The Jeep Heap - '49 CJ3a

[DaveW]

New brake lines came for the front and rear axle. They took some minor adjustment to fit, but overall seem pretty great.


I was also able to find a intact shift cane for the T-90, but I did have to thread the end of it. I also found a cream colored shift knob with the correct pattern on top. I think I'm going to paint the jeep maroon eventually, so the cream will be a nice accent.

[DaveW]

I had a little time to start the repairs on the pto case. The first thing was to remove the plug. I drilled out the existing plug and had the correct size NPT tap to chase the threads.





Kept stepping up the size.


Then used a cold chisel to hammer and fold it in on itself.


Finally came out.


Also pressed out all the old bearings and seals.

[DaveW]

The new hard lines on the rear axle caused me to adjust my approach to mounting the calipers. I initally had them clocked to the rear because that's where the existing brake lines were. The replacements put the lines on the front of the axles, so I rotated the mounting brackets toward the front and swapped the calipers side to side (to keep the bleeder pointing up). I'll need to cut and flare the rear lines to connect to the hoses.

[DaveW]

When the jeep was still driving, I had a few episodes of death wobble. Upon further inspection, there was lots of slop in the bell crank and drag link.

The bell crank was easily remedied with a rebuild kit, but the drag link surprisingly was more of a challenge. I ordered a rebuild kit for it, but noticed that a handful of the parts were dimensionally different. I only noticed after trying to reassemble it with all the new parts and couldn't get the caps to tighten enough to put the cotter pins in. After taking it all back apart, I noticed that all the parts differences and decided to reassemble it using the old parts and new springs (old ones were broken) and dust covers. It all seemed to go together and greatly tighten up the steering.

It might still need to have the steering box rebuild, but these two things have solved 90% of the play in the steering.

[DaveW]

I found someone down in Illinois that had a set of wheels along with a handful of other things I was looking for. He also had a DP-1, dual output pto, but it was in unknown condition and sort of spun.

[DaveW]

After an hour or two, I got the new PTO apart and could tell why. It looked like the bottom of the case sat for some time with water in it. The chain, bearings, and sprocket were trash. I think I'll be able to source new bearings and seals, but might have to make a new shaft.







Put a litte Evap-a-rust on the bearing to help get it out of the case.

[DaveW]

I got a pretty good deal from Summit Racing on some 6.50x16 STA Super Traxion tires with free shipping, and $110 in rebates. I considered going with NDT's but thought these looked better and likely road better.



Got wheels blasted and powder coated locally.


They didn't come out the greatest, but they were way better than what I started with, they were cheap to have done, and they would do until I found a better set of wheels.


Local tire shop was able to get them mounted with tubes and flaps. I chose to use flaps because the rims were a bit rough on the inside and I didn't want them to rub through the tubes.


They look pretty good mounted up. Now I just have to finish up my punch list to get this heap back on the road.

[aboyandhisdog]

Awesome progress, Dave!  Those drag links do seem to be a bit of a mystery.  I also used a combination of the new and old parts to build mine so that they were "just right".  I also had the death wobble and tightening up the linkage as you did solved the issues.  I did take it a step further and installed a stabilizer in the mix and haven't regretted it for a minute.  By absorbing the road shocks to the whole steering contraption, I think it will lessen the wear on it.  Going on ten years now and not a bit of unusual play in the steering.

[1955CJ-5]

Man, you are "cookin with gas"!

Same trouble with the drag link...used a combo of new and old parts as well...

I went round and round between NDCC's and Traxion's...finally got the NDCC's....I like the look of both....

[stony]

Yeah the bearings and seals should be standard stuff, bet you can match the sprocket with ag parts.  If the shaft is pitted or grooved under the seals, a Speedi Sleeve could fix that.  Looks like it is coming along fine.  Those tires are the ones that I am planning to get.  They look great!

[stony]

Yeah the bearings and seals should be standard stuff, bet you can match the sprocket with ag parts.  If the shaft is pitted or grooved under the seals, a Speedi Sleeve could fix that.  Looks like it is coming along fine.  Those tires are the ones that I am planning to get.  They look great!

[DaveW]

Awesome progress, Dave!� Those drag links do seem to be a bit of a mystery.� I also used a combination of the new and old parts to build mine so that they were "just right".� I also had the death wobble and tightening up the linkage as you did solved the issues.� I did take it a step further and installed a stabilizer in the mix and haven't regretted it for a minute.� By absorbing the road shocks to the whole steering contraption, I think it will lessen the wear on it.� Going on ten years now and not a bit of unusual play in the steering.

Thanks! I�m very fortunate to have a generous amount of free time to tinker in the garage.

It�s good to know hat others have issues with the drag link kits. I did save all the old parts , so I might have to tinker with it some more after getting a few miles on it. I do know that before fixing that and he bell crank there was a good quarter turn of the steering wheel in the system, so it was a handful to keep going in a straight line. Now I�m down to maybe 1/16 of a turn in play, so hopefully I can get that adjusted out with the steering box, though it does seem like the steering get very tight as you move away from it being centered. I can live with that for now.

[DaveW]

Yeah the bearings and seals should be standard stuff, bet you can match the sprocket with ag parts.� If the shaft is pitted or grooved under the seals, a Speedi Sleeve could fix that.� Looks like it is coming along fine.� Those tires are the ones that I am planning to get.� They look great!

I have all the bearings on the bench, just have to take some time to measure them and search for replacements. I do need to read up on chain sizing and styles. That�s one thing that�s foreign to me, but I�m sure I can come up with something that will work. Judging by the three or four master links in the chain, it has been broke a handful of times.

As for the shaft, I�m fortunate enough to have a modest machine shop at my house, so I�ll likely make a new shaft from 4140 or comparable bar stock.

[aboyandhisdog]

If steering is tight off-center, it sounds like you may be a good candidate for a Tightsteer.  Kind of pricey but they work pretty well and may help this condition.

[DaveW]

Finally got the jeep back together tonight with the new wheels and tires. Buttoned up a few loose ends and took it for a spin. I must say that the disk brake conversion was definitely worth all the trial and error. The stopping distance is drastically shorter, no pulling to the left, and a definite amount of confidence knowing your actually going to be able to stop.



I did however noticed a spike in the temp gauge. Luckily I caught it as soon as it happened. I parked it for a bit to let it cool off then took a short trip to the store to top of the anti-freeze which was low.