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Trials and Tribulations

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73 cj5 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr. 2021 at 6:43am
A couple Saturdays ago a Jeep friend and I went to test our rigs out around Mobile, AL. He just installed a T18 into his 66 CJ5. My recollection of the weekend adventure...

In the past 3 days, I've had a grand total of ~10 hours of sleep so I am pretty beat. I woke up at 5:30 AM and drove to the gas station where I store my trailer and ended up having to wait until 7 AM for someone to unlock the gate to get it. By 7:45 AM I was home, loaded up, and ready for my 3.5 hr drive south.



When I pulled into the place and went to park, Scott was driving back to his truck and told me he had a driveshaft issue. Oh boy. Luckily it was an easy fix. The first thing I mentioned was I didn't want to go through every mudhole in the park and then the first thing we do is go through a creek. Lol Scott tried to use his CJ5 as a submarine early into the trip while making a U-turn. Water was well over his hood. It's a good thing he had good brakes or it would've been a disaster. Everything was going well until I noticed my steering started to get hard to turn less than 10 minutes into the ride. I thought it was low on fluid but there was some on the dipstick. Engine rpm didn't make a difference in ease of turning either so I was really confused at that point. My arms are sore and the steering made me pretty miserable but I managed. Right here is where the steering gear broke. There were four people watching me try to turn it and boom it broke. I thought a u joint had broken, but as it turned out it was the box itself. Fudge. Honestly, I wasn't even mad, just in disbelief. They were all wondering how I was going to find a 1955 steering gear in the junkyard. What might've been the final nail in the coffin for the steering gear was a small tree my left tire hit when coming out of the last mud hole.




Skid steer to the rescue. Afterward, when it got turned around we got the front tires in the skid steer bucket and it made it back to the trailer without an issue. We ended up backing it up the trailer. Scott volunteered to steer and I worked the pedals. After we got it loaded it was lunchtime. Scott made some bomb smoked chicken and sweet potatoes with strawberries and blueberries on the side.



We swapped out a tire on the CJ5 after lunch and got back to riding. I offered my wheels and tires but that probably would've been more work swapping them around than they might've been worth. The CJ5 did great out there and it would've been even better with MT's and a rear traction device.

 In this shot, it was actually a hill we were coming up but ran out of traction.



The last spot we ran through before loading up. I managed to go swimming right before taking this picture. Since my Jeep was broke I volunteered to be winch line guy for the remainder of the day anyhow. The driver side of the CJ5 was almost completely underwater at one point and I thought it was about to flip over. Ran out of gas right after winching out of this spot. We walked back to the truck and grabbed the gas can (since I decided to bring 5 gallons of gas at the last minute before leaving). The dauntless caught on fire by accident with a small amount of spilled gas but I got it blown out and found a water bottle to prime the carburetor with instead of the gas can. Whistle



All in all, it was a great day. I don't have much to say about my own junk since it didn't make it far before a major mechanical failure. Still, I made it much further than a JK that came through there. P I busted my head open on the buckle welded to the cage. The way it was parked on uneven ground made me step into it differently than usual and I hit my head. It's a nonissue thing just me being a little careless.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr. 2021 at 6:48am
Steering gear carnage. If you look closely there are fragments from the remainder of those steel balls. This steering gear is toast.






The new steering gear arrived today and I installed it. The steering has definitely improved with the new to me steering gear. 





Finally got around to washing the 3b and trailer off. I don't like mud as I used to. Drove to college and took a final exam. Thankfully it didn't break down cause that was an important exam for graduation. Went on a big loop through a few different towns in the sticks; 48 miles of poorly maintained county roads. I'm trying to gain confidence in this thing after last week's failure. When I changed the oil in this I used Shell Rotella T5 10w-40. Well, I noticed it was smoking much more than it used to this past weekend and my lawnmower also turned into a mosquito fogger. Because it's burning oil so much the plug started to foul again but a burst at 4500 rpm seemed to clear that up.......Fhead "magic".  Smile




Took apart my spare D18. Lucky for me it had a 1.25" intermediate shaft. Its sacrifice will not be forgotten. These are the gears (besides a bronco gear) to make a 2.46 D20. I'll also be swapping over to a tapered roller bearing. My low range is around 62:1 and with the new gear set, it'll be around 76:1. Ordered the bronco gear and tapered bearing intermediate shaft kit. Something else I've been wanting for some time now is a flanged FF axle (D23-2) like my old GPW had. I'm placing an order for some parts. I have half the parts needed already so once my spindles are machined and I order axle shafts we'll be in business. Cool Another reason for this is my current axle shaft(s) appear to be slightly bent, the splines are worn to a sharp point, and one is incapable of holding a wheel stud since the hole is completely wallowed out.




Edited by 73 cj5 - 06 Apr. 2021 at 6:53am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote uncamoney Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr. 2021 at 6:56am
Sounds like a few trips I have had, they are those I remember best.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2021 at 2:11am
Guess I'll add the various adventures I take the 3b on in this thread. 

I went to Catahoula Off Road and Recreation a couple weeks ago and met up with some good folks.

Day 1: I arrived at the park and started my last pre trip inspection. There was no oil showing on the dipstick so in went 5 quarts of 10w-30, topped off the tank, and aired down. I started down the main road to the east side of the property and saw a couple of XJs and some people watching me come down the road so I stopped and asked for directions. One of them jumped in and I followed another guy (on his Honda SxS around the main road. After giving me the tour, we went back to their camp and I decided to venture out on my own until they were ready for the night ride.

I ended up going down the hill at Head'em Up. I lost traction and slid off into the washout. Once at the bottom I looked around trying to figure out the best way to get out. I couldn't make the ditch and tried to make my own bypass but there was a lack of traction and diff clearance. I took a couple of runs at the hill I went down and kept sliding off into the washout.




I took another stab at the hill and when I slid in the washout I kept my foot on the floor. The tach was bouncing around 4500 last time I glanced at it. That ended up being a pattern the entire weekend. Notice the smoke still wafting through the air. I probably killed every mosquito in the area.



There wasn't much to the night ride.

Day 2: I woke up at 6 and headed down to the crew's camping area, they cooked breakfast, and I got to meet Allan. He had a modified XJ with a Ford HP D44 with RCV axles, locker, 5.13's, Ford 9" rear with a strange engineering 3rd member and spool, AX-15, and some other goodies. After breakfast, everyone followed Allan around the park. First, he went through the ditch at Head'em Off then we headed through the creek to my first hill climb.



Hopefully, you don't mind the commentary on these videos and you can see them. If not, I'll try to download and reupload them. Before this climb, they had their doubts on the 3b's capability and so did I. The engine is woefully underpowered even in 2 low. By the time I'd get up a hill it'd be ready to stall out. After making the climb the group did a walkaround of the 3b and seemed more interested in it than before.

Here is the beginning of this climb.



https://www.facebook.com/billy.j.price.5/videos/10215858255923120/?t=0

We then headed toward Baby Steps.



The entrance to Baby Steps. This is the easy part. They didn't expect me to make it through the first half.



 Halfway up the climb. I couldn't "crawl" this trail. I failed to at the entrance so skinny pedal it was.

https://www.facebook.com/billy.j.price.5/videos/10215856141830269/?t=0



Here is the hard part of Baby Steps. This hill is fairly steep and it has two stumps sticking up that will grab you. I promise the pictures don't do this terrain justice.



https://www.facebook.com/billy.j.price.5/videos/10215858340885244/?t=0
https://www.facebook.com/billy.j.price.5/videos/10215858372406032/?t=0

After I broke Allan had to pull/winch me up the rest of the trail.



Soon after this last picture, the XJ slid into a rut hard and it popped the left rear tire bead which slowed down the recovery. Allan's winch almost got us up the hill but it got too hot and melted something.



The park owner showed up and pulled us out with his skid steer and we started on trail repairs.



The 1310 joints on the rear driveshaft from Tom Wood don't accept standard 1310 caps and the cross had been damaged so I had to drive to the camp in front wheel drive. I got some body damage. The lip of the tub was folded out and there is a small dent.




Allan gave me a spicer 1310 joint and he had some used u joint straps. One was bent but it looked better than what I had.  







Edited by 73 cj5 - 13 May 2021 at 2:15am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2021 at 2:23am
Day 2: After lunch, Allan fixed his winch and I got the u joint swapped out and we went back out. Since the 3b had no nickname Joe decided to call it Old Smokey.





This is Rolling Rock. The trail lives up to its name. It's a steep hill climb and it's part of a race that is held here. Allan started heading up it and a large rock got stuck under the XJ so they had to back down to the entrance and start again but another rock kicked up and he went sideways. He got out of the XJ and it started to roll sideways and his ankle was pinned between the rocker and a large rock. The parking brake cable broke. He did more maneuvering and ended up on this large rock. A slight breeze would've flipped it over. We got the kids out of the back and winched the rock out from under the tire and we went back to camp to figure out the extent of Allan's injuries.




Random photo I took.



We left Allan at the camp and I followed Joe while Blake tagged along in someone's XJ. Well, the XJ overheated and couldn't make the top of the hill and I wasn't backing down the hill so I made my own line. On the first try, the saplings I ran over got me hung up and I lost traction so I backed down and gave it another shot. I hugged that small tree to the left and came out on two wheels. They said that was some crazy stuff and talked about that the rest of the afternoon. I went back up the hill again after we got the XJ back down. Made it in 2nd gear barely.



The XJ going up Mountain Road.

https://vimeo.com/545644429

Me failing to get up the first bump. I'm sure there was some driver error in there. I was in low range all weekend. Should've put it in high range 1st. That might've given me the best ratio for rpm/wheel speed.

https://vimeo.com/545643458

Day 3: A small storm rolled through around 4 AM-5 AM and rewet everything. 

Short Cut: I couldn't make the very top. Needed more speed or better traction. Maybe both.

https://vimeo.com/545650622

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2021 at 2:32am
I picked up this Warn 8200 winch for $50 April 14. The motor was mostly gone and the winch is a real oddball and rare. 









I talked to a few people but Jim at Gigglepin set me straight. Warn tech was completely useless and told me I was SOL along with a couple others I talked to. 

From Jim...

"I would recommend buying a quality later type winch motor (The type fitted to later 8274 for example).

You can then make a simple adaptor to fit the pinion bearing to the case. Any machine shop should be able to help you with this.

When you purchase the motor also purchase a late style Warn 8274 splined pinion gear (pn 98380)
This has the same tooth count and tooth profile as your original input gear.
You will then need to work out where you would like it to sit on the shaft and then make a spacer to size.

Then you need to turn a circlip groove on the armature shaft and find a suitable circlip to hold the pinion gear in place.

It’s that simple." 

This is what the local machine shop turned out. They should've chamfered the od on the bushing but oh well. I don't like the stack of washers. I'll have to do something about that in the future. 



I think I wired it correctly. I'll find out when I test it out. 




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2021 at 6:18pm
Got the wiring all finished and tested the winch a few times. It works fine but my battery isn't really up to the task of winching. 



A 3 wire extension cord was perfect for wiring the controls. It had already been cut in the past so no loss there. The main power wire is fused and it goes to this kill switch so the buttons are only energized when it's flipped up. The led light lets me know it's hot. The only momentary switches at the part store were these chintzy buttons. They'll make do for now.





I wanted a pto winch but this will have to suffice. It's fairly fast with no weight. In the future, I'd like to pick up synthetic rope to replace this rusty old cable.
Never planned to add a winch so soon but apparently, I can't drive and need one.



Changed the oil again. I went with 20w50 in hopes to keep the smoke down some. 
This doesn't look too good. Glad I installed the rare earth magnet on the drain plug. 





I broke ubolt and welded it back together. It held up just fine but I went ahead and replaced it.



My carburetor got a small amount of trash in it so I cleaned it out and it's running fine again. 

Garage Gnome whipped up this HEI distributor for me. 



I removed the vacuum advance since I won't be using it. The distributor had a rough ride home. The cap was cracked in a few places but I applied some liquid tape. Hopefully, it will seal it off for now. The tachometer had to be switched over to the V8 setting so it'd read right. Seems to run fine.



Working on yet another air filter setup. The filter should be here Friday. 



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeper50 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2021 at 7:27pm
Give us more info on that dizzy!
 What's it fit etc

Belleview ol skool winch soon.
'48 CJ2A 283 V8 sm 420 granny low, tera low D18, overdrive,lockers

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2021 at 1:04am
Originally posted by jeeper50 jeeper50 wrote:

Give us more info on that dizzy!
 What's it fit etc

The only thing I know for sure is the distributor type because I did the research to figure out which one is needed, the distributor has to turned to fit the block, and that you need an IAD 4008 distributor hold down clamp. Everything else is an educated guess. 

You need a Pontiac V8 distributor because the Pontiac V8 has the same counter clockwise rotation as the L/F134. You have to turn the base of the distributor down to fit in the block and you'll need a sacrificial distributor for its shaft. Weld the distributor shaft onto the Pontiac one and then you'll need a clamp from an IAD 4008 to set the distributor where you want it and hold it down. 

In preparation for this week's trip, I decided to go ahead and swap out the diff cover and check on the gears since the install. They look fine to me. I'll know in ~140 miles if I set them up correctly.





The old air filter setup was complete garbage and a huge air restriction. I went with a 2" hose and exhaust pipe. Fancy compared to my old plumbing adapter. Ha. Hopefully, the air filter gets here Thursday or early Friday. I also discovered the nuts that hold the carburetor together were loose.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeeper50 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2021 at 10:58am
Thanks for the info on the dizzy, now to gather parts...

Belleview ol skool winch soon.
'48 CJ2A 283 V8 sm 420 granny low, tera low D18, overdrive,lockers

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 June 2021 at 1:03am
My after action report from the May 21-23 Catahoula trip. 
















I ordered a set of chromoly shafts for the D30. Had to replace the spindle bearing because it fell apart. I used Mevotech TTX ball joints. They came with the install adapter too. I had to first reshape the knuckle where the ball joint presses in because the axle beat the heck out of it and it was all messed up.

New air filter. 




Here's what a Fhead can do to a D30 axle shaft. 




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Flatfender Ben Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2021 at 1:03pm
Great pictures!!
Awesome winch Clap
Thanks for sharing your adventures. 
1946 cj2a desert dog
1946 cj2a bulldog
1948 cj2a blue jeep
1953 cj3b yard dog
1955 willys wagon
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1956 willys pickup boomer
1960 fc 170
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 June 2021 at 12:14am
Yesterday I cut off the old spring perches and removed the caster shims, got the chromoly shafts installed, welded on the new perches, installed the zero rates, replaced the rear driveshaft ujoint, and went for a quick drive. I still need to replace the power steering pump but I think we're ready for another trip. I do need to get the transfer case intermediate gear machined for the tapered roller bearing and swap the gears so I can have a 2.46 low range.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 June 2021 at 12:11am
Last weekend I went to Sicily Island. I had some terrible axle wrap with the new tires. 













I started up a hill and boom. My yoke broke (unknown to me at the time) and I lost another set of caps, ubolts, and Ujoint. This failure caused me to walk 5 miles back to the truck for tools. I had to cut the small tree down with a hacksaw and then I had a heck of a time getting my right rear tire around the tree.



My driveshaft is almost completely junk now. The snap ring groove is missing a chunk out of it, the holes are not completely round anymore for the cap to go in, etc.































The Tunnel leads to the East Creek exit. I was a little harder on the gas than I should have been but with the ruts, steep hill, and wore out engine, there was no way I could've crawled up this. I knew when it started to jump around it was gonna go boom. The shaft didn't fall out but the needles turned to dust and the cross started to fall out.



I was on my last UJoint by now and didn't want to push it. Also, there was no turnaround at the bottom, and backing out would be sketchy. Allen is worse than me when it comes to being an enabler.











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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 June 2021 at 12:17am
Made an anti wrap device. I took a piece of 2x3x1/4 I had leftover from the frame rebuild and cut and drilled it. Yep, that's a tractor link. Laughing  Can't get too fancy now can I?





I flexed it on the floor jack but that's not the same as real world conditions. If this does work I'll add bracing to it. I multipass welded it to the axle tube and the frame mount is plug and butt welded to the frame and the bolt goes through it.



Tested out the anti wrap device this afternoon. It seems to have worked. I stopped by the TSC to return some unused parts and I had a couple of people take pictures of the 3b and talk to me about it. One of them was local PD. 




I took a piece of 3/8" plate and made a couple "braces". I sure hope they work. It's very tight in there. Hope I don't need to remove my shocks anytime soon. They might not unbolt. [Image: full][Image: full] I figure if (when) the tractor link bends, I'll build a stronger link using some pipe or maybe even DOM with heims.





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 July 2021 at 3:47am
New 305/70/16 Hankook Dynapro MT2 arrived a couple days ago so I threw them on. I wanted to try them out so I headed to my testing grounds. It's been a few months since I've had this on the road and dependability has plummeted since then so I was not sure if it'd make it the 12 mile round trip. Anyhow, made it to the testing grounds and drove around. At first glance, I'm very happy with the performance of these tires. As an added bonus with no wheel weights and at 50 mph there's no noticeable shaking or wobble. Super Swamper tires do one thing very well and that's digging to the core of the earth. 



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug. 2021 at 1:08am
I had to rewire some of the Jeep and replaced the old battery. 



I added to the transmission crossmember. 





Found a piece of 3/16 at the scrap yard and cut it up for the skid plate. 





Did some testing. 





Rigged up another driveshaft loop. 



Went for a short ride. 



I rigged up this old lift and moved some Jeep parts around the yard. 



My winch stopped working and I traced the issue down to the old winch contactor. I bought a Warn Contactor DC88-1003P Part number 98381. All is well again. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 73 cj5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug. 2021 at 1:14am
Another trip to Sicily in the books. I didn't break down on the trail but things were damaged. I highly recommend the park if you need to test your rig's worth. 



























After the trip I found a few things that were damaged. The tie rod was bent, frame cracked, transmission mount bolt fell out, rear leaf spring center pins are bent, and some anti squeak pads fell out of my leaf springs. 






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