The Tux-in-a-Barn

Ok, here we go. From here on out this is likely to be a mirror of the one on Jeepforum, but this group has a different membership and might be able to offer me different advice and commentary. Course my JF thread is one of the shortest for one its age; it barely reached four pages this week. Most of that is because I live about 200 miles from where this jeep is, and can usually get only one weekend a month to work on it. Thanksgiving, Xmas, Spring Break, and the summer are the usual exceptions because I'm off work and can devote more time to it. Not that I have; I'm having to spend a lot of money that could be going for parts on just getting my tool set up to par.

Next tool buy is likely going to be a set of a cordless drill and a cordless impact driver. I've got an FSM on order, but it isn't here yet and won't be for another few days.



This is how the jeep-in-a-barn looked about twenty years ago. That's me in the back; I was very limp-wristed for some reason. It had all the Tux bona fides that we didn't know to look for: chrome taillight cover, chrome windshield latches and grab bar, Indian Ceramic steering wheel, Tux license plate carrier, white grill, snaps for seat/armrest cushions, and all that.





Two shots of the engine where it is today, but before I pulled the fenders. Both fenders are now off, and now I can see why everyone pulls them first thing. Huge different in getting into there to fix things.



Shot from about six months ago, before I got it on stands. The driver's side fender had just come off, and I'd put a tarp over it to protect it from getting additional dust into it. The hood came off as well; the hinges broke.



Recent shot of it on stands. I bought some kinda cheap ones, but they should work well enough. Everything is on a shoestring up here.

At this point, I'm going to start a "ground up" rebuild, starting with the axles and brakes, and eventually progressing through the engine, transmission, T-case, steering column (which I think needs to be replaced), and electrical system. I might get a glass tub because of the huge cost difference (2k or so vs. 4k or so), and I'm definitely going with a Painless electrical kit because I like the idea of having a fuse box. Other than that, I want to rebuild it to more or less what it came out of the factory.

 

You'd be surprised at what came be saved sometimes, ever on our shoestring budgets.


Looking forward to the build! Don't be afraid to ask for advice for doing things if you are unsure, no reason to rush and regret later.

 

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your project! It looks like you have a good foundation to start with. We love pics here

 

Thanks. I already have, if you've been watching my sporadic posts on this board and JF.

 

This FSM isn't quite up to the same quality as the original (having seen both), but at least the pics are usable and they didn't do some of the nasty stuff I've seen in Haynes manuals.

 

Minor update just to keep things on par. Picked up a few tools to help flesh out the toolbox- a 24" lug wrench in SAE sizes, a 1" socket, a better socket wrench (a double sided 1/2 and 3/8 drive one), feeler gauges, stuff like that.

Dad and I have gotten to talking, and we've both decided we're going to do a few conservative upgrades while we have the chance- it'll be easier to install upgrades with everything disassembled than to have to buy replacements and then replace the replacements with upgrades. So here's what I've got in mind:

• Replace the generator with an alternator, for better charging. The generator is really rusty anyway.
• Upgrade to a high-torque starter motor. The starter motor is even more bleakh than the generator, so I might as well upgrade instead of replacing or repairing.
• Take off the belt pulley fan and replace it with a good quality electric one and the necessary shrouding.
• Look into getting a disc brake kit for the front. Kaiser Willys has one that looks interesting. This is probably going to be the first upgrade we perform, too, because the brakes are thus far third on the repair list after the rear and front axles (in that order). This will be done instead of an upgrade to 11" brakes.
• While overhauling the brakes, also install a dual-chamber master cylinder instead of the current single-chamber one.
• Painless or similar wiring harness kit. I want a cigarette lighter to charge my tablet and an electric radiator fan, dad wants a radio. We both want a fuse box. That isn't going to be easy with the stock harness.

Any thoughts or overwhelming reasons against doing one or more of those?

 

What do you need the electric fan for? Stock cooling system is more than adequate IMO.

11 inch drums all around are plenty, but I know for some the disks are far easier overall (plus disk is better in water, unless you drill the drums).

(Outsider looking in. :stout: )

 

wiring harness should be easy, however I have a radio and a cigarette lighter with the stock harness. Just run the inline fuses haven't had any trouble yet.

do a search allot of companies do the dual chambered master cylinder upgrade, along with either 11 or disk brake.
http://r-p4wd.com/, herm the over drive guy, walcks list goes on.

Looks good I will be watching, and you will be surprised on what tools you don't have to have.

 

You can get a good wiring harness for under 200.00 . Google ez wire. Good luck.

 

I'd swap to disc. I'd swap to 4 wheel disc. The last brake job I did on my 1996 Ram, I spent 30 minutes on the front and over 8 hours on the rear. I will never work on drum brakes again.

 

Does the EZ one include instructions as good as the Painless one?

I haven't been able to find a set of discs for the rears that doesn't require an axle swap. You got a link to one?

 

as far as the wiring , the wires are marked as to where they go. To answer your question, the instructions are not bad. Painless instructions are better. But at half the price of a painless, go with the ez.

 

Ok, update time. I tried ordering in a hub puller, and the place was out of stock. So no hub pulling this weekend. Looks like I'll have to put it off until spring break, when I'll have plenty of time to deal with it.

So the menu for this weekend:
* Grind off five or so screw heads, off stuck and/or metric screws.
* Take the wheels and rims off the rear axle, and loosen the castle nuts so I can pull the hubs quickly come spring break.
* Uncap the differential and have a look inside.
* Maybe pull the spark plugs and try hand cranking the engine.

 

Busy day today. I'm not sure whether it was the PB Blaster or the 24" lug wrench, but those lugs came off pretty easy. I only had two that gave me trouble, and a lot of wrenching around finally got them off. The front two wheels are ready to come off; the back two are off.



Driver's side with L-marked studs. The drum was on real loose, and the castle nut came off with just a little jerking on the 1 7/16" breaker bar. No sweat, no cotter pin. I wasn't too happy to find out that this is such a huge castle nut, though. Had to go to Tractor Supply to get it.

The drum looks like it'll need replacing. All four drums need replacing, although I'm probably going to Steve drum brakes on the front and go with a disc kit.. They're all horribly rusted and grind a little at the bottom. Looks like I'll have to reset the runout? Something like that.



Passenger side without L-marked studs. This one had a 1 1/2" castle nut, so I had to get an old mechanic up the hill to give me a hand with it. Many profanities were sworn before I finally broke down to ask for help, though, and dad's old monkeywrench will probably never be the same. And I'm going to get the correct size castle nut as soon as practica. This drum feels like it was pressed onto the hub, so I'm not going to mess with it until I can get a hub puller. Wonder if I could make a hillbilly one out of an old brake drum...

Then I busted into the diff thinking it would be dry and full of rust.



This is the end result: a green bean can full of black grease (which was later poured back into the diff to give it some fluid while I get new to refill it), and a huge mess. Took me forty minutes of washing my hands to just be clean enough to take the picture. The good news is, the diff doesn't sound like its grinding. It sounds more like the transfer case. I'm going to order in a new gasket from Kaiser Willys and refill it with cleaner grease, and maybe replace the cover bolts with stainless steel. Right now they're painted and yucky.

Question time: When I turn the front axle up where its supposed to go into the lockout, and the rear hub with the brake drum off, I feel a faint ticking sensation. Is this a sign of failing bearings, or is it kinda normal? It doesn't feel especially hard to turn without the wheel hubs on it.

 

where is the jeep located if you dont mind me asking, looks to be in pretty good shape, i'd try to save the tub before replacing it, its actually in pretty good shape.

 

I wouldn't say that its in pretty good shape. There's a lot of bad rust from when it spent a couple of years out in a field near Houston. There's a lot of rust bubbles and holes on the underside, the floor pan is rusted away from the wheel wells, and there's some totally awful spots. Saving it would probably cost as much as a new MD Juan tub, especially when you consider I don't have a welder.

 

you can pick up a nice welder for $400 if you look a little, i just got one, either way, i'd hate to see that tub get junked.

 

:iagree:


I'm on a restricted budget so a replacement tub was out of the question. I did my homework and bought an awesome little MIG for $299.00 (free shipping). See this link; http://www.eastwood.com/mig-welder-110vac-135a-output.html Read the reviews. It's not a Lincoln, but works fantastic out of the box. The only thing it doesn't come with is a gas cylinder.

I'm just learning MIG myself, but I'm very happy with the results with my limited skills. Yes, it's time consuming but I'm walking away from this project with a new skill (and a nice little welder!).

Pete

 

I also don't have 240v in the barn, or really anywhere at the ranch. I'm not sure I'm going to outright junk it; body work is still a LONG way away. Its just *so* close to the point where you might as well go fiberglass or MD Juan.

(Begin cross-post)

Ok, new update time. Did a bit more work today, which I probably shouldn't have considering my shoulder is all kinds of out of whack.

The rear driveshaft is finally down. Here's the end that gave me the worst headache- the spot where it U-bolts down to the rear axle:



Those U-bolts were a pain in the butt to remove. One side came out fairly easy; I whacked it a bit with a screwdriver and a rubber mallet, then jammed it in between the U-joint and U-bolt and out it came. The other side... yeah. I actually had to use the removed U-bolt and use it as a horseshoe-shaped punch with the rubber mallet, and that finally broke it free. Now if only I'd thought about that half an hour earlier...

Edit: Holy broken pinion shaft yoke, Batman!



The end on the transfer case. This one was a fair shake easier. Put the box wrench on it, whack the wrench a few (dozen) times with the rubber mallet, and they broke loose. Only thing that bugs me is that the studs are loose in their holes. Is that how they're supposed to be, or did I break something?



The driveshaft itself. I'm probably going to rebuild it (and the front as well) about the time I pull the body off to put on the fiberglass one. U-joints are relatively cheap, and the U-bolts themselves were in pretty bad shape. I'm surprised I didn't break one of them when I removed it; there was some bad spalling on it.



Final pic of the Jeep as it sits now waiting for a hub puller and a trip to the media blaster. Although I might wait on media blasting until I've got the E-brake off the T-case, so I can get everything done at once. Once everything's been blasted, I'm probably going to paint it to help keep it from rusting again.

Hm... Indian Ceramic brake drums?

 

Wow, that tub is solid (compared to what we get here!)

Nice project.