- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Me and my big mouth, again.......................
This Jeep popped up on Craigslist a month or two ago. Original engine malfunctioned, rebuilt engine installed, it also malfunctioned.
I went and looked at this Jeep for my dear old buddy "JeepAddict". Anyway, long story short, the guy was still on the fence about selling. Was going to have engine repaired, and keep the Jeep. Well, he pulled engine, had it repaired, did not have time/motivation/good place to reinstall, so was ready to sell. Sometimes the idea versus reality of owning a CJ is too much.
Anyway, JeepAddict wanted it, so I bought it. All fine and dandy, except for a few reasons:
1) the engine was laying on a garage floor, on its side, so I had to "pick it up" first
2) my current DD is down for the count, so I am currently DD my Scramblers (not the time or place for DD issues on this thread)
3) Christmas time, people traveling, work issues, fun logistics
4) this Jeep was about 45 minutes away (not terrible, but not super convenient)
So, long story short, 3 major "steps" to this retrieval.
1) Drove to Diamondhead to pick up my engine hoist, let a coworker borrow it, About an hour each way.
2) Drove to Pass Christian to pick up the engine. Engine was not at seller's house, seller out of town, person who owned shed where Jeep/engine was located was out of town, so paid some other random family person all the cash up front, just to pick up the engine!!!!! Craigslist nightmare!!!!!!!! Actually, the seller/family are good people, so no real worries.
The engine was laying flat on the ground. Picture of it loaded up in the bed of my red Scrambler:
I was by myself, so had to use some "RedneckRay" ingenuity to safely stand the engine up properly. Engine lift, ratchet straps, blocks of wood, prayers.......
And the engine upright on this little stand. The stand is actually really good. It was custom made for 258/4.0's by Hesco (I need to return it). All the weight is on the four vertical bars, which rest directly on the lower block flange, supporting all the weight. Looks kind of "blah", but it works well.
3) Picking up the Jeep.
My DD was down, I did not want to bug friends with my Jeep b#ll$hit this close to the holidays, so RedneckRay'd it, heading south of the border style!!!!
I bought a new tow bar. Had to drill the OEM front bumper for the attachment points. IF the bumper would have been perfect, I probably would have spent a few hours swapping front bumpers. This bumper has a slight tweak and 2-3 extra holes, so I did not feel terrible drilling it. Before this, had to do the following:
1) I disconnected/secured the rear driveshaft from the rear axle
2) Secured the transmission/Dana 300 to the frame with some blocks of wood/ratchet straps
3) Secured (i.e. duct taped) all the loose dangling hoses/wires under the hood
4) PO had already secured the PS/intake/exhaust with rope (don't laugh, it worked!!!!!!)
5) Removed all the PO personal property/tools, gathered up all the loose parts
I did all this by myself Sunday morning, at a house with nobody home, in a nice neighborhood. I kept waiting for the cops to show up!!!!!!! Thankfully, when I left, a neighbor was outside doing yard work. I stopped and told him what I was doing, to take a picture of my tag/license plate if he thought I was stealing the Jeep, but he was pretty cool, didn't seam to care!!!!
Left there, drove to owner's house, did the paperwork., headed home.
Safely back in my yard:
The Scrambler did fine towing the engineless CJ-7, a few notes:
1) I took the highway/city streets/minimal interstate usage
2) I got it up to 60mph, still felt OK, but I would not go much faster then this
3) Left AX15 in 4th gear, maintained around 55mph@2300RPM
4) Brakes/steering/handling of the Scrambler were good (NOT as good as a full size truck obviously, but not scary)
5) I have 4.10's, 33" tires, deep 1st gear AX15, MPI, 4 wheel disc brakes..................
6) Total travel distance was around 40 miles
7) I know how the drive a standard/safely work a clutch
8) minimized dead stops (although the Scrambler did not struggle from a dead stop, was trying to make this as easy as possible on Jeep)
9) Stopped a few times to check tow bar/towed Jeep/my Jeep for any issues
So a good trip, no problems, Not the best solution, but it will work in a pinch with some common sense.
Never again, again.
Putting together someone else's project, so parts everywhere!!!!!!!!!
Before I get too far off in the woods, a few details about this Jeep.
Purchased from the 2nd owner (original owner from middle MS, so no coastal/salt exposure)
It is a 1982 model
Original paint/decals
NO ROT, only surface rust
Color Code is 1J, "Vintage Red Metallic" (JeepAddict thought this odd for 1982 color)
It is an original soft top/door Jeep (no door posts) (have the original top, maybe usable)
It came from the factory with chrome wheels (this is a Renegade model)
PS/PB/T5/258/tilt/nutmeg interior (I presume 3.31 axle gears)
Smog pump stuff removed, has the original idle control box on passenger fender
Warn 8274 (looks new, only specks of surface rust here and there)
76,000 +/- miles
The problem with the engine: The 2nd owner, for some reason, pulled out the OEM distributor and installed one of those eBay/Made in China "high performance" HEI distributors. This wiped out the teeth on the cam shaft. Had this engine rebuilt, reinstalled the same distributor, again, same cam failure.
I will take a picture of the distributor drive gear, it has some definite wear. The 2nd owner said the engine shop showed him both cam shafts, distributor gear/teeth were wiped off, both times. Did not learn his lesson.
I will now get off my soapbox about "made in China/eBay high performance HEI distributors".
So the original engine was completely rebuilt the first time. The 2nd time, it was completely disassembled, cleaned and inspected. No problems except for the cam shaft. A new cam installed, and timing gears. So, once installed, I will have to "break in" the engine/cam.
This Jeep popped up on Craigslist a month or two ago. Original engine malfunctioned, rebuilt engine installed, it also malfunctioned.
I went and looked at this Jeep for my dear old buddy "JeepAddict". Anyway, long story short, the guy was still on the fence about selling. Was going to have engine repaired, and keep the Jeep. Well, he pulled engine, had it repaired, did not have time/motivation/good place to reinstall, so was ready to sell. Sometimes the idea versus reality of owning a CJ is too much.
Anyway, JeepAddict wanted it, so I bought it. All fine and dandy, except for a few reasons:
1) the engine was laying on a garage floor, on its side, so I had to "pick it up" first
2) my current DD is down for the count, so I am currently DD my Scramblers (not the time or place for DD issues on this thread)
3) Christmas time, people traveling, work issues, fun logistics
4) this Jeep was about 45 minutes away (not terrible, but not super convenient)
So, long story short, 3 major "steps" to this retrieval.
1) Drove to Diamondhead to pick up my engine hoist, let a coworker borrow it, About an hour each way.
2) Drove to Pass Christian to pick up the engine. Engine was not at seller's house, seller out of town, person who owned shed where Jeep/engine was located was out of town, so paid some other random family person all the cash up front, just to pick up the engine!!!!! Craigslist nightmare!!!!!!!! Actually, the seller/family are good people, so no real worries.
The engine was laying flat on the ground. Picture of it loaded up in the bed of my red Scrambler:
I was by myself, so had to use some "RedneckRay" ingenuity to safely stand the engine up properly. Engine lift, ratchet straps, blocks of wood, prayers.......
And the engine upright on this little stand. The stand is actually really good. It was custom made for 258/4.0's by Hesco (I need to return it). All the weight is on the four vertical bars, which rest directly on the lower block flange, supporting all the weight. Looks kind of "blah", but it works well.
3) Picking up the Jeep.
My DD was down, I did not want to bug friends with my Jeep b#ll$hit this close to the holidays, so RedneckRay'd it, heading south of the border style!!!!
I bought a new tow bar. Had to drill the OEM front bumper for the attachment points. IF the bumper would have been perfect, I probably would have spent a few hours swapping front bumpers. This bumper has a slight tweak and 2-3 extra holes, so I did not feel terrible drilling it. Before this, had to do the following:
1) I disconnected/secured the rear driveshaft from the rear axle
2) Secured the transmission/Dana 300 to the frame with some blocks of wood/ratchet straps
3) Secured (i.e. duct taped) all the loose dangling hoses/wires under the hood
4) PO had already secured the PS/intake/exhaust with rope (don't laugh, it worked!!!!!!)
5) Removed all the PO personal property/tools, gathered up all the loose parts
I did all this by myself Sunday morning, at a house with nobody home, in a nice neighborhood. I kept waiting for the cops to show up!!!!!!! Thankfully, when I left, a neighbor was outside doing yard work. I stopped and told him what I was doing, to take a picture of my tag/license plate if he thought I was stealing the Jeep, but he was pretty cool, didn't seam to care!!!!
Left there, drove to owner's house, did the paperwork., headed home.
Safely back in my yard:
The Scrambler did fine towing the engineless CJ-7, a few notes:
1) I took the highway/city streets/minimal interstate usage
2) I got it up to 60mph, still felt OK, but I would not go much faster then this
3) Left AX15 in 4th gear, maintained around 55mph@2300RPM
4) Brakes/steering/handling of the Scrambler were good (NOT as good as a full size truck obviously, but not scary)
5) I have 4.10's, 33" tires, deep 1st gear AX15, MPI, 4 wheel disc brakes..................
6) Total travel distance was around 40 miles
7) I know how the drive a standard/safely work a clutch
8) minimized dead stops (although the Scrambler did not struggle from a dead stop, was trying to make this as easy as possible on Jeep)
9) Stopped a few times to check tow bar/towed Jeep/my Jeep for any issues
So a good trip, no problems, Not the best solution, but it will work in a pinch with some common sense.
Never again, again.
Putting together someone else's project, so parts everywhere!!!!!!!!!
Before I get too far off in the woods, a few details about this Jeep.
Purchased from the 2nd owner (original owner from middle MS, so no coastal/salt exposure)
It is a 1982 model
Original paint/decals
NO ROT, only surface rust
Color Code is 1J, "Vintage Red Metallic" (JeepAddict thought this odd for 1982 color)
It is an original soft top/door Jeep (no door posts) (have the original top, maybe usable)
It came from the factory with chrome wheels (this is a Renegade model)
PS/PB/T5/258/tilt/nutmeg interior (I presume 3.31 axle gears)
Smog pump stuff removed, has the original idle control box on passenger fender
Warn 8274 (looks new, only specks of surface rust here and there)
76,000 +/- miles
The problem with the engine: The 2nd owner, for some reason, pulled out the OEM distributor and installed one of those eBay/Made in China "high performance" HEI distributors. This wiped out the teeth on the cam shaft. Had this engine rebuilt, reinstalled the same distributor, again, same cam failure.
I will take a picture of the distributor drive gear, it has some definite wear. The 2nd owner said the engine shop showed him both cam shafts, distributor gear/teeth were wiped off, both times. Did not learn his lesson.
I will now get off my soapbox about "made in China/eBay high performance HEI distributors".
So the original engine was completely rebuilt the first time. The 2nd time, it was completely disassembled, cleaned and inspected. No problems except for the cam shaft. A new cam installed, and timing gears. So, once installed, I will have to "break in" the engine/cam.
