walkerhoundvm's rebuild thread

[walkerhoundvm]

Yeah, the PO was "not very good with electrical stuff." The wiring is such a mess that I'm not going to dink with any of it until I get the new tape deck in, and not again until I can save enough for a new wiring harness. Actually, I think all it really needs is a new fuse box set-up and a little better organization with the wiring...

I think I'll keep the tach on a switch for old time's sake - may as well now that I have a dual switch. Perhaps it'll stay that way until I have a need for another switch for something - a second set of lights, a winch, rocket launcher, something...

 

[bigwalton]

...rocket launcher...

PLEASE do this!

I will throw this out there right now, the first person that installs a working rocket launcher on their Scrambler and documents the process on here with lots of pictures gets a free lifetime membership. I'll even create a whole new level of membership "I put a %#$^&%$ ROCKET LAUNCHER on my Scrambler" just for that person.

DO IT!!!!

 

[John N]

PLEASE do this!

I will throw this out there right now, the first person that installs a working rocket launcher on their Scrambler and documents the process on here with lots of pictures gets a free lifetime membership. I'll even create a whole new level of membership "I put a %#$^&%$ ROCKET LAUNCHER on my Scrambler" just for that person.

DO IT!!!!

Heck....I'd settle for an ejection seat. Just to get rid of that occasional anoying passenger....

 

[Polarfire]

Heck....I'd settle for an ejection seat. Just to get rid of that occasional anoying passenger....

That's why you take the doors off. It's much easier to just push them out!

 

[bigwalton]

That's why you take the doors off. It's much easier to just push them out!

YES! And then turn around and blast the ^%#* out of them with your ROCKET LAUNCHER!!!!

DO IT!!!!!!!!

 

[trust]

any specific weapons system you want Eric or just any old rocket do it for you? I can get some NM-NA-1 Mk 54, .750" unguided ones mounted in no time

 

[bigwalton]

any specific weapons system you want Eric or just any old rocket do it for you? I can get some NM-NA-1 Mk 54, .750" unguided ones mounted in no time

Works for me!

 

[walkerhoundvm]

This week's progress

Are you boys done trying to decide what sort of munitions I need to be carrying in my rig?

Here's what's gone on since last week:

1. Got new marine speakers in the mail finally. Set them up in the boxes that came with the Jeep, hooked them up to the old CD player, and we've got sound in the CJ!

Well, after some trial and error, of course. I picked these up from warehouse deals off of Amazon for really cheap. They were "Used, very good condition, returned" and when I finally got them, they were. But there's always a reason people return things. In this case, it was a loose lead. So, off to wally-world to pick up a soldering iron. Still saved a bunch of money, and now I have a soldering iron!

2. Got a new tape deck, finally. Got this on the cheap from Overstock.com. Bonus: the instructions came in English and Russian. This took all of a couple of hours to rip the old one and get this one in. And on top of that, I have some basic wiring skills and now there's 1/10th the number of wires under the dash as there were previously.

I have no idea where some of these wires were meant to go or where they came from (you can make some of them out in one of my pics above in an older post). I think the previous deck was connected to ground using no less than three spliced, mixed gauge wires. Now it's neat and tidy under there, except for the fuse box which has broken off of its mounts.

Hard to tell, but it's just dangling there. Plus, it's probably contributing to the reason the PO had the power jerry-rigged to the old deck. I had all the connections in - continuous power is coming from the slot for the clock (no clock in mine), then the acc power was coming from the radio slot. After hitting a few bumps in the parking lot at Sportsman's Warehouse, the new deck died. Hoping it wasn't a ground issue or a blown fuse, I pulled over and sorted things out. Turns out none of the acc slots on the left hand side of the fuse box wanted to work - radio, cruise, or the next one up. Probably a loose lead back there somewhere... Anyways, I switched it over to the A/C slot and she's working again, so that's nice. I have a ton of old tapes that I haven't listened to in ages, from Jethro Tull to Zeppelin. Started out with Pearl Jam, though.

3. Last thing I worked on some of you may have caught a couple of days ago. Just last week I either just noticed or finally noticed that getting into first when warm was getting a little more difficult. On top of that, there was a small amount of grinding when going into reverse. (there's also a fair amount of chatter that's probably due to failing engine mounts, which are on the way next week) So I put up a question about my concern for transmission issues which is proving to be more likely clutch issues.

I got a lot of help from CBRogers on this board, who took the time to detail the workings of a clutch, in my case a mechanical linkage, and how to adjust it to get the most out of disengagement and not have slippage. I read up from my Chilton manual and the Jeep Bible to get a little more theory and then went after it.

In this image, you'll see the component of the clutch linkage that's responsible for making mechanical adjustments. In the green oval is the entire adjustment bolt, the red circle is the nut you'll need to loosen to make shortening and lengthening adjustments to the entire component - lengthening to get better disengagement (but not too much - then you'll get slippage and throw-out bearing destruction); shortening to increase clutch pedal free play and get better engagement. In my case, CB thought I wasn't getting enough disengagement, so I lengthened the bolt a centimeter or so.

She's running a little better, first gear isn't as hard to get into, but I'm still getting some grinding when going to reverse. The aspect that leans me away from thinking there is a clutch issue is this: I've read and heard that you can punch first and then reverse real quick to avoid grinding. This works for me. I've also read that if you wait too long, the shaft will start spinning again and you'll get grinding again. This doesn't happen for me, which makes me think disengagement is happening fine. In any case, I'm getting mentally prepared for having to pull the transmission, maybe swap it out for a T5, and then tackling a clutch replacement.

Aside from learning how to make that adjustment and reading up on clutch options, I also learned a ton about my transmission, which happens to be a T4, not the stock SR4. I learned things like: "it's not as hard as I thought to take out and replace," "find a transmission jack if you plan to take out," what fluids to use when refilling, how to drain and fill, and what WC and NWC means when referring to the T5. So I started with a drain and fill, which I think may have also helped my shifting. Couldn't have made it worse, unless you add the wrong kind of fluid! I may just empty and fill the T-case and differentials next!

I finally got the stock dashboard speakers out this evening, and ordered up a pair of marine speakers for the front. Sounds good now, but these will help. Next up - brake repair? Body damage repair? I'm going to have to make a decision to try and fix the torn-up floor boards or just save my pennies for a new tub. Any opinions? (on the tub vs. patch kit, not what sort of weapons I need to incorporate into the build, please )

 

[walkerhoundvm]

Progress since last week

Since last week, I think I've finished with the stereo upgrade. I picked up some cheap marine speakers from millionbuy.com for the front, which as most of you know were a bear to install without taking the dash panel off. Total price for the entire speaker "system": less than $100, including shipping. Not bad, but part of me wishes I went for a marine tape deck, too. Just have to be careful about driving in the rain!

Also found an aftermarket antenna to replace the original one, which had broken sometime in the past. I searched this board, but it seems most of you either have the three-point attaching antenna or the hood mounting antenna. Mine was more old-school and was a little harder to find.

I found one on ebay for not too much, you can find them from this dealer if you've got the type I do: http://stores.ebay.com/BobKatDirect. Of course, you could probably find them from a good auto parts store, as well...

Next step was to tackle a chattering drive train, which I guessed was either one of the engine mounts, or possibly a transmission mount gone bad. After my work replacing the rear main seal, I knew at least one of the engine mounts was going, so I ended up buying a $30 kit to replace the engine mounts, torque arm bushing, and transmission mounts. Engine mounts took a couple of hours, so I decided to go after the torque arm mount. This one was a little more complicated, mostly because I didn't realize that the transmission skid plate needed to come off first! Managed to get it off and the torque mount replaced, but the transmission mount was frozen on there and I was hesitant to try to tear it out. At least one of the securing bolts was loose, though spinning, so I imagine that's half the problem with the chatter right there. Not much I can do about it now, so I suppose I'll wait until I have to do any real transmission or clutch work.

My next project I think will be the floor boards. 3 out of 4 areas are affected, the front drivers side being the worst:

Those are "for sale" signs keeping the road grit from the cabin, and I'd estimate ~50% of the panel to be affected.

Passenger's side front is next:

Seems like only about a third of this panel is affected, while the rear driver's side is going to be a tough one, because it seems like there's more in the way as far as cross members and such:

Hard to tell, but it's rotting pretty good right there in the corner under the belt retractor. It's spreading up the sidewall just above there, too...

So my dilemma is how to approach this. I don't think it's as bad as I originally thought, but it's obviously going to take some work.

 

[bigwalton]

I've got almost the exact same thing in the rear corners. Not looking forward to tackling that...

I don't know that I've ever seen that type of antenna, that's pretty cool looking!

 

[walkerhoundvm]

More progress

Since last week I've done a few things here and there, mostly working on little things that have been bugging me:

1) Windshield wipers work, but the fluid reservoir was cracked at the base and the pump was rusted out. I ordered a replacement from oconee off-road on eBay, great people to deal with, great prices (and about $12 cheaper than Collins bros):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-CJ-CJ5-CJ7-72-86-New-Windshield-Washer-Bottle-Kit-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5888114129QQitemZ380239954217QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

If you've installed it and there still isn't a stream coming from your nozzle, make sure you have the leads on correctly, otherwise it tries to blow air into the reservoir

While shopping with them, I also picked up a replacement heater diversion attachment, to get the heat to the feet so to speak:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Jeep-CJ-CJ5-CJ7-YJ-Wrangler-78-95-Heater-Lower-Duct-/380236703330?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5887dfa662

That was quite a PITA to put in. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

2. I have courtesy lights installed, but they weren't working. After some checking around, I realized they have a fuse for them, which was blown. Replaced it, now I have working courtesy lights! Problem is, either I have an older model switch or my stop-check is broken, because you can rotate the switch all the way counter clockwise and the lights just come on, there is no "click" that lets you know you've turned them on. Maybe someday in the future I'll worry about getting a new light switch, but word is they're more of a PITA to put in than the heater diversion.

3. I only recently noticed my back-up lights weren't working. After figuring out where the switch was mounted in the tranny, I followed it all the way back to the fuse box, cleaning the single attachment on the way there. Followed the lead all the way back to the tail and checked the grounds. Everything looked OK. Then got wise and checked the fuse - you guessed it, blown.

You may be noticing a pattern here. I have a problem fuse box that I need to find some way to support to the firewall until I can get a new harness...that I think will happen sometime next spring when I've saved up enough to get the tub off, sand blasted and repaired. At that time, I'll also swap out the old floor panels for a new complete panel. Once that's done, she'll be getting the new harness.

4. Finally, she came with the manual turn-signal correct option from the previous owner, meaning when you completed your turn, you had to manually reset the turn arm. In my case, it was only left-hand turns, but I was starting to feel like my old man driving down the road all the time with my turn signal on, so I decided to go after it.

I followed the instructions here:

http://www.epiccomputer.com/dale/jeepjunk/tilt/tilt.html

And I went with a lock plate removal tool despite the NAPA guy telling me I wouldn't need one - I did.

Now, there might be a couple of things going on to make your turn signals not cancel. On the above site, he had a broken turn signal cancel cam. Unfortunately, that wasn't the part I ordered from NAPA, despite the guy telling me that what I had ordered is what I needed to fix the problem. Fortunately, my cancel cam was in good shape. However, that left me with another issue that the cam I ordered didn't fix:

Those little hairpin doohickeys are known as control springs, and one of mine was missing. If you run into the turn signal cancel not functioning and you order up a new cam, make sure these come with it. I had to run back and forth to the parts store twice - once to buy a new kit with the springs, and another to return the old one.

Here you can see both springs in place:

I put a dab of lube under the little metal fulcrum at about 430 on the dial in the pic, so there wouldn't be friction forever. The old one looked like it had some lube there from the factory, so thought it was appropriate.

Took her for a spin, and walla! Functioning turn signal cancels!

So what's next? Well, the body repair is a long ways off, until I can save the money to have the whole thing done right. I think I nearly have her where I want her leading up to that point, though. The only thing she does need is a new set of front seats. I'm thinking about these from Q-tec:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/24215_1XX_PG.htm


Unless I hear any differently from someone...

One other thing I came up with - my grab bar is without leather Here's what I came up with: I ran into a 3' rattle snake yesterday while out riding. Let's just say he wasn't too happy to find out his fangs were useless against 2.1" mtb tires. I now have a nice looking skin that I'm trying to find something to do with (and about half a cup of rattler trimmings - tacos maybe?) .

If I had any leather working skills, I'd try to incorporate it into the grab bar, alas...Any ideas out there - are there professional leather workers who could do this? Seems like it would be pricey, but I bet I'd be the only one out there with a rattlesnake hide grab bar cover!

Until next week...

 

[Major Jack]

There is a great site called Tropical Leather. Once you get there at the bottom is a section called interesting articles. Click on snake leather. This fives great instructions on how to get - r - done.

 

[bigwalton]

Man, why don't you ever give us any detail???

Good stuff! I want to see the snakeskin project! Do it!!

 

[walkerhoundvm]

BW and CJ,
I found a leather worker in Fort Collins who does all sorts of stuff for cars and boats. I'll give him a call tomorrow to see if he could fashion me a leather grab bar cover. If so, I think I can take it from there - finish tanning this hide, then paste it to a cover. I think I have the length, but the width may be lacking. I'll post up anything that comes of it.
-N

 

[walkerhoundvm]

Been a while...

I've managed to get a lot done in the past few weeks, so much that I think the next step is taking the tub off and either fixing it or thinking harder about an aluminum tub. Plus a new wiring harness, but in any case it's going to take some serious coin savings to go any further.

Since last time, I spent some time and money on the dash, bought new knobs for just about everything, new dash lights, and a new steering column bezel. The products are of mixed quality - one of the vent cable knobs popped off when I first put it in (a little gorilla glue and it's doing better), and the lights are a weird alien blue color when lit. The rotary knobs are pretty good quality, though. All these products came from oconee off-road, they're cheap and have fast shipping times.

Sorry, no old vs. new pics. The knobs on the old pulls were falling off and the "chrome" plastic covers had worn to black. Dash light covers were falling off, etc.

I also ordered a new set of "factory style" Rugged Ridge seats from 4WD. Took them nearly three weeks to arrive, and when I set them up one of the plastic covers for the recline was broken. Again, a little gorilla glue and I think it will fix up fine. I did get a $50 gift card from 4WD in the deal, though, and along with a factory rebate from Painless wiring, I think a new harness will be almost 50% off when I order soon.

They look pretty good, though need some breaking in. I sit about an inch higher and closer to the steering wheel now. The back is a little tight, but I ride on the edge of the seat most of the time anyways. I have a 36" waist, 6'7" 210#, and I'd call them a little small but acceptable.

The next project was the emissions system. A while back, I found this:

And learned that they are the liquid check valve and roll-over valves. Obviously, there's not much left of the roll-over valve, probably taking the needle for the LCV along with it. I thought it would be a pain to pull the pair, and it was a little, but I got them out and went to work. I cleaned up the LCV and put in a new ROV from DeLorean industries. Fixed the broken needle on the LCV with some two-part epoxy and a needle from Ace. New vacuum tubing to the canister line and that part was set.

However, my canister only had one connection hooked up - the one with the rear valves I just fixed. (and it happened to be plugged with charcoal!). That would pretty much make the canister a sink for the tank, with no connections to the carb to draw off vapors, so I spent A LOT of time on JF asking how to get the system operating. I replaced the steel connection to the rear valves since I couldn't unclog all the charcoal, then pulled the canister, fixed a crack at the base, and replaced the filter at the bottom. Replaced canister, hooked up the vacuum lines as relayed to me by smarter people at JF (and as written on the canister itself), and am now running with what I think is an entirely functional tank emissions system. Since the MC2150 (mine, anyways) doesn't have a bowl vent port, that port on the canister is plugged.

Last, but certainly not least, I finally got my grab bar back from the leather man. First off, I have to say that I had pretty wild ideas about how it would come out, so I was a little disappointed with it afterward, along with the price, but it'll do for now. If I were to do it again in the future, I would come up with something myself, because it felt like the guy took two weeks to let it sit around, then a Friday afternoon to glue some crap together and paint it up. Oh well, live more learn more.

So it's been a while, but a lot has been done. Oh, did I mention I had my PhD defense yesterday, too?! I think a lot of this work was to avoid preparing for that, and I came out ahead in the end!

Now the long wait to save up for body restoration...

 

[walkerhoundvm]

September update

It's been another long while, but there have been some minor improvements over the past couple of months.

First off, I picked up a spare tire carrier off of eBay, and a spare tire from TreadWright. One of the worst memories I've had in a Jeep is getting a flat on the interstate and not having 1) a spare, 2) a jack and 3) a tire iron. I just need to find a better place for my jack, now, and I'll be all set. It got sanded, primed, and painted black before mounting.

Secondly, I found an old-school push bar. Perhaps original equipment. Came with a dent and some rust, so sanded, primed and painted.

Also sanded, primed, and painted were both front and rear bumpers. I hate to say it again, but all that's left is the body. I imagine it will take me the better part of the next 12 months to save up for an aluminum body, but I think it's the best option.

Picked up a wiring harness cheap after the Painless rebate and a gift card from 4wd, will have to wait until after the new body comes in before installing.

Will spend the next few weeks restoring the original doors, with spice trim to match the remainder of the interior. It was a hard choice, because it may have been cheaper to try to find a newer set of doors - these need new interior and exterior paddles, panels, handles, and seals. Final cost may be close to $300, but they'll be the color and condition I want them.

Here are some pictures as she stands. Doesn't look much different than when I started, but as the thread shows, a lot has gone on!

Until the doors are done...

 

[walkerhoundvm]

12/09/10 update

Door restoration:
The hard doors that came with my '8 were in pretty rough shape mechanically, so I spent some time restoring them using easily available parts, including window rollers, inner and outer paddles/handles, grab pulls and panels. Will also be working on the window seals, but I thought that might be better to wait on until I'm able to finally paint her, which won't happen until I can afford a new tub, etc. etc.

Using JScherb's door restoration section: CJ-8 door restore page to do some of the easy parts of the restore; the advanced welding parts will have to wait as well. The one part I wasn't able to work out was removal of the vent section of the window - my style of doors are the early style with no working vent, and they're stuck in the seals pretty good. Also had some trouble with the opening and locking mechanism - there are a few small parts and they're all old and worn. The little black inserts that hold the locking and opening mechanisms to the latch? I used these as replacements:

I had to take a lighter to the open end once installed to keep it from slipping out.

Here's how the doors look now:

Next modification - I loved the leather wrapped steering wheels, and wanted one in a spice color to match the rest of the interior. Found one from a Grand Wagoneer, touched it up with some leather dye, and installed it:

Also swapped in a dual horn from an 80's era F-150 from the scrap yard, a huge improvement over the kazoo I had under the hood before.

The next thing I learned about my Jeep is that it came from the factory with wood side rails. Since they're near impossible to find, and always busted up when you do, I had a local company build me some using instructions I found here on the site. I stained them to what appear to be factory style, coated with outdoor poly, and here they are:

Installed:

Well, if you know me, I couldn't stand to only have one set built, especially for the price I was charged, so I built a second set, prepped them and just sold them today. In the course of that, I spent a lot of time with the buyer providing measurements (his CJ came w/o stock rails), so I wanted to post those up here, too.

Installing wood side rail pictures, with measurements:
Roll bar -

Rear panel -

I also picked up a Eugene the Jeep sticker for the hardtop from here:
eBay Eugene the Jeep source

Finally, I picked up a tire cover I've been wanting. I love moose, try to see them whenever I can here in CO, so thought this one from timsloft.net was appropriate:

See also:

From a backpacking trip this summer. Awesome story, one of the best experiences I've had outdoors ever.

Lot of small changes, next up is a headlight upgrade, including relays, new buckets and lamps. I'll post my impression of the changes when I get it done.

 

[bobbysjeep]

It's looking good, at least your making some progress. I had a leaking power steering hose for months, I finally replaced it but have still not added fluid and checked for leaks. After seeing everyones progress, maybe I'll get motivated.

 

[cchambers]

Looks great its all the little things a guy can do to his project that makes it a looker.

 

[Craner8]

Neat thread- enjoy looking at the work and the Moose! For those of us that live in the flat lands of Florida, we like to look at the mountains and wildlife of the west!