The months of July and August have flown by this Summer. Big project was due to be delivered at work in August, so was kept busy with that. Now it is September and I've been doing home maintenance. Exterior painting of various parts of the house and garage plus I've really gotten going on refinishing and reinstalling the wood trim in the living room and dining room. After that, comes a new wood floor and hopefully the wood stove that I've wanted since the new millenium. Also, been getting back into playing the guitar again. Purchased a Fender twelve string and a Fender six string resonator. Put new strings on the Fender six string that I had and got the 1988 Telecaster and amplifier out of the closet and hooked up and working. Fixed up what used to be the ham radio room and turned it into a computer / guitar practice room. Put up some real nice paintings that I inherited some years ago and have been sitting in storage for too many years.
Now back to this Jeep thing... It really needs some sheet metal panel replacements. Especially where the roll bar bolts on and the read quarter panels. To that end, have purchased a Lincoln 110V MIG welder; the one with the continuous voltage output adjustment. Built a welding table, got some fire brick and have been practicing my welding.
John, the neighbor, came over and helped me discover the really bad thing about this Jeep. Turning the steering wheel side-to-side and observing the front spring shackles was enlightening. They shimmied like you wouldn't believe. I can't tell yet what exactly is wrong, but it looks like the bushings in the shackles are worn out and the frame is cracked in the shackle mounting area. Big problems. The good news is that the steering linkage appears to be OK. Won't know about this until I tear into it this Winter.
The plan for this Winter as I see it now is to:
Replaced the rear main bearing seal. Followed the directions in the service manual reprint that I purchased from Turner 4WD Parts Company ($80). Well written and easy to follow directions. Had to to put the oil pan back in twice as it didn't go right the first time. Cost of the rear main seal and the oil pan gasket is about $20. Cost me $30 because of the extra oil pan gasket set.
Fel Pro seals and gaskets for 1978 Jeep CJ5 with 258 c.i. (4.2 Liter) engine
Tried to start the jeep after the first time the oil pan went back in. The engine cranked over but didn't start then the starter motor died completely. I pulled the starter motor and it wouldn't even turn with 12 Volts directly from the battery. Took the starter to Master Car Parts, a local rebuilding shop, for a rebuild. Estimated cost is $45 for that. The next day after that episode, I pulled the pan out and reinstalled it. I know I did a much better job the second time.
Tore into the steering column. Used my new steering wheel puller and lock plate compressor to tear into it as far as key lock cylinder. The tool set worked very well and made the job easy. (Having the right tools makes all the difference in the world.) Didn't want to get into it beyond where I stopped. I used alot of WD40 and CRC lubricant spray in an attempt to get down inside the column and make whatever is in there move easier. The lock cylinder would not snap back from the start position to the run position plus it was really hard to turn it from run to start. It works easier now and snaps back from start but it is still pretty hard to turn from run to start position. Not going to go any further now. Will order a new lock cylinder tomorrow.
While I had the bottom of the engine apart, I worked on the clutch linkage. Much of the linkage was worn out and coming apart. The cross shaft pivot balls were just about pulled out of the brackets that they were pressed into. The rod that connects the clutch pedal to the cross shaft had worn the round hole into an ellipse. Same thing on the other end of the cross shaft where it connects to the clutch rod. Used the grinder to separate the pivot balls from the brackets. Straightened the brackets then brazed the pivot balls back onto the brackets. That should hold them. Put braze around the ellipses on the cross shaft to get them back to round holes. Worked pretty well to my surprise. I need to dress the braze down with the grinder and smooth out the holes with a rat tail file. I need to order bushings that fit over the pivot balls and go inside of the cross shaft. They look to made of nylon and I split one taking it off. So, I'm going to order those and a couple of rubber boots that go on the cross shaft ends plus a couple of snap rings that hold the bushings on. Will do that tomorrow as well.
Made the mistake of ordering rear quarter body repair panels from JC Whitney. When they arrived and I looked at them, I knew I made a big mistake. They didn't look anything like original plus they looked like they were made to go over the original body panel. Man would that have looked like shit. I sent the entire order back to them for a refund. Of course they don't refund shipping charges. Cost me $33 to send the stuff back to them plus the $15 original shipping charge. When will I ever learn ?
Now, I have rear quarter panels on order from an outfit in Mass called Rigid Steel. I called the place and it turns out to be a one man Jeep repair shop. Guy's name is Dan. He was very nice and shared alot of information with me before I decided to order from him. In fact the reason I bought from him is because he agreed that I could call him for technical support as I tear off the old quarter panels and install the new ones. That will be worth the couple of extra bucks I paid him for the panels. The bad news: Flat truck shipping charge of $125 applies. Panels are $162 each. I ordered driver and passenger sides. Waiting for those to arrive. BTW, Dan informs me that the panels are supplied by Omix-Ada and all of the vendors use this supplier.
Purchased another welder. Now I have a Lincoln AC/DC stick welder along with the Lincoln MIG welder that I bought in September. Will use stick welder for the pretty extensive frame repair that will no doubt be necessary when I get into the front steering. As part of that I plan on installing a shackle reversal kit and that will require a little welding. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to go back to original springs. I think I'll purchase a more modest spring lift kit and install that with the shackle reversal. Oh yeah, realized that the front sway bars are missing, so I'll have to obtain those parts somewhere. Lots of things to do
One other thing. Fixed a few vacuum and other hoses on the engine. Someone had jury rigged an old PVC valve to fit into the grommet on the valve cover where the input air for the PVC system comes in from the air cleaner. Probably lost the original fitting. Anyway, since I don't have the original, I ground off the bottom of this PVC valve a little to allow me to remove the guts of the valve. I'm not sure how much air was able to flow through the way it was. Replaced the hose from this "valve" to the air cleaner. Also, bought a plastic "Tee" fitting to allow me to hook the vacuum source for the air pump diverter valve back up. It had been disconnected for who knows how long. This valve dumps the output of the air pump to atmosphere when the throttle is lifted after pressing it and putting the engine under load. Not sure just how much difference all of this will make, but I do have the goal of getting the emissions systems back to stock operating condition. Towards that end, I'm going to order a carburetor rebuild kit as part of tomorrows parts order.
Turner 4WD Parts Company puts out a couple of real nice catalogs. One for early Jeeps and one for later Jeeps. Each catalog costs $5.95 but I think that it is well worth it. This catalog is not just a mere list of part numbers. The things is really well organized with an exploded view drawing about every other page. This catalog and the service manual that I purchased should be about all I need to get my project in shape.
Turner 4WD Parts Company order for 11/24/03
Parts ordered. Starter motor picked up from Master Car Parts. $42.00 plus tax. Lifetime warranty.
Called Dan at Rigid Steel and found that the panels have not yet arrived. I learned that the panels are in fact on the way from the Phillipines where the only dies to make the panels are available. Interesting bit of trivia to say the least. Well, nothing to do but wait until they arrive.
Parts arrived from Turnder 4WD Parts Company. $52.00 plus $12.50 2nd day air shipping = $64.50.
New lock cylinder installed and steering column put back together. Starter motor installed. Put an Ammeter in between the positive terminal of the battery and the solenoid connection and noted that the current was 2.5 milliamps. I think that this is "normal" and shows that I don't have a any shorts in the electrical system. I'll leave everything connected and see if the battery does dead.
Put the clutch linkage back together with the replacement parts ordered from Turner 4WD Parts Company. Clutch cross shaft did not line up properly. Had to shim out the bracket that connects to the bell housing about 3/4 of an inch. Not sure why this was necessary. Does it have anything to do with the truck 4 speed transmission that was swapped in ? Used 8 5/16 washers as the shimming media. Not real pretty. Used some longer stainless steel allen head bolts. Bottom line: clutch system works very smoothly and easily.
Hooked up the battery and expected the thing to start. Guess what ? Did nothing but click ! Same as before the starter motor rebuild ! I don't know what to think.
Used the Dodge 2001 truck to jump start the Jeep. Did not work. Still did nothing but click; same as before. Removed the starter motor. Brought it back to Master Car Parts. They tested it and it worked fine ! They suggested that it might be the solenoid. Bought one from them (Borg Warner S63P) for $12.99 out the door. They said to make sure every connection was clean and tight. Got home, reinstalled the starter (for the fifth time), installed the new solenoid, scratched the battery posts and cable clamps with 40 grit sandpaper, tightened them down and guess what ? The engine turned over like a champion ! But, it would not start !
Followed the ignition trouble shooting chart in the service manual. After three steps it said to change the engine control unit. Off to Advance Auto Parts. Bought the engine control unit, spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor. All for $60.13 out the door. Got home. Gapped the plugs. Installed them. Installed the cap, rotor, and wires. Installed the engine control unit. Hooked up the battery. Any bets on what happened ? You guessed it. Engine started right up ! Ran just fine. Ran it for about 10 minutes. The best part : No runs, no drips, no errors. I'm talking about the rear main bearing oil seal plus the pan gasket. This is what the fuss was all about. I'm really gratified to see that it doesn't leak. Only cost me $148.75 instead of the $20.00 that was originally estimated. But I now have a rebuilt starter (lifetime warranty) plus an engine tune up to include a new engine control unit. I think it will pay off in the long run.
Parts purchased locally in Rochester, NY
Next item: Rebuild carburetor.
One gallon can of Berryman's metal parts cleaner solution purchased at Pep Boys for $12.99. Two different types of battery terminal cleaners purchased for about $8 total.
Carburetor removed from engine. Vacuum, fuel, and vapor lines marked. Diagrams made to aid later reassembly.
Carburetor air horn disassembled and placed in parts cleaning solution.
Air horn removed from metal cleaning solution, rinsed, and blown dry. All replacement parts installed and other parts reassembled. Float level and float drop level set per specifications. Main and throttle body disassembled and placed into metal parts cleaning solution.
Throttle and main carburetor bodies rinsed and blown dry.
New accelerator pump diaphram, check valve ball and weight installed. Carburetor reassembled with new gaskets and installed.
Engine started. Gas leak noted. Fuel filter installed upside down. Fuel filter reinstalled right side up and the hose connections tightened. Engine started. Runs well but exhaust still has heavy gas smell. Shut it down for now. Replace all vacuum and fuel vapor canister hoses. Remove fuel vapor canister and clean the mud out of the bottom. Not much else to do with it so cleaned it up and reinstalled it. Spent alot of time reading the service manual in an attempt to figure out the vacuum line installations. Got it right according to my understanding of the information I read. Found that the "spark coolant temperature override (CTO)" switch is broken and nothing is connected to it. This switch switches between a ported source of vacuum on the carburetor and manifold vacuum based on engine temperature. When the engine is cold, manifold vacuum is used and when it warms up over a certain temperature, ported vacuum is used. "Ported" vacuum simply means that at idle, there is no vacuum provided by the port. When the throttle is opened beyond where it is at idle, ported vacuum is the same as manifold vacuum. All of this is supposed to improve "cold engine - low speed driveability". What I think this means is that the Jeep will not stall as easily when the engine is cold. Anyway, bypassed the spark CTO switch for now and connected the distributor vacuum advance to the distributor ported vacuum port on the carburetor.
Read the service manual to find out how to connect a tune-up tachometer to the engine. Also carefully reviewed the engine timing procedure and the procedure to set the carburetor idle air adjustment. First checked the timing. It was set at about 12 degrees BTDC, which is way early. Set it to 3 degrees BTDC per engine specifications. Right away noticed that the engine exhaust didn't stink so much like gas anymore. Did the idle air adjustment by following the "lean drop" method. I'm not sure how successful I was. I did it the best I could and left it at that. Set the idle 850 RPM and the little machine sat there and purred like a kitten.
Worked on the "Thermostatically Controlled Air-cleaner" (TCA) which was completely non-functional. The explanation in the service manual was not totally clear to me, so I hooked it up as I understand it should be. There is a thermal switch on the bottom of the air cleaner on the clean side of the air filter. One side of this switch is connected to a vacuum valve in the front of the air cleaner housing, and the other side is connected to manifold vacuum. When the engine is cold, vacuum is supplied to the vacuum valve and it pulls in a flapper which causes engine air to be supplied by a duct that connects to a shroud around the exhaust manifold so that air is warmed by this manifold before it is supplied to the engine. Once the engine warms up, the thermal switch closes and cuts off vacuum to the valve and the flapper shuts and engine air is supplied from the duct that connects to the radiator support. I suppose that this system when switched on would be called an air-preheater.
So, the carburetor is now rebuilt. In the mean time, the quarter panels have arrived. It is a question of what to work on next. Either the body or the suspension. I think I'll work on the suspension next.
Removed radiator and grille. Purchased upper and lower radiator hoses from Advance Auto Parts for $16.22
Special ordered three items from Capriotto Auto Parts in Rochester, NY (about 5 blocks from 72 Winchester St). Total cost $ 127.88. The parts:
Ordered four items from Turner 4-WD Parts Co in Georgia. Total cost $ 110.75. The parts:
Ordered four items from Mountain Off Road Enterprises, in Colorado. Total cost $ 438.00. The parts:
Removed driver's side front fender. Installed spark and EGR CTO vacuum switches, EGR valve, fuel and temperature gauges, oil pressure sender, oil pressure gauge, upper radiator hose, and lower radiator hose. Need to get two 40 inch lengths of 5/8 inch ID heater hose.
Spark CTO vacuum switch not hooked up. Need some metal tubing and some rubber hose. Fuel gauge now working. Indicates about 7/8 tank. I filled the gas tank last Summer and drove/ran it very little. Seems appropriate. Oil pressure gauge indicates less than zero PSI. Did some voltage measurements and it seems OK. Couldn't start the engine because the radiator is removed. Once that is back in place, I'll check operation of oil pressure and engine temperature gauges.
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