While I’m struggling to get the Deuce’s transmission and transfer case rebuilt (don’t worry, that story is next), I’ve been driving Homer.

But not all is well.

One of the most annoying noises is that there is a loose bolt that holds the tub to the frame. Not too important, right? It only rattled when you hit a bump.

The top of the bolt was pulled down into the floor and the bottom threads are rusted to the nut. And the nut is up inside a bracket welded to the frame.

I can’t get to it with the grinder and a dremel seems just as sketchy. I remember that I had brought a nut splitter back from my dad’s pile of goodies, but it’s made for bigger sizes. I try it anyway. Immediately, it twists and while it starts to make a nice line in the nut, it does it at an angle, which won’t work. I give up and drive it like that for a couple of weeks.

While working on the Deuce’s transmission, I run across the small nut splitter I completely did not remember. Oh well! It works as it should and I toss the old hardware away.

Throw on some new hardware with a nice fender washer on top and the tub is now secure to the frame. As intended.

Next up, is to figure what is going on with the motor. It’s been hard to start, backfired under a heavy load and when coasting down a hill, and just generally seems low on power. First check, timing.

OK, that might be the issue. 12 degrees out. Instead of 5BTC, it was 7ATC. Oops. Grab the top of the distro, and it turns relatively effortlessly. Sigh.

Turn off the engine and loosen the hold down bolt. It didn’t seem too loose, but the bolt head is hard to reach with the fuel filter/line in the way. Honestly, it’s a struggle.

Firing up the engine and set the idle speed on the carb as it’s a bit low. It’s nice to have a working tach! Adjust the timing to 5BTC and Homer is purring like a happy cat. Turn off the engine and tighten the distributor hold down bolt. It sucks. Now the engine is nice and warm, and there still is no room to get a good purchase with the wrench. I succeed by flipping the 9/16″ wrench over, using the 12 point box as well as the open end, and even grabbing a 12 point 14mm box wrench that is luckily a half turn off. Finally, I feel good torque.

As I’m about to start it back to double check the timing, a thought occurs to me. I grab the top of the distributor… And it turns effortlessly.

Oh, come on! (I might have thrown in a few more colorful words.)

Well, that was my original problem. Constantly variable timing. Unfortunately random. And unfortunately, it’s time to head to work. I’ll pull the distro completely tomorrow. Arg.

On my next day off, I decide to tackle Homer’s timing. Set the engine with cylinder #1 at TDC. I check the distributor to see where the plug wires are located. Well, that doesn’t match the manual. The #1 wire is at the #5 location. Humph. As I pull the cap, the rotor is indeed pointed to the #1 wire, but it is where #5 should be, basically rotated 120 degrees.

Ooooaky. After a lot of staring and mental calculations, I decide that the previous owner did that to rotate the vacuum advance away from pointing forward. When I rotate it to where it should be, the vacuum advance is close to the fan belt, but it does clear. And because they trimmed the vacuum hose, it’s a bit short.

I finally say screw it and decide to put it back to stock. Since the distributor cap has plug numbers molded in, I might as well make them correct. I have to cut a new vacuum hose but whatever.

It took a while to get the timing close. Using a test light hooked up to the negative coil wire, I turned it until it just came on. But it would shut off when I took my hand off the cap. Finally got it close enough that I could dial it in with the timing light while my wife cranked the motor over.

When timed, Homer fired right up. Nice! Wait for it to warm up and then do one final adjustment to the timing and tighten the distributor down. With the proper wrench, it is actually easy. And stays in place this time!

I notice a bit out oil vapor puffing out of the breather. Um, that would explain the oil usage. Put the air filter and vacuum lines back together and go for a spin.

Homer starts out well, but at higher speeds, I get a few misfires. In top gear (third with overdrive), there is more than I’m comfortable with. So, it isn’t the timing.

Back home, I reset the fuel mixture screws and start to dial them in again. Crank them in until idle speed drops, then back the other way until is drops again, then back to high speed. Go for a drive. Still stumbles at high speed. Purposely crank the carb to the rich side and I still get the issue. I pull the air filter and it gets a little better, or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. I notice that I’ve got more and more oil vapor fuming out back into the carb when I pull the filter.

Well great. Time to do a bit more research. Could I have an issue with small jets? Bad vacuum? Blowby? Dwell time on the distributor? Man, I got no clue. To the internet!

The Homer Detour

Seeing as the weather was good and I could do work on the Deuce inside when the weather turned, I shifted my focus to Homer. What’s wrong with Homer? Oh…tons! We don’t have time to go into all of it, but I decided to focus on 2 areas. The shifters are hitting the sheet metal and I wanted to install a tachometer I pulled off Humpty.

At least that was the plan.

Grabbed the paint pen and marked out what metal needed clearanced. It was fairly straightforward. The overdrive shifter was hitting when it was in normal gear. It just barely touched, but it caused a lot of racket. I also need to put a spring washer on the overdrive shifter as it loves to bounce around when in overdrive. It doesn’t help that the shift knob that came with the shifter kit was huge and heavy.

The transfer case’s twin sticks still hit the body even though the previous owner smashed it with a hammer. Why didn’t that cure the problem? I also ripped off the tattered remains of the twin shift boot that I had bought shortly after getting Homer road worthy. It lasted 2 whole drives before ripping. It sounds like mine lasted pretty long.

I grabbed the dremel and cut the metal. Pretty anti-climatic, but I’ll take it. I will need to figure out some sort of shifter boot, but one thing at a time. Now I can shift without hitting metal and drive without the shifters banging around. It won’t be a silent drive, just less noisy.

Wiring up the tach should be easy, right? Four wires: +12v, light, ground and signal wire. Mounting the tach to the steering column was easy. It basically only fit in one location, so… there it is. The signal wire slipped through the firewall with all the other engine wires and easily made it to the coil. Looking at the power and light wires, I start to remember that the dash wiring isn’t ideal.

When I had wired the heater fan, I had followed power wire from the battery to the light switch and pulled power from there. Where all the other power was pulled from. There were a lot of wires on the back of the light switch. And they were always on. I determined to fix it. Or at least start.

I had put in a small fuse panel in during the heater install, using one of the ten slots. Now, I decided to look at other sources of power and pulled out the ignition switch. After figuring out which terminals were powered on with the key, I pulled power from there to the fuse panel. Then it was a just a matter of…oh wait. Might as well finish installing the voltmeter that I had pulled from a parts jeep a while back. Oh, and it has a light. Might as well hook that up. But the oil pressure gage doesn’t have a light. But this other gage from Humpty does. Let’s swap that over. It almost fits in the dash. Just a little rework of the hole and it fits.

And that is how I spent my entire day. Ain’t ADD fun?

Oh, and while I was installing the signal wire to the coil, I noticed that the power wire to the coil had been chewed on by something. A nice 6” long section of almost bare power wire sitting on top of the intake manifold. Made a new wire and actually put some wire loom to prevent more damage.

While the dash and floorboards were a mess for a while, I got it all back together. The only issue was that one of bulbs I stole off Humpty was blown. Easy fix.

Oh, and the voltmeter is offset by 4v. Details.

Covid 19 had descended on the economy, meaning no one was traveling. Since the wife and I run a store that is dependant on people traveling, work slowed to a trickle. We decided to shut the store down as standing around in a mask a day for 2 or 3 customers just wasn’t worth it. We ended up being closed for 5 weeks.

Now, you’d think that with 5 weeks off work that I would have had plenty of time to work with my Jeeps. As it turned out, not so much. We had quite a few online orders. We spent several days up at our rustic cabin, doing lots of much needed repairs. We spent 3 days in BLM wilderness avoiding humans in general. And just as it heated up to the 90s, we graveled our back yard which had been only fine sand until now. Just 40 yards of gravel. I lost 10 pounds.

I was able to sneak a few projects in on Homer. If you recall, my last trip in Homer ended with both mufflers held up with a ratchet strap as the headers broke at the collectors.

I had a new set of Headman headers lying around, but they waited for me to have time. I had been trying to find a used sand blast cabinet for cheap, but finally just gave up and threw them on. Luckily, the local muffler shop was still open for business.

We explored a few options, but since I wanted to have the exhaust exit out the back, the only muffler they had short enough was a Flowmaster Super 10. It was super short and had very little baffling. Whatever. After they got the parts in, they called the next day for pickup. When I tried to pay, the guy handed me the key back and asked me to listen to it first.

I fire up Homer and it is a nice low gurgle. Much better than just the open headers I had driven their with. I rev the engine and while not quiet, it sounds nice with a low growl. Cool. The guy mentions that they can always put a resonator in but I thought it sounded good the way it was.

Leaving, I pull out and ease on the throttle. It’s a little louder with a load on it, but not bad. Hit 2nd gear and jump on it.

Holy Angry Gorilla! This thing is now officially rowdy. In 2nd gear, off throttle, it sounds angry. I like it, but doubt my wife will. And 3rd gear, full throttle about 60mph there is quite the noticeable BLAT on the passenger side.

Figuring that the nearly open muffler might not be the best long term solution, especially for my hearing, I buy some motorcycle muffler packing: stainless steel wool and fiberglass matting. I also decide it is time to clean off the new headers and properly paint them. I also throw on some old header wrap I had left over from an old project.

My first attempt at muffler packing lasted great… At idle. Above 2,000 rpm, it just all blew out in one wad. The second attempt lasted a few days before escaping out the tailpipe. Attempt number 3 incorporated a wire mess cage inserted into the muffler inlet to prevent everything else from blowing out the back. Now, the exhaust isn’t the loudest part of the ride!

It lasted about 4 rides before opening back up. Whatever. Hearing is overrated.

Meanwhile, I kept looking over at CB and seeing a lot of cool parts. Knowing it would be a while before CB had a working engine, I figured Homer could use the parts.

First were the tires and wheels. A nice matched set of tires with plenty of tread and some good looking matching aluminum wheels with a nice offset sure looked good on Homer. But they didn’t ride for shit. Uneven wear on the outer tread blocks made for a rough ride on smooth pavement. Shit biscuits.

Then I looked over at Humpty and while he had different tires front and rear, they all looked round. And these wheels had even more offset, so they stuck out noticeably. At least they rolled smoothly.

Next, the disassembled front bumper and winch were on the donation list. Besides having to flip the hi-lift jack mount bolt around (who put the threads sticking out?), it bolted and wired up easily.

I had also gotten a nice used soft top out of the deal with 2 frames. I took most of the mounting rails off HD and then the main hoop off CB and installed it on Homer. It didn’t seem to fit perfect as the windshield seemed to lean too far back. The soft doors didn’t fit well, but modifying the latched eventually worked. And the velcro was tired, so I had to use binder clips to encourage it to stay together. Office supplies to the rescue. While not waterproof, it would keep the heat in on cold nights.

And then it got hot and dry. So I took it back off in lieu of a bikini top. At least I’ll be ready for fall!

With the wider tires up front, Homer’s old front wheel bearings were becoming an issue I couldn’t ignore. I think I spent more time cleaning grease off the old hub than anything. With both sides with new inner and outer bearings, I still noticed a bit of slop in the wheel, no matter how I adjusted the bearings. I took the hub off again and noticed that the spindle was moving in relation to the axle. The locking tabs were not properly installed and 4 of the 6 bolts were visibly loose. Only 1 had any torque.

Clean it up, torque up the bolts, properly bend the locking tabs and magically no more movement. Reinstall the hubs and this time they feel good. The other side isn’t as bad, but still not classified as good.

While I am messing with the sloppy steering, I replace all the steering ball joints. Why not? They are all junk. They are greased, but stiff and clunky. Despite all that work, Homer still wanders around the road. I blame the wider tires and wheel offset. The only part left to rebuild is the steering box. I’ll get to that later.

As more and more placed faced lockdowns and Utah stayed open, our shop got more and more busy. So busy that I hardly did any Jeep work the entire some and fall. But with Homer driving better, I at least had a fun commuter vehicle.

My neighbors must love when I come home later after work.

Soon after Homer’s overdrive was installed (and let’s not forget the functional heater!), I noticed there was a little extra wooble to the front end. Now understand, there is a whole lot of shaking going on during a normal drive. So when I say there was additional shaking, I mean I am shocked the rearview mirror hasn’t flown off yet.

I found that there is a bit extra play on the right front wheel, maybe a bit of growling, when raised off the ground. I had been meaning to check the front bearings at some point. I guess the time is now.

I pull both wheels off and… Well shit. The right front spacer has one lug nut backed most of the way off. And the rest are not to torque. Luckily, I seem to have caught it early as there is no thread damage. After taking off the drum and locking hubs, it is obvious that I need new bearings on the right front. The left ones aren’t too bad, but they are not completely smooth.

Since I want to go for a ride today, I put it all back together with some more grease and they don’t feel near as bad as before. Maybe they were just too loose? Naw, the right front is definitely on the way out, but it is taking its time. I drive Homer down the hill to get the bearings and seals ordered.

It’s too nice of a day, so I load up Homer with my camera, some food, tools, and extra gas and head up towards higher altitude to chase some fall color.

With the tires aired down a little, Homer managed the high mountain gravel road fairly easily. Although it is becoming obvious that I need to rebuild the steering. It is hard to enjoy the ride when you have no idea which way you’ll go after a bump. Also, it is quite dusty, but that’s to be expected driving a Jeep down a dirt road.

Together we made it over 10,000 feet elevation and over 200 miles of driving that day. The heater was maxed and I looked like I was robbing a bank in the middle of winter, but we both survived. Even the right front bearing was no worse for the wear.

The only issue to occur was that I had trouble getting into 1st gear while pulling back into the garage. I definitely have to figure that out.

The next morning, I look over Homer to see what damage that 200 miles made. Check all the fluids. Engine always seems to be a quart low and is so again. Just doing my part to control those diseased mosquitos. The rear diff is a little low and seems to be mainly loosing it out the rear fill plug. Front diff is full. Trans is a bit low, which might explain some of the shifting issues. Transfer case is good, but it is probably being feed from the transmission as that is not an oil tight joint.

Brake fluid level is fine, which is odd because I notice some fluid coming out of the left rear drum cylinder. Yeah, I just noticed that this morning. Good thing I had ordered 2 new wheel brake cylinders the night before. I had known the right rear was pretty much seized up and decided to change both.

Knowing that I need to replace the right front wheel bearings, I jack the front up and check the bearings. Both are noticeably looser than yesterday when I started our little journey. Hmph. Maybe I need to torque them better, or revise how I seat the bearings. Seeing as I am using an oversized giant wheel nut socket, I thought I had got it close enough. Guess not.

I also tighten the clutch cable so that the clutch will disengage when the pedal is somewhere above the floorboard.  Between the cable adjustment and the fluid in the transmission, Homer is back to shifting well again.

The next two days I drive him to work and back. The tightened wheel bearing reduce 50% of the front end vibration. But the steering now has my attention. There is just way too much slop, especially over bumps.

To the internet! I ordered new tierod ends, all 4, and rebuild kits for the steering box and bellcrank. Since the original steering wheel is brittle and cracking more each use, I ordered a new wheel and horn kit, something I’ve been without for a while. OK, it had a horn button on the dash that some previous owner thought was a good idea, but it had since exploded out the backside of the dash. I also tacked on another brake pressure sensor as the front one was replaced with a plug a long time before I owned it.

Waiting on parts is the worst, but I also wait for some warmer days as I don’t like working in the cold. Call me spoiled. It might have been a month or two.

When it was warm enough, I went out and fired Homer up. I had to manually prime the fuel pump and carb, but he grumbled to life.

I had bought an inline check valve to prevent the fuel from draining back into the tank and installed that, but by the time Homer warmed up, I noticed that there was fuel dripping down. I verified that I hadn’t left anything loose and that the fuel was coming out of the weep holes of the mechanical fuel pump, indicating a ripped diaphragm. Guess a few months of sitting dry isn’t good for it. Come to think of it, I have no idea how old it was. Since those are not serviceable, I ordered a new one. More waiting. But while it was down, I tackled some of the steering.

The bellcrank was easy enough to rebuild. There was so much slop in that one component to account for a good portion of the steering vagueness. The only issue was that the ball for the connection to the drag link had obviously been run dry for a while and needed a couple of ridges filed down. And it needed a good soaking in the parts washer.

Speaking of the drag link. Either I had one from some other vehicle or aftermarket repair kits suck!

The original parts are up top on the left, and on the bottom on the right. The spring seat base is taller, the spring is taller (yet weaker), the plug is longer yet the groove is deeper. So tell me, how is the cotter pin supposed to fit? I used the new spring to see if the softer rate would soften the steering impacts, but the original seat and plug. Not shown are the ball seats which I wasn’t 100% sold on, but weren’t obviously junk. I was reminded of what some wise old jeep mechanic had said: “never throw out the original parts”.

Once I finally got all that sorted and installed, I ran into the fact that the new gasket holder, aka the potato chip, wasn’t shaped to grip the drag link. Yes, they were flexible enough to shape, but there was no holding power. So, I disconnected the drag link and replaced the new parts with the originals. Now it all looks and works right.

I also replace the tie rod at that bellcrank. I consider changing the other three, but decide the steering wheel should take priority. Why not?

First thing, I remove the old, cracked steering wheel which goes smoothly. Mainly because I had replaced the steering shaft tube last year. Speaking of that tube, it was about 1/4″ too long and prevented the steering wheel nut from being fully torqued. When tightened, the steering wheel would hit the tube and drag everytime you turned the wheel. It was not ideal. So I ran it with the nut a little lose and just gave it a twist of my fingers every 30 minutes or so of driving. Still not ideal. It’s a good thing the center of the wheel was too rotten to hold the horn button cover, so I had easy access to the nut.

Yank the new tube off, muttering something about crappy aftermarket parts, cut 1/4″ off the bottom and reinstall. The new wheel bottoms out internally, as it should, and torques up nicely. Reworking new parts is not my favorite activity.

Now it is time to install the horn wiring. Simple enough, right? Straight down the steering shaft and out the bottom of the steering gearbox. I notice there is no light making its way through the tube. Oops. I find one of those super long drill bits used for running wire behind drywall. It’s about 5′ long and is bearly long enough. From the top, it won’t find its way through. From the bottom, I twist and turn it as it slowly inches into a bunch of road grime that is packed in the bottom of the tube.

Eventually, I get it to pop out the top. Tape a wire to it and, of course, the tape falls off during the narrow bottom section. What works in the end (I won’t bore you with details and swear words of other attempts) is a roll of 10 gage wire, fed up from the bottom and taping the horn wire to that. At least it worked the third time.

As I’m routing the new wiring, I decide to put the new brake pressure sensor in where some dork put a plug in. That goes easy enough and it is just a matter of modifying a few electrical terminals to fit the posts on the sensor.

I finish up the wiring of the sensor and the horn. By now, the sun is low, the winds are picking up and the temperature is dropping. I fired Homer up while I put all my tools away. I test the brakes and DING! I have brake lights again. No more hand signals. Honk! That works too.

Close the garage door and hop up for a quick drive. The air has now decided it can’t stand to be around and it is headed south in a hurry. I expected a bit of the sand on the floorboards to blow around, but now it is coming from the mesa just north of the house. By the time I get back, I have sand in both ears, etc. A lot of sand.

But Homer is running, turning and stopping well. I’ll call it a good day.

As mentioned previously, I had scored a “1971 stock 3 speed, transfer case and overdrive” assembly from a barn 6 months ago for Homer. It had not gone as planned as I didn’t realize that there were more than one 3 speed transmissions available for my year CJ. The overdrive would not mount to my CJ drivetrain. And the newly acquired drivetrain needed a special bellhousing to mount to my engine. Plus, it was the weaker option.

So not the most useful purchase. That’s what I get for not researching beforehand. I can probably get more out of it than I paid if I just cleaned the decades of dirt and grease off of it.

Seemingly unrelated, my wife found a piece of equipment for work that she always wanted, but it was in Denver, over a day of driving away. Well, since I was heading there anyway, time to hit up Craigslist for any Jeep goodies. I quickly eye a rare 10 spline overdrive. Score! This is what will fit Homer. Call the guy up and schedule a meet.  A quick 3 day round trip to Denver and back to the garage with something that should work. Oh, and the equipment my wife wanted.

I compare the two overdrive units and swap a few minor pieces to make a better one and fit it up. It actually takes less than an hour and it is bolted on. Oh yeah, this is going quick. Then the hour wait for the permatex to set up and torque it up. Start filling with gear oil. Finish the one open bottle, finish the second open bottle…crap. No third bottle. Well, that will have to wait. But at least I can put on the shifter.

Or not.

The overdrive end hooks up easy enough with a pin, but the bracket to the transmission doesn’t look right. I compare it to the other one I got off the 6 spline overdrive and the wrong transmission. They are indentical. So, now I have two overdrive shifters that do not fit my specific vehicle. But they do fit the useless transmission on my floor. Great.

I attempt to make a bracket out of a piece of angle iron I have around. It fits to the trans great, but the shifter rod hits both the transfer case shifting tower and/or the transmission case. Befuddled, I search the internet and find that I need a unique shifter and not just different transmission bracket. I decide to punt and just throw some money at problem. Seeing as it is a unique piece and I don’t want to butcher the original, stock-for-some-other-jeep shifter assembly, I consider it a deal.

I decide to install a small heater while waiting for the shifter to show up. What better accessory is there to install in August in the desert? The highs are at least below 110F.

I decide on the smaller of the heaters available through Summit Racing. The install was simple enough. Found a spot under the center of the dash, drilled four holes to mount. Another two big holes on the right center of the firewall for the bulkhead fittings. Plumb it to the heater hoses that were previously looped from water pump to intake manifold. Well, actually I replace all the old hoses as they used one size too big and just clamped it down. Install the switch in a previous hole in the dash and attach to positive battery voltage. Boom. Done.

Well, on the battery connection, I decide to throw a small bladed fuse holder on the side of wooden glove box, and special homemade design by some previous owner. Eventually, I will move more electrical connections through the fuse block as they are all currently using inline fuses. I will do that when I decide to replace the ancient wiring.

Now to fire it up to see if it works or if a hose will let loose and coat me with heated coolant. I’m getting excited. I had been used to needing to reprime the carb by dumping some gas down it and firing it up. After it sits for a couple of weeks the carb bowl is dry. This time it doesn’t work the first time. Or the fifth. I finally disconnect the fuel line at the filter, which is installed between the pump and the carb. I get a little fuel to the filter and try again. Filter is dry again. Huh.

Welp, time to pack it in for the night.

A couple weeks pass as I wait for the new shifter to show up and I take a trip out of town. When I get back, I struggle with the shipping company’s game of hide-the-package, but eventually I get my hands on the goods.

I throw the new linkage on. It’s aftermarket, so of course it doesn’t fit. Sigh. The main linkage was a fairly flat piece of flat stock. A quick use of the vice and all my pent up anger towards a certain shipping company, and the linkage no longer hits the transmission or the transfer case shifter. In fact, it nicely zags from back to front.

However, the shifter rod itself hits the bell housing bolt when you pull it back. I trim the corner off the inside of the bottom of the shifter lever and still have to use a couple washers to shim it out for clearance. After that fix, I can’t quite shift out of overdrive as the shift knob smacks the dash. And I can’t quite shift into overdrive as it hits the transfercase shifter.

This is not ideal.

An hour spent with the vice, a torch, and a few of four letter words (the torch makes everything hot) is rewarding. I now have a shifter that doesn’t hit the dash, the transmission shifter or the transfercase shifter. Of course, I still can’t install the floor pans until I cut a new slot but that is trivial. A little 4″ cutoff wheel and a few sparks later and done. I button it all back up.

Back to the starting issue. Give it a crank and it still isn’t sucking fuel into the filter. I drop a line straight from the pump into a tank of gas, just in case it can’t pull it all the way from the tank. Still nothing. Eventually, I prime both the mechanical pump and the carb at the same time and he fires right up. Purrs like a cat. He just doesn’t like sitting for long periods of time, I guess. I place an order for a check valve to put in the gas line.

Time for a test drive.

First off, Homer is lumping around on tires that sat in one place for too long at a low pressure. Next, I hear a lot of banging going on, but all of it sounds exterior to any drivetrain components. I should mention that these noises are not totally abnormal, just a little louder than usual. I get up into 2nd gear and shift the overdrive. The revs jump higher as I instantly realize that I had the shift pattern backwards. Hey, it was a 50/50 chance. I just assumed pulling back on the lever would put it into overdrive. Nope.

No biggie, I push the lever back up and the engine revs again. This time it is due to being in some sort of neutral. Moving the transmission and overdrive levers do nothing to provide any gears. Did I remember the two cotter pins holding the overdrive shift linkage in? Between that and the banging, I decide to pull over at the next wide spot in the shoulder. I swear I put the cotter pins in.

I look down and notice that the left transfer case shifter isn’t where it should be. Somehow, I managed to shift both the overdrive and the left transfer case shifters forward in one motion. Baffled, I put the transfer case back into gear and it moves again.

I pull over in a better spot to check it all out. Everything seems to be holding and no wheels are coming loose. I do notice that when I installed the main floor panel over the transmission, I must have had it shifted to the left as it just barely touches the overdrive shift lever. However, when running, this causes a lot of noise.

I drive down for gas and lunch and back to the house. The engine very much appreciates the overdrive. It shifts smoothly into and out of overdrive. The overdrive shift knob does tend to lightly tap the main shifter when in 2nd gear overdrive. Bah! I can live with that until I have a chance to bend the shifter a bit more.

I cut a tiny bit of the floor pan off to clearance the shifter. I love Jeeps. Did I take the floor pan out? No. Did I just drag over the airline and use a 4″ cutoff wheel to trim the floor pan? Yes. Perfect.

With that, the overdrive install is complete. Sure, I think the main linkage is hitting the transmission case while bouncing down the road. And the shifter could use a tweak, but I’ll fix those issues later.

The heater is close to working. I need to purge the air filter from the heater in the dash, but it’s getting close to my start time at work. I hope it makes the commute!

Well, it made it to work. And onto a few adventures. Including a windshield down drive through Zion National Park. Epic.

With colder temps preventing daily commuting in either Jeep, my boredom leads me to contemplate the suspension. Both CJs ride like a 2×4. I find a company close by that carries the kits I’m contemplating.

This is where I decide to philosophically separate the two Jeeps. Homer will have a small 2.5 inch lift and shocks that work offroad, but nothing extreme. The Deuce will get a 4 inch lift to be more of a rock crawler.

Homer gets the BDS springs with Fox 2.0 Shocks. The shackles I end up with have about half an inch of lift, but I didn’t see any no lift shackles that I liked. Plus with the 33 inch tires, the extra half inch would be appreciated. 

The Deuce got the Skyjacker kit. While not my favorite, it seems one of the few kits that gave 4 inches. Then I got some beefy M.O.R.E. shackles that gave another inch of lift. It all goes with the theme that the Deuce is not and will not be subtle. 

The parts show up very quick, so I tear apart Homer’s suspension and it goes much better than I expected. Several of the bolts look polished from use and wear, but nothing too worn. I can even take the U-bolt nuts off with the impact.

Installing Homer’s new springs and shocks go just as easy. Everything bolts right up with minimal prying. Almost no swearing.

I drop Homer to the ground, torque it all up and take him for a spin. It’s no Cadillac, but man… What a difference. 

I spent two days on the project, one for each end. Just taking my time and making sure everything was right. It was always too easy. 

The Deuce made up for that.

First issue I ran into was the nuts on the shocks. The top nuts on both front shocks were…. wrong. On one side, it was a lug nut. No seriously… a tapered lug nut. At least it was the correct thread pitch. 

Unlike the other side. The PO had forced a standard thread nut on the fine threaded stud. I discovered this when attempting to remove the nut. About halfway off, it just stopped unthreading and spun in place. Luckily, prying behind the shock while lossening the nut forced it off. I was equally luckily that the nut was relatively soft as the threaded stud is welded onto the frame. Running a die down the threads cleaned the remainder of the nut off.

Every U-bolt end had been smashed at one point or another. There was no way the nuts were going to spin, much less off. So, time for the cutoff wheel. So satisfying to utterly butcher something apart. Something metal, I mean. I swear I’m not a sociopath.

After removing the front springs, I assess the old bolts. Amazing. They are heavily worn and several are grooved on both ends. So, good time to replace them. The front goes back together without too much drama. 

Once on the ground I torque the front and grease everything. This is when I realize that my new heavy duty shackles have pressed in, not threaded, grease fittings. I put in a heavy dose of grease…and the fitting stays in the grease gun when I pull it away from the shackle. WTF? Once I realized that there were no threads (while trying to find the correct tap), I just hammered it back on. Like the manufacturer did. My inner engineer screamed the entire time. I’m sure I’ll deal with this issue later, but buts fine now. Just fine.

But the front is down and done and definitely looks like it sits nice and high. Sweet. Onto the rear.

Cue the shit storm.

At least the shocks came off relatively easy and just needed some thread cleanup. I cut the U-bolts off, just like the fronts. Or at least started to. I stopped because it appeared I was cutting into the axle tube… On both sides of the U-bolts. Since I was keeping the deepest part of the cutoff wheel centered in the bolt, I assumed it was just homemade undercoating: a thick layer of grease and dirt. And to a small extent, it was. Once all the dirt was scrapped off, it became painfully obvious that the U-bolt was sunk INTO the axle tube.

OK. What. The. Fuck? 

I decide I can’t stop now but how to remove the bolts without cutting the axle tube. More out of frustration than anything, I smack the bottom (bent) end of the U-bolts with a BFG…. And they actually pop up. Tap them over to the side a bit so they won’t fall back into the groove and finish the cut.

Just baffled, I go to the other side and same thing. There are four DEEP grooves in the top of the axle tubes. Arg. The actual words I spoke typically had a fourth letter. 

Well, the axle needs to come out now. Off come the brake hose, brake backing plate with shoes and all, and then yank out the axles. All relatively straight forward. 

I remove the rear shackles and lay them on the floor. That when I realize how badly bent they are. The side are no longer flat from top to bottom. One side is notably worst, but I didn’t keep track of which side. Moving on. 

As I was loosening the forward leaf spring mounts, I noticed a bit of slop and the bolts themselves had deep, heavy notches in them. No wonder it felt like the back end randomly changed directions. Upon further inspection, the forward mounting holes are no longer round either. So, the bolts exacted some payback for their loss of metal. Great. The holes are bigger on the right half of the mounts, but the left side isn’t the original size either. 

Obviously, the CJ has too much motor. The rear axle was twisting the leaf springs to the right and the axle housing was rocking axlially inside the U-bolts. I should feel lucky the rear didn’t go on its separate way yet. 

With the axle out, I measure the worst groove to be more than halfway through the tube. The other three aren’t that far behind.

I start looking for a Dana 44 rear end housing. 

Did you know that in 1976 AMC decided to use its own rear end in the CJ5? The AMC 20 is known as the axle that everyone yanks out and replaces with a Dana 44 from earlier year CJs. Do you know how hard that makes finding one of the narrow track Dana 44 rear axles?

Let’s just say that there aren’t a lot available, and those that are I would not categorize as inexpensive. Several people mention that it could be welded up. I was worried about putting a lot of heat on just one side of the tube causing it to bend. However, after three weeks of searching for a housing, I fold and call around for a welder. I find a company that repairs big trucks and trailers, and they are comfortable with the job. I take it down and drop it off.

Now, as luck would have it, I found a housing a few days later. It is a few hours away, but I need to head that way for work anyway. Sweet. I check some of the other classifieds and find a transmission, transfer case and overdrive combo from a 1971. Man, what a deal. And work will pay for the trip. Score!

Two day later and I’m picking it up. It’s got an open diff with 3.73 gears. Actually, it has “the stock gears” in it. The old guy didn’t remember which ones, but I figure I’ll swap my detroit locker over with the correct gears anyway. Grab the transmission and t-case assembly that looks like it was dug out of a barn, but it turns over and shifts smoothly. Honestly, at the price I paid, it could have been empty cases and still worth it. Head back home with my new booty. 

Tearing into the “new” axle confirms it is a 3.73 and there is just a tiny bit of surface rust that wipes off easily. Overall, pretty decent shape. I have to wait another week for my old axle to get welded due to some silly family holiday. 

In the meantime, I tear into the transfer case and unbolt the overdrive. So excited… Until I pull it off the back. There are a lot of different configurations of overdrives, but I thought if it fit a 1971, it would be what I needed. Nope. Turns out I bought a T90 trans instead of the T14 that is in my 1971. What that means is that the output spline for the overdrive to mount to is a 6 spline instead of the 10 spline I need. Great. At least it still works great. Maybe someone will trade it for me. So, that project is stalled. 

When I get my old axle back, it doesn’t look too bad, but it just doesn’t give me confidence to wheel it hard. So, time to transplant the diff. 

While looking over both diffs, it looks like the new axle has a bearing cap on backwards, judging by the stamps. It’s on the correct side, but obviously turned around as shown by the inner machining. Ah, bad mechanics. I swear they are here just to make me feel smart. 

I’ve set up a Toyota third member before, but never a Dana 44. While the idea is similar, I will miss not having it up on the bench or being able to dial in the backlash. Shims are easy, right? 

I make a set of setup bearings, which actually goes quite well. It just makes everything gritty. I clean everything as best I could, but I do live in the desert with sand always finding a way in. 

After 4 attempts at setting pinion placement, multiple adjustments of the backlash, and checking the wipe pattern, I’m no closer to getting a pattern I like. Heck, I haven’t even seen the pattern on any of the example patterns. So I decide to use the “OEM shim thickness” as provided by the gear company that sold me the master rebuild kit. Here’s a fun note: there are multiple sources that given setup numbers for a Dana 44, all with slightly different numbers. Great. That doesn’t confuse me at all.

It’s been two weeks of half-hearted attempts to get the ring and pinion dialed in, and then I bail on it for a while. Family visits and time off work for traveling.

With the electrical mostly buttoned up, I shifted my attention to the shifty things, namely the transmission and transfer case. I was worried about the transmission ever since I pulled the drain plug and 1.5oz of fluid came out. It was mostly fluid metallic bits. The rear half of the t-case leaked fluid like slow water torture for the floor.

Luckily, CJs have access panels in the floor around the shifters. I pulled those and basically removed the middle 3rd of my floor. The first thing that caught my eye was the 6″ square piece of fiber reinforced rubber stuck to the top center of the bellhousing. Grabbing a corner and pulling produced a satisfying ripping sound. What was not satisfying was the 5″ square hole that was cut into the bellhousing. Why? Maybe to help line things up while reinstalling the trans? Seems a bit drastic to me. I search out and get a junkyard replacement on the way.

Meanwhile, I drop both transmission and transfer case and drag them out. I should mention that the bellhousing to engine bolts were a disaster. Top left was 3 threads loose. Another one was not tight enough to compress the lock washer. One had no washers. One had 4 washers. Two seemed the right length, with washers and torqued down. Amazing.

With my rebuild kit on the workbench, I tore the tranny apart. While there was some wear from decades of use, there was nothing catastrophically bad. I did manage to pick the wrong scribe mark and temporarily install a synchro hub on backwards, but it was pretty obvious.

The fun part was extracting all the permatex from the gasket surfaces and bolt holes. This guy must have had a sponsorship.

While still waiting on the bellhousing, I decided to figure out what was going on with the motor mounts. The whole engine/transmission/transfer case were almost 2″ rearward. The rear of the left valve cover was dented from hitting the firewall, and the floor had been beat down in order to get the t-case shifter into 2 high. They had also put a 2″ square tube on only the right side of the transmission crossmember. I wasn’t sure where the stock location of the crossmember was supposed to be, as the frame rails resembled metallic Swiss cheese. Definitely not thrilled with that. Not sure what moving the entire assembly backwards accomplished other than to frustrate me. Maybe the long fenderwell headers were an issue.

The motor mounts were torqued over so hard by the transmission crossmember, that one bolt could only be removed by half turns of an open ended wrench; 1/12th of a turn, flip wrench, 1/12th turn, flip wrench back, repeat forever. And it hit the rubber isolator the entire way out.

There was another issue. Surprise, surprise. Assuming that the engine would move around a lot while removing the motor mounts, I decided to disconnect the mufflers from the headers. The right side was easy enough, even though there was no gasket at the 3 bolt flange. But the left… had no 3 bolt flange. It was a fully welded exhaust. From the header to the muffler tip… Including the bolt to the body. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why would you weld a nut, the only nut to the only bolt, to the back of your exhaust system? Lock washer? A couple of jam nuts? Locktite? Anything but a weld. I check the other side, and it is the same story. Someone needs their welding license taken away. Or at least their welder. At least the header bolts to the manifold seemed normal.

A sawzall is an amazing problem solver/creator and made quick work of offending bolt.

My coworker suggested that all these issues were due to an angry mechanic. A lot of the fixes would have taken more time to cobble together than just fixing it the correct way. The angry, hourly paid mechanic just makes sense. Otherwise, there is a really dumb mechanic out there.

I decided to swap the mounts left to right, just to see if it made a difference. It made a HUGE difference. Granted, this is only the engine with the transmission and transfer case are both sitting over there waiting for me to finish them up. But the valve cover no longer looks like it hits the firewall. I can’t wait to bolt up the trans and t-case and see how it lines up.

Tearing apart the Dana 18 transfer case was fun. Again, some PO was showcasing their permatex sponsorship. If anyone ever needed to understand why not to overuse sealant in place of gaskets, around bolt holes in particular, this would be a great example. Every threaded hole was full at the bottom. The one bolt I thought was too long, but no, it was just that the bottom third was greasy permatex. Lots of scraping and digging out holes.

There were only a couple of issues with the teardown. I could not get either shifter fork loose. My allen wrench was twisted 45 degrees with the fork too hot to touch and the set screws never budged. So I left them. On the output gear, there was one tooth missing a corner. Upon further inspection, it was a casting defect. Three other teeth had small pits, but they were all porosity or bubbles in the castings. Nothing had self-machined or broken off in the last 47 years and the mating gear teeth looked good enough. But I decide to play it safe and get a new gear. While it is apart is the best time for preventative maintenance, right? At little foreshadowing, don’t trust websites’ “in stock” claims.

I consider putting the transmission back into Homer when the bell housing arrives. It just looks so nice without the 5″ square hole. I also scored an inspection plate so the flywheel wouldn’t be exposed anymore. I’m thinking it would be easier to put the transmission and transfer case back in separately if doing it by myself. So I go to the internet to find a throw out bearing. The current one feels good, but again, why not.

And then it takes a turn. At least I now know why they cut a 5″ square hole in the top of the bell housing.

As I investigate, the 71 CJ5 could come with the old 3 finger clutch pressure plate or the “new” diaphragm design. Obviously, those use different throw out bearings. But the existing bearing on mine? Neither of those.

Thankfully the internet gives me some direction. My bearing is from an ancient Buick Skylark which is the same dimensions except for the fork to face dimension. Mine is 0.3″ shorter than stock. It appears that the PO compensated for this by shimming the end of the clutch cable with a coned nut and several washers. I have to assume that the wrong throw out bearing just happen to already be on the PO’s workbench and that the hole is the bell housing was cut to allow the PO to see how much the pressure plate was being engaged and then they shimmed the cable until they achieved the correct action. It almost makes sense. Almost.

I just hope that the stock throw out bearing works with the shims removed from the clutch cable.

I start ordering parts to get the parking brake working. Turns out that there are a lot of parts missing. This is the problem of waiting for parts; I start researching and buying more parts.

As my luck would have it, I got the parts in the complete wrong order of usefulness. The last parts I needed showed up in 2 days. I got busy with rebuilding a Toyota 3rd member and suddenly 3 weeks have gone by and the first piece I need, the transfer case output gear, still hasn’t arrived.

I check their website and it claims “In Stock” and “Ships in 2 to 5 days”. What horseshit. I call them up and it is getting drop shipped from the manufacturer. I wait on hold while they check and it turns out that they are on back order which “usually means 60 to 90 days”.

I try to find my inner chi while the tornado of anger swirls around me. We cancel the order for that part and try the other manufacturer. They have 20 in stock. Just send me one. They said they would call me back with an estimated delivery date. Nope.

In order to left off some steam, I take The Deuce out for some drives. The motor is strong, just a bit loud with all the exhaust leaks. The only issue is that the steering seems to wonder a bit more than it used to. Admittedly, I was running the 13.5″ wide Super Swampers aired down fairly low, but it still seemed worse. I bought a new, beefier drag link and tie rod kit for it.

While waiting on the steering upgrades to arrive, I noticed that the rear shackles were both leaning left. Well great, that will need addressed.

My timing luck holds out and I get the Deuce’s steering links before the transfer case parts. At least I have something to work on.

Replacing the steering links was interesting. The left castle nut at the knuckle was fine. The two on the right… were not fine. Neither had cotter pins. The one was loose enough to jiggle around and the other was welded tight. WTF?

A sawzall, hammer and a little blasphemous talk about the PO’s upbringing and it was off. The new one bolted on and was happy. I preset the length based off the old one, so the tow was dialed in.

I drove the Deuce around and enjoyed a fun hour or two in the dirt. It still rode like a tractor, but was fun. I also ran off to Moab, in my modern, reliable Jku for a few days of escape.

When I got back, my gear for the transfer case was waiting on me. I had to wait a couple of days since I pulled a rib muscle while in Moab. Don’t ask.

There were only two issues with reassembling the t-case. For starters, the intermediate gear didn’t really fit easily through the oil pan opening. Taking it out was fun. There was a chip in the casting around the opening with a sharp point in the middle. I had to line up the gear so that a tooth fit into the sharp point and then rotate the out gear to spin out the intermediate gear. Getting it back together was even more fun with the needles bearings held in with assemble lube. To make matters worse, the total width of the two new thrust washers and the gear were wider than the distance between the thrust washers mounting surfaces. I found this out after my third assembly try. I even clean all the assembly lube off and measured each part individually to make sure there was no debris causing the stack up issue. It was 0.035″ too big. I measured the best old thrust washer and it was about 0.040″ thinner. With all new assembly lube and using the one broken-in thrust, it slid in nice and tight… once I got the intermediate gear past the oil pan opening.

Putting the t-case back together I understand the PO’s use of permatex on the bolts. Just maybe not the amount used for each gasket. The design of the t-case has most of the mating bolts going all the way through into the inner case. So every bolt end is soaked in oil. Just be sensible with amount used.

I get the t-case buttoned up, attach it to the transmission and transmission crossmember. I spend an hour or so trying to get it installed before I took a picture looking in the clutch. It seems my old method of using a small 1/2″ socket on an extension wasn’t quite up to snuff. Time to go buy a clutch alignment tool for the toolbox. After that, it was surprisingly easy. Just ignore all the grunting and swearing coming out from under the Jeep.

With the engine and transmission married, I jack the crossmember up to the frame. It is very is to lining up with some holes on the frame, so I give it a little twist and throw a bolt in each side. Knowing how far off it was before, I am curious how it lines up this time. There is a beautiful gap behind the engine to the firewall and it appears centered between the frame rails. In order to get it the 2″ rearward as the PO had it, I would have had to pry it backward excessively. I’m not 100% sure I could. I shrug it off and install the remaining bolts.

I test fit the front and rear drive shalfs. Everything looks good. The front looks happier than ever. So I bolt them on and call it a (late) night. There are some little issues to tie up, but it is mainly together.

The next morning I go about finishing up all the little details. Check torque on everything. Top off all fluids and grease all fittings. I even replaced the sheared off grease fitting on the front driveshaft. I test the e-brake and it works a tiny bit. Upon further review, there is a mounting tab on the brake end of the cable that has nowhere to mount. Connect the speedometer and the air cleaner. One last look over and I’m ready for a test ride.

After I manual pull fuel up to the pump/filter.

It fires and runs and sounds great after a couple of months napping in the garage. Drive it to town for gas, wipers (as I am dodging rains storms today) and out to the DMV to get the registration and license finalized. That’s how confident that it will run for a while. With that, Homer is now legal to drive on the road.

With our weather skipping from cool summer to late fall chilly, we had only one day of perfect 80s, back when I was still putting Homer back together. Now, I have to wait a few days for the rain to pass and the temps to warm up. During the day, it is in the 70s, but by rhe time I leave work, it is in the 40s. Not the best temp for a Jeep with no heat.

It eventually warms up enough that I drive it to work for 2 days and layer up for the chilly ride home. It is so much fun. Beautiful sunny days and clear starry nights. Then it gets too cold again and I need to put Homer back into his home.

For a short while, but then I start staring at the shocks & springs.

So, he runs. Well enough for the moment, at least. Time to knock off a few items before the first drive. This shouldn’t take long, right?

Let’s start with the fluids.

I manage to perform an oil change without coating myself, the floor, the ceiling or either CJ with used dino juice. I’m actually rather impressed by this feat. I check both transfer case and transmission and neither is full enough to get a finger on. Doah! Pull the plug of the transfer case and a fair bit comes out. What comes out is gray and a little metallic. It looks like the fluid has been in there for ages. Draining the pan into the used oil container shows a few small metallic bits, but no chunks or slivers. Just minor tiny flecks. Pump it full of new fluid.

Pull the plug on the transmission. Hardly anything comes out. Son of a bitch. I am going to eventually have to pull the trans and go through it. This fluid is the same as the transfer case, just with a bit more bits in it. No teeth yet, I think as I grasp for some hope. When full, the transmission holds its fluids, but it appears that the rear seal is leaking on the transfer case. There is also a stud that is for mounting the emergency brake drum (MIA since before I bought it) that appears to be releasing oil around the housing. Great. Now it looks like I get to rebuild both when I have time to pull them.

Both front and rear diff need topping off on fluids. However, when the front is full, the pinion seal leaks, and not a small amount. I grease the front end, but it actually appears to one of the few things that was done before I bought it. Go PO!

While subconsciously ignoring drivetrain issues (OK, maybe rather deliberately), I turn my focus to the electrical system.

I check the brake lights. I think I already mentioned that the PO had re-engineered the brake light switch. And by re-engineered, I mean hacked it into something no engineer would have done. The plastic momentary switch was placed inline of the brake lever along the frame rail. It doesn’t look remotely wet-weather resistant. Well, since I bled the brakes, and by that I mean filled the brake system with fluid, the pedal didn’t travel as far and the switch never got tripped. Luckily, the PO graced me with a slotted bracket, so I loosened the bolts and slid the switch until it would trip. Why didn’t I just go back to the stock design? Because the PO had cut the old connector… Right at the connector. So I would need to replace both the front and rear connectors and then figure out what the PO did with the wiring. Punt! Moving the bracket only took 5 minutes and was functional. For now. I promise to fix it later.

Promise.

Well, that got one of the brake lights working. I pull the other lens and the bulb looked good. Start tracing the wire back and it eventually flickered on and off as I got close to the split where 3 wires came together. Under the electrical tape revealed something astounding. At least to me. Two of the wires were connected with two halves of a disconnecting barrel connection and the third was just the bare wire strands wrapped around the male end of the connector and shoved into the female end. I shook my head, tore it all apart, soldered it together and shrunk the heat shrink.

Hey look, both of brake lights work now. Amazing.

While I was tearing into the brake light wires, I noticed a loose wire with a ring terminal . Tracing it back, it went to the top of the fuel tank. I tucked it under the body mount to the frame and turned the key on. While initially nothing happened, eventually the fuel gauge moved up off empty. Then I remembered that the stock gauges are liquid filled and react slowly. So, that’s why the fuel gauge didn’t work… They never bothered to hook up the ground. Arg.

Since I am tired of using my arm to signal direction changes, which is really fun when you also need to shift for the said turn, I decide to look at the turn signals. They currently do nothing. Under the dash is a maze of wiring. Some original, some hacked together after the fact, some that go nowhere. There are 2 solid state switches. One traces to the 4 way hazzard switch. I pull it and nothing happens. Then I thump the switch** and MAGIC! I hear it click. It actually makes the parking lights blink. Turn off, turn on, thump switch… It works! After a few more cycles, I only have to thump the switch 1 out of 4 times. Positive progress.

** Note: this is a tried and true mechanical engineer problem solving technique. Doesn’t work? Just hit it. Maybe that’ll teach it. Particularly effective on electrical components.

Turning back to the turn indicators, I grab the 3 wire solid state switch and while trying to figure out which wire goes where, it falls apart and all 3 wires come off the back of the holder. Well now, this will make it more difficult. Time for the electrical meter. Nothing has 12v going to it. I trace the red wire back because red is always power, right? And it is joined to another slightly older red wire that heads up under the dash. I should note that both wires are coming out the far end of the female bullet connector. No sign of the male.

The other red wire heads up to a light on the dash above the speedo. OK. Looking in the other direction, there is one part of an online fuse holder that terminates at the headlight switch. If you have never seen the back of a CJ headlight switch, just imagine Medusa. It appears that ever wire under the dash makes an appearance here at one of the various posts. This one appears to be tied to the always-on circuits. Just for fun, I loosely twist a wire in place. Sweet, the dash light works. All the time. There is no way to turn it off, short of disconnecting the battery. I think I’ll hook it to a different post. Try the turn signal and click click click…the signals work! At least the fronts do. I notice nothing going on at the rear. Huh. Time to call it a night and figure out the rest later. I unhook the battery.

In the morning, I disconnect the dash light and wire it to the parking light circuit. Now I’ll be able to see the speedometer at night. Not that it works. For the other wire that powers the turn signal, I splice in a fuse, add a good ring terminal, heat shrink it all and hook it to the always on circuit. After taking the light switch off the dash, I realized that there isn’t a key-on circuit, at least not at that point. Anyway, with power to the turn signals and a new solid state switch, turning the turn signal stalk results it a nice clicking. I admire the reflection of the front signals off my garage cabinets. Then I look at the rear. Nothing flashing on the right. Huh. Try the left… Both flash.

Uh, whaaa? I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, yet I am.

Checking the rear, it seems that the three wires that were hacked together and I assumed were for brake lights (which it does light up) and then soldered together, were never meant to be joined. So, I found the left rear brake and turn light wire, but soldered in the right lamp wire to it also. Only because that was where it was attached by the PO. Silly me.

Looking on the right side for any other wires lead to more confusion and consternation. There were wires loosely wound around connectors and another 4 wires twisted together, all hiding under old, rotten electrical tape, that had halfway unraveled.

I decide to go back to the start and go through everything brake related. I checked the brake pressure switch, currently not hooked up to anything. Works as expected: no continuity with no brakes, continuity when brakes applied. OK, sweet. So I check the stock connector on the wire harness and see that they cut the 12v to the connector, about 1/16″ from the connector. Gee, thanks PO. I jump the 12v to the stubby connector wire, hook the connector to the pressure switch, and step on the brakes… And the brake lights come on.

So… Why did the PO cut the stock connector and weld up a new bracket with a cheap plastic, non-waterproof switch? Some mysteries will die unsolved when our sun goes nova.

It took me about 15 minutes to pull the short wire out of the connector, de-crimp the stubby wire, soldier on a new wire with fuse, connect it to the stock harness and heat shrink. Shaking my head and muttering under my breath the whole time.

I also found another 2 post connector tucked up onto the left frame rail. Judging by the length alone, it would make it to the reverse switch on top of the transmission. I connect it up but it didn’t work. Investigating further, I found the switch was functional, but there was no 12v making it there. I traced the wires back toward the ignition switch and as I did, the reverse lights came on. Wiggling the wire going into the inline fuse connector confirmed a poor connection. Time to replace another fuse holder, but I’m all out. Set that project aside until later.

Moving around the vehicle, I remember that the right front side marker light wasn’t working. (I apologize for my fit of ADD as I jump from one problem to another. It’s just part of my charm.) I had seen where the wire fell, or was never attached to the fender, and it dropped onto the tire, ripping away the light socket.

While looking at it, I suddenly remembered seeing one like it unused at the rear. Some PO had removed the rear side marker lights and bondoed over the holes. I’m not sure I approve. But the good part is that I can use one of the rear side marker light harnesses. A simple unplug of one connector and remove the ground screw and the harness was promoted to front fender duty. I had to rummage for a bulb, but finally found one that worked. I made sure to attach the harness clamp to the fender. Yeah, getting stuff done.

I eventually move back to the disaster at the rear and replace every splice and knot of wires. It take a fair bit of time and considerably more swearing to undo the errors, but in the end everything works and makes sense. I also yanked out the 4 wire trailer connector as it constituted a fire hazard…and right under the gas filler tube. Don’t worry mom, I replaced the cracked and leaking fuel filler hose after the first fill up.

While getting the turn signals working, I had noticed an issue under the dash. There are several 3 way Y-connectors for the lights and all of them had 1 wire that was stripped to bare wire outside of the connector. I assume that was an attempt to connect trailer wiring to the stock harness, either being towed or towing. Regardless, those got pulled apart and fixed correctly.

After a parts run, I get the reverse lights buttoned up. Sure, they need some new gaskets, but they work. In fact, all the lights are working as advertised. I even replaced the tiny bulb in the turn signal stalk so I can tell when the blinkers are blinking. Hot damn!

There are a couple more electrical issues to fix, but now the cops have no reason to pull me over. Well, for lights not working, at least. The amp meter is not connected to anything, but I am deciding if I am sticking with that or going to a voltmeter. I take time to sit back and toast my success.

Now… Onto more mechanical concerns.

By now, you’re probably wondering about the second half of this story; the Trials of Homer. He isn’t forgotten, just been a slow process waiting for parts and a poor experience with a mechanic.

The last time I drove Homer was down the incredibly steep “paved” road down from the cabin mesa, the lack of brakes caused me to sign up for about 6 new religions on the way down. I ended up pulling it into the garage and putting him on jack stands. Where it sat.

Upon inspection, I found the left rear axle seal was leaking grease onto the drum and soaking the shoes. In order to replace the seal, you have to replace the axle bearing. Fun!

So I pulled the rear axles and took the left one and the bearing I bought off the internet to a local mechanic. After a few days he calls back to say that he got the old one off, but the new one didn’t fit. Figures. He asked if I wanted him to source one. Sure. Why not? Well, 2 weeks go by and I finally have a day to run down into town and he’s sitting in the office with the shaft on the floor. He hasn’t done shit after removing the old bearing. He claims that no one can figure out which bearing to use. I take it away grumbling.

The first guy at the part store suggests the Set10 bearing, except they changed manufacturers so they look up the matching part. Take it out and it measures perfect. Well now, that wasn’t too hard. I guess the mechanic had a different parts store. :rolleyes:

I decided to do the right axle completely myself. It consists of drilling the collar and using a cold chisel to break it loose. Who doesn’t like using a cold chisel and big hammer? I take my time to make sure I don’t drill too deeply. It makes a satisfying POP! when it snaps apart.

Next is to dremmel the bearing race and pry it off. Then on to dremmeling the inner race and more cold chisel work. This is fun destructive work! It went surprisingly well. All that is left is to clean up the shaft.

I had ordered a couple of seals along with the incorrect bearing online but realized I had ordered just for one side; one outer and one inner. I measured them and at least they were correct. I head down and order parts for the other side. The inner is special order and I had to go to a second store to get the outer. The inner was quite expensive; 3 times the cost of the outer!

While I wait for the inner to show up, I decide to look at replacing the brake hoses. Of course, even after a couple of days soaking in PB Blaster, they don’t want to budge. Now I have to go find a good flair wrench and a MAP bottle.

As I am applying yet more Blaster to the nuts, I noticed that the right front hub is a bit loose. As in, it wobbles. Easily. Sweet! Another project.

I quickly pull the locking hub. I notice that the bolts are stiff and sluggish when loose. When removed, you can tell that they are coated with a mix of grease, water and rust. Superb!

Now, I don’t have the 2 1/16″ spindle nut socket needed to remove the nuts, but “luckily” they are not torqued, so I can just spin them off. Great.

Taking it off completely does improve the outlook slightly, but you can see there has been water in this hub for a while. There was no gasket between the locking hub and the bearing hub. While realizing that to do this right I need to order parts, I decide to do a quick clean and repack of the bearings so I can get this thing on all 4 tires. I have a friend that needs some garage space for a day. Even with just new grease and proper torque on the nut it feels so much better.

I also decide to check on the steering knuckle grease level since I am in the area. There is some heavy grease here and there. Definitely not topped off. Consulting the great jeep philosophers of the internet reveals that this is a common dilemma. The stock grease is too thin and will leak out. Most people either mix there own 50-50 mix of wheel bearing grease and gear oil or use corn husker or corn-head grease, which is basically the same thing just premade.  I decide to punt on that for the moment. It’s not as if I am going to be driving it anytime soon.

I gather all the parts for the axles and press then on. Axles reinstall without a hitch. You have to love it when things just go together mechanically as they should. Makes me wonder what I forgot to do, but after much fretting, I see no extra parts and every checkbox is marked.

For the brakes, it seems the magic is 4 days soaking in Blaster and using a flair wrench. I replace the front 2 hoses, but my new rear hose has the wrong end fitting. I am sure there is an adaptor, but not in my garage.

I also revisit the brake lines at the master cylinder where the output lines were swapped. There was a balance block just forward of the master cylinder and I planned to swap the lines there. But alas no, the balance block is setup with larger fittings on the front. So the previous owner made custom lines from the master cylinder to the balance block. Customly wrong. Thanks for the effort.

As a temporary measure, I disconnect the lines at the master cylinder (same size!), give them some gentle persuasion and swap them. The front circuit is now really tight and the rear has multiple gentle zig-zag bends. I’ll custom bend some new lines in the future, but I know I only have one of the two size nuts needed. At least it is a closed system now. I decide to bleed the brakes, but have to take a moment to figure it out. You see, the master cylinder isn’t mounted on the firewall. No, it is mounted to the frame rail, behind the steering box that is under the exhaust header. After a short WTF? moment, I find the little plate under the pedals that open right by the reservoir. I pull the plate and the reservoir cover out and shine the light in to see how the fluid looks. Both reservoirs are dry…well, they glisten with leftover fluid, but have nothing to push. At least that explains the complete lack of brakes. So much for the PO having “all the fluids topped off”. In their defense, this was not something easily checked. 

While not the easiest to fill, I manage with a hilariously oversized funnel for the job. I was able to do some mechanic yoga and bleed the left rear with a left foot on the brake pedal, left arm holding the roll bar and right arm turning the wrench. It was so satisfying to get all the air out. No more bubbles! Looking around I find the perfectly sized 2×4 and proceed to bleed the other corners by myself. The seat cushion provides just the right amount of spring to the 2×4 to make it work. And I get the other corners  bled.

Except the right rear. No fluid comes out at all. Not a drop. Well, I am running late and put that on my figure-it-out list. I figure 3 brakes are better than none!

Now that it is on the ground and it has some braking power, I decide to fire it up and drive up and down the driveway so I can move it over to the other side of the garage. Cranking leads to nothing. No fuel to carb. Huh. This thing ran when I parked it.

A check of the fuel lines reveals that, at the hardest to reach spot, the fuel hose has cracked completely in half. How did this run before? All I can think of is that the outer shell was cracked when I drove it last, as it sure looks like it cracked a while ago. And the inner kept it together just long enough. While bleeding the brakes, I did move the fuel line around a bit as it goes through that area and it must have finished the rupture then. Otherwise, I’m at a loss. Whatever.

I cut off the cracked portion back to good hose and stick it on as a temporary measure. Yes, I know…there are a lot of “temporary measures” going on here. I’ll get back to them. I promise.

After fixing the line and inspecting the rest (which look surprisingly good), I use a hand pump and get fuel to the pump. I spend some time cranking and it actually fires! I drive it out of the garage (no point in burning the place down) and park in the driveway.

It isn’t running real well. It runs, but acts like it is flooded. It finally stumbles to a stop. I jump out and check the engine bay…and the carb has fuel leaking down three sides. Sweet. That is when I remembered that the return fuel line was capped at both ends. I guess as long as you burn all the fuel the pump brings up, it’s a great system. Sigh.

Since I am playing with the fuel system, I decide to rebuild the carb as it looks like it hasn’t been touched in a while. After waiting a day for the carb kit to be ordered in, I am treated with a laugh. The box it comes in looks like it was printed in the 70s. Or at least designed then. The colors and graphics are wonderfully colorful and the edges of the box show enough wear to indicate their decade spent on a shelf, waiting for a buyer.

The kit is unopened and complete, which I consider a minor miracle. I dive right in. Now, i had rebuilt a carb back in college on my 83 Mazda RX-7, and I figure it will be just as easy. And it is. In fact, it is easier. That doesn’t mean that there were no issues.

First off, the throttle return spring is attached by 3 inches of bailing wire. Either the spring is really short or there was something missing. Next, I can’t find the little pull clip that connects the float to the needle. Huh. Finally, the float was not even close to the proper adjustments. All I can think of is that the high float position helped to offset the missing pull clip by holding the needle up, but it seems backwards to me. This thing must have been running horribly rich. Who knows?

After the reassembly, I run a line from the back to the front for the return fuel line. I also replace the fuel filter. The parts guy sold me one of those clear ones you can see through to watch the fuel, which I actually think is a good idea. Copious amounts of zip-ties help hold everything in place.

One last inspection and I hit the key for a short crank. Immediately, I see fuel flow into the filter. I hit it again and it fires right up! It even seems to idle decently. I hop in and drive it out of the garage.

While it is idling, I grab the timing light. I have to shut it down to repaint the mark on the crank, but I am giddy by how quick he refires. Go Homer!

At first I think the light isn’t working. I pull it back and point it at my hand and, yes, it is lighting up. Double check that I have it attached to the #1 plug wire and all good. It is bright out so I lean over closer to block some light. Now I can see that it is flashing and by leaning in, I can now see that it is lighting up the timing mark, it is just that the timing is very advanced. The spec is 5 degrees BTDC and the indicator by the crank goes up to 12 degrees. The crank is flashing about 20 degrees BTDC. ??? FFS.

So I start to go grab a wrench to loosen the distributor when a thought hits. I grab the distributor and give it a gentle twist. Of course it turns. Why would that bolt be tight? Bringing the timing to 5 deg makes the motor just sound happier. I do an ear tune on the carb using the mixture screws since I am without a tach. It sounds even better! I actually adjust the idle speed down. And he is purring like a kitten.

Screw it. I jump in and take it for a ride around the block. It runs smooth and stops well. I jump on the brakes once and notice a very slight pull due to no right rear brakes, but nothing really life threatening. I want to drive it more, but I know I need to drain and replace every fluid, bleed the right rear brake line, and figure out the gauges.

Either the alternator isn’t charging or the wire to the dash is broke, or both. I know the speedometer won’t work because there is no cable. Fuel gauge…I highly doubt that does anything as it hasn’t even twitched. The temperature gauge is one I want to make sure works before I run it long.

I also notice that the right rear tail light doesn’t work, and now that the brakes are stiff, the make-shift brake light switch only comes on when you are really deep into the pedal. Backup lights? Surely you jest!

But I am ecstatic…Homer runs! And sounds good. Not loud, since I tightened the one header bolt that was halfway backed out, but a pleasant gurgle. The next day I fire him up, hell yeah, and back Homer out of the garage. After some stumbling around, he starts to idle nicely. Kind of like me in the morning.

After a few minutes of warm up, I pull back in and drain the oil. All looks good and it actually (almost) all goes into the drain pan. Filter comes right off and goes right back on. An easy oil change.

While the oil was draining, I decided to look at the gages. The oil pressure gauge is mechanical and works great, but could use a bleed. The voltage gauge doesn’t budge. As I look under the dash I see why; 2 wires leave the gauge but only go 8 inches before terminating. Just cut straight through. There is nothing close for them to attach to.

As I try to trace some other wire, I brush up against the hose from the heater box to the defroster. It promptly desintegrates. The internal wire holds on to all the pieces, but duct work is shot. Looking over at the heater fan, I notice it isn’t flush with the dash.

I check in the engine bay and all 4 studs sticking through the dash are without nuts. There is a single nut holding the duct box to the firewall. I take it off and disconnect the fan wires and just pull the whole thing out. Heater fan, duct box and what’s left of the hose. Looks much cleaner under the dash (at least it is easier to see the wires) but there is a large hole in the firewall where the fan would pull air from.

I should mention that there are a couple of vacuum actuated flapper valves without the vacuum hose attached. I find it hanging there, just rotting away. I should plug that.

I can see all sorts of wiring trauma now. Spliced in fuse holders. Most of them there. One end of a fuse holder is attached to 10 inches of wire that goes nowhere. A few of the gauge light sockets are dangling out of place, some with bulbs. Slices into splices. You can tell the original wires because of they feel brittle. In short, a nightmare. Joy.

As I drive to work, in one of my more roadworthy vehicles, I realize that I am enjoying all these little nightmares. These are things I can fix. It is just mechanical or light electrical. I don’t need a computer to diagnosis what sensor is giving an error code. No chance of having to question whether the problem is a sensor failure or a real issue. Luckily, there isn’t a problem on these that hasn’t been dealt with for decades. Although, sometimes that means weeding through 40 years of potentially bad advice. Not everyone is a genius; the previous owners of these CJs were anything but.

All in all, I am enjoying this way too much. Sure, I want more time to play with them and might as well wish for more money for upgraded parts, but why waste worrying on things that aren’t going to happen.

One question I always get is: how do you tell them apart? Now I understand how the parents of fraternal twins feel. I swear it is easy.

The Deuce sits higher, has black fender flairs, comically knobby tires, a double roll cage hoop, and somehow just looks… angrier? Homer just looks like he is out to have some fun.

When I finally got the two CJ jokers side by side in the garage, I slowly started to understand just how different they really were. Almost nothing important really matched up. Seems I bought a late early-CJ5 and an intermediate CJ5. While quite a bit of hardware can mingle on both sides of the garage, most of my issues seem to highlight all the differences.

Here are some of the differences I noticed initially:

• Axles. They both have Dana 44s in the rear, but the diff is centered on the 75 and offset right on the 71.
• Steering systems, Homer’s is mounted by the firewall while the Deuce’s is up in front of the axle, however both are sloppy
• Pedals, lower vs upper pivot
• Master cylinder, frame rail vs firewall
• Engine, obviously, which all the accessories including cooling
• Heater, Homer has none

Here are the similarities :

• wheels/tires
• front bumper (important!)
• seats, maybe

Beyond the mechanical differences, they acted very differently. While they both wandered down the road, due to worn out parts, the steering felt rather different.  Homer was lighter and more nimble where the Deuce felt as big as she looks. Both were non-power steering boxes, so slow steering was tough. Luckily, the stock giant steering wheels helped.

The original suspensions were both shot. Stiff, old leaf springs and dead shocks. Both rode like skateboards. Hard on the kidneys. They just bounced down the road and would randomly change directions after hitting bumps.

The Deuce had the added benefit of wobbling like a top when you got out. And while you drove. It was fun, in a drunken boat ride kind of way. Since a few of the body mount were rotten, that probably didn’t help.

The Deuce had a ton more power with the V8 vs the V6. It would just leap out of the way. Homer was definitely slower but that was greatly improved after the carb rebuild and actually setting the timing. Still, it was nothing compared to the Deuce’s 304. Too much power and random steering changes added a rather kamakazi approach to passing people.

For brakes, they both initially sucked. Of course, they might be better when adjusted right. Luckily, both would slow down greatly just off throttle. And they both behaved much better after repairs.

Now for the seat-of-the-pants feel… literally. The seats in Homer were low backed and caused a bit of back pain where the seat ended. Some of that was due to where the seat was mounted. As far back as possible, but sitting high the adjusters. So I removed the sliders and mounted the seat lower. That helped the steering wheel to gut distance, but made my knees stick up rather high. Oh well, it was slightly better. Meanwhile, the Deuce had higher mid-back seats. Which would be more comfortable if they weren’t worn out.

When it comes down to it, they are both fun to drive. The Deuce is definitely more aggressive and takes a bit more focus. Homer likes going slower, mainly due to the gearing. They both put a smile on my face.