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84 CJ7 4 banger-owned since new in 1984 bought off truck at dealership - rebuilding 258, T176 with Sniper EFI D300 4:1 Lomax gears Twin Sticked 1 piece axels with locker
Last day in the mtns. Wife drove most of today.
Rear locker seems fine. Visited with an old friend last night during the raffle giveaway (4x4 shop owner where I worked through college) and he said the new Detroit Soft Lockers don’t have the same tooth depth for engagement and when you back up a few feet, then go forward, they have a hard time engaging. Who knows?
I think it was about 1997 on a run of the Iron Chest Mine Trail in the fall, mom stepped out of their CJ5 onto a big boulder and we called it her perch.
It was really special for us to find that same boulder, this many years past, when we ran that trail again this summer. Very emotional, since mom's recent passing this May. But, very cool at the same time. Jeepers keep rolling...
Aug 22, 24:
-Working on a swing out spare tire carrier.
Fabrication is done, just need to add reinforcement frame tie-in brackets at rear frame ends and crossmember. Will bolt and weld in place. Turned out pretty nice.
Mounted spare tire carrier and took Jeep for a test ride this evening to see how solid it is. Pretty dang impressed!
Built it to sit a bit high and close to tailgate for good clearance at the rear.
9-1-24:
-Decided to mount the winch I bought a while ago. Trimmed it down, welded-in unused holes and drilled new holes in the “Universal” channel I had. Bought some new grade-8 hardware too.
Afternoon install and it looks good!
Jan 1, 25:
-Ordered parts and pieces from Novak Adapters. Will begin the NP435 rebuild once the shipment arrives.
-Has me thinking about replacing the clutch while I’m replacing the Transmission . Might as well.
-Also, might as well replace the rear main seal too, along with the oil pan gasket. Seeps a bit now.
-Over Christmas I welded on a spring-loaded pin to the hub on the spare tire swing out. Secures it fine now in the out position.
-Disassembled the Transmission this evening. Fairly easy and looks like the components are in good shape. One tooth is a bit chipped on the small gear on the counter shaft, that’s about all I could find. Bearings look great and the 3-4 synchro is perfect.
I believe a good cleaning, new gaskets/seals and fork shoes will be all that’s needed.
-The Novak output shaft should be here in a couple days and I’ll have to swap that bearing over.
I’m putting back together the NP435 with a Novak adapter for a Dana 300Transfer Case.
I’m setting the end play for the input shaft and it seems either too tight with 1 gasket, or maybe too sloppy side to side with 2 gaskets under the flange. Novak paperwork leaves a lot to be desired. I realize that the new pilot bushing should stabilize everything when assembled. But, to get my proper end play, I’m questioning the resultant side to side amount. Anyone have a spec on this? Or, don’t sweat it?
Moved the Transmission into the kitchen - too damn cold in the garage.
-Got ahold of Novak today. They were great! I realize now that with their new main shaft installed, the tolerances are much tighter than Ford’s manual indicates, which I was referring to. Gert forwarded his Dodge manual and it’s closer to Novak. However, it helps now that I have all the disassembly and reassembly info from Novak - only had about half of it, which was very odd. Anyway, I need some additional synchronizer shims and more input bearing retainer gaskets/shims to re-set the 2 key settings. So, waiting on parts for that.
-I decided to work on the top cover shift rails. Worked on the basement bench because it’s still too cold in the garage. Removed everything, pics/cataloged as I went. Then, cleaned and reassembled with the new detent springs and balls, plungers and roll pins. I shimmed under the 1st /2nd gear detent ball spring with a little washer in the hole to give it a bit extra pressure to stay in gear. Didn’t grind/file any notches because they all looked great/low use.
Doubt there’s much over 75k miles on this Transmission .
-Small parts arrived, so got the Transmission re-setup. Seems better now with the additional synchronizer shims and input bearing retainer gasket/shims. Tolerance settings are much tighter now.
-Filled it up with a gallon of 80w90 and put the refreshed top back on with new gasket and sealant. Stuck the shifter down in and cycled through the gears. Very nice!
-Received the clutch kit, rear main seal and oil pan gasket a few days ago. So, I’m ready now to pull out the Transfer Case and Transmission .
-Been a while, mostly because it’s been too cold to work out in the garage. Plus, had to fix one of the ATVs for the ranch. Dang Suzuki has been nothing but trouble. Got back to the Transmission transplant.
-Pulled the Transfer Case , Transmission & bell housing in one afternoon. Funny, but i think the Transfer Case is heavier than the Transmission . Putting back the NP435 will be a chore. Will get my neighbor to help when that time comes.
-Still need to pull the pressure plate and flywheel, then take it down to get resurfaced.
-Will drain oil, pull pan and clean up everything after that in prep for new rear main seal and pan gasket.
-Was thinking of cleaning up the bell housing and the old T-5Transmission at the car wash. I think I’ll try eBay for any takers on that Transmission .
-Removed clutch Flex Plate and the Flywheel. Flywheel looks salvagable. Ring gear is in good shape too. Will take Flywheel to the NAPA in the little town over the ridge to have it resurfaced.
-Drained the engine oil and cleaned things up a bit ahead of removing oil pan for the new Rear Main Seal and Gasket.
-Encountered a setback though. Another reason to not like that T-5Transmission = bolt pattern is a bastard pattern that doesn't really fit anything else. Result is, I need a different Bell Housing one with the standard "Ford Butterfly" bolt pattern. Dangit! Guess I missed that in the fine print when I did the research. Anyway, another order placed from Novak Adapters for the proper, used Bell Housing with new loose parts (fork, ball and spring, boot). Funny how this "free" Transmission from our bone yard has turned into a money pit. Ha! J.E.E.P., right?
I also noticed that the threads in the hole at the 5 o'clock position appear to be a bit stripped anyway.
The bastard bolt pattern for the T-4 , T-5 & SR4 . Holes are not parallel to each other...
The more standard "Ford Butterfly" bolt pattern of the NP435. Holes are parallel to each other...
-Ordered new Flywheel bolts and Flex Plate bolts. Could probably get away with the old, but might as well go with new hardware.
-Still need to pull the Pilot Bushing in the end of the crank and tap in the new one from Novak. Not sure I have any pullers that'll work, so will have to go the the auto parts store and borrow that little do-dad with the tiny puller arms that goes on the end of my slide hammer.
-Removed clutch Flex Plate and the Flywheel. Flywheel looks salvagable. Ring gear is in good shape too. Will take Flywheel to the NAPA in the little town over the ridge to have it resurfaced. View attachment 103213
-Drained the engine oil and cleaned things up a bit ahead of removing oil pan for the new Rear Main Seal and Gasket.
-Encountered a setback though. Another reason to not like that T-5Transmission = bolt pattern is a bastard pattern that doesn't really fit anything else. Result is, I need a different Bell Housing one with the standard "Ford Butterfly" bolt pattern. Dangit! Guess I missed that in the fine print when I did the research. Anyway, another order placed from Novak Adapters for the proper, used Bell Housing with new loose parts (fork, ball and spring, boot). Funny how this "free" Transmission from our bone yard has turned into a money pit. Ha! J.E.E.P., right?
I also noticed that the threads in the hole at the 5 o'clock position appear to be a bit stripped anyway.
The more standard "Ford Butterfly" bolt pattern of the NP435. Holes are parallel to each other... View attachment 103212
-Ordered new Flywheel bolts and Flex Plate bolts. Could probably get away with the old, but might as well go with new hardware.
-Still need to pull the Pilot Bushing in the end of the crank and tap in the new one from Novak. Not sure I have any pullers that'll work, so will have to go the the auto parts store and borrow that little do-dad with the tiny puller arms that goes on the end of my slide hammer. View attachment 103214
To pop out that old pilot bearing you will never get a puller in there.
Find a dowel or long bolt / all thread that fits pretty well in the bushing. Then wrap tape around the bolt so it fits very tight. Fill the bushing hole with grease and then beat the bolt into the bushing hole. The hydraulic pressure will push the bushing out (grease does not compress.)
Appreciate that CJ. I’m familiar with that method. Didn’t have to go that route though. A couple times now, I’ve managed to pull small pilot bearings and bushings like that with a store-modified puller borrowed from the local O’Reilly auto parts store.
Got’r popped out this morning. New bushing seats further out in the outer step. NP435 has a shorter input shaft.
3/1/25:
-Removed oil pan today. Wow! Haven’t done that in about 20 years and it sucks!
First thing is to remove the 187 bolts holding it on. Most are 7/16, but a few are 1/2 at each end. Easy, except for that one buried under the passenger side motor mount (I have a tip for this, later post). Then, you have to tap/pound a scraper through the joining surface between the pan and block, at least the rear half up to the motor mounts. Great upper body workout. Seems like a half mile of tapping.
Hopefully now you can pry, carefully, at the rear corners & it comes off. Geesh!
-Removed clutch crank bar assembly. Cleaned it up good and painted.
Maybe this will be helpful as a tip for removing the oil pan on a CJ Jeep AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l .
That last bolt (dang sucker) tucked under the passenger side motor mount, is a bit tricky.
I believe, conventionally, the passenger side motor mount is in the way and removing it is the chore.
Instead of removing the motor mount, I took one of my 1/4” drive sockets in 7/16” and I ground it down on the bench grinder to as short as possible. The goal is to get a socket on that sucker.
We all have “junk” sockets. There’s a small space in there, behind the motor mount, to fit a socket. The socket ends up being about 9/16” tall to squeeze in there.
The scale vs a .280 Rem case (same as 30-06). Ha!
That replacement bolt will be a socket head bolt (Allen head).
.
Aug 22, 24:
-Got ahold of Novak today. They were great! I realize now that with their new main shaft installed, the tolerances are much tighter than Ford’s manual indicates, which I was referring to. Gert forwarded his Dodge manual and it’s closer to Novak. However, it helps now that I have all the disassembly and reassembly info from Novak - only had about half of it, which was very odd. Anyway, I need some additional synchronizer shims and more input bearing retainer gaskets/shims to re-set the 2 key settings. So, waiting on parts for that.
