Dave's 76 Cherokee

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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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Well, after a few weeks of cold AC, the original compressor puked, I replaced it, a PIA, and it went another week and it quit again, I am ready to order the Vintage Air Magnum IV and be done with it. The Nissan is running decent and the AC is cold so I have used it as my daily driver for the time being. Yesterday it was cool and I decided to runs some errands, I love driving the Cherokee even with the harsh ride, squeaks, rattles and wandering steering. My last stop was the parts house to pick up front pads to eliminate the squeal, I am going deaf but damn I could hear that high pitch squeal really well.

I was about 5 miles from home going 65 and BOOM!

The first time the old Jeep has left me stranded on the side of the road, and that sucker made some serious noise. I decided to have it towed rather than hitching a ride home and back to make the repair on the side of the road. Turns out one strap was loose, I have lock washers on every bolt and typically tighten u-joints straps beyond snug but that is the cause of the failure.

I picked up a new u-joint and made the repair last night, took it for a spin and all is good.

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I did close on my house mid-May and now I have a 2-car garage, it's smaller than what I would like but almost twice as large as the 1-car I used since 2007. I spent almost all of yesterday re-arranging my gear since everything was thrown in and the door shut the weekend I moved. For reference, the two shelves in the back are 24" deep, one is 7' wide and the other is 8' wide, I built them for the detached 2-car garage behind the house I owned in Houston from 95-06. I laid out everything on cadd and I will have room to park the Jeep inside and have plenty of room on the sides, less so at the front but it will beat the hell out of working under a tarp outside like I did since 2007.

I ran a 50A 240v outlet earlier this week near the coiling door that I will use with an extension cord to run the compressor and welder for now. It will be convenient for days I need to run 240v outside on the extension cord but I will install a 100A sub-panel in the next few weeks, the hole is cut and raceway to the main panel is done but I need to order the panel.

Plans right now are to install (9) twin tube, 48" T-8 fixtures, two ceiling fans, a dedicated 30A 240v outlet for the compressor, a 50A 240v for the welder and insulate the overhead door. Over the winter if funds allow, I will lay down porcelain tile and install a mini-split AC. Coax/Cat V is run to a panel in the garage so I had DirectTV provide a box for the garage and for now have a small flat panel tunes and TV.

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Work on the Jeep is somewhat limited while I work on priority items in the garage and house but I want to replace the rear driveshaft to eliminate the vibration and install the new suspension. I also need to get the new (old) dash ready for installation, welding up the holes and installing the Speedhut speedometer and fuel gauge at a minimum. That will be costly because I will need to replace the windshield and purchase the Magnum IV under-dash unit for installation at the same time plus the cost of gauges.

This is the replacement dash I bought from Tad, I think this will look so cool compared to the original dash!

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1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Stuka
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Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by Stuka »

Nothing like the sound of a u-joint exploding while going down the HWY!


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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

Sometimes you have to just say "WTF"!

And this morning was one of those moments. I replaced the steering box on the Jeep last year and the rebuilt box didn't leak like the original, however, it was a 3-bolt rather than the correct 4-bolt but beyond that, it had far more play than the original, 37 year old box. I have been fighting this for 3K miles, constantly sawing the wheel 1.5-2" to keep it in my lane.

I bought a rebuild kit to repair the original box, disassembled it and then boxed it up to move to the new place, plus, I needed an in-lb dial type torque wrench to set the over-center "by-the-book". All my life I have been told to "never" adjust a power steering box by "feel" or it would destroy it. Even a good friend that is long gone, a lifelong GM-BOP mechanic/service manager told me the same 35 years ago.

This morning I said "WTF", grabbed a 5/8" box end and 3/16" allen wrench, cracked the lock nut and gave it a 1/4 turn and drove it, after a few miles I pulled off on a dirt road and turned the wheel lock to lock a dozen times, cracked the nut and gave it another 1/8 turn and hit the highway. There is no more than 1/4-1/2" of play and I know the upper steering shaft u-joint is worn so I stopped right there.

The short, 5 mile drive to work was dreamy :D
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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The AC compressor failed, I believe I mentioned that earlier. I ordered a conversion bracket and installed a Sanden but that is it. I don't have the correct fittings to connect the old hoses to the Sanden and that will require pulling the hoses and having new fittings installed with integral service ports. I also picked up an expansion valve but have not had the interest in dropping the AC unit to remove the hoses and install the expansion valve.

I figure if I go to that much effort I may as well start the Vintage Air install and be done with it, we have another 2 months of heat and I may not like it but I can sweat it out.

In the mean time, I did some research on window tint, I tinted for 10 years steady and off and on the last 20, the best tint available was metallic film. From what I have found, ceramic film is fairly new and the way to go for maximum heat rejection. I am planning on tinting the glass, installing Reflectix thermal barrier on the roof and maybe installing carpet to cool down the interior in the next few weeks.

I have spent years planning the 5.3/4L60 swap but now I am leaning towards a 6.0/6L80. The hp/tq advantage of the LQ9 over the LQ4 and LM7 is so enticing and Shawn's work adapting the NP241 to the 6L80 tipped me over.


A month ago I started practicing scratch-start TIG. I bought a torch and regulator off Craiglist almost two years ago and a month ago pulled all the junk out of the tote and bought and Argon bottle. It is going well with 1/8" or thicker steel but my attempts at 16-22 ga is an epic failure, even on low amperage, 1/6" Tungsten and a copper backing behind the sheetmetal. I may use the MIG to weld up the roof rack holes this weekend in preparation for coating the roof with Ospho and the Reflectix.
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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I gave up on the TIG and used the MIG to weld up the roof rack holes, I coated the inside with Ospho and probably need to do it again before installing the insulation and reinstalling the roof supports. I also tinted the windows, that sure helps during the summer even without AC.

I decided to trade the Frontier while it was running, 10 years old and 201K for a Chevy 2500HD 4x4, a 2010 with 82K miles, 6.0/6L80 and really like it, it hauls ass for such a pig. The 6L80 is nice, I average about 11mph so as much as I like the 6.0 I have not decided if I really want the same in the Cherokee.

I decided to install the sway bar I bought a while back, I noticed the frame was drilled for the bracket on the drivers side but not the passenger side. I made a template and drilled the holes on the passenger side in a few minutes. It took an hour or so to find 7/16" bolts and weld them to 1/8 x 3/4 straps about 2" long. It was not that hard fishing them into the frame and mounting the bar. The sway bar bushings and end links are pretty worn but the reduced body roll on corners and winding roads is so much better.

I am having to travel quite a bit now so I don't have time for major projects. I drive it about once a week and when I do, I think of the small things that I can do that just make it even more fund to drive. I may order the Speed Hut GPS Speedo, that upgrade alone would solve a number of items like being able to see the turn signal and high beam lights, look at real speedo although the Garmin works well and not have to open the glovebox to see if I have fuel.
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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az chip
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by az chip »

That's a lot of projects 243. How did the mig work on the roof holes? I have a Hobart mig. Is Reflectix adhesive backed? I might get my York AC running but so far cannot find hoses.


1981 Cherokee Chief
'81 Cherokee Chief 81 WT Chief/MSD 6/Holley Sniper/ Rusty 4" Spring lift/ Bulltear oil adapter/K&P Engineering Oil Filter/ NP 208/ Serehill Light Harness/KC LED Headlights/ Evil Twin Fab Roof Rack and sliders/ Ross mirror mounts.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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Howdy, the 175A MIG worked fine but would have worked better with my older 135A machine, that and having full thickness sheetmetal plugs, mine were a tad thin.

The Reflectix is not adhesive backed and I am not sure what I will use to keep it up until I have a headliner.

I believe the hoses and fittings are available through Vintage Air in San Antonio.
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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I drove the Jeep M-Th this past week since the weather has been great, just before daylight on Thursday a guy pulled up next to me at a stoplight and told me I had a brake light out. This afternoon I took a look and what I found was the drivers side was really dim and the passenger side was really bright, both filaments in the 1157 were burning hot. I traced wires, checked voltages, grounds, cut out old Scotchlocks used for trailer wiring in the past and patched the wires. I checked the the wiring at the steering column and was getting 12 volts and finally pulled the taillight housings. I was getting 12 volts to the back so I ran direct grounds to the housings and eventually determined that the taillight circuit was backfeeding the brakelight circuit due to the 1157 socket losing ground to the housing on the passenger side.

Since the 1157 socket was steel, I spot welded a washer to the back side of socket as an attachment point for a direct ground and that is when the day took a turn for the worse. I partially melted the wires and even though they needed a patch I made it worse. When I cut and pulled the wires from the socket I realized the spring that holds the contacts to the bottom of the 1157 would not compress. I pulled the spring and found a weld booger on the inside of the socked and I could not file it down or get to it with any tool I had in the shop. I finally grabbed a large drill bit and was able to grind out the booger but that was just enough to keep the bulb from locking in place.

The socket appeared to be assembled by inserting it from the rear and rolling a flange on the inside to hold the socket in the housing. I never considered grabbing the tail of the socket and twisting it in the housing and that might have corrected the problem. But the design still sucks picking up ground through the pot metal housing to the bolts holding the housing to the body.

I was disgusted and went inside to eat dinner and cool off.

I was sitting there staring at the TV and asked myself, what would Foose do in this situation...create, improvise?

Surely not dick around with 1157 sockets!

I started thinking about the 3157 bulbs and how easy they are to change and they are wired for ground, but the sockets I found on Google images didn't look like they would work without some real hack-fab creativity and a lot of JB Weld. I decided I had nothing to lose and I went back to the shop and clamped the tail of the 1157 socket in the vise, grabbed a 1" bit and cut the flange holding the socket to the housing.

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After I removed the socket, I used a carbide burr in a die grinder and cleaned up the flashing, I did not enlarge the metal that projects from the front or bulb side of the housing.

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I grabbed the housing and headed off to O'Reilly's and this is when the day became incredibly better after screwing up royally.

I found a GM 3157 socket that was a *tight* press fit in the housing, I knew I could make it work so I grabbed a pack of bulbs and two sockets and headed home.

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The conversion worked great!

Here is a shot with the taillights on and since it's so hard to quantify brightness I turned the taillights on in my Chevy. The second shot is with the brakelights on in the Jeep.

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Hope this helps.
1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by hutcho »

That's awesome! Gonna have to remember that one!

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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

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243,

Nice shootin' Tex! Did you do both sides like that?
'81 Cherokee Chief 81 WT Chief/MSD 6/Holley Sniper/ Rusty 4" Spring lift/ Bulltear oil adapter/K&P Engineering Oil Filter/ NP 208/ Serehill Light Harness/KC LED Headlights/ Evil Twin Fab Roof Rack and sliders/ Ross mirror mounts.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

Yes, I modified both sides since the drivers side feeds the passenger side.
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bwwhaler
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by bwwhaler »

Great mod, is that the type of bulb that is a spade type, newer style? Looks great btw. :-bd
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

Thanks, yes, it has the spade type base and better yet wired for a dedicated ground.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by Greenmachine »

I don't know if you ever solved your rattle but mine was caused by the channel that the hinges bolted to being rusted out. Welded in a new panel and it took all the rattle out of the tailgate.
1975 Cherokee S factory 360,t-18, 4" hellcreek, slot mags 33" bfg's, performer intake, and Fitech fuel injection.
1980 J10 304, 5 spd, 4" Superlift, 4.88 Gears, 35" Maxxis Big Horns
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by az chip »

243,

I know you are real because you own a real meter!
'81 Cherokee Chief 81 WT Chief/MSD 6/Holley Sniper/ Rusty 4" Spring lift/ Bulltear oil adapter/K&P Engineering Oil Filter/ NP 208/ Serehill Light Harness/KC LED Headlights/ Evil Twin Fab Roof Rack and sliders/ Ross mirror mounts.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

Haahaha, I went 30+ years without a multimeter and can't believe I waited so long, my favorite feature is the audible continuity tester.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

I have some tough decisions, the TH400 may be toast and the QT needs a chain. I am short on cash, short on time and my Jeep really needs to be back on the road before October when the state inspection is due. My plan was to get the inspection in October and then get serious with the LS swap.

I could have the transmission rebuilt by a local shop and install the chain and seals in the QT, I am betting the trans work would run 750-1000 depending on what is broke.

For 1500 and a 350 mile road trip I can pick up a 5.3/4L60 and put a chain and seals in the NP241C I have in the garage.

I could probably sell the 360 for a few hundred, it runs very good and has low but even compression, 145 psi I believe.

I would need motor mounts, ECM re-flash, xfer case shifter, radiator and exhaust work.

One of my biggest peeves is having non-working crap around me, equipment, vehicles, tools etc...
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by az chip »

What is the 400 doing?
'81 Cherokee Chief 81 WT Chief/MSD 6/Holley Sniper/ Rusty 4" Spring lift/ Bulltear oil adapter/K&P Engineering Oil Filter/ NP 208/ Serehill Light Harness/KC LED Headlights/ Evil Twin Fab Roof Rack and sliders/ Ross mirror mounts.
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Re: Dave's 76 Cherokee

Post by 243 »

I lost 2nd, 3rd and reverse, fortunately, I found the problem and repaired it this weekend.

I dropped the pan and immediately noticed the detent spring roller was off-center from the detent lever.

I was shifting it from park to first and noticed it won't fall into the 1st gear detent, and I almost missed the valve that was recessed in the valve body, as I messed with it I pushed it forward and found the valve is not engaging the pin on the pawl.

I don't want to remove the valve body or the detent lever so I am going to gently bend it, hopefully to get the pin in the groove and then try to bend it back into alignment. If that does not work I guess I try to remove the shift rod and detent lever.

Fluid looks great, just a light coat of fine black powder in the pan.

Found a nice manual online,

http://www.buick-riviera.com/servicemanual/076.pdf

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1978 Cherokee NT, 5.3/4L60/NP241 in Progress
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