RIP My Sweet 304

[Niedhogg]

Another cam gear falls to an aftermarket HEI... The add said this dizzy wouldn't eat my cam gear, but I feel that they may have deceived me, maybe just to get my business... that seems very unethical, but I guess we live and learn.. I'm a little bummed, had plans to go to a talk-n-tune tomorrow with my Jeep club and had a small list of things to do, but oh well..

I don't think I will rebuild it, it has always sounded a bit off, to me. There's been this dead cylinder sound on the left bank when idling that I could never nail down, and it has always seemed a bit under powered (probably the 35" tires ). Might be a good time to move forward with my TPI 350/SM465/NP208 conversion, along with some 3/4T axles I have for it.

Thoughts??

 

[thiswontbetooexpensive]

Sorry to hear about the loss of you engine. At least you CJ is still together, look at mine...

Note the engine on the hoist.

 

[Petescj]

If you have the $$$ then sure its the right time for your swap. If not and you want to have her running in a weekend look around for a 360 to drop in. Direct bolt in swap.

 

[Niedhogg]

If you have the $$$ then sure its the right time for your swap. If not and you want to have her running in a weekend look around for a 360 to drop in. Direct bolt in swap.

Is it?? Because I have one in my J-truck that I was pulling out anyway! J-Truck is a 727 auto, and my CJ is a GM Turbo 400 , so, just swap the flywheels?

 

[Niedhogg]

Ok, I see you can't swap the flywheels, they are balanced specific to the engine, so will my GM Turbo 400 torque converter bolt to the 360 flywheel? If so, I may just do this thing, and drive it for a while longer. I'm really not ready for the big change to a chevy driveline yet, I still have some things to aquire, and my 350 doe need a rebuild first..

 

[Petescj]

Sorry not sure on the auto swap deal. Mine was in a CJ5 with a manual Transmission . I dont have alot of time today cause this is my weekend to work but Id check here for some good info:

Bulltear Pro-Parts Forum

 

[csuengr]

360 and AMC 304 AMC V8's use different balancing. It shouldn't be too hard to find a GM Turbo 400 flexplate for a 360. Just remember to swap out the reducer ring that goes on the back of the crank for the snout on the torque converter.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

You may be able to find a good low mileage on the rebuild AMC 360 on Craig’s List or your local bone yard that will drop right in; 360s are reasonable plentiful. The proper flywheel can be had on eBay or any of the jeep parts houses. Keep your Jeep, Jeep.

 

[Niedhogg]

You may be able to find a good low mileage on the rebuild AMC 360 on Craig’s List or your local bone yard that will drop right in; 360s are reasonable plentiful. The proper flywheel can be had on eBay or any of the jeep parts houses. Keep your Jeep, Jeep.

Oh I'm keeping it, and I already have a 360 from my J-truck, I just need to nail down this swap. So what I'm seeing, is that all I need is a 360 flywheel that had a GM Turbo 400 behind it, and it will pretty much install itself. In fact, at a talk-n-tune yesterday, I was told I could use the flywheel from the 727 if I could live with 3 bolts on the torque converter..

 

[Niedhogg]

Well, it will take a little more time for me to make this 360 swap happen, the ownwer of the shop I was renting sold the building out from under me and long story short, I had to vacate by the end of Feb., so I have parts and vehicles spread across 3 counties until my garage is built...

So, in the meantime, I have a rally to attend on the 30th, and need my Jeep running! I have another AMC 304 laying around so I was thinking I could swap out cam and dizzy gears to get it running again.. it's a matching set on the spare motor, anyone see a problem with this??

 

[gert]

wel you need to inspect your oil pump and filter, change the oil and get new lifters at the very least.... there is a possibility that the metal shavings from the cam gear has eaten your bearings however its worth a shot though it shouldnt take long for you to swap out the cam and dizzy

 

[Niedhogg]

wel you need to inspect your oil pump and filter, change the oil and get new lifters at the very least.... there is a possibility that the metal shavings from the cam gear has eaten your bearings however its worth a shot though it shouldnt take long for you to swap out the cam and dizzy

Ya... you know, you're right... that cam gear is in my oil now and all through the motor, I wasn't really thinking it through and has probably done more damage than I realize.. I did not want to go any further than pulling the timing cover, changing the gear and putting it back together with silicon gasket sealer, flushing the oil and changing it, maybe twice... It's over 100 miles to the rally point, 90-100 miles through the rally (through mud, with excessive rpms) and then back home again. Could be a terminal trip for the little AMC 304 , when all is said and done, and I have a broken trailer at the moment.. Probably easier to get the CJ5 running and driving in two weeks, swap on the 35s from the CJ7 and go for it. At least the 5 has a locker and a full float axle conversion on the old AMC20 rear..

Thanks Gert... CALLENGE ACCEPTED!

 

[JR74CJ5]

When this happened to me I bought the omix ADA matched set... they don't fit don't waste your time.

I finally ended up with the MSD matched set. They fit perfectly and havent had problems yet!

I cleaned and inspected and dropped oil pan etc, changed oil and filter... didn't have to go any deeper than that, although its arguable I should have...


~ Jr