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Needing direction...

Something ain't right with your voltmeter. Your oil pressure could be OK - does it go up when you rev the engine? Recent oil change?

At idle mine sits around 10-20, but when moving it hits 40, and does especially well when I've just changed the oil.
 
I agree with you walkerhound. I'm a bit OCD though so I'm trying to get a plan together so I can do everything the right way. My biggest limitation is time and I don't want it torn apart all summer when I want to be having fun with it.

Cattleman/Farmer + 4 kids = stressful summer = need the jeep for therapy!
 
Oh I hear you. Last summer was rough because I lost motivation to work on my transmission, so it sat in the garage all year until last month.

The best thing to do is probably what you're doing - come up with a list of things that need to replaced or worked on. Then prioritize those based on what you can afford, what will keep you driving the Jeep (safely), and what's practical to do by yourself or what you need a mechanic to do.

Everyone here is capable of helping you with each of those things :)

My opinion would be to try to replace most things with original items if you can - the aftermarket gauges especially have a bad reputation. Most of the wiring kits out there are good ones, the major differences in price are whether you want preterminated or if you want to do the terminations yourself.

These things are a lot like tractors, one of my old mentors told me when we went to pick up mine. There isn't much you won't be able to do yourself, with the right tools and direction anyway. And for the most part I'd say he was right.
 
It does move when engine is rev'ed but now it's at 0 and barely gets to 10. Maybe because engine has warmed up? Probably why I didn't think it was working.

I don't need it to be mint (at least not for awhile) but little things like non-functioning gauges irritate me.
 
While I'm at it I'll go ahead and post some interior pics.

The PO told me these seats were out of a Wagoneer or an old Cherokee. I think they're kinda cool and might reupholster them. Not sure. The doors do make contact with them when closed though

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1424536488.798647.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1424536598.125120.jpg

It had a spice dash pad when I bought it but it was shot. Does anyone know where I can get one? All I can find online is black.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1424536642.078429.jpg

Somebody even put some silly pedals in here... It didn't improve performance any.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1424536741.358303.jpg
 
Those are Wagoneer seats. Original nutmeg colored seats would probably fit better and match but probably aren't quite as comfy. A nice nutmeg dash pad can be a bit spendy. You can always post in the wanted section here.
 
YJ-Aaron:
Let me know what you have. I'd definitely be interested in parts depending on what you have. I'm not a 100% sure what I need yet though.

Polarfire-
I'm not sure where I came up with spice; mainly I was just guessing. Is nutmeg the color of the wagoneer seats or the original seats of my jeep? I may need to take some better pictures in order to tell but post #25 shows the color of the door panels. It probably doesn't matter because my plan is to buy a pair of fold and tumble seats and reupholster the wagoneer seats to match. As long as they match it won't be an issue...
 
Those Wagoneer seats are Tan. Your original interior would have been Nutmeg. Spice is a newer Wrangler interior color.
 
On your gauges (oil, volt, and gas/temp) a loose ground or bad ground will mess things up. My oil gauge on my green Jeep read low when the ground wire came loose on the back. Once I put the ground on the oil pressure magically got better!

Same with temp and gas gauges. Volt gauge looks like it's semi-fried. You can run it like it is or get a new one cheap enough though. Get a used OEM one from someone here. The aftermarket Omix and Crown gauges will not match the rest of your dash. I was so disgusted with the difference I used the Omix gauges on a tractor and bought used OEM.
 
Wow...
I just priced the Rubicon Express 4" lift on 4wd. Is it really worth twice the Pro Comp, Sky Jacker, or Rugged Ridge? Roughly $1600 vs. $800.

I spent some time putting together a wish list to get an idea what it would cost to do everything that I would LIKE to do: A little over $5000. Almost what I paid for the Jeep to begin with. That included a cage (which I could possibly build myself), a painless, fold and tumble seats, besttop soft top, the rubicon kit, and a bunch of little items. No engine or drivetrain work other than a Weber carb.:banghead:

Of course, all of you guys know this...

I just want everything to be cheap... And I need to rant.:angry:

Seriously though, Is the rubicon worth what you pay for it?
 
1600 sounds crazy, I think you could piece together alcan for that $$......would be better springs.

I have the Bestop full soft top; and wish I'd have saved for a used acme hard top... You could prolly see mine sometime.
 
More local option.

http://www.generalspringkc.com/Leaf_Springs_Jeep_CJ_1976_1986_s/1951.htm

The more expensive lift kits, from everything I've seen, ride much better. That said, I went with Rancho 2.5" springs on mine. I don't drive them every day. I'm not driving 80 down the interstate. They're off road or toodling around town, and the stockish ride of the Ranchos is fine for me. Just keep in mind that you can always upgrade later. If you look at it all at once it will overwhelm you. You have to pick at it one piece at a time.
 
I would strongly suggest going with MPFI over even a weber or MC2100 carb. I've run, and still have, webers and Motorcraft carburetors on a few Jeeps and while they are a huge improvement over a typical carter BBD (and more budget friendly), they don't even compare to driving a Jeep with MPFI; in my experience. There is a reason most of my Jeeps are getting junkyard MPFI now.

The 91-95 systems are easy to work on, and once you get to know your way around the wiring its a relatively simple system that runs amazingly well. I feel more confident now working with the MPFI than carburetors; they really are that simple. And if you go the junkyard route the price isn't to bad.

One option you may consider is running the 91-95 4.0 head and MPFI system on the 4.2 block. I have an '85 CJ7 with this setup (with some additional porting/polishing and different injectors) and the Jeep flat out screams going down the road. It feels like it has substantially more power than my other 4.2 or 4.0 powered Jeeps and makes the best mileage out of all of them (even over my '05 LJ and '00 XJ).

I'm currently doing a complete 4.0 swap in one of my Postals so I can't compare directly a 4.0 head swap vs the entire 4.0 engine transplant. But regardless, the MPFI greatly improves the drivability of the Jeeps. It looks like I'm about two hours west of you, let me know if you have any questions on any of this. Or, if you ever make it out this way feel free to stop by and take the CJ7 with 4.0 head and MPFI for a spin to feel the difference for yourself!


Sent via signal flare
 
Jeep Scrambler-
Thanks for the feedback. I had pretty much decided on a weber but I may check with some junkyards for EFI now. I'm not going to spend what new EFI costs without replacing the engine and even then, for what I'm going to use it for new EFI would cost a bit much. A two hour road trip to Claflin would be welcome. I'd prefer to do it in my 8: maybe if I can get it running better this spring. I'm guessing there would be some good drives around Cheyenne Bottoms...

I'm still not sure on the lift. I'm thinking I'll probably buy one of the kits they sell at four wheel drive hardware. I'm not wanting to get crazy about how much money I put into this thing. At least not up front. I want to get it solid and safe first and then I can start upgrading over time. Maybe a trip to four wheel drive land in Topeka is in order.

Basically, I just need to dive in. I always drag the planning stage out way too long and usually make it harder than it has to be. I'm hoping I can dig in this spring. I have a remodeling project on the house I have to finish up before I can do much wrenching. It's always something...
 
Speaking of "It's always something":

I've had a 2" lift to put on my '78 for a year now and just haven't gotten to it. A kid that works for me was needing some money so I let him do it over he weekend.

I know it's not a Jeep but I figured some of you would appreciate this.

Before:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1425263352.495984.jpg

After:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1425263379.082792.jpg

This was my first baby long before I got my scrambler. 1978 F150 Ranger XLT w/ a 400 and auto transmission. Mileage absolutely sucks but she turns heads and is damn fun to drive.

If any of you know where I can find a restorable bed reasonably close I'd be interested.
 
wm69

I was just rereading some of these posts and the general spring looks like an option. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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