Build Thread Reviving "The Bruise" thread

[kj 7]

This thread is my documentation of reviving my 85 CJ7 that's been sitting in the driveway for the last 4 years. I was in college when the rear end went out, disconected the drive shaft and drove around "1 front wheel drive" drive. When my wife and I bought our house, I quit driving it and bought a Liberty (which I really enjoy, don't knock it or I'll know you read too much JP magizine!) I recently got sick and tired of looking at the de-commissioned jeep in the driveway so last weekend it took over the Liberty's comfy garage spot & won't be leaving unless it's under it's own power.



The upgrades on it so far are as follows:

Previous owner:
Shackle reversal lift (I think??)


In College:
Installed 1 piece axles in AMC20
Fabricated locking cargo boxes onto fender wells
Fabricated front sway bar disconnects
Fabricated roll bar to windshield frame CB rack
Repainted hood, doors, and front fenders
Did a "Nutter By Pass" (i think??)
Installed a mc2100 improperly but it still ran better than the Carter bbd
TFI ignition
Installed cd player
Flat fender cut
Upgraded to 33" retread tires
Down graded to 31" retread tires

Last year:
Removed grill, killed the rust and repainted

Current things that need fixed to get it on the road by next summer:
1. (the only thing that worries me) Replace Ring & Pinion in the amc 20. If I end up going with a better gear ratio, doing the same to the Dana 30 . I will be setting up the gears myself, so it should be interesting...

2. Cut out and patch major rust where the frame/rollbars/body meet. I don't care if it looks great but has to be SAFE!

3. Get a different mc2100 or rebuild kit and go through it.

4. Replace the driver side brake line on amc 20. I twisted it off tonight while removing the brake cylinder.

grill before:


grill after:


Current reverse light switch. Gotta fix that:


Like I said, the structural rust has to be dealt with:









Inspecting the rear end. Roller bearings, Yum!



How it sits now:



I'm going this weekend to check out some narrow track CJ5 axles. If they're good, I'm gonna swap the ring and pinions (assuming they have a lower? gear ratio).

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[CJ]

Nice tread! Looking forward to watching this one!

 

[Jroch]

Nice tread! Looking forward to watching this one!

x2, I also own a 85 and am looking forward to seeing how you progress through the rebuild

 

[dalefan88]

i would just rebuild the motorcraft carb. there is good info on this site if you do a search on it. the guys on here were really helpful when i did mine.

 

[kj 7]

My goal of this thread is to have my cj back on the road and safe by next summer. Not too worried about how it looks but needs to be mechanically sound.

I would gladly rebuild the mc2100 but I don't think its worth it. Not that an mc2100 isn't worth a rebuild but because a few years ago a piece of the throttle linkage broke. So, I welded a plate to it & it never did run right after that. I think I may have toasted some seals. I don't know. Still gonna check what the price of a carb at a salvage yard around here is.

Heading back to Illinois this afternoon and gonna look at the axles tomorrow. Don't know if I'll be able to get the parts back to my house this weekend but if not, there's plenty of other things to do!

Question:
Assuming the owner didn't swap out original axles, if a rolling CJ5 frame has a narrow track AMC20 (easily identifiable) then the narrow Dana 30 should be in front? Because the amc 20 always came with a dana 30? I have a pic from the owner but its a crappy picture. The pumpkin looks like my dana 30 but is kinda hard to tell.

 

[Old Dog]

I believe you are correct, if the 5 is new enough to have a 20 it should also have a 30. But check it out to be sure you never know what someone is selling.

 

[kj 7]

Here's several more pictures. I'm posting a lot of pics along the way so I can track my own progress.

Friday night I pulled the axles to make sure they weren't thrashed. No point in buying used narrow track axles for the gears if I need axles also.

The good news:
The one piece 29 spline axles are just fine.



On the flip side, looks like I'm gonna have to replace the driver side seal.



I'm gonna clean it up really good and inspect it better cause the seal/race/bearing cup look fine, but chunks of that carrier bearing will eventually win.

The passenger side brakes had a lot of oil and goo in them. I don't know if it's gear lube, brake fluid or engine oil (I know what your thinking "Idiot, there is no engine oil line going to the brakes". Duh, there's engine oil on everything else under this jeep, why not in the brake drums?). Just more of a reason to replace all seals in the rear end)





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[kj 7]

Sunday morning picked up a rolling CJ5 chassis.











Since I don't have any tags on my diffs anywhere, can anyone decipher this tag? Second row to the left, does that mean 3.54 gear ratio? Oooh, I hope so :drool:



Unfortunately, won't get to tear into them this week. Dad's gonna bring it all down probably this coming weekend.

2 piece shaft removal on a rusted out cj5 chassis, thats gonna be fun...

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[kj 7]

Still waiting on dad to bring down the CJ5 chassis so i've been doing some little things:

Applying PB blaster to the spring bolts, shackles and rollbar bolts

Removed the windshield. Only had to drill out 1 bolt from the hinge.

Sanded the entire front face of the windshield to inspect and remove rust. It took a good 2.5 to 3 hours with 80 grit. Looks really good so far. Today, I taste metal !
I'm only going to paint the outside of the windshield frame as the inside is still original and looks good. I might paint the outside blue like the rest of the jeep or black. Think I'll mock up the look of it in photoshop.

 

[Jokenring]

Since I don't have any tags on my diffs anywhere, can anyone decipher this tag? Second row to the left, does that mean 3.54 gear ratio? Oooh, I hope so :drool:

Correct. That was what was in there originally. I would still pull the cover and and verify. The ring gear tooth count and the pinion tooth count will be stamped on the side of the ring gear. For example, if it were 3.54 gears you would see 46 13 stamped on the side there.

 

[kj 7]

Yep, pulled the cover today to reveal 3.54 gearing. 39 on ring gear 11 on pinion.
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[kj 7]

Got the roll bar off this weekend. What a task! I broke 2 T45 torx sockets, had to drill out 1 bolt and grind the head off the other.

I've been strippin' down the tub (the rear end can wait, it ain't goin' anywhere ) because all I see is major rust at every pinch weld and everywhere else. I don't care about surface rust but when I can push a screw driver through 2/3's of the welded seams, something has to be done.
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[kj 7]

I've been working on a few things with the Jeep. Still taking things off the tub so I can work on the rust. I did finish sanding/priming/painting the windshield. I'm quite the rattlecan artiste.






I then bought some aircraft paint stipper to test on the windshield hinge. WOW! Took the paint right off then I just needed to sand the rust and all of the pits that the hinges seem to accumulate. Here it is with the self etching primer on...


Gratuitous ground down rust shot


Today I picked up this Hobart 187 welder and had to install the 220 plug on the existing not used 220 line in the garage. I was very careful but it's still some scary ! 110 you'll feel it but feeling 220 is probably the end



Here is my plan for where the roll bars join in


These are the pieces I plan to weld in. The red and yellow may end up being one piece. The green to white gradient piece will be a boatsided piece that gets rid of the rotted out rocker panels.


I did use the welder this evening to fix a broken bracket on the flip-up seat mechanism on the driver seat. Will post pics of that tomorrow.

 

[kj 7]

Finally got the ring & pinion for the rear out of the donor axle. Incase anyone needs to know, the pinion nut takes a size 1-1/8" socket. I didn't have one in my toolbox so I had to pick one up. All in all, the gears are in good shape.
The only thing is, on of the ring gear bolts has the head broke off. Has to be from someone mucking with it cause I couldn't find it in the case anywhere.





I wonder why the splines on the pinion are red, & it's not rust.

I made a tool to hold the yoke while I removed the pinion nut with a separate wrench. I made it just long enough to push against the frame instead of having to hold it. Basically just a reason to play with the welder .

 

[IOPort51]

hey bud, you have a axle housing from an AMC20 with no carrier, axles and or anything else of value in it do you not??
Do you have plans for it??
If it is straight, has a centered pumpkin and is a narrow track I would like to discuss this further.
We can talk here or send me a PM.

 

[kj 7]

IO, I sent you a PM.

 

[kj 7]

Haven't got anything done with the jeep this week.

Been dealing with a horrible toothache and the taste of metal from grinding & cutting dust doesn't help. My whole jaw is in pain so i've had to stay doped up for days until I can get to the dentist. Sux!

 

[Shaunman1979]

Awsome thread!!! Hope you get feeling better, cant wait to see the progress on your CJ. Gives me motivation for sure!

 

[kj 7]

Thanks. Finally will get to the dentist tomorrow. After Christmas weekend, gonna start hittin' it hard. I'm gettin' a few more tools for christmas so can't wait to try them out.

Found a 2.5 inch Daystar lift kit still in box for my KJ for only $130! But the wife won't let me (same old story). She says either get my teeth fixed or the lift kit. Tough choice...

 

[Petescj]

Make up your mind yet? Soon we'll all have this great healthcare plan. Id get the lift.

She says either get my teeth fixed or the lift kit. Tough choice...