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Diesel CJ5 Rebuild

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by Maximus78, Jun 6, 2008.

  1. Jul 21, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    Hey guys,
    I haven’t had a ton of time to work on the jeep lately (getting married in less than a month) but I have done a lot in the past few days so want to post an updated.

    I was having a lot of trouble with my clutch linkage. The clutch fork was coming to a hard stop against the inside of the bellhousing without disengaging the friction disk. I spoke to Novak Adapters about it and they said the hat height of my new 9.25 inch pressure plate was probably lower than the pressure plate I took out. To solve this problem I had a friend make me a new pivot stud that was just a little bit longer than the stock piece. I had spent so much time sealing up my drivetrain (trans, t-case, O/D, and PTO) that I didn’t want to pull it all apart to swap out the fork pivot so I built some cribbing on top of a dolly to support the drivetrain. Then I split the drivetrain between the transmission and bellhousing and rolled the dolly back about an inch. That gave me just enough space to swap out the pivot studs. Everything slid back together easily when I was done and the hole thing only took my about 1.5 hours from the time I started cutting wood until the last bolt was tightened back up.

    I also finished running all my brake lines last weekend and bled the brakes. They came out pretty good. There have been no leaks and the pedal has stayed firm for 2.5 days now.

    I still have to install new rear springs and body mounts and there are a few electrical issues but it should be ready a trip around the block later this week!

    -Dean
     
  2. Jul 21, 2009
    drexotic

    drexotic Happy now?!?!?

    San Diego
    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2007
    Messages:
    419
    Can't wait for photo's !!!
     
  3. Jul 21, 2009
    Greg82

    Greg82 New Member

    Vancouver BC
    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2008
    Messages:
    4
    Nice jeep and great work on the rebuild.

    I have to ask how did you get the greasy old trans / tcase that clean?
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2009
  4. Jul 22, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    Thanks guys. I’ll try to get some more pictures up soon. It’s not going to look very different since I’m not doing anything to the body yet. It will need some attention at some point but its solid enough to leave as is for a while. Plus I like the patina it has now.

    I did go a little crazy cleaning up the transmission and transfer case. It took a lot of parts cleaner and a lot of wire bush work to do it. I think I soaked the cases in some purple industrial cleaner called Zep or something like that. It seemed to work pretty well.

    I hope to be updating this thread a lot in the new two weeks. I entered the Jeep in a car show at work so I need to have it on the road by August 5th!

    -Dean
     
  5. Jul 22, 2009
    unclebill

    unclebill Banned

    a sun blasted...
    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2009
    Messages:
    2,358
    that is a fantastic ride.

    wow!
     
  6. Jul 24, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    I spent some time in the garage last night and got a lot of the electrical system fixed. When I started the only thing that worked was the electric plow pump. I took apart the headlight switch and cleaned all the terminals and the internal contacts which were all heavily corroded. I replaced some of the old splices in the rear harness, put in a new flasher, and glued a taillight lens back together. Everything worked except the brake light on the driver’s side. A first I couldn’t figure out the problem since the driver’s side turn signal worked just fine. I finally traced the issue back to the turn signal switch and cleaned it out thoroughly. Now it all works great!!

    My new rear springs should be arriving today. I ordered them from a place called Suspension King. They seemed knowledgeable and the customer service has been excellent so far. I’ll let everyone know how they look when I they arrive.

    -Dean
     
  7. Jul 30, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    Major victory... last night the 5 moved under its own power for the first time since I’ve owned it! The floor isn’t in yet (no gas pedal, or diesel pedal in my case) so I just let it idle out of the garage about 15 feet, stopped, and pulled it back in. My new clutch works great. Brakes work great. I’ll try to get some more pictures and maybe some video of it this weekend.

    I also had a visit from the brown santa a few days ago so I’ve got tie rod ends, rear springs, and seat belts to install this weekend.

    -Dean
     
  8. Jul 30, 2009
    windyhill

    windyhill Sponsor

    PA
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2006
    Messages:
    1,502
    great project! Let me know how those springs work out, I was looking into them as well. I thinks with you getting married and all it's time to sell that Jeep to Me!:drool:
     
  9. Aug 5, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    So my new springs came about a week ago but I didn't get a chance to put them in until this past weekend. It wasn't until I had the one of the old springs out that I realized they had sent me a front springs by mistake and they were about 6 inches too short. This was really disappointing as I was going to bring the 5 to a company car show on Wednesday. I had to reinstalled the old spring so I could get the jeep back in the garage. The correct springs are on their way and should be here tomorrow.

    The wrong springs....
    [​IMG]

    Here is a picture of how I swapped out the clutch fork pivot stud. All I did was disconnect the rear driveshaft, remove the PTO shifters, unbolt the cross member from the frame rails, and unbolt the transmission from the bell housing. I pushed the transmission about an inch from the bell housing which gave me enough room to work. When I was done it all slit back together perfectly.
    [​IMG]

    I also spent some time chasing down a few fuel leaks. The worst leak was on the back of the lift pump but it was just the result of a loose fitting.

    [​IMG]

    Today I actually took the 5 down the road to air up the tires. The first real drive! She ran great but there are still a bunch of things I still need to do before she is ready to tackle longer drives. Check out the video on youtube...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigbtfY9P_A


    -Dean
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2009
  10. Aug 5, 2009
    Mudweiserjeep

    Mudweiserjeep JEEP: Bouncy and Fun

    tipp city, ohio
    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
    Messages:
    718
    Sweet project and good video.

    It sounds great. :driving:
     
  11. Aug 12, 2009
    windyhill

    windyhill Sponsor

    PA
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2006
    Messages:
    1,502
    How are the new springs?
     
  12. Aug 12, 2009
    Maximus78

    Maximus78 Member

    Brighton, MA
    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2006
    Messages:
    82
    I've only got the new rear springs in so far. The first impressions are good. They seem to be high quality, well built springs. They fit well and bolted in without issue. The ride is nice but I need to get some body mount issues sorted out before I can properly evaluate the ride of the new springs. The bumps are still quite jarring but I’m pretty sure it’s due to body mounts (or lack there of). I won’t be able to get them sorted out for a few weeks as I’m getting married this weekend and I’ll be busy with post wedding stuff for a week or two.

    And if you are interested in the spring, make sure you call them to order. They only list CJ front springs on their website.

    -Dean
     
  13. Feb 6, 2010
    JohnnyCommando

    JohnnyCommando Blue Tarp Station, proprietor

    Eureka, CA
    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2009
    Messages:
    65
    R) (where have I heard that before?!)
     
  14. Feb 9, 2010
    pathkiller

    pathkiller Member

    Lorton, VA
    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2005
    Messages:
    878
    She sounds lovely! And the Jeep sounds good too :)
     
  15. May 18, 2011
    BENSINGER

    BENSINGER New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    Messages:
    5
    can you tell me numbers off firewall tags? what year does title say?
     
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