Build Thread Treblehook's 79/85 CJ7 Circus!!

[BusaDave9]

1. From your experience, what probably failed and how do I fix it?

2. How exactly does the master cylinder work? What do the front and rear chamber do and what does it mean if the front is empty?

Let me answer #2 first: the master cylinder has 2 completely separate sections. The front brake hydraulics are separate from the rear. That way if a front brake line ruptures then the rear will still stop you. And vise versa. The master cylinder has a plunger that activates both chambers to stop all 4 wheels. Now the small reservoir in the front of the master cylinder is for the rear brakes. If that's what's empty I would look at your rear brakes. The large rear reservoir is for the front brakes. If you have fluid coming out the front brakes you may have 2 problems. Refill your reservoir and double check for leaks.

The answer to #1 is that your slave cylinder in the front right brake is bad and leaking your brake fluid. I assume you have disk brakes. You need new brake calipers.

 

[TrebleHook]

Let me answer #2 first: the master cylinder has 2 completely separate sections. The front brake hydraulics are separate from the rear. That way if a front brake line ruptures then the rear will still stop you. And vise versa. The master cylinder has a plunger that activates both chambers to stop all 4 wheels. Now the small reservoir in the front of the master cylinder is for the rear brakes. If that's what's empty I would look at your rear brakes. The large rear reservoir is for the front brakes. If you have fluid coming out the front brakes you may have 2 problems. Refill your reservoir and double check for leaks.

The answer to #1 is that your slave cylinder in the front right brake is bad and leaking your brake fluid. I assume you have disk brakes. You need new brake calipers.

MAN I LOVE THIS SITE!! Thanks you very much for the lesson and the advice. I'll refill it and check for leaks front and rear!

Ummm..not to be lazy, but what's a slave cylinder?

Thanks again!
Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[BusaDave9]

MAN I LOVE THIS SITE!! Thanks you very much for the lesson and the advice. I'll refill it and check for leaks front and rear!

Ummm..not to be lazy, but what's a slave cylinder?

Thanks again!
Cheers,
TrebleHook

The slave cylinder is the cylinder in the brakes (at the wheel).

I made a mistake in my post. You said the the small reservoir in the front of the master cylinder was empty. That is for the rear brakes.
You also said the front looked like it was leaking brake fluid. That would cause the large rear reservoir to go low so I am a little confused.

 

[TrebleHook]

No...you're correct. The front/small reservoir is empty. I also noticed that the passenger front was leaking.

I could not see anything obvious in the rear. That does not mean that it's not leaking of course. The PO and restorer did change out all the SS brake lines so it could also be a leak somewhere else...I'll give it a thorough look tomorrow.

As for the slave cylinder -- do you replace it, or buy a new caliper? The caliper is only 69.00 at Quadratec.

Side note: Would this repair be a good time to install speed bleeders? I saw them on Quadratec for 25$ per pair stainless and $14.99 steel. I presume I'd need them all around (x4). Recommendation re: SS or steel?

Thanks for the assistance.

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[BusaDave9]

The front/small reservoir is empty. I also noticed that the passenger front was leaking.
TrebleHook

The small front reservoir is for the rear brakes.
The large rear reservoir is for the front brakes (more braking power needs more brake fluid)

See why I'm confused. I don't know if your front brakes are leaking or your rear.

 

[TrebleHook]

Oh, I am confused too...but what I described is what I saw. My guess is that there is a small leak in the front, but not enough to drain the reservoir, and a serious but not obvious leak in the rear that I just haven't found yet. Welcome to the CIRCUS!!

Thanks for the insight -- I'll let you know what I find and what happens....

Cheers,
TrebleHook

BTW -- I'm a Colorado Native and I miss it horribly. Especially now that I have my CJ!!

 

[TrebleHook]

Got the brakes all figured out....apparently the best way to keep brake fluid in your lines is to have the lines tight at the proportioning valve!!

All of them were very loose and clearly leaking. Tightened them up. No other obvious leaks (brake fluid that is!)

The front passenger leak is from the axle seal -- it's gear oil for sure.

I cheated with the bleeding. Took it to a local shop and they bled them for me with their contraption. Pedal is firm and tall.

I love it when something goes right!

Still having the Transmission swap dilemma....more about that later.

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[TrebleHook]

Well I couldn't turn down a fresh T-5 for $300 so it's been settled.....

T-5 going in. I bought a clutch kit from 4wd.com.

Can I sell the T-4 core? How much?

There is a small rear main seal leak which I intend to deal with too.

The "new" Rear Pinion Seal is leaking and there is some play in the drive shaft at the diff. Do I replace the bearing?

Thanks for any input!

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[BusaDave9]

The "new" Rear Pinion Seal is leaking and there is some play in the drive shaft at the diff. Do I replace the bearing?
TrebleHook

If the rear drive shaft has free play I hope it's the U Joint but you make it sound like the pinion and yoke have free play. If that's true then, yes, the pinion bearing may need to be replaced. You say the pinion seal is new. If that was recently replaced maybe the pinion nut is loose. That could be the problem. Otherwise replacing the pinion bearings will be more involved. You will have to remove the differential. There are actually 2 bearings on the pinion.

​

 

[TrebleHook]

New Steering Wheel

Well, while I am waiting on parts, I did finally get the steering wheel that I ordered.

The original was the 16" version with the AMC center. It had been wrapped about a million years ago with a pleather wrap. At 16" with the new Bestop seats and my 6'2" frame I had to really slide my leg under the wheel to get it.

As a practical matter, that just wouldn't do as I often wear a uniform (sometimes Dress Whites) and that old wheel would leave a nice mark on my pants. Silly, yes. Necessary, yes. This is my daily driver.



The new wheel is 13.5" I chose the walnut version just because I liked the way it looked. I also purchased and installed the "Jeep" center. It makes all the difference.



The horn was previously relocated to the side of the column, so the install was a breeze. It's nice and straight.

That's all there was under the big top today. Transmission gets here later this week. More to follow....

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[Rescue Diver]

If the rear drive shaft has free play I hope it's the U Joint but you make it sound like the pinion and yoke have free play. If that's true then, yes, the pinion bearing may need to be replaced. You say the pinion seal is new. If that was recently replaced maybe the pinion nut is loose. That could be the problem. Otherwise replacing the pinion bearings will be more involved. You will have to remove the differential. There are actually 2 bearings on the pinion.

​

Don't forget to replace the crush sleeve if you need to replace your pinion bearings. It's used to set the preload on the bearings. Unfortunately it takes a whole lot of torque to crush it down. Find a manual that tells you how many PSI to torque it and a really long torque wrench. And I hope your emergancy brake works well because you're gonna need it when torquing that yoke nut.

It's possible though that the PO or whover replaced the pinion seal just failed to retorque the yoke properly when putting it back together and it worked itself loose. I would say that's more likely than bad bearings since you did say the pinion seal had been replaced before. Try torquing it to spec and see how it turns before going to all the trouble of replacing the bearings.

One more thought. If the pinion seal was replaced as you believe, and the pinion yoke nut worked its way loose, the play you're feeling could easily cause it to leak. The seal may be ok. I'd try torquing it down without replacing the seal first and see if that cures your leak.

 

[TrebleHook]

Thanks for all the insight.

I plan to torque that rear pinion nut and see what happens. I have the receipt from when I bought this thing showing that the PO purchased a new seal, and no reason to believe he didn't put it in. My guess, considering all the input, is that he used the old nut and that it worked itself loose on its first 100 mile journey to my house.

Where it stands now:

T-5 going in. New clutch. Flywheel resurfaced. Waiting on the tranny to arrive.

Rear main seal?

When I pulled it into my newly organized garage for the night it left a nice puddle of fresh oil. I knew it had a small leak...but this was a good puddle for one night and a 10 minute warm-up at idle. Driving to work, I noticed that the aftermarket oil pressure gauge was bouncing/ticking around. I pulled over at a gas station and checked the oil - sure enough - it was pretty low (below "ADD" on the stick). Dropped a quart and a half of 5/30 in it.

Funny thing? The tapping in the engine (which I figured was a rocker tapping against the aluminum valve cover)....gone. It sounds good, and runs ok. Starts GREAT. Still needs some tuning because I can tell that it's either too rich or too lean -- the power is just weak. My guess is too lean.

While the Transmission is out - the Dana 300 is getting a seals kit and a twin stick shifter (why not, right?). So there is a story here too... I googled "Twin Stick Dana" and got the Novak site. Top end stuff. I knew that there were other folks making these shifter kits, but figured Novak was as solid as it came and $144 for the shifter kit and another $27 for the boot. I was excited, so I ordered it.

Well, it turns out (if you look real close) Novak's kit is made by jbfab.net. So I looked at jbfab.net....same kit $99 with the boot. Damn

I actually called Novak and told them straight-up. The gentleman who answered agreed to cancel my order. He said he would speak to jbfab.net and that the fabricator was not supposed to be undercutting the dealer. He was pleasant enough...Not that I am particularly bright, but I wonder how many folks don't figure that scam out?

Regardless, I picked up the kit and boot for $99. I am happy with that. I'll do a full report with pics when it's in.....

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[Rescue Diver]

Thanks for all the insight.

I plan to torque that rear pinion nut and see what happens. I have the receipt from when I bought this thing showing that the PO purchased a new seal, and no reason to believe he didn't put it in. My guess, considering all the input, is that he used the old nut and that it worked itself loose on its first 100 mile journey to my house.

Where it stands now:

T-5 going in. New clutch. Flywheel resurfaced. Waiting on the tranny to arrive.

Rear main seal?

When I pulled it into my newly organized garage for the night it left a nice puddle of fresh oil. I knew it had a small leak...but this was a good puddle for one night and a 10 minute warm-up at idle. Driving to work, I noticed that the aftermarket oil pressure gauge was bouncing/ticking around. I pulled over at a gas station and checked the oil - sure enough - it was pretty low (below "ADD" on the stick). Dropped a quart and a half of 5/30 in it.

Funny thing? The tapping in the engine (which I figured was a rocker tapping against the aluminum valve cover)....gone. It sounds good, and runs ok. Starts GREAT. Still needs some tuning because I can tell that it's either too rich or too lean -- the power is just weak. My guess is too lean.

While the Transmission is out - the Dana 300 is getting a seals kit and a twin stick shifter (why not, right?). So there is a story here too... I googled "Twin Stick Dana" and got the Novak site. Top end stuff. I knew that there were other folks making these shifter kits, but figured Novak was as solid as it came and $144 for the shifter kit and another $27 for the boot. I was excited, so I ordered it.

Well, it turns out (if you look real close) Novak's kit is made by jbfab.net. So I looked at jbfab.net....same kit $99 with the boot. Damn

I actually called Novak and told them straight-up. The gentleman who answered agreed to cancel my order. He said he would speak to jbfab.net and that the fabricator was not supposed to be undercutting the dealer. He was pleasant enough...Not that I am particularly bright, but I wonder how many folks don't figure that scam out?

Regardless, I picked up the kit and boot for $99. I am happy with that. I'll do a full report with pics when it's in.....

Cheers,
TrebleHook

You can change the rear main by just pulling the oil pan and the rear main cap. Not counting for cleanup and maybe painting the pan while you have it off, it's about an hour job. The old upper half of the seal will just spin out with the help of a small screw driver, and then you can push the new one in the same way. Be sure to face the lip outward towards the rear of the Jeep.

I'm glad Novak let you cancel your order before it shipped! I bought my twin stick directly from JBFab for around the same price and I love it!

 

[TrebleHook]

Well the bigtop continues....clown shoes and a red nose today

Unbelievable weather today....got off work really early. Over to the beach for lunch with the family. It doesn't get better. Jeep was running great.

Parked for lunch. Wife met me there -- in the minivan. Ate a killer lunch at Surfrider.....

Went to leave...turned the key, a little sputter, no start. Another try, another sputter, no start. After that...no joy. It turned and turned but wouldn't fire. I could see/smell fuel in the carb. Checked the distributor wires. Checked and tightened the ground wires. Still nothing.

We had places to be (salvage yard!!) and the kids weren't happy. Threw up my hands and had it towed to the shop that is going to be installing the Transmission and some other things...

I have no idea. All I could think was, WTF?

So...not to be deterred, we all loaded into the minivan and headed to a local specialty salvage yard. They had told me the had a 94 YJ with a Family Roll Bar and would let me have it for $AMC 150 .

Sure enough -- I met a really good looking YJ that had recently met a telephone pole. Family bar looked really nice - rhino lined to the tub. No obvious rust on the Jeep itself. Rear seat belts were included and in good shape. Even had the roll bar pads (but not all that nice). I bought it. They told me they'd have it out in 30 minutes.

1 hour later, I checked on the poor fellow who was pulling it....angriest, most frustrated bloke I've seen in a while. The rhino lining was making it impossible to get the torx out of the floor. I watched him break 2 snap-on torx sockets. I told him to just grind them off or torch them off, so long as he didn't dork-up the roll bar. I'm going back tomorrow to pick it up. I'll clean it up and paint it black. Should be a nice addition.

So anyway -- that is where it stands....looks like I'm running to work next week....

Cheers,
Treblehook

 

[TrebleHook]

Got this idea from a great jeepforum.com post. Changing a CJ rollbar to a YJ family style rollbar - JeepForum.com

Wanted to pass it along with some "before" pics of the roll bar....

Oh, and that is my new (used) utility trailer. It folds in half for storage against the garage wall. Got it on CL for $400 and it's in absolutely fantastic shape. Ran it 30+ miles on the highway and the hubs were cool to the touch. It should really come in handy....

Cheers,
Treblehook

 

[TrebleHook]

Alright Circus Fans.....

Well here is the update:

After the last stall-out, stranded, tow-truck incident - I had decided to just have a local Jeep shop just go at it until I ran out of money (didn't take long - but they gave me a great deal at every turn - honest guys running a legitimate business are hard not to like).

Found a used T-5 on Ebay. Seller claimed it was in great running order - no issues. Had it shipped straight to the Jeep shop.

Purchased a Clutch Kit from 4wd.com -- it arrived with 2x Clutch Covers and no Clutch disk. Grrrr... Ended up sending it back, but that was a complete debacle. Not so hot on 4wd.com right now. ($40 in "free" shipping that wasn't refunded since I paid via Google Checkout! Watch out for this!). Got one locally.

New seals kit for the Dana 300 . When it was opened up, it was nasty. Full of water and rust. Gears and bearing looked okay so I decided to have it cleaned and packed with grease to save some bucks. Bad idea.....

I get a call from the shop -- the Transmission is in, but its making a horrible noise. Hmmm? Ebay scammer? Dammit. I actually called the Ebay seller and he was floored -- couldn't imagine that the Transmission was bad. He agreed to a partial refund but he wasn't happy....

Well it turned out that my Dana 300 was bad. Cleaning it up must have unleashed it's demons. It made VERY scary noises.

Purchased a replacement Dana 300 with a new seals kit in it and everything was working fine. No noises. Transmission was just fine.

Needless to say, I refunded the Ebay seller's refund. Gotta keep up the Karma right?

Oddly - the T-5 required new mounting holes in the skid plate. Total mystery.

Oh, the twin-sticks from jbfab.net are sweet.

In the end:

New/Used T-5
New/Used Dana 300 with twin-sticks.
New Clutch Kit
New Front and Rear Pinion Seals
Rear Main Seal
Front inner axle seals (turns out there weren't any in there!!)
Remanufactured steering box

They also worked on tuning the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l /MC2100/HEI. The vacuum advance was returned to the ported vacuum on the carb. The mechanical timing was backed down quite a bit and the vacuum advance was adjusted. Spark knocking is gone. It's much much better. The timing will probably need to be advanced just a hair -- but that's a work in progress.

Having a 5th gear on the highway makes a huge difference.

T-5 shifts pretty well. There is a very little "hic" (for lack of a better descriptor) going into 3rd.

Downshifting into 2nd -- you can hear a faint high pitched whining noise that actually sounds like the Three Stooges laughing (best I can describe).

Any ideas? I know its got the GL5 lube in it. Would the GL4 stuff help?

Overall it's a HUGE upgrade from that T-4 ....

Of course the GREMLIN that got it towed to the shop in the first place is still on the loose. Wife drove the Jeep down the street - she stalled it a few times with poor clutch work. Then she stalled it a final time and it wouldn't start....again. I walked down the street, she went home. I wiggled everything I could find - no joy. Sat there angrily, gave it another shot - BINGO. Fired up and I feathered it back to life. My best guess is that it flooded....

Drove it all afternoon, all around town. Ran great.

So that is where the circus stands. Next up: Family Roll Bar.

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[TrebleHook]

F-n Jeep stalled out on the highway AGAIN today. Running right along. I hear it starts to stall. Pull off to the side of the road. Turn it over - it tries. Turn it again -- it tries a little less. Turn it again - crank, crank, crank, nothing.

I popped the hood and wiggled everything I could think of....tried again. Cranks and nothing. So I sat there patiently.....

About 1 minute later (lots of patience!!)....it turns and sputters.....

Crank it again - fires up.

Drove off just fine -- just totally baffled. This GREMLIN is killing me.

Fuel pump? Ideas?

Cheers ,
TrebleHook

 

[TrebleHook]

Well you all might get bored with this....but the circus never ends!

BEAUTIFUL Sunday here in Norfolk yesterday! Had company coming over for roasted pulled-pork shoulder sandwiches and homemade mac-n-cheese -- doesn't get much better than that, right?

One quick trip to the grocery store to grab a few things before they arrived -- Jeep drove like a champ. Groceries? Check. Hop back in and it fires right up. Transmission grinds into reverse. Hmmm... Let the clutch out, and it shudders pretty bad. Push the clutch in and I can't get it into ANY gear. WTF?

So I push it back into the parking spot and take a look. Don't notice anything glaring. Get back in and pump the clutch pedal -- THUMP! To the floor. No response.

Well as many of you know, an open CJ hood will attract fellow Jeepers from miles around. I was lucky and a guy in a TJ rolls up and offers a hand. He immediately notices that the clutch linkage is AFU -- the bell crank had popped off the bell crank pivot support (looks like a little ball-joint?) I obviously looked the names later.

The small aluminum block that attaches to the bellhousing - where the pivot support bolts was loose. Tightened that up. I've learned to keep my tools with me!

The bellcrank bushing was cracked in half and pretty worthless. The little clip was in the boot -- I have no idea how that works -- I left it off.

The boot was ok but I pulled it off. I shoved the bell crank over the support pivot (little ball) and it stayed. It can't really come all the way undone when everything is tight -- but its obviously not right. There seems to be a lot of play left and right in the bellcrank.

Ordered new bellcrank bushings but not certain exactly how to get it back the way it should be.

Looking for ideas, suggestions, and HELP!!

SO THAT WAS SUNDAY....

Today I did some Gremlin chasing. Swapped in a new fuel pump. That was too easy. Went in without a hitch. No leaks.

Also changed out the battery cables. Bought new "Duralast Gold" cables at AutoZone. They are 2 gauge and much nicer than my old ones. Cleaned up all the connections I could and the ground at the motor mount.

Quick question: What are the extra wires coming off the main cables? What do I do with them?

Thanks!

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[TrebleHook]

It never ends...but today I won the battle, maybe not the war.

Left the Jeep in the garage last night after the fuel pump/battery cable exchange....

Went out and fired it up this morning to head to work. I reached through the window that I left down and cranked it over -- it fired right up. Started to walk away and before I could get back to it, it sputtered out and died. Hopped in and tried to restart it -- crank, crank, crank, nothing.

So I popped the hood and pulled off the air cleaner. Wiggled a few things, still won't start. At this point I'm pretty sure I have spark with the new HEI. So I unhooked the fuel line to the carb - put it in a cup - and cranked the engine. Lots of fuel pumping....hmmmmmm???

So now I am convinced I have a carb issue. I just needed to get to work and since I am remarkably patient I just cranked the engine and pumped the ever-living hell out of the gas pedal - it fires right up....feathered it to life and backed right out of the garage. Ran great on the way to work (minus the the clutch linkage problem - to be addressed in a second)....right up until I was on the final stretch to the parking lot. 3rd Gear - 30mph and the engine starts to sputter out....I manage to get to a parking lot. It dies. Crank, crank, crank, crank.....nada. Pump the pedal like mad while turning the key -- fires up and I drove it to my parking spot. Gremlin be damned.....

Came home to a nice surprise from Quadratec - new bell crank bushings, boots, and clips. I pulled off the bell crank, cleaned it all up and packed it with grease. I had searched for advice on replacing this stuff and the e-advice was spot on. Got is all bolted up -- the clips kicked my <-BAD WORD-> until I drank a beer and thought about it -- OH! They are clips -- just clip them on. Done.

Adjusted the clutch and the linkage works like a charm. Solid. Smooth.

I test-drove it around the neighborhood....it was running strong! Shifting smooth.

Pulled it into the drive - went to grab my cell phone (Engine running, Transmission in neutral) and it starts to die -- AGAIN! Sputters but I managed to feather it back to life....all I can say is WTF?

Need some help on this one folks....

Attached some pics (fuel pump, misc. carb, and the culprit in the bell crank).

Cheers,
TrebleHook

 

[Rescue Diver]

So, do you think it's running out of fuel in the float bowl when it tries to die? Verify this. Let it die, pull the top of the carb off and take a look. If the carb is running out of gas, it should be easy to find the problem. The only things it could be are, fuel filter, fuel pump, fuel line either being crimped somewhere restricting flow, or having a small leak between the tank and pump causing it to suck air, or maybe your gas tank isn't vented properly causing a vacuum that isn't allowing the pump to suck fuel?

One other thing, just pumping the throttle to see if it squirts gas won't tell you if it's running out of gas. The accellerator pump on your carb is at the bottom, so it'll still have gas in it when the float bowl is dry. You have to remove the top of the carb to really know what's going on in there.