Another Scrambler Purchase/Road Trip - UPDATE- BODY ON FRAME AGAIN
- Thread starter spankrjs
- Start date
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Great pics. Looks like the trip was a major success. First pic in #1058 looks like an ad from the 80's, very cool. Nice report, too.
Appreciate it guys
Some of the people that saw me said I was crazy for taking my Scrambler on the trails, but that's what I built it for. I actually had more people say how cool it was to see a rig like this (in a sea of TJ's and JK's, a CJ, and especially a "stock" looking Scrambler really stands out) out on the trails. When I told some biker guys about my cross country trip in it, they tried to "adopt" me
All in all, I think the trip was a major success. I had non stop fun on my cross country trip
As for the "ad from the '80's", that is just what I was trying to accomplish, even my white letters out didn't get scuffed too bad
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Quick follow up to my "gangsta lean" sagging rear passenger side leaf spring:
I replaced both center bolts, they were both a little bent, especially the passenger side (the side that spun the tube). I also removed the spacer from under the drivers side center pin. We forgot to remove the spacer from the driver side in Moab. The spacers are used if you use degree shims to set the pinion angle. I originally had shims, but we did not reuse the degree shims when we replaced the perches, we welded the perches with the correct rear pinion angle. I am guessing, that with the spacer on the driver side, the axle tube was hitting the center pin before the perch was making complete contact with the leaf spring pack, resulting in a slight "cattywampus" issue
I re-torqued the U-bolts, drove it around, and it seems fine now
It has a slight lean, between 3/8"-5/8", which for a CJ, is pretty damn good, considering it was leaning a good 1.5"-2" before I messed with it. It drives/handles fine, so for now, I am going to leave it alone. If it sags again, I will have to replace the rear leaf springs, but for now it is good to go
I replaced both center bolts, they were both a little bent, especially the passenger side (the side that spun the tube). I also removed the spacer from under the drivers side center pin. We forgot to remove the spacer from the driver side in Moab. The spacers are used if you use degree shims to set the pinion angle. I originally had shims, but we did not reuse the degree shims when we replaced the perches, we welded the perches with the correct rear pinion angle. I am guessing, that with the spacer on the driver side, the axle tube was hitting the center pin before the perch was making complete contact with the leaf spring pack, resulting in a slight "cattywampus" issue
I re-torqued the U-bolts, drove it around, and it seems fine now It has a slight lean, between 3/8"-5/8", which for a CJ, is pretty damn good, considering it was leaning a good 1.5"-2" before I messed with it. It drives/handles fine, so for now, I am going to leave it alone. If it sags again, I will have to replace the rear leaf springs, but for now it is good to go
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Bringing my own thread back up from the dead
Just recently completed another cross country adventure in the Scrambler
I drove from Biloxi, MS to Silver Lakes Sand Dunes, MICHIGAN, for a big Scrambler off road trip. I left Biloxi on Thursday, August 2, and drove 19 hours straight to the camp site. We drove all over the 2,600+ acre sand dunes for two straight days, had a blast. I left Michigan on Sunday afternoon and arrived back home Monday afternoon.
I had a slight u-joint vibration before I left Biloxi. The Scrambler had a very slight vibration, but only when accelerating in third gear. I drove there just fine, ran the dunes for two days straight, and drove home on the damaged u-joint, with only minimal vibration at around 60 mph. Once over or under 60, it does not vibrate. Anyway, I think I will change it now, something to be said for the quality of Spicer U-Joints
Besides the U-Joint, the Scrambler had no problems. I aired the tires down to around 10 psi and could drive 90% of the dunes just fine. The T5 stood up to constant 3500+ RPM runs up the sand dunes for two days straight with out a whimper. The MPI worked great, But, a 300+ HP V8/sand paddles would have been even more fun[
]
Anyway, it was a great trip, lots of very nice Scramblers and Scrambler owners.
I did not take any pictures, but I will post other people's pictures as they post them up.
Enjoy
Just recently completed another cross country adventure in the Scrambler
I drove from Biloxi, MS to Silver Lakes Sand Dunes, MICHIGAN, for a big Scrambler off road trip. I left Biloxi on Thursday, August 2, and drove 19 hours straight to the camp site. We drove all over the 2,600+ acre sand dunes for two straight days, had a blast. I left Michigan on Sunday afternoon and arrived back home Monday afternoon.
I had a slight u-joint vibration before I left Biloxi. The Scrambler had a very slight vibration, but only when accelerating in third gear. I drove there just fine, ran the dunes for two days straight, and drove home on the damaged u-joint, with only minimal vibration at around 60 mph. Once over or under 60, it does not vibrate. Anyway, I think I will change it now, something to be said for the quality of Spicer U-Joints
Besides the U-Joint, the Scrambler had no problems. I aired the tires down to around 10 psi and could drive 90% of the dunes just fine. The T5 stood up to constant 3500+ RPM runs up the sand dunes for two days straight with out a whimper. The MPI worked great, But, a 300+ HP V8/sand paddles would have been even more fun[
]Anyway, it was a great trip, lots of very nice Scramblers and Scrambler owners.
I did not take any pictures, but I will post other people's pictures as they post them up.
Enjoy
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- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Well, I guess it is time for a 10,000 mile update
Already this year, I have put over 10,000 miles on the Red Scrambler. While I have not had any major problems, here is a break down/description of some of the issues I have had.
First minor problem, passenger side mirror.
Not sure if I will blame the crappy thin wall tubing, or me hitting trees, on this issue. I am probably just going to leave this mirror off, but I do have an old arm to fix this problem, if I so choose.
Next minor problem, crappy made in China door handles. My passenger side exterior door handle broke recently, and it has not been used that much. I decided to purchase Mopar door handles, for the interior and exterior handles, and I am very happy with quality of these items. Also, they were made in Canada.
New on the left, old on the right.
New exterior handle.
Old exterior handle.
These particular handles are for a 2003 TJ, but they work perfect in a CJ. The newer handles from Mopar are a much better design then the Crown replacement handles, or even NOS CJ handles. The little arm on the back is bent down, beefier, and spring loaded. Bad thing, cost, about $85 each, but the quality is much better. You do get what you pay for in this instance.
Old vs new interior handles. These are also for a 2003 TJ. They have "guides" on the back for the rods to plug into, much better then just the factory CJ holes. About $20 each, again, well worth it.
Besides these broken items, I have not had any other real interior/functional/cosmetic problems. Lots of scratches, some small dents, and of course the soft top and windshield leak (it is a CJ after all), but other then that, its been pretty good
Up next, mechanical issues.
Already this year, I have put over 10,000 miles on the Red Scrambler. While I have not had any major problems, here is a break down/description of some of the issues I have had.
First minor problem, passenger side mirror.
Not sure if I will blame the crappy thin wall tubing, or me hitting trees, on this issue. I am probably just going to leave this mirror off, but I do have an old arm to fix this problem, if I so choose.
Next minor problem, crappy made in China door handles. My passenger side exterior door handle broke recently, and it has not been used that much. I decided to purchase Mopar door handles, for the interior and exterior handles, and I am very happy with quality of these items. Also, they were made in Canada.
New on the left, old on the right.
New exterior handle.
Old exterior handle.
These particular handles are for a 2003 TJ, but they work perfect in a CJ. The newer handles from Mopar are a much better design then the Crown replacement handles, or even NOS CJ handles. The little arm on the back is bent down, beefier, and spring loaded. Bad thing, cost, about $85 each, but the quality is much better. You do get what you pay for in this instance.
Old vs new interior handles. These are also for a 2003 TJ. They have "guides" on the back for the rods to plug into, much better then just the factory CJ holes. About $20 each, again, well worth it.
Besides these broken items, I have not had any other real interior/functional/cosmetic problems. Lots of scratches, some small dents, and of course the soft top and windshield leak (it is a CJ after all), but other then that, its been pretty good
Up next, mechanical issues.
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- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Time for a mechanical problem report card.
I spun the center section of the rear axle while in Moab, resulting in the rear drive shaft being spit out of the pinion yoke. We welded new spring perches on the axle housing in Utah, and stitch welded the center section to the tubes. I thought this fixed everything. I was wrong.
I have recently developed a slight vibration from the rear drive line, like a u-joint was going bad. Below is a picture of the "sealed" Spicer U-Joint that was installed in Moab (forgot to buy a greasable joint). Note the color of the "lifetime grease".
Besides looking burnt, it smells burnt. This U-joint has about 5,000 mile on it, should not look like this. The problem, however, was not a bad joint, but I damaged the rear pinion yoke when the axle center section spun. One of the little metal "tits" on the side of the yoke must have got bent when the u-joint exploded. The below pictures show the little "tit" I am talking about.
This slightly bent piece was causing the U-joint to slide back and forth, from side to side, about 1/8". This damaged the U-joint and caused the vibration.
I hammered the little 'tit" back straight, installed a new greasable U-joint, and no more vibration. BUT, when I bent the 'tit" back, it cracked slightly. I plan on just putting a small weld over the crack, and then repeat the process on the other side to avoid any possible "balance" issues. First picture shows a new u-joint installed on the pinion end of the drive shaft. The second picture shows the transfer case end of the drive shaft. Note how much thicker the "tit" is on a Dana 300 output yoke vs an AMC 20 yoke. Both yokes are new Spicer yokes.
The reason I don't just change the yoke is due to the crush sleeve which is utilized on the AMC 20 pinion. If this was a Dana 30/44/60, I would simply replace the yoke and re torque the pinion nut to specification. On the AMC 20, there is no per sey "torque spec", and I always end up tightening just a little bit too much resulting in a collapsed spacer
I have had bad luck in the past messing with these things, and since this rear end works/is set up perfectly, I am willing to let sleeping dogs lie. The little "tits" are not under any real load, but they do need to be present to keep the U-joint in place. I believe the weld repair will work perfectly. If it does not, I will report back.
I removed my IAC (Idle Air Control) from the throttle body in Michigan to loan to Eric for diagnostic purposes on his 4.0. Ever since then, I have a slightly too high idle of 900-1000 RPM. I have repeatedly cleaned, removed, unplugged the IAC, but the idle is still too high. I will replace the IAC and report back.
I was experiencing a slight whistle sound from the engine. At first it would only happen momentarily after driving for long periods of time at sustained highway speeds. It gradually started happening more frequently, until it started whistling all the time. I tracked the whistle sound down to the power brake fitting on the intake manifold. I tightened it up, it would stop for a few weeks, then reappear. Well, after several removal/Teflon tape/re-toque episodes, the fitting snapped off while in Michigan. I removed what was left of the fitting form the intake, "Borrowed" a pipe plug from Eric's on-board air system, and voila, no more whistle sound I believe the factory fitting had a hairline crack in it that just got bigger the more I messed with it, until it finally broke. But so far, knock on wood, no more whistling
Now, the "biggie". I have noticed that the T5 is little bit noisy. Not a "bad" sound, but I can hear a constant sound from the transmission. Not a clunk, bang, whir, clash, whizz, thunk, or any other "death sound", but you can hear something turning/hear the transmission spinning. The noise is present in all gears, and with the transmission in neutral with the clutch released. The only time the sound is not present is when the clutch pedal is depressed. This leads me to believe that maybe I have a bad input shaft bearing or main shaft roller bearing. I am going to check all the easy stuff first (1) All attaching bolts and mounts to rule out slight misalignment possibility. (2) Fluid level/condition. If none of the easy fixes cure the noise, I will drop the transmission and investigate. It is very slight noise, so I plan on driving it. If it suddenly gets worse, then I will immediately drop the transmission. Hopefully it is something simple, but usually transmission noises equal pain in the butt work.
That's it for now
I spun the center section of the rear axle while in Moab, resulting in the rear drive shaft being spit out of the pinion yoke. We welded new spring perches on the axle housing in Utah, and stitch welded the center section to the tubes. I thought this fixed everything. I was wrong.
I have recently developed a slight vibration from the rear drive line, like a u-joint was going bad. Below is a picture of the "sealed" Spicer U-Joint that was installed in Moab (forgot to buy a greasable joint). Note the color of the "lifetime grease".
Besides looking burnt, it smells burnt. This U-joint has about 5,000 mile on it, should not look like this. The problem, however, was not a bad joint, but I damaged the rear pinion yoke when the axle center section spun. One of the little metal "tits" on the side of the yoke must have got bent when the u-joint exploded. The below pictures show the little "tit" I am talking about.
This slightly bent piece was causing the U-joint to slide back and forth, from side to side, about 1/8". This damaged the U-joint and caused the vibration.
I hammered the little 'tit" back straight, installed a new greasable U-joint, and no more vibration. BUT, when I bent the 'tit" back, it cracked slightly. I plan on just putting a small weld over the crack, and then repeat the process on the other side to avoid any possible "balance" issues. First picture shows a new u-joint installed on the pinion end of the drive shaft. The second picture shows the transfer case end of the drive shaft. Note how much thicker the "tit" is on a Dana 300 output yoke vs an AMC 20 yoke. Both yokes are new Spicer yokes.
The reason I don't just change the yoke is due to the crush sleeve which is utilized on the AMC 20 pinion. If this was a Dana 30/44/60, I would simply replace the yoke and re torque the pinion nut to specification. On the AMC 20, there is no per sey "torque spec", and I always end up tightening just a little bit too much resulting in a collapsed spacer
I have had bad luck in the past messing with these things, and since this rear end works/is set up perfectly, I am willing to let sleeping dogs lie. The little "tits" are not under any real load, but they do need to be present to keep the U-joint in place. I believe the weld repair will work perfectly. If it does not, I will report back.I removed my IAC (Idle Air Control) from the throttle body in Michigan to loan to Eric for diagnostic purposes on his 4.0. Ever since then, I have a slightly too high idle of 900-1000 RPM. I have repeatedly cleaned, removed, unplugged the IAC, but the idle is still too high. I will replace the IAC and report back.
I was experiencing a slight whistle sound from the engine. At first it would only happen momentarily after driving for long periods of time at sustained highway speeds. It gradually started happening more frequently, until it started whistling all the time. I tracked the whistle sound down to the power brake fitting on the intake manifold. I tightened it up, it would stop for a few weeks, then reappear. Well, after several removal/Teflon tape/re-toque episodes, the fitting snapped off while in Michigan. I removed what was left of the fitting form the intake, "Borrowed" a pipe plug from Eric's on-board air system, and voila, no more whistle sound
I believe the factory fitting had a hairline crack in it that just got bigger the more I messed with it, until it finally broke. But so far, knock on wood, no more whistlingNow, the "biggie". I have noticed that the T5 is little bit noisy. Not a "bad" sound, but I can hear a constant sound from the transmission. Not a clunk, bang, whir, clash, whizz, thunk, or any other "death sound", but you can hear something turning/hear the transmission spinning. The noise is present in all gears, and with the transmission in neutral with the clutch released. The only time the sound is not present is when the clutch pedal is depressed. This leads me to believe that maybe I have a bad input shaft bearing or main shaft roller bearing. I am going to check all the easy stuff first (1) All attaching bolts and mounts to rule out slight misalignment possibility. (2) Fluid level/condition. If none of the easy fixes cure the noise, I will drop the transmission and investigate. It is very slight noise, so I plan on driving it. If it suddenly gets worse, then I will immediately drop the transmission. Hopefully it is something simple, but usually transmission noises equal pain in the butt work.
That's it for now
- City
- Merton
- State
- WI
That was good info to know on the replacement paddles and interior handle assemblies. A few questions...
Could you post the Mopar part numbers for each of these?
Why was the 2003 model year part the one you chose?
Is the paddle chrome to match the CJ paddle?
My 2006 LJ paddles seem to pull in the opposite direction of the CJ. So does this mean if we need a passenger side paddle order a driver side?
Great find on these improved replacement parts! I am sure the chrome will hold up much better on the Mopar ones which is also a plus. Thanks for posting.
Could you post the Mopar part numbers for each of these?
Why was the 2003 model year part the one you chose?
Is the paddle chrome to match the CJ paddle?
My 2006 LJ paddles seem to pull in the opposite direction of the CJ. So does this mean if we need a passenger side paddle order a driver side?
Great find on these improved replacement parts! I am sure the chrome will hold up much better on the Mopar ones which is also a plus. Thanks for posting.
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
I believe that these parts are all interchangeable, 1982-2006. I used 2003 because the dealer had handles in stock that someone had ordered for a 2003 model, and never picked up
Looking at the Crown part numbers, the exterior handles use the same part # 1982-2006.
Looking at the Crown part numbers, the interior handles use the same part # 1982-2006
As far as the "pull direction" goes, my 2005 TJ and all my CJ's all pull in the same direction
I AM WRONG ABOUT THIS, THEY ARE OPPOSITEI am not sure if Mopar offers chrome handles, I did not check, not sure if any TJ's used chrome handles
I wont be home for a week, but I will post up the part numbers once I get back home
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- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
I finally remembered to grab the invoice so I could post up the part numbers
Interior Handles
55176476AB
55176477AB
Exterior Handles
55176382AE
55176383AE
Unfortunately, the invoice does not say which side is which
And you are correct about the "pull" of the exterior handles
Maybe I put the driver side on the passenger side and vise versa, because these exterior handles work correctly and have the proper CJ "pull" direction, i.e. my red Scrambler handles pull opposite of my TJ
- City
- God's Country
- State
- AR
I finally remembered to grab the invoice so I could post up the part numbers
Interior Handles
55176476AB
55176477AB
Exterior Handles
55176382AE
55176383AE
Unfortunately, the invoice does not say which side is which
And you are correct about the "pull" of the exterior handles
Maybe I put the driver side on the passenger side and vise versa, because these exterior handles work correctly and have the proper CJ "pull" direction, i.e. my red Scrambler handles pull opposite of my TJ
Hmmm. So you put TJ exterior handles on a CJ and they fit perfectly and still look just like the CJ handles and open in the same direction as the CJ handles did?
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
I have been too busy working on "Yard Scrambler" lately to mess with my red Scrambler, but I finally did some work to it last night. It currently has 3 "issues" :
1) Rear Pinion Yoke has a "crack" on the part that holds one of the u-joint caps in place. I have not messed with this "issue", I still need to either weld the crack or replace the yoke. Since AMC20 pinion yoke replacement is a major PIA, I will probably try the weld fix first. Right now, even with the crack, it is holding up fine, but I know that it is on borrowed time
2) High Idle "Issue" - I bought a new IAC the other day and noticed that the replacement IAC has an o-ring on it. My current IAC does not have this o-ring on it. I think when I pulled the IAC out when I was in Michigan I lost the o-ring. I took the o-ring off the new IAC and put it on my current IAC, problem solved
3) Transmission "slight noise Issue" - After returning from Michigan, I noticed that my T5 has a slight noise. Not a bad noise, but you can hear "everything spinning/turning noise". The transmission still functions fine. I checked all the bolts and all but the two top transmission to bell housing bolts were tight, so I re-tightened them. The fluid level was fine, and the fluid color looked good,nice gold color, like new oil. The Scrambler has been sitting for two weeks. I drove it 5 miles and the noise was still present. Now granted, this is a very slight noise that you have to really listen for. After driving the Scrambler to warm the oil up, I pulled the drain plug. This is what I found
The oil used to be $20 a quart synthetic Mopar manual transmission oil. What came out had the consistency of water. This fluid has completely failed in 10,000 miles. This is the same fluid Mopar uses in NV3500/NSG370 transmissions. On my 05 Rubicon, they said this fluid is "good for life", but I had them change it at 120,000 miles. I don't have any idea why this oil would not work in a T5, but my T5 ruined it. The oil does not smell "burnt", no metal present in the oil.
I am hoping that this failed lubricant is the cause of my noise. I just hope that the bearings/internal components are not ruined. I am going to put some straight, non-detergent, 30w oil in it tonight and see what happens. I would rather try some 50w transmission oil, but no one around here stocks it, unless I want to buy a $200 5 gallon bucket of it
That's it for now.
1) Rear Pinion Yoke has a "crack" on the part that holds one of the u-joint caps in place. I have not messed with this "issue", I still need to either weld the crack or replace the yoke. Since AMC20 pinion yoke replacement is a major PIA, I will probably try the weld fix first. Right now, even with the crack, it is holding up fine, but I know that it is on borrowed time
2) High Idle "Issue" - I bought a new IAC the other day and noticed that the replacement IAC has an o-ring on it. My current IAC does not have this o-ring on it. I think when I pulled the IAC out when I was in Michigan I lost the o-ring. I took the o-ring off the new IAC and put it on my current IAC, problem solved
3) Transmission "slight noise Issue" - After returning from Michigan, I noticed that my T5 has a slight noise. Not a bad noise, but you can hear "everything spinning/turning noise". The transmission still functions fine. I checked all the bolts and all but the two top transmission to bell housing bolts were tight, so I re-tightened them. The fluid level was fine, and the fluid color looked good,nice gold color, like new oil. The Scrambler has been sitting for two weeks. I drove it 5 miles and the noise was still present. Now granted, this is a very slight noise that you have to really listen for. After driving the Scrambler to warm the oil up, I pulled the drain plug. This is what I found
The oil used to be $20 a quart synthetic Mopar manual transmission oil. What came out had the consistency of water. This fluid has completely failed in 10,000 miles. This is the same fluid Mopar uses in NV3500/NSG370 transmissions. On my 05 Rubicon, they said this fluid is "good for life", but I had them change it at 120,000 miles. I don't have any idea why this oil would not work in a T5, but my T5 ruined it. The oil does not smell "burnt", no metal present in the oil.
I am hoping that this failed lubricant is the cause of my noise. I just hope that the bearings/internal components are not ruined. I am going to put some straight, non-detergent, 30w oil in it tonight and see what happens. I would rather try some 50w transmission oil, but no one around here stocks it, unless I want to buy a $200 5 gallon bucket of it
That's it for now.
- City
- Dexter
- State
- MI
I'd think about that, if that yoke lets go while you're tooling down the highway, you've got the driveshaft being driven by the engine loose under your Jeep. IIRC, there's a vividly written post by Grantshire about what happened to him when this happened at the Oak Ridge event a few years back. Let's just say it was a very bad day.
With a crack in metal like that, what you see may only be part of the problem and even if not, cracks can let go quickly and catastrophically. The heat from welding on something like a yoke (which I'm fairly certain is cast steel) can do bad things too.
I do NOT want to see anything happen to you or that beautiful rig or anyone else on the road should bad things happen.
- City
- Dillsboro
- State
- IN
Hello Raymond. I use Amsoil in all my T-4s & 5s (Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid 5W-30) Retails for about $12.50 a quart. I can get you a better price, but not sure if I can save you any $ with the shipping. I can check for you if you would like.
I agree with Eric on welding the cast yoke. I think the heat would do more damage to the cast than good.
I agree with Eric on welding the cast yoke. I think the heat would do more damage to the cast than good.
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- City
- Biloxi
- State
- MS
Yep, no fun throwing drive shafts. I have a dent in one of the body tub support channels from when I threw this drive shaft in Moab. I also lost a rear drive shaft going 60 MPH once in my '78 CJ-7
Hello Raymond. I use Amsoil in all my T-4s & 5s (Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid 5W-30) Retails for about $12.50 a quart. I can get you a better price, but not sure if I can save you any $ with the shipping. I can check for you if you would like.
I agree with Eric on welding the cast yoke. I think the heat would do more damage to the cast than good.
Appreciate the offer on the oil Toby, but I think shipping would kill any cost savings
And since both of y'all are going to bug me about this rear yoke, I will just replace it with a new Spicer yoke
IIRC they only cost about $50, so not too too bad