Rebuild For "miles"

Big hallelujah today, box mount is done. This is with a jack moving the axle up as close as it gets to the tie rod.






No major changes needed for the exhaust.


Edited with more pics!

 

It was sunny today and after two and a half hours under a sleeping baby I was able to do jeep stuff with my 3yr old.
So we put the wheels on and put air in them. Then we set it down on the ground and it sure does sit differently with the wheels on the ground vs jack stands under the axle and it definitely sits a good inch lower with the two leaves removed.



Now the current shocks are too short to run the full spring pack and the springs were way too stiff. I'll run this for a bit and see exactly what I want to do long term but it'll be ok for now.
I need to remove a steering stop and put fresh bolts in. It has more to give so that's good.
Hopefully I can weld up the exhaust and fill some areas tomorrow so the grill can return home. I'm hoping to get it moving again this week, even if it's in and out of the garage.

 

Well, summer is here kids are getting busy with sports, work picked up, neighbors be makin me angry.

Not much different in the garage:
20230417_131030 by Joe with a jeep, on Flickr

Brakes need some leaks fixed and wires need fixed. Exhaust got two cuts to jog it out of the way.
Steering column is in for good. The bottom bracket is pulled from advanced adapters instructions. The clamp that used to hold the column to the ross steering box got welded to a 12ga plate with a hole in it. I did measure the exact column stick out but either my wheel has always been messed up or all the handling tweaked it. All that remains is the shaft support and rebuilding the motor mounts.

Lots of other little things that need a little love like fenders but I'm well past needing to mow the lawn so I gotta figure out what's wrong with the mower next.

 

Temporary steering shaft support is in place. This support is used without setscrews in the lower universal joint DD shaft. It has about 3/4" available travel. The long term plan is to have an angle with slot for the bushing to follow. I just need to move on with other tasks (exhaust and motor mounts) while I wait for that slotted angle to appear or go another direction (telescopic DD assembly)

 

Slowly knocking off tasks. Work is ramping up and the kids sports are starting. My hour lunch is down to 30min and I'm not able to head home every day.

But progress is progress.

 

Hang in there Joe. It will all come together.

 

Got the beat up old passenger fender out of the rafters and put it on to hold the grill better. Tightened up the radiator to the grill. Rubber baby buggy bumper installed under grill. Started pulling tail light wires out from under the hood. (Rerouting to rear via inside body)
Hydraulic Tail light switch is on the front brake line, wires are ball parked to it (need driver fender in place)

I need to finish welding the exhaust then the driver side fender goes on. DONE
Marked up the flush tail light location and slept on it. I decided to run some angle under the tail gate frame and out to the corner radius with the body mounts then the 12ga plate will be on the bulk of the corners.

 

I avoided making a snowman out of the exhaust (there are a lot of opportunities for improvement) tossed the last wheel and tire on it and added the 2nd fender to the nose.

I need to pull the tail light wires. DONE
run new wire to the stoplight switch. DONE
Install the flush tail lights.
Mount the tach and spartan to the steering column. DONE
The AFI TBI needs a bit of threadlocker everywhere as I've noticed the tps sensor is loose.
I'll likely toss the PCM back on the firewall for now. DONE
Rear seat needs latch anchors in the bed with a rear seat (hey @Fireball can you find engineering specs for child seat latch and tether anchors. I'll look at the seat instructions but I want a 2nd opinion)
Corner guards and top bow sockets
Summer canopy (canvas tarp)

Then some longer term things I want to change after it's moving:
Commando TRE (gotta find the post and source again)
New draglink that is not two tierods cut and welded together.
Move steering box forward .75-1" via 1/2" thick offset spacer.
Collapsible 3/4" and 1" dd shaft (yep someone told me so)

 

From the original Federal Regulation for LATCH restraints https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.225, it looks like the anchors should withstand a 10,000N pulling force or about 2250lbs (item S6.3.4). A single grade 8 3/8-16 bolt has a tensile strength of 9300lbs before plastic deformation, so it's not as much as it sounds like. That said, you should be able to pick up that end of the Jeep with each of the LATCH anchors.

The regulation also gives dimensions and locations for the latch anchors and the like. It's a long, complicated, but useful document.

 

That's the document I found (haven't gotten very far reading)
@Fireball thank you for the double check.

 

Turn signal and tachometer are back where they belong. Feels good to have em in place.


Moved around to this 16.25"h x 19.5"l 12ga plate to hide a really messed up corner.

This guard is just six 15deg brakes, one at each tangent and four equally between. I have it overlapping the adjacent panels on the rear by 1.25" so it holds the seam together and matches a swing away tire carrier bracket base and bolt holes. http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/66132/page-2
This figures to a break at 7.5" and fill evenly until the last hit at 2.75" from the edge of the plate.
This plate will then receive top bow sockets in these locations:
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/147075/
And saving this thread to reference later:
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/122840/page-5

 

Soo I went to change the oil on the station wagon... It's been 9 months / 3000mi so it's a little dark. Got it on the ramps and the underside is covered in antifreeze.


Now this is a 2013 front wheel drive Ford 3.5 which features an awesome timing chain driven water pump that likes to wipe out the motor...
So I did what any wise man would and put my tools down and worked on the jeep a little.

Because I don't like walking.


So 4" hole was drilled. 4.375 hole was needed but I don't have a drill bit that size so I slapped the light on the inside and ran the wires.
I like this soo much better than crawling under the jeep.

It has everything needed to drive me across town and get Ford parts.
Two tail lights that shine like two lonely fireflies and a license plate the 4 cyl crowd hates me for.

 

First impressions:
The Saginaw steering is amazing
Brakes have air.

Fuel line was loose on the motor / leaking onto intake.
Taking the two front leaves out definitely softens up the ride.
Front shocks are 100% for show and 0% function

 

Curb 1, jeep is getting about 1/4" added to the master cylinder pushrod. I'm not sure if this is only because I am using the single master cylinder lever or what, but I've opted to modify the rod since the little ferd is gonna be sitting on ramps for a while.

 

I lengthened the master cylinder pushrod with a coupling nut and thread making it adjustable. Then learnt the hard way the little metal clip inside the c-clip inside the master cylinder doesn't move... so I bored out an appropriate washer to clear.

Drove it about 4 miles with school zones and railroad tracks, Gas station and Broadway.
Steering is easy peasy.
And I should have pulled those leaf springs apart years ago.
Brakes are great with the stepped bore, rears are locking up a little early so I need to twist the proportioning valve a little. Not sure if "less" on the wilwood dial means less rear stopping force or the other less.

I remembered I need to take care of those screws on the tbi.
And I do plan on making the tail lights match...

 

Felt like I otta show off some fab, a lathe would have been handy. Anywho it's done,

 

Drove it to work today, the rear axle sounds terrible and third gear is like shifting a tractor. Nothing new but it really falls on it's face when you get on the skinny pedal so I need to check ignition timing. There is still some air in the brakes but it stops good! When working on the steering I shoved the motor over then bolted it down and the fan is hitting the clipping lower radiator hose. I wanna finish the tail lights and corner guards. I've gotta check tires because the locker is not happy.
All of that needs fixed but the wagon will be priority.

 

The miss matching tail lights were bothering me.
I'll get the driver side on the right way sometime.
I wish I got a picture but the left light housing is the as-purchased black. I got some rattle can chrome and painted the inside of the right housing. It's a little brighter but nothing to run to the store about.
20230531_174419 by Joe with a jeep, on Flickr

 

Trial by fire.
Tuesday's are always busy since my wife has a late afternoon meeting for work. Today was extra crazy since I was the guest speaker till 5pm and had to then get the kids, the toddlers, let the dogs out and back in with food n water, then get all the two legged critters pottied then food n drinks and a t-ball game at 6pm with my wagon looking like this...


So I went to the meeting with the jeep and left with the wife's SUV to get the kids and all then swap vehicles and head to the game.
Well I was doing good till mc d's took 20min for the drive thru order. So my wife set forth in the jeep not knowing it was in low range...

She reports:
The steering is all over (needs caster shims)
The brakes need bled but do work.
The clutch (Luk RepSet 04-049 ) is great..
Third gear is crap.
The dash plaque for shift pattern needs replaced.
I noticed the tail lights weren't working

But she made it there just before we did and the sheriff did not pull her over for anything.
But dang it is not fun being stuck behind someone at 15mph in a 35.

 

Spot checked caster with the phone's level app. I've got 3deg so I'm wondering if 4deg shims would be ok?

Then it took me to another t-ball game and wal-mart for a grocery pick-up. (A 36" longer bed would have been great)
College Kid bringing the goods guessed it right at 1960 and wanted to know my price, he's looking for a 69.