Build Thread 79 CJ7 "They’re coming to take me away aha"

[mriplaybass]

Your right Hedgehog, just the little bit we drove it yesterday around our pasture just about asphyxiated us. We put the trailer hitch, which will also act as rear bumper and spare tire mount on today. The pipes are now several inches recessed in from the rear most part of the jeep. This will allow us to put some bends in the exhaust pipe and have most of the fumes going out the side behind the rear tires without looking too ridiculous.

 

[Posi]

Great news
I'd recommend not installing the sway ba especially on your upcoming trip

 

[mriplaybass]

Great news
I'd recommend not installing the sway ba especially on your upcoming trip

I think that is the way we are going to go for the trip. We went out and rolled some miles yesterday, and it is a bit, shall we say, unstable, if I try to make any sudden maneuvers.
I have found some quick disconnect sway bar links that we may try after the trip. For now I guess we just take it easy on the highway. With the 4.56 gears the engine is pretty well wound up even at 55MPH, so I don't think we will push it much beyond that anyway.

 

[Hedgehog]

"Unstable" .... the words "sudden maneuvers" need to take on a different meaning in a CJ. I hate the facts of it, but the CJ's lack of over all stability is what killed off the original CJ. At first it is a little to very scary to drive a CJ on anything other than straight roads. Eventually, actually surprisingly quickly, you get accustomed to the body roll in corners. It's funny, my daughter says that I take corners slower than anybody she knows, not road corners but the quick hard corners you find in a subdivision and turning into the short driveways we have out here. I'm sure it's from driving a CJ. If you have a lot of CJ miles you know that proper cornering takes a little planning. My corners aren't exactly slow, they are smooth.

4.56 gears are serious off road items. But the old girl should be a true off road beast.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Great news
I'd recommend not installing the sway ba especially on your upcoming trip

One of the very first things I did when I drove my then new, '85 CJ7 home was to remove the sway bar.
Have never missed it, one dang bit. My CJ is a DD also--
LG

 

[Lumpy Grits]

"Unstable" .... the words "sudden maneuvers" need to take on a different meaning in a CJ. I hate the facts of it, but the CJ's lack of over all stability is what killed off the original CJ. At first it is a little to very scary to drive a CJ on anything other than straight roads. Eventually, actually surprisingly quickly, you get accustomed to the body roll in corners. It's funny, my daughter says that I take corners slower than anybody she knows, not road corners but the quick hard corners you find in a subdivision and turning into the short driveways we have out here. I'm sure it's from driving a CJ. If you have a lot of CJ miles you know that proper cornering takes a little planning. My corners aren't exactly slow, they are smooth.

4.56 gears are serious off road items. But the old girl should be a true off road beast.

What killed the CJ was the total BS/FRAUD on that 60 minutes show put out by CBS and the fact AMC was bought by Chrysler, just to get the "Jeep" name.
LG

 

[Posi]

^^^this

What a lot of folks may not know is the crew from 60 mins installed multiple heavy sand bags under the fender well/rocker on only one side so the CJ would roll easy.

 

[mriplaybass]

Feeling like the CJ is going to roll is not the problem. I took a few winding roads fairly fast today, and the jeep hugs the corners like it should. I think that there is a different problem. I replaced the steering gear box with a rebuilt one since the old one had leaky seals and the PO forced hoses onto it that were not the right threads. I have roughly 10 degrees of rotation at the input shaft on the gear box before the sector shaft even moves. This does not seem normal to me. The old one had next to 0 slop in it. I guess "unstable" was the wrong word. What I really meant to say was that the jeep wanders going down the road. Kind of scary where we live since catching the edge of the road around here could put you in a deep culvert or worse!

 

[BusaDave9]

Nice thread. Are you ready for Colorado? It's going to be a good time.

 

[007]

Exhaust is an EASY fix. Bend tips down 45 and out 45 so end is centered behind rear wheels. Done.

At speed, the turbulence behind the rear wheels pulls the exhaust around and out the wheel wells keeping it out of your tub.

That said...AWESOME. SO happy for you both!!!!!!

Is there any chance you can go back to your original steering box? Obviously on the trailer won't make much difference, but on the million dollar highway it can make a pretty exciting...

 

[mriplaybass]

Nice thread. Are you ready for Colorado? It's going to be a good time.

Already starting to pack a tool box, spare parts, etc. Sooooo ready willing and able!

 

[mriplaybass]

Exhaust is an EASY fix. Bend tips down 45 and out 45 so end is centered behind rear wheels. Done.

At speed, the turbulence behind the rear wheels pulls the exhaust around and out the wheel wells keeping it out of your tub.

That said...AWESOME. SO happy for you both!!!!!!

Is there any chance you can go back to your original steering box? Obviously on the trailer won't make much difference, but on the million dollar highway it can make a pretty exciting...

Old gear box had the threads and fittings totally screwed up by the PO. I think that I will call the vendor who I bought the gear box from this week and see if anything can be done.

 

[007]

Wow I need to proof read my posts...

What I meant to say was "on the trail" it won't make much difference...and on the Million Dollar Highway (550 South of Ouray) it could be a little too exciting.

As to the sway bar, I'm planning on disconnecting mine for the trip if I can get the !@#$ bolts to slide out of the end of the sway bar. The bottoms seem to slide fine but the top hasn't budged yet.

Well nonetheless, awesome work and very happy for you.

 

[mriplaybass]

Wow I need to proof read my posts...

What I meant to say was "on the trail" it won't make much difference...and on the Million Dollar Highway (550 South of Ouray) it could be a little too exciting.

As to the sway bar, I'm planning on disconnecting mine for the trip if I can get the !@#$ bolts to slide out of the end of the sway bar. The bottoms seem to slide fine but the top hasn't budged yet.

Well nonetheless, awesome work and very happy for you.

I know what you mean, I do plan on putting the sway bar on after the trip (the jeep came with a bran new one still in the box) but I do plan on investing the $50 or so for some quick disconnect links for off roading.
We have been putting some miles on the past few days, and I don't know if maybe all the new parts are starting to work in, or if I'm just getting used to the play in the steering, but handling seems to be improving. I went out on some roads with alot of "S" curves and hills, and had no problem with control. I emailed the vendor that I got the gear box from to see if the amount of rotational play that I am seeing is normal.

 

[mriplaybass]

[FONT=&quot]I called the manufacturer of the gear box and explained the problem with the excessive “free” rotation of the input shaft. They told me that this is not normal, and covered under the warranty. I called Rock Auto, and they told me to send it back and order a replacement. The next day I got an email from Rock telling me that they had made a mistake. The gear box is out of stock, and no idea when it would be available. I immediately ordered one from AutoZone. When I got home from work Friday, the new gear box was waiting for me. I put it in, and wow! What a difference. Still not where I would like the steering to be, but a whole lot better. I watched the steering gear while the wife moved the steering wheel about 15 degrees left then right. I could see the shackles moving side to side! I did not want to over tighten the bushings, but I guess under tightening is just as bad! I tightened all the shackles and spring mounts a bit more and took it out for another ride. I Immediately noticed great improvement. Back home and another look from underneath. Now when the steering wheel is moved back and forth, the gear box moves, and there is twisting of the front of the frame. Soooo…………………today we will be fabing a support bar for the steering box, and I might put a heavy metal plate across the 2 frame members in front of the grill to stiffen the front end so it no longer moves around as much.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I just checked my email, and it appears that Rock Auto has already issued a refund for the defective gear box! How often does that happen? I guess I better get the defective one on it’s way back. Thank you Rock Auto![/FONT]

 

[mriplaybass]

[FONT=&quot]I couldn’t see paying $50 to $100 for something that looks like it is nothing more than a piece of conduit, so I made a cross brace from a piece of 1” square tubing. It doesn’t look as nice as the ones in the catalogs, but it works! I can’t believe that such a simple modification has made such a difference! I used a small slip roll to make the bends to go around the sector shaft housing. The rest was just simple cut, drill, and weld.[/FONT]














[FONT=&quot]We will take it off and add some paint to make it pretty.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I started on the spare tire carrier.[/FONT]









[FONT=&quot]I tacked everything together and bolted to the trailer hitch mounting bolts. When I pull on the top of the carrier there is some flex in the mounting points. I think I will add a cross piece and bolt it to the body where I have seen some of the commercially made ones mounted. We have no reason to open the tail gate, so the carrier does not swing away.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A vacuum gauge has been added so we can monitor vacuum at high altitude and adjust timing if necessary. When we fired up the engine to check the gauge, something was wrong! 5” of vacuum?? I thought that maybe the new gauge was defective, so I hooked up my hand held gauge. Same reading. I hooked up the hand held to the vacuum port on the carb going to the distributor advance. Same reading. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Since we are breaking in all the new axle parts, I have not done any hard acceleration per manufacturers directions. But, I have noticed a bit of sluggishness when accelerating. I guess that in spite of soaking the carb in carb cleaner during the rebuild, the vacuum ports are still obstructed. I checked the vacuum directly at the manifold and got around 25”. We decided on the easy fix. We removed one of the manifold plugs and installed a “T” for the distributor and the vacuum gauge. What a difference in performance![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It was getting late, and we wanted to run some more miles on the new differential gears. Rain was in the forecast, so we decided to put the top on for the first time. It took both of us doing a bit of grunting, but the top eventually went on. More importantly, it stayed on throughout our ride! [/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]I guess I will declare success! With the gearing we selected, I never really intend to drive this jeep much over 55mph. We took it up to 55 and not only did the top stay put, but the “wandering” problem is nearly gone. I know that the ball joints are kind of stiff, and I think that replacing them will definitely take the steering to 100%. There is no play in them, but when we rebuilt the axle we noticed a definite stiffness. I drilled holes in them for grease zerks, and that greatly improved ease of movement, but they are still stiffer than new ones. Good enough for now. I will install new ones over next winter.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next on the agenda will be to make some sort of skid plate for the Transmission , and a front bumper.[/FONT]

 

[Hedgehog]

I'd like to have your shop. It seems like every time you need to do something you've got the right tool for the job. Shows a very active life and I like that. Wire wheel the heck out of that brace and paint 'er up, It'll look just as nice as the catalog braces, since you did it, maybe better.

 

[mriplaybass]

I'd like to have your shop. It seems like every time you need to do something you've got the right tool for the job. Shows a very active life and I like that. Wire wheel the heck out of that brace and paint 'er up, It'll look just as nice as the catalog braces, since you did it, maybe better.

Thanks Hedge! I think the wife lets me get these things to keep me out of trouble! Either that or she is trying to kill me knowing all the problems we are going to encounter with these jeeps! Either way, we are having a ball. Hope things change a bit for you, and you are able to come to Ouray for at least a short visit. We would love to meet you.

 

[Posi]

[FONT=&quot]A vacuum gauge has been added so we can monitor vacuum at high altitude and adjust timing if necessary. When we fired up the engine to check the gauge, something was wrong! 5” of vacuum?? I thought that maybe the new gauge was defective, so I hooked up my hand held gauge. Same reading. I hooked up the hand held to the vacuum port on the carb going to the distributor advance. Same reading. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Since we are breaking in all the new axle parts, I have not done any hard acceleration per manufacturers directions. But, I have noticed a bit of sluggishness when accelerating. I guess that in spite of soaking the carb in carb cleaner during the rebuild, the vacuum ports are still obstructed. I checked the vacuum directly at the manifold and got around 25”. We decided on the easy fix. We removed one of the manifold plugs and installed a “T” for the distributor and the vacuum gauge. What a difference in performance![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

The port that goes to the distributor should be ported not full vacuum.
Looks like it's coming along nicely.
Look forward to seeing you guys in 2 weeks.

 

[Hedgehog]

Ported vs. manifold vacuum is written about in quite a few places. The guys who seem to really know what they are talking about (being distributor engineers) support the use of full manifold vacuum. The idea being the minor roll vacuum plays in over all advance as it relates to mechanical advance and the fact that a vehicle under load looses vacuum no matter where it comes from. Ported or delayed vacuum came about with the early emissions controls where vacuum advance was thought of as bad. Modern day engineers believe quite the opposite.

I was going to switch my 360 over to manifold advance, but when tracing the spider web of vacuum lines my AMC V8 is already running on manifold vacuum.