01-577-0627.
That’s all there is to it.