First CJ7 Road Trip

[Coach]

Well, it was 140 miles each way, so I don't know if it actually qualifies as a one day road trip or not.

I must say the CJ, as a whole, performed well. It was the engine and Transmission that seemed lacking and made for a little stress.

Started out very cautious with the speed, since I had overheating issues that I have been working to address. I installed a new thermostat and radiator cap and that has seemed to fix it. As I gained confidence, I dialed her up to 65/70mph and after about 15 minutes at that speed, she heated up a little. Not a total overheat, but the gauge started moving up pretty quick so I pulled over and let her cool down. I had some blow by from my radiator cap, but after she cooled off, I continued on, never topping 60 again.

Checked everything at the mid-point of the drive, all levels were good and started home. Driving into about a 30mph headwind on the way home and keeping her under 60 seemed to be good for not overheating. Maybe I'm just over sensitive to the temp gauge moving, since it never really got into the green before I did the thermostat change. Now I get jumpy when it moves a 1/4 of the way into the green or anywhere close to halfway.

Since I hadn't done any highway driving since I replaced all the bushings, it was nice to see how tight the steering felt. I was startled to see the hood bounce a little when a Big Rig would go by in the other direction. The first time it happened, I actually pulled over and checked to see if I had latched everything down after checking the oil.

I really enjoyed the drive itself, but I will really be saving every penny for an engine and Transmission swap. Those long uphill highway grades where the speed couldn't hold, has me sold.

 

[scooterbe]

what was the outside temp on your first run? what condition is the radiator in? may just need rodding out or replaced. what size tires are on it? good start with cap and thermostat. may want to replace your temp gauge with a direct guage (with actual numbers on it) if it doesnt have one in lieu of the electric gauge, may get a much more accurate reading of the temp that way. AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is a good motor, but if your gearing is to high for the size tires, it wont pull the hat of your head. might be cheaper to freshen up that motor, put some gears to it than a complete motor/tranny swap....just a thought, good luck with it

 

[Coach]

what was the outside temp on your first run? what condition is the radiator in? may just need rodding out or replaced. what size tires are on it? good start with cap and thermostat. may want to replace your temp gauge with a direct guage (with actual numbers on it) if it doesnt have one in lieu of the electric gauge, may get a much more accurate reading of the temp that way. AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is a good motor, but if your gearing is to high for the size tires, it wont pull the hat of your head. might be cheaper to freshen up that motor, put some gears to it than a complete motor/tranny swap....just a thought, good luck with it

It was cooler in the morning and started to heat up. Radiator isn't in the nicest of condions. I'm starting to think the PO used radiator sealant at some point, since when I overheated the first time, I found small pieces of what looked like blue plastic blown out around the engine compartment.

Also, it had some slight leaking after I had drained and replaced all the fluids a couple of times, but they have disappeared (like they sealed shut). I have thought of replacing the radiator, but I don't want to drop a lot of money into the CJ, since I'm hoping to swap out the engine and Transmission with a TBI 350 soon and wouldn't be able to reuse a new radiator.

I bought an aftermarket temp gauge, but need to find a place to install it on the block. The probe on it seems to large to fit in the stock location, so I'm looking for someone to show me a better place to install it. I haven't had much luck searching for alternative locations. If you have any suggestions, I'll take all the help I can get.

Thanks,
Coach

 

[scooterbe]

coach, usually the after market gauges will have a assorted fittings. also, you may find a plug on a water jacket on the intake somewhere. ill look at mine and see if i can find a spot and get back to you

 

[scooterbe]

ok, scratch intake. thats on v8 intakes. i could only find one place and thats in the head (left rear corner). im not sure if they make short probes to go in there, maybe someone with a direct feed gauge on the temp could chime in. i still have the stock electric gauge. ive always had direct feed gauges for oil pressure, voltmeter and water temp. but i never messed with the one on my jeep cause i havent had any issues with it. but if i do, id find a way to get a non-electric gauge in it. i just feel they are more accurate (jmo).

 

[Coach]

ok, scratch intake. thats on v8 intakes. i could only find one place and thats in the head (left rear corner). im not sure if they make short probes to go in there, maybe someone with a direct feed gauge on the temp could chime in. i still have the stock electric gauge. ive always had direct feed gauges for oil pressure, voltmeter and water temp. but i never messed with the one on my jeep cause i havent had any issues with it. but if i do, id find a way to get a non-electric gauge in it. i just feel they are more accurate (jmo).

Thanks, I'm going to find a place to mount it, I had another issue today with the cooling system. So the Jeep is going in the garage until the weekend when I can get in there and try to fix it. The stock gauge would be a great spot, but I don't think the one I have will fit.

I'm going to keep searching around the net and see if I can find an answer or example I can follow.

Just when I think I'm cutting into my todo list, I have a run like the last week and have to add more to the list then I have been able to remove. Just this week: oil pan gasket leak, coolant system (again), strange noise from under the hood (hissing under acceleration w/ coolant leak), and the grinding sound from my left rear.

All in the fun of owning a CJ I guess.

Coach

 

[Busted Knuckles]

Hey Coach, if you make it to your TBI swap, the hills you have "push" the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , you may be able to take in O/D with the 5.7... not sure what grade your climbing, but you will be in "shock" with the difference in low end torque at cruising speed.

I bought my "high school sweetie" are real nice 82 CJ5 /AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l 4 speed, back around 1988. She loved my jeep, but wanted her own. She shortly there after lost interest in the thing, because it would not sustain 55mph on the high way in a head wind (was holding up traffic).

My "7" at that time had a warmed over AMC 360, that she drove/rode in regularly. The CJ5 was quite a let down to her. I ended up selling it because she quit driving it. Her sister moved about 70 miles away, and she liked driving the jeep to visit her, but could not keep up with traffic.

It was a very low mile jeep, I bought it from the mayor, it was like new, maybe had 30k on it, was a summer "convertible" for him. Very nice jeep, just no power...

 

[Coach]

Hey Coach, if you make it to your TBI swap, the hills you have "push" the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , you may be able to take in O/D with the 5.7... not sure what grade your climbing, but you will be in "shock" with the difference in low end torque at cruising speed.

I bought my "high school sweetie" are real nice 82 CJ5 /AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l 4 speed, back around 1988. She loved my jeep, but wanted her own. She shortly there after lost interest in the thing, because it would not sustain 55mph on the high way in a head wind (was holding up traffic).

My "7" at that time had a warmed over AMC 360, that she drove/rode in regularly. The CJ5 was quite a let down to her. I ended up selling it because she quit driving it. Her sister moved about 70 miles away, and she liked driving the jeep to visit her, but could not keep up with traffic.

It was a very low mile jeep, I bought it from the mayor, it was like new, maybe had 30k on it, was a summer "convertible" for him. Very nice jeep, just no power...

So you think the TBI swap is the way to go? I plan to go 700r4 for the Transmission and hope to not just see more power, but better mileage and overall performance.

Coach

 

[Busted Knuckles]

There's several ways to go, if you want some power, driveability, reliability, simplicity, and affordable swap with decent fuel economy, in a word, yes. All things considered, its the way to go.

You can buy bolt in motor mounts, a chevy/cj radiator new, chevy/cj headers, 700R4/Dana 300 adapter..

Its got to be the most affordable EFI V8 Swap. The other swap I would consider would be the 1991-up 4.0L swap out of an XJ or WJ with O/D. Less power, might be a little cheaper.

I prefer the GM powertrian to the Jeep EFI, I have several copies of both, and have been driving/playing with both for almost 20 years ?

There is only one known problem with the TBI, you can come across a cracked magnet in the pickup of the distributor, otherwise, they are very reliable. When you do have a cracked magnet, there is a "skip" you can hear and feel at idle, thats about the worst of it.