Build Thread 83 Cj5. My ongoing project has started.

[RiverandSand]

Looks like it's time for one-piece axles.
The AMC20 has an alpha code stamped on the right axle tube just beyond the diff cover. That will tell the ratio and if it had trac-loc from the factory.

 

[mattgunguy]

Nope. No 1 piece axles for this one.

That is some good info to have. Thank ya.

Wish I'd known that before I sat there and counted teeth. But I suppose that the gears could have been changed at some point. It's got 273 gears in the rear.

 

[Masscj7]

Nice progress on the build. Keep it coming. Man, you've had some stacked bad luck. Hopefully got it all out of the way early. Wonder if the PO did a lot of water wheeling given the fluids and grease conditions.

 

[mattgunguy]

Nice progress on the build. Keep it coming. Man, you've had some stacked bad luck. Hopefully got it all out of the way early. Wonder if the PO did a lot of water wheeling given the fluids and grease conditions.

That bad luck will go away eventually. I'll run out of old parts to change out sooner or later. And at the rate I'm going, it'll be sooner rather than later.

I know without a doubt that the PO didnt wheel it at all anywhere. He'd only had it for a few weeks before we started our trade deal & it didnt run. Now the owner before him, he may have a butt whooping coming from my buddy I got the jeep from. That dude apparently lied about everything and my hubby is more than ticked off.

I'm not really upset about it. My opinion is that the best way to learn a vehicle is to have to tear it apart.

 

[Project86]

There are good things to be learned from taking your jeep apart once its home. 1-you'll find something wrong that needs immediate attention most likely. 2-you'll feel better about driving it.

 

[shum8]

There are good things to be learned from taking your jeep apart once its home. 1-you'll find something wrong that needs immediate attention most likely.

And, you'll understand where everything goes and what it does.

2-you'll feel better about driving it.

Unless you leave ONE bolt not properly torqued, and it leaves a healthy mess when it backs out..... Torque EVERYTHING with a torque wrench....



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[mattgunguy]

And, you'll understand where everything goes and what it does.




Unless you leave ONE bolt not properly torqued, and it leaves a healthy mess when it backs out..... Torque EVERYTHING with a torque wrench....



Sent from underneath a ceiling fan blowing a nice cool breeze using Tapatalk

Firm believer in torque specs. They're there for a reason. Went and got a nice new 250 foot pound wrench for the wheel hubs. 60 bucks is cheap piece of mind to me when my kids will be riding in this thing.

On a positive note. We're scooting down the road again. Pretty well too. In a straight line anyway. Time to turn my attention to the steering system. Not sure if the power steering pump works. No belt, no fluid, janky intermediate shaft, half wore out bell connector. There's also a very noticeable break over point. Dont know if that's in the column or the steering gear box. I'm sure the gear box is out of adjustment too. I'll probably rebuild the steering gear box just to be safe. Not like it's a hard thing to do.

 

[mattgunguy]

So, anyone see what's missing?

I'd bet the caster angle is wrong & that's the reason for the wandering front end. Lift & big tires with no shims.

 

[mattgunguy]

Ran out of mechanical stuff to fiddle with for the last few days while waiting on some parts to show up. So I decided to start cutting holes in the body. The hillbillie engineering patch panel was bugging me a lot.

So of course more than just the skin was rotten. Guess that's what happens when you use hot glue, tub caulking, foam tape, pop rivets, & so other assorted for body repairs.

 

[mattgunguy]

Once I got enough of the rot cut out of the inner support thing cut out I used a piece of 14ga for the repair. I've got several sheets of 14ga sitting around.

Bought a sheet of 18ga to do the patches on the body. My repair still needs to see a hammer & dollie, but I'm not going to that until I tackle the floor pan here soon. Shouldn't have to use much body filler once I get to that point.

 

[mattgunguy]

I've a question about replacement. Specifically fenders and hood. Who's a good manufactur of replacements? I've gone through 3 years worth of posts in the body section of the forum & can't really find a definitive answer for whor to buy new fenders from. Some people swear by Omix-Ada. Some swear by MD Juan. Others like Crown ( I've tried to stay away from anything Crown). I simply not knowledgeable enough to know where to buy from.

I'd rather go with OEM, but around here they're all either rusted out or made of gold / unobtainium. I'm still sitting the fence on the hood. Might be able to hammer it out.

 

[gert]

From what I understand MD Juan is the only manufacturer of replacement panels


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[shum8]

I’d try a CJ boneyard for good OEM stuff. It would be nice to find one within driving distance to cut out shippong. Also, keep an eye on Craigslist.....


Hello - Has anyone seen Fall????? Anyone???

 

[mattgunguy]

I’d try a CJ boneyard for good OEM stuff. It would be nice to find one within driving distance to cut out shippong. Also, keep an eye on Craigslist.....


Hello - Has anyone seen Fall????? Anyone???

Been keeping an eye on craigslist and Facebook closely. No joy as yet. Least not for a reasonable price. But I did make the acquaintance of a local jeep club a couple days ago. So, maybe someone will have spares for sale.


Fall has arrived here in SOMO. was almost 100° with the heat index on Wednesday. We've barely got up to 70° yesterday.

 

[mattgunguy]

Once more down the 4 speed rabbit hole.

Was coming back from Oklahoma and it was getting progressively harder to shift gears. I figured I'd chewed up the clutch disc quick. I didnt replace the flywheel & it wasnt exactly smooth or flat when I replaced the clutch.

Well I was wrong.

All that mud and muck that was in the case ate up the synchros (guess I didnt get it as cleaned out as I thought) . 2 of them will hardly lock up on a gear. And since the case was sitting out in the driveway, I got to spin the gear train. Unlike the first time I had it out. Almost wish I hadn't.

About half the teeth on the 1st / 2cnd slider are chewed up & the reverse slider is just ugly. Which explains why it never liked reverse.


Gots all the replacement parts coming along with bearings, seals, & small parts. I'll probably tear it down this weekend.

I'd rather swap out to a T18a. But those are rare as hens teeth around here. So a rebuild it is.

 

[mattgunguy]

Got it all fixed & ready to go. New seals, gaskets, bearings, gears, synchros, bolt (found the missing shoulder bolts finally). Started putting everything back together and found the culprit.

The linkage on a clutch fringer broke. Stupid pressure plate wasnt releasing all the way. Got the parts store to warranty it at least. Now to put it back together. Again.

But at least I've a fresh Transmission now......

 

[mattgunguy]

Well. Finally not gonna freeze my butt of anymore. Got one of the Mojave type heaters from summit racing.

Yanked the factory blower box to mount this & ran a hose to each defroster. Gets a fair bit toasty now.

 

[gert]

Sweet dude, sux you are having to rebuild your Transmission more than once


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[K9kodi]

you think that mojave box is better then factory heat?

 

[mattgunguy]

you think that mojave box is better then factory heat?

In a nut shell. YES!!!

I had no blower motor. No heater core. The hose was quite literally looped back on itself through the firewall. All I had was an empty plastic box mounted to the firewall. Which had a large jagged hole in the bottom. Ok, so I've no idea if it's better than the factory heater. As I never got the use of it. But it's much better than nothing.

Some of the things done by the PO have simply amazed me. The heater was just the most recent. Might get back to a factory heater someday. But this is what I've got.