What idiotic thing did you do with your CJ

[mriplaybass]

I don't know if this thread will have any legs to it, but I'll start it, and hope a few of you can share some amusing stories. I know we all love to post and read about what other members do with their beloved CJ's, but let's face it, rarely do things go right the first time we try something new. How many times have we all done something, then immediately thought, " I can't believe I just did that!
I'll get the ball rolling with one of my many OOPS's!

Still a very novice Jeeper, and after realizing we were not going to get our 59 CJ5 done in time for the Colorado trip, we purchased a 79 CJ7 . It needed alot of work. We decided to switch out the AMC20 rear end for a Dana 44 . After putting over $1200 into the Dana 44 with a locker, new gears, bearings, seals, etc. it came time to install it. What the #*##!@#$%^!! the axle is too narrow! The springs don't line up!! I look at the frame and realize that on the CJ7 's, the rear of the frame is wider than the front. I am used to the older CJ5 's where the frame is the same width from front to rear.
First came every 4 letter word I could think of. Next several tools flew through the air. My wife and son kind of ducked for cover. Next without any help, I lifted the axle off the springs and was about to..................I don't really know what I was going to do. Finally the world came back into focus and I could hear my son trying to calm me down. "DAD! DAD!, the axle is the right width! All you have to do is move the spring perches out!" What?? I took the tape measure and checked it out. He was right!
Axle is still alive and doing well! Can't believe I did that!

Please share your "I felt like and idiot" stories.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I used much 'stronger' language than " I can't believe I just did that". Many years ago, I laid my Jeep over on its side.
LG

 

[Dan77CJ7]

I dont know if this counts, but i sold my 77 CJ7 about two years ago. i sure miss that rusty girl, my first true love she was....

 

[mriplaybass]

I used much 'stronger' language than " I can't believe I just did that". Many years ago, I laid my Jeep over on its side.
LG

I think that qualifies. Especially if it was prefaced with : "Someone hold my beer and watch this!"

I dont know if this counts, but i sold my 77 CJ7 about two years ago. i sure miss that rusty girl, my first true love she was....

I think that one is not only in the "idiotic" category, but down right sad! My condolences. Hopefully, this is not a long term thing!

 

[Bill D]

I really think I can set a new record here.

About 40 years ago, Dad had an old flat fender CJ which he used sparingly around the ranch. One day a neighbor called and told Dad that he was holding a steer (about 600 pounds) that had strayed from our pasture. Wanting a chance to drive the old Jeep, I volunteered to hook up a 14 foot stock trailer to the Jeep and go the two miles or so over to the neighbors and retrieve the steer. Things went well - l backed up to the neighbors corral and after a fashion, was able to get the steer into the trailer although by the time I got him loaded he was a tad bit irritated and really wanted to be just about anywhere else. On the way home - on a gravel rural road, the steer decided he wanted out of the trailer and tried to jump over the tailgate. I was only going about 15-20 mph and getting ready to turn into Dad's driveway and the commotion in the trailer jackknifed the trailer which broke the hitch ball, rolled the Jeep onto its side and threw me a goodly distance up the borrow ditch. Other than the broken hitch, the only damage was a bent windshield frame and a few bruises on me. The trailer never upset and the steer (who was unable to jump high enough to clear the tailgate) was still standing in the trailer. To this day, I am very cautious about hooking anything to the rear bumper of an 80" wheelbase vehicle.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

You were very lucky that day!
Sorry to say, I have watched two fatal jeep roll overs on trail rides. Was first on scene at one and helped comfort the young passenger as he sat next to the deceased driver.
I've seen so many killed in car wrecks-NEVER get use to it.
Respectfully,
LG

 

[HackFabrication]

Idiotic?

I sank an embarrassing amount of money into my 76 CJ5 resto/mod. In the end, I could have bought a new AEV Wrangler. And had money left over.

But is wouldn't be a CJ5 .

 

[Dan77CJ7]

I think that one is not only in the "idiotic" category, but down right sad! My condolences. Hopefully, this is not a long term thing![/QUOTE]

Thanks, 2 weeks ago i bought a 86' CJ7 , her name is Cinnamon

 

[ttuseth2]

I keep on buying parts I can't return and then changing directions before I even installed them.
For example I have new fuel pump, sending unit, and fuel lines.... yet I've decided to go the tbi route and have already picked up the ecu and tbi
None of which is installed since my wrenching time was when my 3.5 year old son napped and he has given up napping!


Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[Peanut Butter]

So this has nothing to do with a CJ, but BillD's story made me think of it. My now ex-father-in-law wanted to take a cow to sale. He only had this rust bucket open single horse trailer. It had holes that you could see through in the floor. So we loaded the cow, hitched it to the car, and off we went. About 30 miles to the sale. Got about half way there, we were going over a hill (East Texas) and I heard something pop. I immediately looked in the mirror. The trailer was trying to pass me on the left! I took one look at the cow and I swear to God it's eyes were extremely big and round. Next thing I know the trailer completed its journey across the highway and hit a BIG pine tree. Deader than a door nail. Trailer still movable, but with this noticeable dent in the front. Hitched it back up and went to the butcher shop instead, just a little slower this time. Ate really good for a few weeks!

 

[mriplaybass]

Kind of gives new meaning to "On the hoof"

((British & Australian) if you make a decision on the hoof, you make it quickly to react to a situation which is happening, and do not have time to think about it carefully)

 

[CJim7]

Years ago when I had my 65, I decided to do a midnight river crossing. I had done this several times before, but not this particular year. Little did I know that spring runoff had cut a nice 7 foot deep trench where it used to be 2 feet deep.
Needless to say, I went from 2 to 7 feet of water in just under the time it took me to say "oh sh--!!!".
Luckily I was able to swim out of the submarined Jeep.....got to shore...and the only thing above the water line was the top of the roll bar and the top edge of the window frame.

the next several weeks consisted of draining gear boxes, diffs, the motor, and repacking bearings, cleaning, flushing....etc. It was not a fun time

 

[Hedgehog]

Oh so many things to choose from......

...... many years ago .... 1987 or so I had a powder blue '80 CJ5 with a 4 cylinder Iron Duke and the stock SR4 Transmission . I've mentioned before that I'm also a predator hunter. So, as it happened I was driving with visiting family, the wife's step father in the passenger seat and her brother in the back. We were off road driving along some abandoned fields. Here in Arizona they often have irrigation ditches along the field edges and they often terrace the fields leaving a ridge between. We were traveling along and there was a coyote way out in the middle of a field moussing around a drain pipe. When I say way out I mean WAAAAYYYYYY out, well over 200 yards. We were in silly moods so I stopped the CJ, hopped out pulled out my Dan Wesson revolver loaded with 38 specials held way over the coyotes head and took a shot .... bang .... one thousand one ..... one thousand two and that darned coyote piled up like I hit him with a hammer. Whaaaaaatttt ! That wasn't suppose to happen. Unfortunately he wasn't dead, might not have been dying, he was hurt though. I wasn't going to leave a wounded animal to die slowly. That just isn't right. So, naturally I emptied the Dan Wesson at the coyote, grabbed the 9mm emptied that, dropped in another clip and did it again. Naturally I didn't come within a mile of the coyote. After waiting a appropriate amount of time the coyote gathered himself up and started off across the field.

He was getting away, "Not today I yelled and piled in the CJ to give chase. No I wasn't going to run over him, I wanted to close distance and see if he was going to be okay and if necessary finish him off. I skirted the field while reloading the revolver and putting it in it's holster. Once I found an opening I dropped the CJ into the abandoned, small trees were growing in it, but tilled field. The CJ struggled on as best it could. We gained a little on the coyote, but the coyote was getting stronger. Then came the end of the field. I did see the edge, but reasoned that it was just a pushed up and soft ridge. Besides, the jeep wasn't going very fast. The father in law is yelling NOoooooo! when we hit the edge. I never went back to see exactly what the edge was, but I do remember: ..... First the steering wheel hit me right in the mouth ..... I looked back and the brother in law was about 4' off the seat and the father in law was sure he was going to die ........ Amazingly enough the jeep settled nicely back to the soft dirt of the field and we kept going. This time the coyote was forgotten. Like in all near death experiences we all started to laugh hysterically. All was well, the father in law was unhurt, the brother in law landed right back in his seat and I was bleeding but had no broken teeth. The CJ drove home alright. Later in the week I repaired a broken passenger side shackle hanger and met Rob at Willys Works for the first time. From time to time I do wish that I'd stopped and gone back to see how far we were in the air. Probably not very far, but it seemed like an eternity.

 

[hdgapeach]

So this has nothing to do with a CJ, but BillD's story made me think of it. My now ex-father-in-law wanted to take a cow to sale. He only had this rust bucket open single horse trailer. It had holes that you could see through in the floor. So we loaded the cow, hitched it to the car, and off we went. About 30 miles to the sale. Got about half way there, we were going over a hill (East Texas) and I heard something pop. I immediately looked in the mirror. The trailer was trying to pass me on the left! I took one look at the cow and I swear to God it's eyes were extremely big and round. Next thing I know the trailer completed its journey across the highway and hit a BIG pine tree. Deader than a door nail. Trailer still movable, but with this noticeable dent in the front. Hitched it back up and went to the butcher shop instead, just a little slower this time. Ate really good for a few weeks!

Did the same thing, except it was my bass boat that passed me on a bridge! Brother forgot to latch the hitch. Learned, I do my own hitchin' from then on. Boat didn't suffer none but the Southern Bell box beside the telephone pole the trailer ricocheted off of got wiped out. Phone wires everywhere! We flew back into the ditch, hooked it up and headed to the boat ramp, lickidy split! Thank God is was just breakin' daylight and nobody was on the road yet.

 

[Woolyworm]

Caught my M38 on fire while driving down the road by not tightening up the fuel line after a repair - burned out all the wiring and hoses and melted all the paint off the hood before I could get it out. Awesome [emoji35]


Wooly

 

[mriplaybass]

Caught my M38 on fire while driving down the road by not tightening up the fuel line after a repair - burned out all the wiring and hoses and melted all the paint off the hood before I could get it out. Awesome [emoji35]


Wooly

Jeeps on fire! When my oldest son, now 26, was only about 9 months old, I stopped at the local power company in northern Wisconsin to pay my bill. The wife and I had just parted company since she had to work the next day in the southern part of the state. I thought the baby would be OK in his car seat for the 60 seconds it would take to run in and drop off a check. I could see the J10 from where I would drop the check. I no sooner got to the door of the power company and realized that it was Saturday and they were closed. I turned to go back to the truck and saw billows of black smoke coming from under the hood. Run to the truck, open the door, out comes my son, car seat and all! I carry him to a safe distance and run back to try to save the Jeep. I open the hood and flames immediately shoot up. All I had was a 2 liter bottle full of cherry KoolAid behind the seat, but that was enough to extinguish the fire. All the wires, and vacuum lines were toast! I walked to a house just down the road and asked to use their phone. Called the local car dealership about 2 miles away to see if I could walk there and rent a few tools to at least get me home. The guy was great. He brought me tools, gasket material, silicone, and a roll of vacuum hose (the rocker cover gasket had blown out and leaked oil all over the exhaust manifold) I spent the next 3 days at our cabin jury rigging everything so that I could make it home latter that week.

 

[Hedgehog]

That's down right frightening! Gives a whole other image of a child in a hot car. Disturbing......

 

[Peanut Butter]

This relates to my CJ since I have repair work to do to the body and want to make a bumper / brush guard for it. Since I purchased my little Lincoln mig welder a few years ago I followed the instructions to put everything together. Then last week I'm watching the video posted on here under another title. Got me watching several U-Tube videos on welding. One was on tips and tricks. So I watched that thinking I might learn something. Talked about the direction of the current through the leads and that when using flux wire (which is the only way I can use my little welder) the negative lead should be attached to the handle feeding the wire. So I tried it on the last part of this pole barn I'm building. Well HOLLY ! My welding suddenly improved. Amazing what you can do when you do it the right way!

 

[Lumpy Grits]

First I've heard about switch'n the leads on the welder.
I'll have to look into that.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Inside the cover on my MIG they explain about switching the leads between gas and flux core wire. On my big stick welder it's easy to switch leads, so when I get a new type of rod I try both. Sometimes it makes no real difference, with other rods it makes a BIG difference. A bunch of Allied rod came with my used Thermal Arc welder, I really didn't like it much, it was an ugly spatter mess. Switched leads and I love the stuff. It's funny how that works.