Dave's 76 Cherokee

[243]

I went to the closest junkyard today to look for a windshield washer pump and squirters, I was not in a hurry this trip and did okay for 40 bucks and two hours:

1. two pumps with extra grommets
2. hood mounted squirters with extra hoses
3. two weatherproof relay sets
4. a load of Caddy horns
5. two Fiamm horns
6. a 12v power block




The pump and grommets do not fit tight enough in the reservoir, I *think* a band of heat shrink tubing around the pump will add enough to the diameter to tighten it up. Neither pump is exactly the configuration of the stock pump but my check fit at the junkyard is promising. The squirters are a pain to remove and I snapped a half dozen before I removed two, however, the openings are fairly consistent between manufacturers so replacements will be a snap, this should be a cheap, easy and beneficial upgrade.

I was going to use some Caddy horns on the Nissan but grabbed the two Fiamm horns, Fiamm must be an OEM supplier because I saw them on a bunch of cars.

Two or three of the Caddy horns did not work, but I found a good article on repairing horns so I will give it a shot, the suckers are loud when they are working.

I picked up one of the 12v power blocks recently but I thought two would be nice, possibly even a third, one will be mounted near the battery to feed the pump and start relays and another will be mounted on the other side to feed horns and driving lights. One set of the relays came off a Caddy, they appear factory and marked Hella, the other set was off a Jap vehicle of some type, I was not paying attention.

I have not driven on the highway for an extended time period but I am thinking about buying a piece of carpet for the cargo area, it seemed pretty noisy and I probably have 80% of my hearing now.



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[66stepside]

Well done- all the way around!

[243]

Well done- all the way around!

Thanks!

[243]

Well, the junkyard run for the washer pump (Ford) and nozzles (Jap car) was a home run

The nozzles had nylon line with clips to secure it to sheet metal although most were standard rubber hose. I was disappointed at first because the nozzles sprayed the bottom of the windshield; I stuck a needle in a spare I had in my pocket and the orifice moved so I realized they are adjustable and all is good now.

[Tatsadasayago]

Now THAT is pretty slick!

Well done Sir.

[66stepside]

Well, the junkyard run for the washer pump (Ford) and nozzles (Jap car) was a home run

The nozzles had nylon line with clips to secure it to sheet metal although most were standard rubber hose. I was disappointed at first because the nozzles sprayed the bottom of the windshield; I stuck a needle in a spare I had in my pocket and the orifice moved so I realized they are adjustable and all is good now.

Wow. That's one of the best mods I've seen in a long time! Do you have a detailed write up on that?

[243]

I didn't take any other photos, the hood mounted nozzles appeared to be made by two or three manufacturers so I picked the most common. They are somewhat fragile/brittle and I broke two or three taking them out. A pair of needle nose pliers would have been much easier but all I had on hand was vice grips and a screwdriver.

I took an old receipt from my wallet and made a tracing of the opening that is a hole with three slots, one long slot to keep it from rotating and two slots for the locking tabs. I used a snap punch and drilled the holes and a needle file to make the slots, only took about 10 minutes per side.

I mounted them 10" from the hood centerline and 6.5" from the back edge of the hood, much closer and there is a hood brace that will cause issues due to the thickness of two layers of sheet metal.

[243]

First warm and sunny day in a month or more and perfect for attacking the water pump replacement. This turned out to be a bigger pain in the butt than I anticipated, searching for replacement bolts in the garage vs just going to the parts store for replacements and other odd issues. The water pump was in good shape with some minor bearing play, the impeller was fine and it felt good but I replaced it with the new part.

I ran it without the fan to warm it up quicker while topping off the coolant and noticed the noise I was hearing was more than likely the York compressor clutch bearing, if I engage the compressor it's quiet but noisy while disengaged.

I took care of a few other items including rotating the tires, removing the temporary fuel pressure gauge and installing the filter, tightened the oil pan, transmission pan, and valve covers, pulled the radiator and back flushed it, re-set base timing from 5 btdc to 0, changed the oil and filter and washed it.

I am getting 10-10.5 mpg consistently and that is better than 7.5 and the TBI 360 is smooth and sounds good.

It will sound a hellava lot better when I replace the blown out glasspacks with some Flowmaster 44's.

I have almost convinced myself to order a complete Skyjacker lift, it rides like chit and makes awful noises with only 2" of travel before the shocks bottom out.

I will definitely order a tailgate seal tonight, it will keep some stink out and quieten some rattles.

[243]

OReilly listed two compressor clutch bearings, National #88506 (light duty) and #5206DD (heavy duty), I bought #88506 and headed home.

The clutch removal was easy, I energized the clutch and removed the 5/16" bolt and then threaded a large coarse thread bolt in the clutch, either 1/2" or 7/16" and tightened it easily removing the clutch.

Removing the original 1978 bearing proved to be tough, I was not able to force it out with the 16T shop press and had nothing in the shop that would cut the bearing race so I used the torch to cut the inner race in half and knocked it out along with the bearings. I tried the shop press again and simply bent the clutch trying to remove the outer race so I torched it out.

With the clutch hub cleaned up it did not get any better, I pressed the bearing in place and once the clutch was seated in the hub the air gap was approximately 3/16" and the original gap was closer to 1/16",

I spent hours last night searching OBA, York and AC threads trying to find the right bearing. I stumbled on an OBA thread and NAPA #6206-2RSJ and found a cross to National #206FF that matches the .630" width of the original outer race. OReilly has one in stock and I will swing by at lunch and exchange it for the #88506.

The York identification plate is engraved with the following information:

M 606917
AMC 5461585
08-77

I read in one of the threads that the York model number would be on the compressor but I have not found it yet.


The compressor sounds fine while the clutch is engaged, if I have time this evening I am going to hook the gauges up to see if the system has any pressure, if yes, I will vacuum it down and charge it with some over-priced R12. My '79 needed two cans of R12 in c2001 and I drove it several years with no issues...maybe I will get lucky again.


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[243]

I picked up the bearing this morning, National Bearing #206-FF, 19.99 vs 31.99 for the other bearing and made it home about 5:00 this afternoon, changed shirts and had the bearing pressed in the hub in less than five minutes. Just to re-cap and now with photos, it is really easy to pull the clutch assembly by removing the 5/16" bolt and using a 5/8" coarse thread bolt to pull the assembly off the tapered shaft; don't lose the woodruff key when removing the assembly. I had to activate the clutch to hold the assembly while removing the bolt and while tightening the larger bolt. Of course, you will need to remove the belts beforehand but that is a two minute procedure.

I would suggest pulling the assembly and measuring the thickness of the inner race before going to the parts store to make sure you get the correct bearing, I found three different bearings from two different parts stores listed for my make and model FSJ and none fit. I suspect that my clutch assembly was changed at some point in time with a part for another vehicle and the cause for confusion.

Bolting it back together is quick and easy and now it's quiet and ready for the drive to work tomorrow.

If I had the correct bearing yesterday this would have been a 1 hour job start to finish.

















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[243]

I was leaving a jobsite Monday, probably rolling around 10 mph across a really choppy crushed concrete parking lot watching the tailgate in the rearview mirror and listening to the horrendous racket, it looked like a gallon can of paint in the shaker at Home Depot!

I decided I can't wait any longer and ordered a tailgate seal this morning from BJ's along with a headlight and wiper switch knob.

No real surprises this week but the Jeep is all over the road and I have not isolated the problem, there is about 2" of steering travel without moving the wheels.

I checked the balljoints and they are tight, the steering box was replaced with a rebuilt part, I can see no play in the TRE's when my dad and brother in law sawed the wheel back and forth, I need to look at the rag joint again or just replace it with the XJ lower shaft sitting on the bench. I was not happy that I received a 3-bolt steering box so I bought a rebuild kit and disassembled the original 4-bolt box, I need an inch pound dial type torque wrench to complete the rebuild.

I may have mentioned it earlier but the Rancho 5000 shocks the PO installed have about 2" of travel before they are fully compressed, I suspect they are trash and I am sure new springs and shocks would make a huge difference in handling, noise and overall enjoyment but I hate to spend 1300 bucks right now.

[66stepside]

Nice work posting those part numbers.

The 2" of steering travel is an issue for sure. I hope it's as simple as s rag joint.

I've thought about using an axle track bar set up, like you see on the newer Wagoneers, to stabilize the steering. We might be doing something like that on the 63 Thriftside project.

[243]

I did not see any play in the rag joint when I was watching it from below, I *think* the play is the cumulative result of several worn parts and possibly a chitty rebuild on the parts store steering box.

Today's issue is the master cylinder.

I have known it was not working exactly right since the day I brought it home, stops the Jeep reasonably well but the MC connection at the booster is damp and the small reservoir required bi-weekly fills.

Yesterday I popped the top and the large reservoir was spilling over, odd and the first time I have experienced this and I suspect it's know leaking internally. I called O'Reilly and I am headed out now to pull the core and go get the new MC.

On the list is a complete brake overhaul, hardware, cylinders, hoses, pads, shoes *everything*...but I can't keep up right now!

Short List:

Have to replace wheel bearings and seals again, apparently the seals I bought are incorrect for the application (too narrow), O'Reilly will replace the bearings and seals under warranty. There is a lot of axle end-play and the rear end still howls, I read the D44 end-play is commonly the result of not using a particular axle seal. I have forgotten the part number but I measured the seal thickness against the seals I was given at the part store and there was a significant difference in thickness.

Tailgate seal on the way (I am going deaf but the noise is irritating)

Front hub slinging grease.

Rebuild original steering box.

Wire in relay and headlight buzzer (left parking lights on all night last week)


I figure the MC is the most important project for the day but I darn sure enjoy driving it, even if it requires constant attention to work out the bugs. Yesterday on the way in to work, a guy in line behind me at Starbucks told me it was a "cool old truck"


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[Stuka]

Yeah, brakes are typically at the top of my list too

[243]

I have been fine shifting to 2nd and 1st about a 1/4 mile before I need to stop and then pumping like mad the last 100 feet...kidding of course

I replaced the MC and moved on to the passenger side wheel bearing, .016" end play when I started and .020" when I finished with the new bearing and seal, so that was an epic waste of time. The movement is inside the retainer plate so I will look into shimming between the seal and retaining plate.

I knocked the drivers side hub cover off, cleaned up the goo in the hub and cover and it did not fit tight when I hammered it back on, eventually I flattened it even with a dead blow hammer.

[243]

I managed to get quite a bit done today, more than I anticipated that is for sure.

The 12.00 XJ lower steering shaft turned out to be a pain to install but well worth the time, it tightened the steering up nicely, there is only about 1/4"-3/8" of movement in the steering wheel before moving the tires and it's a lot easier to keep it straight on the road.

I did find the upper u-joint to be worn with a good bit of play. I tried peening the axles, I tried squeezing the parts together with the shop press and then peening the axles but the joint is shot.




I replaced the broken and shaky mirrors with the cheapo chrome plated plastic parts from OReilly along with a new set of fisheye mirrors. The passenger side was cracked and shaky and drivers side was not much better. It's nice to be able to see when I change lanes and I think everyone in town is happy I replaced them too.




I ran about a 1/2 pint of Seafoam transmission cleaner for a few days and dumped the other 1/2 pint in this morning, picked up a new gasket and filter and serviced the transmission and replaced the modulator vacuum hose while I was on my back drinking ATF fluid. The pan was pretty clean with only a few small metal flakes and very little sludge, shifts good and a bit firmer now.

The kit came with a rubber gasket and I noticed the holes were smaller than the bolts, I don't know if the manufacture designed it to be this way or if it was blind luck, but the gasket held all the bolts in place and made it a snap to reinstall the pan.

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[243]

The tailgate seal in now installed, no issues for the most part and I did not use weatherstrip adhesive, I will most likely use adhesive after paint and body work followed by a new seal. I started by adjusting the tailgate, at least attempting to adjust the strike plates but no amount of adjustment will prevent the tailgate from moving in an out about 1/2" on the passenger side, the drivers side is 1/4" or less. I suspect the tailgate mounted strikers are just worn out and I bet they are no longer available.




I stuck two layers of 3/8" weatherstrip on the body to see what thickness would close the gap and it's huge, about 3/4" or a little larger. It seals but squeezes out a bit and it's ugly, that gray color oozing out of the gap when the tailgate is closed so I will need to look for a different material and definitely black.




I also noticed the seam sealer is long gone in several locations, I will knock out the remainder and spray it with Ospho to kill the rust and re-seal it before I install the weatherstrip. Ya'll think that keeps the quarter panels good and wet???






The tailgate shuts *sorta snug*, much, much better than before and that will help with the noise and rattles for sure. When I dropped the tailgate the side panel was off so I checked to see if anything was in the quarter panel, apparently the previous owner used it as a tool box and I guarantee the mis-match of cheap tools was the source of some noise

Actually, the hammer is a name brand but I don't recall after walking from the shop to the house, but I don't own a ball peen so that was a good score




After sitting on my butt or laying on my back for 2 1/2 days, I am going to take a ride and get a Cherry Coke from Sonic and seam sealer for Tailgate Seal Part II.

Enjoy your weekend guys!


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[SJTD]

Tailgate should rest against the seal on the pinch weld, the hinges adjusted to get full contact top to bottom and the strikes adjusted to hold it there. The strikes don't set the depth.

You saying the tailgate goes in too deep if you don't hold it out with the strikes?

[243]

The tailgate shell is adjusted flush with the body, the lower passenger side could go in about 1/8".

As far as I can see, the tailgate is closing against the seal top to bottom, without the seal in place, I could push the top of the tailgate in much further.

[Tatsadasayago]

I had a similar problem as yours and fixed that by adding another pair of the lower black rubber bump-stops higher up. This maintained a good seal squish without in and out movement of the gate.