Build Thread '81 CJ-7 Laredo build

[Petescj]

Saturday evenings project is to rid myself of the stock tire carrier. There is a dry rotted 33 in spare on it now. It clanks and will fatigue the sheetmetal if I leave it this way. Originally I bought the bumper / tire carrier for my Cj but we need something to hold a 35 in spare now so off with the old...

 

[Petescj]

Well when I went about tearing things apart to put the bumper / carrier on I decided that was better left for another day. It ties into my frame and I need to remove the rear spring perches and just wasnt up to that much of a project today.

When you have as many things to do on your Cj as I do you can pick and choose a little. The Laredo seats in the Cj were shot and there were some black Bestop seats in the Limited I wont be using so until I find some nice Nutmeg replacements Vicki wanted them.

What was great was that she did a good job swapping them as well.

She did a pretty good job. Sure I loosened a bolt here and there. I had to lift them into the Laredo as well. But she bolted them down while I dropped in some fresh Shell Rottella. She also swapped the other seats back into the Limited just in case. Gotta love her. Heres the result of her hard work.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Out working on the Jeep with the wife, pretty cool

 

[Old Dog]

Tell Vicki to keep up the good work.
Someone has to get that jeep ready to ride.

 

[Petescj]

Out working on the Jeep with the wife, pretty cool

It was pretty cool. Im not used to having anyone in the garage with me.

Tell Vicki to keep up the good work.
Someone has to get that jeep ready to ride.

Now now , I was there drinking beer , I mean " getting other things accomplished" as well.

 

[Petescj]

Working on all that little B.S. that can drive you nuts. Since the Transmission swap the shifter didnt fully engage in park. Light issues included 1 headlight, both sidemarkers , 1 turn signal and a crushed tail light. The speedo cable was shot.

All that little is taken care of now. I still need to get lights working for the gauges. It also looks like ( as is with most Cjs ) the gas gauge doesnt work. For now shes all lit up on the outside. Still more work to be done , then on to the rear bumper / tire carrier install.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Get er done Pete


~ Jr

 

[Petescj]

Lol. The dash lighting and electrical kind worry me since the windshield frame is rotted out. Headed down to the garage to start deciphering that now.

Get er done Pete


~ Jr

 

[wm69]

Pete, check your headlight switch. Mine the dimmer part burned up and kept the dash lights from working. New switch fixed it. Since you have more than one Jeep swap one you know works properly in and see if that fixes it. If it does, run to NAPA and get a new switch.

 

[PaRenegade]

Add yourself some new ground wires to the dash and to the headlights that come straight from the battery (or make a grounding post on the fender for a distribution point that comes from the battery)

 

[Petescj]

Pete, check your headlight switch. Mine the dimmer part burned up and kept the dash lights from working. New switch fixed it. Since you have more than one Jeep swap one you know works properly in and see if that fixes it. If it does, run to NAPA and get a new switch.

Good idea but ofcourse I have 1 light that actually works. Maybe its just bulbs.

Add yourself some new ground wires to the dash and to the headlights that come straight from the battery (or make a grounding post on the fender for a distribution point that comes from the battery)

Thanks for the advice. An electrical guru I am not. But that I can handle. I ended up skipping the dash lights and am after all the leaks right now. I'll add that to my list for after the leaks now.

 

[Petescj]

Started working on the many leaks this Cj has. The Transmission leaked from the pan , both diffs from the covers and yokes, and since I changed the oil looks like the rear main seal as well. While I had the cover off I believe I did find some pleasant news. I thought this Cj pulled fairly well for an automatic with 35s. Looks like it has 4.11s in it. Ultimately with 35s Id like 4.88s but I can live with the 4.11s for awhile.

 

[mtnwhlr]

While I had the cover off I believe I did find some pleasant news. I thought this Cj pulled fairly well for an automatic with 35s. Looks like it has 4.11s in it. Ultimately with 35s Id like 4.88s but I can live with the 4.11s for awhile.

Lucky you I wish I had 4.11s

 

[Old Dog]

41 divided by 11 = 3.73
Has it been wet in there or is it just the pic?

 

[Petescj]

Oh that was dumb. The kids had me all worked up and I wasnt thinking straight. Having 16 yr old and 14 yr old daughters is hazardous to your health for sure. Well 3.73 is better than the 2.72 the Scrambler had. I think it was wet at some point. The fluid looked gray and wasnt milky but the bearing caps have a little rust. The bearings look good though.

41 divided by 11 = 3.73
Has it been wet in there or is it just the pic?

 

[thiswontbetooexpensive]

~~Having 16 yr old and 14 yr old daughters is hazardous to your health for sure.~~

You have a free pass on mistakes for the next few years anyway.
Bless your soul Pete, bless your soul...

 

[Petescj]

Things just arent going right for me these days. I had a crappy day at work so when I got home I decided to head out to the garage for some alone time and get that pinion seal atleast disassembled . No go. My sockets go up to 1 1/16. The yoke nut is 1 1/8. To further add to my misery I need a puller of some sort to get that yoke off. I'll go back to it when Im in a better mood and have the right tools.

 

[tjmons]

Things just arent going right for me these days. I had a crappy day at work so when I got home I decided to head out to the garage for some alone time and get that pinion seal atleast disassembled . No go. My sockets go up to 1 1/16. The yoke nut is 1 1/8. To further add to my misery I need a puller of some sort to get that yoke off. I'll go back to it when Im in a better mood and have the right tools.

Sorry to hear about your luck. Things can only get better.:booze:

 

[thiswontbetooexpensive]

Things just arent going right for me these days. I had a crappy day at work so when I got home I decided to head out to the garage for some alone time and get that pinion seal atleast disassembled . No go. My sockets go up to 1 1/16. The yoke nut is 1 1/8. To further add to my misery I need a puller of some sort to get that yoke off. I'll go back to it when Im in a better mood and have the right tools.

I turned my engine over on the stand to take the oil pump off yesterday. Heard some funny noise. It was a tappet/lifter falling out of place and against the bottom the torqued down head.

Got it back in place today with a bent wire, LONG screwdriver, and a flashlight held in my teeth. It gets better; but I agree with walking away when its not working. Keeps me from throwing stuff out in the yard anyway!

 

[cj7inthetwigs]

Hey, that sounds really familiar...No, I didn't break it out of frustration, its 27 years old. Stuff breaks! The tools where in sale and I need them for the reactor. LOL, all things in time . Teenage daughters most definitely keep things interesting.

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