Build Thread Father/Son Project in Orlando

[tarry99]

My fault these pictures are all of the same bolt... the bolt did mushroom as I tried to drill it with a larger drill bit... the area you see mushroomed sits inside of the bracket... I can't get the other bolts off (thats why they are painted) to remove the bracket, so I was going to leave the bracket and change out the bolts I could get off.
I will continue to work on it and let you know the progress.... it's nice to know that I should use lube to keep it cool. I guess that's how I ruined all the bits by getting it so hot it started to smoke.

Is there a reason you want the brackets off?.............Point is if they can stay on and there OK just weld them on and forget the bolts.

 

[FiNorman]

Is there a reason you want the brackets off?.............Point is if they can stay on and there OK just weld them on and forget the bolts.

Yes!!!!! That is a great thinking. I wasn't going to take them off but I got a little stressed when I broke the bolt. I was stuck half way across a river.
I'm ok welding cosmetic stuff, but was going to take the frame to get the crossmember, the body mount on the drivers side and radiator body mount welded by a professional.
Thanks for this option... You just saved me a couple hours of work.

 

[FiNorman]

This morning I set out extra early for work so I could go pick up the T-176 with Dana 300 combo. Being very inexpressible transmissions I studied at the night before on what the T-176 looks like. I knew I was looking for a Shifter stick Coming out of the middle of the Gear box with a butterfly adapter Plate that bolts up to the motor.
I was a little nervous that I was going to buy something that was junk but Jim talked me through how to ensure that it was in good working condition.
Since I am doing this right up to hopefully help someone doing a build that is a novice like we are I will tell you that the advice that I got was to make sure you slide through all the gears and to open the top cover and take a look inside. The main thing that you don't want to see are broken teeth. If any of you reading this have some advice on some other things to look for for a novice picking out a new Transmission please feel free to chime in, it may help somebody in the future.
Luckily the guy selling the Transmission was a super nice retired firefighter who was very honest about the Transmission that he was selling. He basically told me that he had not opened it but if there were any problems to bring it back and he would make a right.
So I loaded up in the truck went to work and then drove home that night. I went inside to grab something to eat before I came back out to unloading and my wife came and told me that there was a bunch of oil leaking out from my truck.
Basically the Transmission had tipped over and the fluid inside of the case had leaked out onto the brick pavers. Mama is really pissed. I tried getting it out with some simple green and scrubbing bubbles but it doesn't look like I was very successful. It looks like I will have to take each one of the affected pavers and flip them upside down and then repack Them with Sand.
This week I will unbolt the Dana 300 take it over to Jim and then drive by the machine shop to get a first look at the AMC 360.

 

[FiNorman]

had trouble posting the pictures..... please forgive the above typos and syntax, I was dictating into my phone on the way home and didn't realize the errors.

 

[FiNorman]

next we moved on to the steering box... I was just going to clean up the old steering box, but noticed that it looked like it had been leaking some fluid and of course the mess with the bolts being welded to the frame was from the brackets being broken in several places.
So I ordered a new one... but in doing some research I came to find that it appears as if the steering box from a H1 hummer, 96-2004, will act as a direct bolt on replacement for the CJ7 steering gear box. I ordered one from Autozone , part number 7564 for $200 with a $106 core.... minus a 20% off coupon, free shipping for about $160+ tax. From what I have read the advantage is that the H1 box being a Saginaw will bolt on directly and has variable ratio gearing....

from JeepHammer
"Variable boxes allow for a 'Two Stage' assist, Minor corrections get a little assist so things don't seem Twitchy, and when you pull harder and farther on the wheel, you get a second pressure/volume boost to help with big turns.

Full size Jeeps and J-20 Pickups used Variable rate boxes, where smaller CJs didn't.
Using a variable box lets you make big corrections easier when 'Zig-Zagging' through obstacles, and also lets you 'Finesse' on fine corrections on the highway without jumping or feeling 'Twitchy'..."

I will report back how it is going.

next we went to the removal of the pitman arm... for those of you who have never done this there are quite a few write ups on the best approach as it appears as if the process is a real pain. Fortunately for us it took us all of five minutes. If I could give some advice, follow these steps and you will have zero problems.
1. of course pb blaster at least over night
2. before you start smack the side of the pitman arm with a hammer... don't be shy and go all the way around while you strike the pitman, right where the hammer is hitting it in the picture below.
3. use this puller from harbor freight ($9) Pitman Arm Puller & Tie Rod Puller. rachet it down as tight as it will go.
4. Use a propane torch to heat up the pitman right where you just hit it with the hammer. Heat it up for about 2-3 min
5. Once it's hot, hit the pitman again several times with the hammer around the arm.... As my father in law tells me, this will break the bond that has developed between the corrosion on the arm and the gear.
6. now ratchet the puller and it should come off.

I also got a birthday present of a new steering bracket from MORE... it's pretty heavy duty, we painted it with Eastwood alum-blast and we were very happy with the the color.... a perfect fit and very easy to install, although they don't tell you which of the 7/16ths bolts go in what hole.. I guess I will confirm it when the steering gear gets here.

 

[gp4play]

1. of course pb blaster at least over night
2. before you start smack the side of the pitman arm with a hammer... don't be shy and go all the way around while you strike the pitman, right where the hammer is hitting it in the picture below.
3. use this puller from harbor freight ($9) Pitman Arm Puller & Tie Rod Puller. rachet it down as tight as it will go.
4. Use a propane torch to heat up the pitman right where you just hit it with the hammer. Heat it up for about 2-3 min
5. Once it's hot, hit the pitman again several times with the hammer around the arm.... As my father in law tells me, this will break the bond that has developed between the corrosion on the arm and the gear.
6. now ratchet the puller and it should come off.

Been there, good advice. Looks like your moving right along, sweet.

 

[rr41mag]

I did the exact same thing on my pittman arm. POW and it went flying across the driveway.

 

[FiNorman]

I did the exact same thing on my pittman arm. POW and it went flying across the driveway.

Nothing safer than a hot pitman arm flying down the driveway like shrapnel. I definitely get the kids under cover when I bring the hammer.

 

[FiNorman]

I got a great early Father's day present in the new MORE steering bracket. Notice the extra hole that needed to be drilled in the front crossmember to provide added support.
This is obviously much more sturdy than the original bracket that had broken and the PO welded and nut to the crossmember.

 

[FiNorman]

We got in our 1996 H1 reman steering box.... it looks very similar to the original, but a bit beefier. Cost from Autozone was $160 with core and free shipping.

 

[Petescj]

That steering box bracket is high on my list of mods, especially running 35s.

I got a great early Father's day present in the new MORE steering bracket. Notice the extra hole that needed to be drilled in the front crossmember to provide added support.
This is obviously much more sturdy than the original bracket that had broken and the PO welded and nut to the crossmember.

 

[FiNorman]

We also got down back to revisit the gas tank. We ordered the two wrangler check valves and will see that they work in our set up when they arrive. Cleaned the gas tank skid, painted the inside with POR15 and the outside with alumablast.
As I was cleaning the outside of the poly 20 gallon tank I noticed a ton of crud inside of the tank. It looks like a combo of silt, rust, clay and leaves. I'm not sure how it got in there, but it looks like it would easily clog the sock that goes on the fuel sending unit. I have tried to clean it out with pressure washing, simple green, a dry tank and a chain rattling around, squeezing in with a brush ext. However it seems to be just as dirty as when I started.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Pictured is my Chief Degreaser Monkey going to work with simple Green.

 

[FiNorman]

We finally got the Brake and Fuel lines placed.


If I could offer some advice for those that are looking to replace their brake and fuel lines…. Please consider this product and bend your own. It took me about 3 hours to run all four of the lines, the tubing already comes with the double flare and the adapter fittings in place (each of these fittings cost about $5). Another advantage is it is advertised to be 30x more corrosion resistant than regular lines.
So here is how I did mine. The Poly-Armour comes in the following sizes:
Poly-armour size
Witdths:¼, 3/16ths, 3/8ths, 5/16ths, and 6mm.
Lengths, and cost at my local O’Rielly’s:
8" $2.59
12" $2.89
20" $3.49
30" $4.59
40" $5.49
51" $6.89
60" $7.39
72" $9.49
Next I obtained the lengths that I needed to run each line. If someone can correct any error I have made to the diameters of the tubing please let me know, but I have all my lines as follows-fuel and fuel return line in 5/16ths, (Blue) fuel vent line ¼. (blue), Brake lines front 3/16s and rear, ¼ (orange).
Since we are going with a amc 360 we ran the fuel line right down the same way we ran the fuel return line.

Then I measured the old lines that I had and used masking tape to replicate the course of those lines I was missing.

fuel line for AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l engine- 5/16....138"=72”+60”+8=140”
For V8 same as return line as it runs on the right rail... 113”=51”+60”=111”,$14

Fuel return line is 5/16....113" 51”+60”=111”, $14
vapor line 1/4........ 91"= 51”+41”=92”,$8

Brake line Rear…..1/4.......
103"... 51+51=102”,$14 prop valve to fuel tank crossmember… (the 51” line has a final bend which falls almost exactly on the bend where the brake line bends to go around he shock tower. It is ideal to have the unions in locations where there is no bend, therefore You may want change your line to a 72”, and 30”, giving you 102”.

Brake line Front 3/16ths
38".... 30+8=38”$8 prop valve to left tire
76" .....72+8=”$12 prop valve to rt tire

Here are the totals of the amount of each line

5/16th
51----2
60----2

3/16ths
72-1
30---1
8----2

1/4
41----1
51-----3

Anywhere where you see a plus sign you will need a connector, necessitating (2each)5/16ths to 5/16ths connectors
(2each) ¼ to ¼ connector
(2 each) 3/16ths to 3/16ths


Although the lines can be bent by hand I did use this tool from hf ($7) Tubing Bender - Save on this Manual Tubing Bender, to make some of the bends, especially those that were close to the end of the lines. While there I picked up this rubber clamp assortment18 Piece Rubber Insulated Clamp Assortment to temp fasten the lines until I find a more permanent replacement.

This list doesn’t include the lines running from the proportioning valve to the Master Cylinder.

My man wanted the lines painted Orange and blue... I just warned them that too much color makes it look, well a little fruity.

The lines were easy to bend, and it looks like it all fits.

We also fabricated a new proportioning valve plate, and tapped a couple of 5/16 holes to place new studs into the frame for the bracket and the valve.

 

[FiNorman]

We got the H1 steering gear in and it fit very well. No problems with the xtra hole to drill out....

I did a test fit of the steering column because it looked like the gear for the steering box was way over too far next to the frame, but it appears to fit like a glove. I guess we will see when it comes time to fit it back for good.

 

[FiNorman]

This weekend we got a chance to put the springs on and bolt up the axles. Everything appears to fit nicely, however we have run into a couple of problems.

First the shock towers on the rear and front appear to have a bolt that connects a 1/2"-20 bolt. however the shocks that came with my OME kit won't allow the bolt to go through the eyelet of the shock WITH the metal sleeve in place. The bushing appears to fit the sleeve, but the sleeve doesn't fit the bolt on the frame. It will fit over the threaded portion where the nut goes, but not farther onto the shock tower where the bolt is thickest. In fact if i just put the bushing on the bolt it will fit, so it doesn't look like the bushing will fit either.

The whole kit came in a couple of boxes and packing doesn't seem to be their strength, so I basically have a ton of loose pieces inside of a box that I'm having to sort through. However these particular metal sleeves came in the box with the shocks, so I am assuming they are what I should use, but the fit isn't even close.
Am I missing something? any suggestions? do they sell different bushings and sleeves?

the same kit came with this "double wishbone" piece that I can't quite figure out what to do with. Any suggestions where this goes?

 

[FiNorman]

If anyone has used an OME spring kit maybe you could give us some insight. The rear springs went on no problem. The front is a little more challenging. in the picture below take a look at the piece of metal that protrudes from the axle directly to the right of the castle nut. This is the area where the outside U bolt must pass between this protrusion and the spring. Since the YJ springs are 1/2" wider it is a very tight fit, and we used a pry bar to accommodate the components as best we could. I think we are almost there but as we started to tighten everything up we noticed that the spring plate is not parallel to the ground.

I think it's because the u bolt space is so small it's pinching the bolt and not letting it sit naturally.

What is this protrusion for? am my in danger of damaging anything vital? should I continue to "make it fit"?

 

[gp4play]

This weekend we got a chance to put the springs on and bolt up the axles. Everything appears to fit nicely, however we have run into a couple of problems.

First the shock towers on the rear and front appear to have a bolt that connects a 1/2"-20 bolt. however the shocks that came with my OME kit won't allow the bolt to go through the eyelet of the shock WITH the metal sleeve in place. The bushing appears to fit the sleeve, but the sleeve doesn't fit the bolt on the frame. It will fit over the threaded portion where the nut goes, but not farther onto the shock tower where the bolt is thickest. In fact if i just put the bushing on the bolt it will fit, so it doesn't look like the bushing will fit either.

The whole kit came in a couple of boxes and packing doesn't seem to be their strength, so I basically have a ton of loose pieces inside of a box that I'm having to sort through. However these particular metal sleeves came in the box with the shocks, so I am assuming they are what I should use, but the fit isn't even close.
Am I missing something? any suggestions? do they sell different bushings and sleeves?

the same kit came with this "double wishbone" piece that I can't quite figure out what to do with. Any suggestions where this goes?

The sleeve is used for threaded bolts to protect the bushing, you don't need it for the smooth studs. The "wishbone" is for a different style a mount where two bolts are used.

If anyone has used an OME spring kit maybe you could give us some insight. The rear springs went on no problem. The front is a little more challenging. in the picture below take a look at the piece of metal that protrudes from the axle directly to the right of the castle nut. This is the area where the outside U bolt must pass between this protrusion and the spring. Since the YJ springs are 1/2" wider it is a very tight fit, and we used a pry bar to accommodate the components as best we could. I think we are almost there but as we started to tighten everything up we noticed that the spring plate is not parallel to the ground.

I think it's because the u bolt space is so small it's pinching the bolt and not letting it sit naturally.

What is this protrusion for? am my in danger of damaging anything vital? should I continue to "make it fit"?

First off the spring pad on the axle should be replaced for the wider springs, other wise the centering bolt on the spring won't sit in the pad right.
The bracket that your talking about is the one with two holes to the left of the spring? That is the lower shock mount. When you replace the spring pads on the axle it should all line up easier but is still tight.

 

[FiNorman]

The sleeve is used for threaded bolts to protect the bushing, you don't need it for the smooth studs. The "wishbone" is for a different style a mount where two bolts are used.



First off the spring pad on the axle should be replaced for the wider springs, other wise the centering bolt on the spring won't sit in the pad right.
The bracket that your talking about is the one with two holes to the left of the spring? That is the lower shock mount. When you replace the spring pads on the axle it should all line up easier but is still tight.

although this is the only picture I have of the axle, it is of the other side... but i have labeled them where I think you are talking about.... any idea where I could get another spring pad? the other question is I assume the heavier shocks go in the rear and do they go with the thicker white tube portion going downward or upward?
thanks for the info

 

[FiNorman]

The sleeve is used for threaded bolts to protect the bushing, you don't need it for the smooth studs. The "wishbone" is for a different style a mount where two bolts are used.



First off the spring pad on the axle should be replaced for the wider springs, other wise the centering bolt on the spring won't sit in the pad right.
The bracket that your talking about is the one with two holes to the left of the spring? That is the lower shock mount. When you replace the spring pads on the axle it should all line up easier but is still tight.

just to make sure we are talking about the same part... is it the spring perches on the axle itself I need to change to the plate that the u bolts go through under the axle?

 

[gp4play]

although this is the only picture I have of the axle, it is of the other side... but i have labeled them where I think you are talking about.... any idea where I could get another spring pad? the other question is I assume the heavier shocks go in the rear and do they go with the thicker white tube portion going downward or upward?
thanks for the info

Yup, your pic is right. Here a couple perches I found, there are some Co. out there that sell fab parts that might be cheaper or more heavy duty but make sure they are for the wider 2" springs. When you weld them on you can adjust your axle pinion angle at the same time so no wedges needed.

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The Shocks are usually mounted tube down but almost all newer shocks can be mounted either way, just check with the mfr. to be sure.