Build Thread 79 CJ-7 Renagade

[GoldenEagle36]

that Cj has a great stance withe the 35s:drool: and yeah i have mine shootin out the side,a dn i love the kackle they put out

 

[Niedhogg]

Well, goodbye Pennsylvania! It has been great visiting and pretty much living in this state for the last 9 months, but it's time to head home to Iowa..

You showed me what it's like to have trees, really big hills, and winding roads.

You introduced me to fly fishing, which I never thought I would ever try, and now it's the only way I want to fish.

You gave me real maple syrup, which I never really cared for until living here..

You taught me that no matter the miles to your destination, it will take twice as long to get there.

You showed me how to get lost on my Harley, but then not even care because everything is so beautiful out here.

You introduced me to my first great lake, with iceburgs in the spring to half naked chicks in the summer, and from the the fantastic Walleye fishing to the badass Steelehead this fall, you have it all Lake Erie..

But the #1 thing you have taught me PA, is that Jeeps rule the land here, and even though I didn't finish it in time to wheel your countryside, I will be back.. to conquer your logging roads and rocky hillsides..

Thank you PA, for my CJ... this ones for you...

 

[Niedhogg]

Well, xmas is over and back to the Jeep, dual exhaust is DONE!

Registration is DONE! (I was a bit worried, New York, PO signed and dated tile in '97)

Now it's in MY shop, and we'll be dealing with the dumbass PO spring swap issue, and trying to work out some wiring bugs like brake lights and the choke coil...

 

[Niedhogg]

Some eye candy for you guys...

The caravan from Pa, to home...
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My son, and his Cherokee S, with my little 12' boat on top..
he said he felt like he was heading to Yellowstone.. lol..
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All three lined up behind the shop..
View attachment 7781

 

[Bucks86Renegade]

That there is a pirty Jeep harem.

 

[subaruski]

great build

 

[Niedhogg]

great build

Thank you, it's ongoing of course, so stay tuned!!

 

[Niedhogg]

Well, today's the day.. swapping the springs around on my CJ, to fix what the PO screwed up yrs ago. Going to be a good day here in Iowa, yesterday was 60 degrees, today 50 or so... can't wait to drive this baby on the street finally, on Monday we hashed out the wiring issues with the lights, and between poor grounds and old connections they are all working great. I was cleaning my basement yesterday and found an old Sun, oil pressure guage still new in the box and thought that would be a good replacement for the one in the dash that doesn't seem to work yet, lol...

I left my tailgate in Pa, but since I've been home I have joined a Jeep club and have already located a new one. The name of the group is JOCCI, and they have a place called "The Farm" that they wheel at regularly, and I should be able to see what my Jeep can handle, and learn some wheeling technics from them, the farm looks pretty intimidating from my novice point of view, but I am assured that "it's not all that bad".. you guys should check out their site, they have some good pics and videos of the farm, and they take a trip or two to Moab every year, as well as other places.. they seem to be a very active group, and I can't wait to get involved!

 

[GoldenEagle36]

you left PA just in time.. congrats on the Jeep club

 

[Niedhogg]

you left PA just in time.. congrats on the Jeep club

You got that right, my friend!


And in other news, springs have been swapped successfully, and I have given the CJ a shake down run... 4 blocks to the gas station to fill her up, and then 6 blocks back to the river trails to try and get it dirty!! What a blast! Drove down into an old creek bed, crawled around, tried to climb up onto a rock for a pic, but kept sliding off, think lockers are next on the list, plus I was at full tire pressure, but man were we slinging some mud! Getting dark so we high tailed it home, 30 miles to the house from the shop, seemed to run pretty good, need to recheck the timing, it seems I lost a little umf when I set it the other day, but I was guessing at around 10 Degrees BTDC, might need some more it smells pretty rich and isn't as responsive as it was before.. not missing or backfiring, but seems a bit flat..

But anyways... I HAVE A JEEP!!!

 

[Niedhogg]

Another trip to town and back last night, tranny took a second to engage when we left so I checked when we got to the shop and she was a quart low.. I haven't liked the way the new dipstick tube fit into the tranny since day one, I even put a fatter o-ring on it shortly after I installed it, it was so loose, and probably where it's still leaking.. that's going to suck to fix again..

Also topped off the tank, and it looks like I'm getting about 10 mpg, I reset the timing again to about 15, from 8, and it seems a bit more responsive but it's still rich. I pulled the carb to add a 1/2" spacer today and noticed the gasket was very wet, just from starting it and moving it 50', so I should check the float levels, this is a new carb, I just pulled it out of the box and bolted it on.

I also need to put the PCV valve into the intake, my 60 mile round trip last night netted a spray of oil out of the filler tube vent and all over my air cleaner and hood, oops, LOL... oh well what we screw up now, saves us later on the trail, right??

 

[jeepboy45]

I also need to put the PCV valve into the intake, my 60 mile round trip last night netted a spray of oil out of the filler tube vent and all over my air cleaner and hood, oops, LOL... oh well what we screw up now, saves us later on the trail, right??

HAHA its nice to hear about others dumb little mistakes from time to time, but only when they arent toooooooo bad!! Guess its time for a little degreasing under the hood, air clearner, etc....!!!! I find Simple Green is an awesome cleaner for greasy messes (mistakes)...

Glad to hear Jeep is up and running...

You did a LOT of work since you started this thread. You should be very pleased

 

[Niedhogg]

HAHA its nice to hear about others dumb little mistakes from time to time, but only when they arent toooooooo bad!! Guess its time for a little degreasing under the hood, air clearner, etc....!!!! I find Simple Green is an awesome cleaner for greasy messes (mistakes)...

Glad to hear Jeep is up and running...

You did a LOT of work since you started this thread. You should be very pleased

Thanks Jeepboy, I am very pleased so far.. and I have plenty of simple green so I can can afford to screw up like this, anytime...

 

[tonkatrucksryan]

Awesome Thread!!!! I just found it. I will keep following it now. Very Nice Jeep. Cant wait to see it painted up Great Work!!!

 

[Niedhogg]

Awesome Thread!!!! I just found it. I will keep following it now. Very Nice Jeep. Cant wait to see it painted up Great Work!!!

Thanks, Tonka..!


Well, y'all know I finally got the springs swapped around on my CJ, the PO screwed up the 4" lift install and had the front springs in back and the rear springs in front, but anyway, my point was, before I noticed this major screw up with the springs, I had dropped my Transfer Case 2" to correct the bad angle in the rear and everything looked fine (other than the loss of ground clearance), but now after I have corrected the springs, it looks like I can go ahead and raise the t-case back up now. It seems the PO knew enough to order the rear degree shims when he ordered the lift, or they just came with the springs, but either way it looks like my pinion angle is actually over-corrected with the t-case dropped, now that everything is where it should be. So that means I'll gain my 2" back!

 

[TexasBlues]

i guess what they say is true...

sleep IS over rated...

or...

i can sleep when i m dead..

insane timeframe on your build... glad you got her home where she can settle in and become part of the family

i ll be following this one from here on out

 

[Niedhogg]

i guess what they say is true...

sleep IS over rated...

or...

i can sleep when i m dead..

insane timeframe on your build... glad you got her home where she can settle in and become part of the family

i ll be following this one from here on out

Thanks Texas, I had a LOT of help from my son, who was in PA with me... and I honestly can't believe I drove it onto the trailer when we left for home Dec. 21.. Even though I started with pretty much a frame with a driveline in it, I was fortunate that the PO had already cleaned and coated the entire frame, and even though it was completely backwards, the 4" lift was already installed as well, which I guess I really can't count since I had to basically do it all over, lol.. we even spent several perfectly good Sundays, driving all over god's green earth chasing parts, and the rain, man did it rain a lot.. I truly can't believe I'm driving it around here at home.. i love it, and there's more to come, right now it's just a driver and I have plans for building bumpers, a cage. rock sliders, 5-point harnesses, basically everything needed to really get off road somewhere.. the off-road club we're thinking of joining has several of these items on their "required" list to go wheeling with them, so I will be busy the next several weeks, so keep watching!!

 

[jeepboy45]

HAHA its nice to hear about others dumb little mistakes from time to time, but only when they arent toooooooo bad!! Guess its time for a little degreasing under the hood, air clearner, etc....!!!! I find Simple Green is an awesome cleaner for greasy messes (mistakes)...

Glad to hear Jeep is up and running...

You did a LOT of work since you started this thread. You should be very pleased

Niedhogg: I guess Kharma is a b***h!!! and shouldnt have poked fun at you for your pcv valve oil issue!!!! guess what I did..... took a valve cover to diagnose a problem, put in marvel mystery oil in the engine and walked away for about 10 minutes... You know what happened? MMO must have loosened up something in the oil system my pushrods began pumping oil while i wasnt watching.....OIL EVERYWHERE!!!!!! I will be using simple green today for sure to degrease EVERYTHING.....

http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/hydraulic-lifter-cam-lobe-issue-12371/#post99136

Hope you made it back to IOWA safely...
brian

 

[Niedhogg]

Niedhogg: I guess Kharma is a b***h!!! and shouldnt have poked fun at you for your pcv valve oil issue!!!! guess what I did..... took a valve cover to diagnose a problem, put in marvel mystery oil in the engine and walked away for about 10 minutes... You know what happened? MMO must have loosened up something in the oil system my pushrods began pumping oil while i wasnt watching.....OIL EVERYWHERE!!!!!! I will be using simple green today for sure to degrease EVERYTHING.....

http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/hydraulic-lifter-cam-lobe-issue-12371/#post99136

Hope you made it back to IOWA safely...
brian

I read your thread.. OOPS! That stuff must really work! And we made it back just fine.. by the way, I mentioned in your thread that I have now raised the bar for dumb mistakes.. You will want to laugh, but be carefull, karma is watching..

 

[Niedhogg]

So, I was going to keep this to myself, but then I figured it could be a learning experience for everyone and that we can learn and grow together, and to not judge one's mistake no matter how stupid...
In my defense, I was just really excited that I'm able to drive my CJ, and one can overlook the simple things...

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