'49 CJ3A "HONDO"

[Rus Curtis]

It will leak until the level drops low enough that the fluid is below the leak.  That would take a long time.

It's hard to locate leaks sometimes.  If the gear boxes are black/dirty/ wet then good luck.  The skid plate underneath will allow it to scatter and drip in a different location.  Regardless of what is leaking, i.e. engine, transmission or steering knuckle,  cleaning it off and drying is a good start.  The two worst places to identify where exactly it could be leaking from are the front of the transmission (although not too many options here) and the back of the transfer case.  Is it the seal? the splines? 

There is a dye made to add to oil to find leaks.  I'm not that "hi-tech" so I just clean as best I can and then use a dry clean paper towel (or my fingers) and touch different locations to find the drip.  It will most likely require some disassembly to just find it.  When you remove the hand brake drum to look, gear oil will spill out so either drain a bit first or prop up the rear end (be safe on this) to keep oil from adding to the leak you're chasing. 

After inspection of the leaking areas, you'll be able to identify what needs to be done.  Guessing will just cost more and take longer.

[Shark49]

I replaced the copper spring on the exhaust flapper and it seems to reduce the hard start issues.  Then my distributor went bad and stranded me.  Thankfully the tow home was free since it was only 3 miles.  Gotta love Hagerty!!  I replaced the module and it fired right up. In the mean time Omix is sending me a brand new distributor and before that I ordered a standard one from KW.  So I have two spares now ha!  I finally got the pcv cover and tubes from KW and decided to take apart the manifolds and carb to replace a few bad stud bolts and replace bad gaskets.  Couldn't get the dang manifolds separated due to rusted bolts.  Ended up braking the intake manifold trying to tap it free.  lol.  So $175 later got some new parts coming in.  I bought a 1/4" phenolic carb spacer I'm going to try too.  One step forward.....

-Nate

[Shark49]

Was going for a ride the other day and hit a bump and pow pow pow backfiring like crazy.  Pulled over and noticed my dizzy was loose.  Tightened it up best I could and got home.  Went to start it later and it was giving me issues to the point I ran my battery down.  Put a charger on it and and then it wouldn't start.  No spark at wires.  WTF.  So I ended up replacing the dizzy with a backup I had and after probably an hour of trying to get the damned thing to seat in the slot I got it running.  Funny thing is I had to re-adjust everything it seems as it ran totally different than with the last dizzy.  To clarify they are electronic dizzy is from Kaiser. 

So first question is has anyone experienced a dizzy going bad from charging the battery?  I thought the coil would prevent this?  Also, with dizzy being same product, why did I have to readjust everything when installed 2nd one?  I also had a points distributor from Kaiser and I couldn't get it to even fit in the hole.  Super tight with the rubber ring on it so I gave up.

Is there a better HEI dizzy out there?  I assume Kaisers are OMIX?  I have read some guys just putting a pertronix kit in a points body?

[Shark49]

Front right brake is sticking and I have to tap it a bunch to loosen.  I tried to adjust the eccentrics but it is still dragging.  Guess it could be something else.  I need to remove the front drum but not sure what to do once I get the nuts off the locking hub?

[Rus Curtis]

So first question is has anyone experienced a dizzy going bad from charging the battery?  I thought the coil would prevent this?  Also, with dizzy being same product, why did I have to readjust everything when installed 2nd one?  I also had a points distributor from Kaiser and I couldn't get it to even fit in the hole.  Super tight with the rubber ring on it so I gave up.

Is there a better HEI dizzy out there?  I assume Kaisers are OMIX?  I have read some guys just putting a pertronix kit in a points body?

You've been having some "fun" with odd issues.  I can't give you an opinion on the electronic distributors as I've never used one.  I can speak to basic electrical systems.  Your Service Manual (SM) will also explain how these components work - I still pull mine out to read up on things when I'm unclear or needing a reminder.

The battery does just two things:  Start and provide backup electricity.  The charging system does everything else.  So not to my knowledge, has charging a battery ever damaged any other electrical component.  The circuit would have to be on just to have electricity flow through that component and even then, most components would need to be used to be affected. 

The coil is necessary to boost the spark that travels to the plugs.  There is a primary lead that goes from the (-) coil to the distributor side.  I know from personal experience if that wire is disconnected or grounded, the engine won't run. 

Knocking your distributor loose is, in and of itself, an issue.  It shouldn't be that loose.  Putting it back in on the side of the road is a challenge (alignment and timing) so kudos for getting it back home!  I would have re-confirmed its installation and alignment after getting home.  Draining the battery while doing this has been done a lot - by many.  It is possible (I know) to install 180 out so rechecking a static TDC is a smart move.

A mechanical interference on fitment is an issue you need to bring up with the supplier.  We do have problems with quality - so it's on you to ensure your installation and tuning steps are per the SM.  You can search here or read up on the CJ3B Page about electronic options.

[Rus Curtis]

Front right brake is sticking and I have to tap it a bunch to loosen.  I tried to adjust the eccentrics but it is still dragging.  Guess it could be something else.  I need to remove the front drum but not sure what to do once I get the nuts off the locking hub?

Without any more details, I'd assume your wheel cylinder is sticking.   Again, the SM will actually walk you through all the steps of disassembly.  I assume you have the later style hubs where the drum slides off the hub.  If so, you may not even need to bother the locking hubs.  If your drum is behind the hub, then the whole assembly needs to be removed.  If that's the case, just remove the locking hub and set it off to the side and then the rest is per the SM.

Have you bled the brakes at some point?   Backing off the eccentrics to stop a dragging shoe won't help you.  You'll apply pressure and the fluid will force the wheel cylinder pistons out (using up more master cylinder fluid reserve) to get the shoes to make contact.  Then the sticking pistons will cause a drag at that new adjustment.  Crud builds in the lines and bleeding is necessary to flush this out to prolong your system's operation.

At a minimum, you'd need to rebuild (my preference) or replace both wheel cylinders.  I won't do a one-wheel brake job.  It is common practice to always match the left and right on an axle.  Be aware that it's also possible that if you've driven for a while, the shoes will be worn.  If you haven't driven much, the shoes on that wheel may still be okay.  Another tidbit to consider, if you don't know when any brake work has been performed, you can assume the other cylinders (including master cylinder) are in similar condition and may need servicing.

One of those "life skills" I was taught long ago was how to rebuild a cylinder (and caliper).  Nowadays, replacement parts are easy to get, so many will elect to just replace (I did that and ended up rebuilding as a couple of them started to leak).  Once you've got that bad cylinder (and its mate on the other side) sorted out, you'll need to bleed to get the air out.  And you'll need to readjust the eccentrics.

[Shark49]

So first question is has anyone experienced a dizzy going bad from charging the battery?  I thought the coil would prevent this?  Also, with dizzy being same product, why did I have to readjust everything when installed 2nd one?  I also had a points distributor from Kaiser and I couldn't get it to even fit in the hole.  Super tight with the rubber ring on it so I gave up.

Is there a better HEI dizzy out there?  I assume Kaisers are OMIX?  I have read some guys just putting a pertronix kit in a points body?

You've been having some "fun" with odd issues.  I can't give you an opinion on the electronic distributors as I've never used one.  I can speak to basic electrical systems.  Your Service Manual (SM) will also explain how these components work - I still pull mine out to read up on things when I'm unclear or needing a reminder.

The battery does just two things:  Start and provide backup electricity.  The charging system does everything else.  So not to my knowledge, has charging a battery ever damaged any other electrical component.  The circuit would have to be on just to have electricity flow through that component and even then, most components would need to be used to be affected. 

The coil is necessary to boost the spark that travels to the plugs.  There is a primary lead that goes from the (-) coil to the distributor side.  I know from personal experience if that wire is disconnected or grounded, the engine won't run. 

Knocking your distributor loose is, in and of itself, an issue.  It shouldn't be that loose.  Putting it back in on the side of the road is a challenge (alignment and timing) so kudos for getting it back home!  I would have re-confirmed its installation and alignment after getting home.  Draining the battery while doing this has been done a lot - by many.  It is possible (I know) to install 180 out so rechecking a static TDC is a smart move.

A mechanical interference on fitment is an issue you need to bring up with the supplier.  We do have problems with quality - so it's on you to ensure your installation and tuning steps are per the SM.  You can search here or read up on the CJ3B Page about electronic options.

I didn't think the charger would do anything but I had it on 20amp start mode so my thinking was the simplicity of the system may have caused something.  Anyhow, It ended up being a bad distributor body.  internal bearing went bad or something and it literally tore itself apart from inside.  I got a new one for free from Omix.  I use that as my backup and got a crown one as well as a higher voltage coil.  I also double checked all grounds to be sure.

[Shark49]

The brakes were redone by a friend so less than 500 miles on them with brand new tires too but it has always pulled to the right so it is probably as you said it could have crud in it or just weren't bled very well..  Not knowing how the eccentrics worked I loosened them and turned them a bunch so its possible the copper washers are bad so id like to look inside to see what's going on..  I finally figured out that I needed to unscrew the Crome ring from the locking hub first then I can get to the snap ring and then remove everything.  I bought a bendex tool online for the eccentrics and will see what its all about once the drum is removed.

Odd things is right but I am used to it and have earned my skinned knuckles on my '61 Apache 10

-Nate

[Nathan Aldous]

Hi,  Been a while but had a question I saw an answer to at one time but now can't find it.  Does anyone know what size headlight fixture fits in the blacklight assembly?
thanks in advance,
Nate