Build Thread 1986 CJ7 Rebuild - Chasing my youth

[Masscj7]

So, in a bit of a lull as I’ve been stuck in Virginia for 3 days and have 7 more to go for work training. Really bumming since I got a lot of stuff leading up to my trip and I just have to sit and wait.

New fenders and hood in much better shape than my originals


My favorite vendor delivered another goodie

And I did get a little clean up stuff done.


And my OCD kicked in


Super close to ready to drop in the drivetrain so get these next two weeks rolling!!



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[gert]

I cleaned, painted and re installed my tags on my Dana as well I think they are cool

Matter of fact I still have my tag on my Transmission as well


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[Masscj7]

So I think I’m going to rename this post, Project Highs and Lows.

Been buried by life and have been getting really frustrated that each day I say I’m going to work on the Jeep and then never get to it.

So I finally decided to dive into the oil leak in my motor. And it looks like it’s coming from crankshaft timing chain cover seal. Not sure if it’s cause I maybe drove it in not perfect and deformed it or maybe just cause it’s made in Mexico.





That seal came with the full gasket kit my engine machinist got for me. So called local auto parts store, they only had one in stock. And of course, it ends being the same exact one! Made in Mexico! Hopefully it seals properly.

So this weekend, I drove 6 hrs round trip to Long Island to get what I thought was a true find. Four original CJ rims, with Jeep center caps for $AMC 150 total!! From what I can tell, these are pretty tough to find. So I said please hold for me and I’ll drive on down as soon as I can. Guy held for 3 months for me.







But what I didn’t expect was that you just can’t get wheels rechromed. Apparently this is a very difficult that most wheel repair places don’t do. My initial investment is so minimal, I’m willing to spend some money to rehab these and I cannot find anyone to touch them. Grrrrrr

We’ll end on a high though. Said I’ll try my luck at the vile pitman arm removal. Prepared for a fight and it came off like butter! Will toss the new drop one on this weekend hopefully.


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[Ultrunner]

Nice Chewys box in the background. Haha. I order my monster’s food from there too.


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[gert]

Take a good look at your vibration dampener seal surface if it has a ridge in it it won’t seal with the new seal, I’m pretty sure they make a seal saver for your motor that will get it going again


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[Masscj7]

Well, I redid all the gaskets tonight. And man, was the oil pan and timing chain cover gaskets on good. That was a chore to get them off.

And yes Gert, the kit I got had the dampener sleeve, but the end of the crank seemed clean, but I didn’t really think of that then. But it’s also a brand new balancer/dampener, but that’s a great point. I’ll have to see if I can check that through the timing cover hole since I already buttoned up. I knew I should have spent more time on the phone at work today lol!

And yes, the Chewy boxes make great cardboard oil and grease floor coverings! My two monsters blow through food.


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[Basod]

Hopefully your seal is fixed this time.
I had a fresh 350 do the same thing years ago.
Take a close look at the old seal for any flattened area.
Install the cover bolt finger tight then install the balancer it’ll help align the cover seal. Then tighten the cover bolts with a crows foot to torque.
If it leaks again I’d suspect the cover is bent which is easy to do.

The rims look pretty decent. Light scotch bright on the rusty spots and some polishing compound might bring them back to respectability.
Might want to check runout on them before spending too much on them.

 

[Masscj7]

See, this is why this forum is great! Please donate and keep it going.

I checked the crank end and no groove, harmonic balancer is new, so no groove. Plus, picking the brain of the mechanics at work, they don’t think that area is pressurized, just splash from front bearing journal, which doesn’t quite explain the leak under priming conditions. But looking at the old new seal, it did look a little off, so maybe I didn’t install exactly even and warped it a bit. We’ll see when I fill again and prime.

Was going to work on mating Transmission and Transfer Case tonight, but didn’t like the PO’s choice of bolts for adapter (a little short, want an extra 1/4”) and then a pair of bolts grade 5 and metric. My OCD kicked in, so I’ll hit up Fastenal tomorrow. Plus one bracket needed paint since evening else is fresh.

Speaking of which, hit it up Friday for some new hardware, and well look what found its way into the car too.




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[Masscj7]

Oh and Basod, great call on checking the rims! Rechroming is not cheap and great thought to not waste money on checking runout! Thank you!


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[Basod]

The timing set is just a slinger lubricant point. Those seals can be a problem child if the cover dowel pins have any subtle play.

Nice impact- what voltage? We use the 28v ones at the plant all the time.
My 18v 1/4” impact driver has saved tons of time monkeying on the Jeep just doesn’t have the oompff on lugs and old rusted stuff.- HF corded for that stuff.


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[Masscj7]

18volt I had a Snap On one years ago. Was awesome for 15 years ago technology, but batteries quit on it about 8 years ago. Can wait to let this one eat! I have the smaller impact driver and it’s great for low torque applications.


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[mitchelllogic]

Hi from up north. I have had luck with ceramic coaters. Had my headers and manifold coated recently and was very pleased. They can usually strip chrome and give you all kinds of options for recoating. Not chrome but close.

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[gert]

Hi from up north. I have had luck with ceramic coaters. Had my headers and manifold coated recently and was very pleased. They can usually strip chrome and give you all kinds of options for recoating. Not chrome but close.

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Hey man thats a great lookin CJ

 

[Masscj7]

That is a sharp looking CJ. Are those wheels ceramic coated?


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[mitchelllogic]

Hey man thats a great lookin CJ

Thanks! I think so but I'm biased. Last one was a 1982 Limited Laredo ( I never should have sold!). This one is a retro mod (CJ, YJ, TJ, XJ all rolled into one.) Not so worried about staying factory correct as this is a daily driver not a collector.
Didn't mean to hijack your thread.
I like your CJ. Reading through your build now.

The headers and manifold in the photos were ceramic coated. The wheels on mine are 80s wheels from Wayne's Wheels in O.C. CA. (Looking for one more....nitro NIT-01 16") they are NOT coated.

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[Masscj7]

Mitchell, they look awesome and similar to the stock ones. Got me very intrigued.

Finally got to the big day this weekend. Called my pops and father in law and spent some great time dropping in the driveline.

During the week I must have pulled the Transmission and tcase adapters 4 times. From not liking the too short bolts the PO was using, take it all apart and go to fastenal the next day. Put it all together next day and realize that can’t use hex heads, no room for a tool. Go to fastenal and proper length cap heads. Put it all together again and realize missed a bolt for mating tcase on side that can only go in before adapter is screwed to Transmission . Take it all apart again, clean all the silicone and finally get it all together.

Finally buttoned up, you can see the difference in bolts, I wanted more threads to mate the two adapters.



Spent some time cleaning up the Transmission crossmember mount and all new hardware, but don’t think it’s going to work. Will explain later.



Got the new power plant moved into place. Lots of apprehension as I didn’t buy a lot of the conversion parts. Took a long time to find out that the PO has Hedman conversion mounts. From what I see the only non weld in mounts. Not overly stoked on them when I read about Novak, Advanced Adapt, and MORE ones, but I didn’t have to buy them so we’ll see. They are offset to the drivers side, but only by .5”, from what I read, preferably 1-1.5”. And crossmember mount is going to need attention too. Again, problem with kit really buying all this myself and inheriting the PO’s products that hadn’t been fit yet.



New 168 tooth flex plate that is giving issues as well. Summit shipped with 7/16 bolts. But torque converter takes 3/8 bolts. Next issue, flex plate only has three 7/16 bolt holes and and two 3/8 holes. When matched up the converter, two 3/8 bolts fall into 7/16 holes on the plate and that seems way too sloppy for me. The converters bosses are hardened, so trying to tap and rethread to 7/16 is not easy. So really scratching my head. Can’t get three holes in the right pattern with the right size. Had to table it for rest of weekend.



There’s other little snags that I’ll drop in another post as this is getting lengthy.



Issues at the mount and crossmember. But this feels really good to get here and was an awesome time with my dad’s as we cursed that they make it look so easy on these Motor Trend shows lol.


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[Masscj7]

So Summit says they may have had some issues with the items they sent me. I’m guess may means yes we have, cause they’re telling to to keep the parts and I’m getting a new flex plate and bolts. So hopefully that solves that issue.
Also, had issue with mounting Transmission /t case. Stock
Mount was way off. With the engine at a zero degree tilt, I could get a 4x4 block in between the crossmember and mount. This was with the BDS tcase drop kit not installed.




So poking around the web, found that Advanced Adapters has some mounts and spacers that I think I can make work. If not, at least I know I’l. Also be able to install the T-shirt and make it fit that I ordered from them as well. We’ll see.


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[Masscj7]

So my Arizona score, came out as good as it looked. Tiny bit of filler on driver quarter and two seat mounts that need a small weld, but other than that, this thing is flawless!! Dropped it off at body guy straight from sandblast Friday. Will get it shot with some primer to prevent rust and then we’ll dry fit and mock up.





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[Basod]

YJ tub- you planning on swapping the fuel filler?


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[Project86]

YJ tub- you planning on swapping the fuel filler?


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making a new hole for defrost duct, hole for clutch rod (if it's gonna be a manual), washer squirter to move, tailgate swap over, and.....