What we have been up to...

The weather has gotten nice around the UCBJO homestead. That brings on the outdoor activities we have spent all winter pining for...
Super Wife and kiddos got me a new Garmin Nuvi for Christmas, so I have been trying something new this spring.

Geocaching: Join in the Global Game of Hide and Seek

Its been quite the hoot, it combines driving one of our UCBJO victims, some hiking(at times) and hide and seek.

I STRONGLY suggest giving it a try if you have the opportunity. Sometimes it will surprise you. One of the members of my family I didn't expect to like is my teenage daughter. She however turned out to be the one that likes doing it the best...


Also.. for the UCBJO reader to send me a GC log and their address.. I have a little something for them..

Battery and hold down

While I was getting the Waggy ready to go for the summer, she didn't want to start.  Going through the standard no start/no turn over checklist, I checked the battery voltage.  This is what I found.

Well... we know that a car battery should put out around 12 volts.  So less than 4 volts isn't going to get many engines started, let alone an old heavyweight American iron engine like the AMC 360.  Also, when I got the Waggy it had no proper battery hold down, just a tattered old bungee cord.

Well this isn't a safe situation for any vehicle, from a street driven Jeep to an off road monster.  Since I was replacing the battery anyway, I might as well check-off one thing from my mile long Jeep repair list.  Off to the store I go..... I came home with the parts we are going to need to tackle this project.

On the left, an 800 CCA battery.  While a V-8 motor doesn't strictly require a battery with this much power, once the weather cools down here, I wanted the extra amps to keep the motor turning over.  The universal hold down kit contains a rubber battery top and a two J-bolts.  Not a heck of alot to the kit.



Digging around the toolbag, I secured the tools needed for this project.

A 1/2 inch wrench, the digital multimeter, and a hacksaw.

When we are doing ANY work on our Jeeps electrical system we ALWAYS want to disconnect our negative battery cable,. even though for this one we need to disconnect both cables.

So.. after removing the home made hold down, we loosen the 1/2 inch nuts on the battery clamps and remove them from the battery posts.  Once the clamps are off the posts, we pull the old battery out and put the new one in the tray.  At this point I tested it with the multi-meter, just to make sure I wasn't wasting my time installing it.

Ahhh.. that is MUCH better.   12.46 volts isn't bad for a battery that was just on a store shelf, for an unknown amount of time.  That reading will be bit better once the battery receives regular charges from the alternator.

Now installing the new hold down kit is just as easy.  Once we have the j-bolts inserted into the slots in the battery tray, we slip the rubber hold down over the battery and onto the J bolts.  The slip the isolators on the J-bolts and tighten down the wing nuts.   Once the hold down is tight, then slip the battery clamps onto the battery posts.   Tighten the 1/2 inch nuts on the clamps and the battery is now installed.

The hacksaw is used to trim the J-bolts down so they clear the hood once they are installed.  Once that is done, this project is in the books....

On our wrench scale.. with 1 being "I would trust my sister to do it" and 10 being "I'm calling the garage, cause I'm way over my head here".. I give this repair a 3, only because it really does require a tool(digital multimeter) that might not be found in our basic toolbox.

Just remember this old adage... Jeep   Making ordinary people into mechanics for 70 years.

Will 
The semi-proud owner of 4 Jeeps.

Converting your 10/12SI alternator to a CS-130

First, it was a fairly cheap first project. Even with buying the Napa conversion connector, a JY alternator, connectors, a soda for my son for helping, etc. It was just over $50.

Why I did this and what I was trying to accomplish was this... My normal use of my Waggy is tool around in and pull my trailer around. One of the things I do is to pull our Cub Scout float in the parades, and with the old alternator I couldn't, run the A/C, the hazards and the radio at the same time without having the voltage gauge in the red. This 4th of July it was over 90 degrees and high humidity. I was absolutely soaked driving in the parade....

The 10SI alternator is available just about anywhere in the country, so I wanted to be able to have the same thing in case I ever had a problem anywhere. The CS-130 has VERY similar availability, so I wasn't hugely concerned. But the Napa conversion plug made this an absolutely no-brainer.

I managed to find a 1991 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3L at LKQ one bright and shiny summer morning. Someone had really torn the front of the motor apart flinging parts and cutting cables left and right. The alternator was hanging there by only the one long bolt through the bracket. The head was really chewed up like they had been trying to get it off, but couldn't.
We quickly dispatched the offending bolt and rescued the alternator. When I got it off we found the part number....

The good folks at Autozone quickly confirmed that this alternator passed their tests and was the 105 amp model I wanted...

Over the next few days, I collected the rest of the parts I would need and spent less than $50 total. I was VERY surprised that my first FSJ project wouldn't need me to dip into the already depressed Jeep fund. The only thing not in the picture is some washers for the adjustment bracket bolt, as I needed to shim it out a bit to get everything lined up straight.

The lower bolt(the tensioning bolt) is a different size from the 10SI and the CS alternators.  The threads I found mentioned that the threaded connection on the alternator is 8mm x 1.25. I found that mine was 8mm x 1.00. Luckily ACE had the 1.00 pitch bolt in stock.

Here with both alternators on the work bench you can see the size difference between them.

(SI on the left, CS on the right)

Even though the CS is noticeably smaller than the SI I had to modify the adjustment bracket to get it to fit.

Also... the SI alternator has the double V-belt pulley and the CS has a serpentine belt pulley on it. So they needed to be switched.

Swapping the pulleys was a breeze. A shot of PB blaster and a hit from the impact gun and they both came off.

The SI and CS alternators use different connectors for the back of the alternator.   Napa makes a plug adaptor that makes this change as simple as plugging it in.  Its part number  Echlin EC-82.

Unfortunately, my grand plan of just plugging the connector in and keeping all the factory wiring intact came to a screeching halt when I found a taped up section of wiring to the plug....

After un-wrapping the tape to inspect the true problem, what I found led me to cut the SI connector off the Napa connector and crimp and heat shrink the CS plug on. The heat shrink isn't visible here, its slid down the wires further. If you have to do this, that small signal wire is a real PAIN to get into the crimp connector, take your time with this. You can see what I found here...

The cut off pieces on the left is what I removed. Now even though I wouldn't have the true plug and play replacement available. I did keep the end of the SI connector in the toolbox so I could add it to the road parts supply for emergencies.

I had to modify my belt tension adjustment bracket to make the CS alternator fit without it dragging on the pulley. The was no way I could remove enough material from the bracket or alternator case to make it fit and work in the stock behind the alternator location. I had to grind about 1/8 material off the top of the bracket and move it to the front of the alternator to get it to fit. Two washers put between the engine casting and the bracket was enough to get the bracket into the proper alignment.
Here is the bracket after about half a dozen trips to the grinder and mounting to the Waggy for checking alignment...

First thoughts after getting everything back together....

When I first fire up the Waggy.. the volt meter gets up to 13 volts much quicker than it did before. But driving down the road, it really doesn't show that much of a difference. I can now run the headlights/foglights(PO trashed the switches so now my fogs come on automatically when I turn on the headlights) and A/C at the same time and I don't drop down into the red on the voltmeter at stoplights.

Parts list:

CS-130 Alternator   $11.99  LKQ half-price day
Napa Echlin EC-82   $17.99  Napa
8mm x 1.00 bolt       $.59    ACE Hardware
Assorted wiring/ring terminals/butt splice connectors   $7.50
washers for shimming the adjustment bracket... parts box leftovers.[/QUOTE]

Replacing the fuel filter on a Grand Wagoneer

This is one of the most basic items to change.  It is simple enough and requires only the contents of a household junk drawer to do.  I give this repair 1/2 a wrench.


Tools needed:
Screwdriver (either a flat blade or a phillips will work.)

Parts needed:
Fuel filter Wix part number 33040 or Napa Gold 3040

The fuel filter is located right up on the top of motor, right near the front, with lines coming from the fuel pump and going to evaporative canister and the carburetor.
You see it here:

I have the PCV air inlet hose removed in this picture so that you can see the filter more easily.  It is back on for operation of the engine.

As you can see from the picture there are three screw clamps holding the filter in place.  I used a flat bladed screwdriver in case I needed it to pop any of the lines off the filter.  I did not need it the hoses all slid off, but it never hurts to be ready.  Unscrew the three screw clamps and slide the hoses off the old filter.

The new filter ready to go on.

You can clearly see the three ports on the new filter.  The fuel lines attach to the two larger center ports, and the line for the evap canister goes on the smaller side port.  Also the filter has an arrow on it to show the direction the fuel should flow through the filter.  Remember to line up the filter in the correct direction.

Here is what you will have when the filter is out.

The two hoses at the left are the ones to the carb and the evap canister. The short one on the right goes to the fuel pump.  The remainder are the spiders nest of vacuum lines running in all directions on this motor.

Reassembly is simply putting all the hoses back on and tightening up the screw clamps.

This basic maintenance item should be changed on the recommended service interval.  I use a 1 year interval on this type of filter.

Changing U-joints on Dana 30

 First... thanks to my hand model Greg.  Without him this article wouldn't have happened.  Its his Jeep...
This particular style of Dana 30 was used on Wranglers, Cherokees and Grand Cherokees.  The basic process of changing U-joints is almost the same from model year to model year.


Tools you are going to need:
Jack
Jack stands
Lug-nut wrench
Socket or Wrench to remove the caliper bolts. Either a 7mm Allen Socket on Early models or a 10mm for later ones.
13mm 12-pt socket or wrench
36mm Hub nut socket
8mm flare nut wrench
Torque Wrench in the correct size drive for the hub nut socket
Vice, C-clamp or U-joint press.
Hammer
Long Breaker Bar(preferably 2 foot or longer)
Chisels, punches and drifts
Needlenose pliers
Small round file
Wire Brush or Emery cloth
Wire or wire coat hanger
Correct sized Cotter Pins
PB Blaster or other penetrating oil
Brake Cleaner
Never-Seeze
Shop rags
Safety glasses

A special thanks to Greg, my hand model.

This job really doesn't require any special skills or tools beyond what as a Jeep owner you really should have.  But it requires the removal and reassembly of a couple of different things.  So I give it two and half wrenches.  Realistically, working alone you could complete this job in about 2 hours if you don't run into problems.  Greg and I were working with an axle from a 89 that had seen no realistic maintenance in quite some time.  Every thing was pretty frozen up and took some extra persuasion.

Step one.
Put your Jeep into 4 low and in park if an auto or in gear if it is a manual.  This is to A. Keep your Jeep from rolling away as you work on it. B.  We need the axle shafts not to turn freely when we remove the hub nut socket. Put on your safety glasses.  Rust, time and corrosion will make things freeze together and in some steps they may come flying loose.  Loosen your lug nuts before jacking the Jeep up.

Step two.
Jack your Jeep up and put it on jackstands that you can comfortably work on your Jeep.  Remove your lug nuts and tire.  Remove the brake caliper and hang it a piece of wire or a wire coat hanger.  We don't want to let it hang from the brake line as that can damage the brake line.  The brake rotor should slide off at this point.  If it doesn't it might have some rust or crud built up around the wheel studs and take a few taps from a hammer to loosen up.

Now we can see this...

Step three:
There is a Cotter pin holding the cap on over the nut for the hub.  Remove the cotter pin and cap.  I have never been able to save the Cotter pins so I just replace them.  Now we blast the hub nut and the three bolts that hold the unit hub to the steering knuckle with our penetrating oil.  If you have a serious corrosion/rust issue this is where work will really slow down.

This is the thread end of one of the bolts holding the hub to the knuckle.  There are two others spaced around the hub to keep it tight

Remove the hub nut. This nut holds the axle shaft to the hub. It will be VERY tight. Use the hub nut socket and breaker bar.  On the drivers side of the test jeep we needed to use a three foot breaker bar and another 5 foot of cheater pipe to break this nut loose.  Behind the nut there is a thick thrust washer, make sure not to lose it.

Now we remove the three bolts holding the unit hub to the steering knuckle.
These are 13mm 12-pt bolts.  Trying to use a 6-pt socket or wrench will only destroy the head of the bolt and make it worse to get them out.  There isn't much room to work in there as the picture shows.

When you have all the bolts out, comes probably the worst part of the removal process.

Step four:  Removing the hub.

Now this is where you will get some debate on the best method to do it. There are a couple of different methods and I will talk a bit about a few of them. The first method is to use a three-jaw puller and attempt to pull the hub off.  This is a REALLY bad idea for two reasons.  First, in the center of the hub contains your wheel bearings, and if you pull apart the hub doing this you now have a bigger problem on your hand.  Second when you are pulling on the hub, the center screw is sending all that force into the axle shaft.  Which is attempting to force the shaft backwards into the carrier.  The force isn't good on the carrier and you can also possibly damage the axle seal, which keeps your gear lube inside the differential and off the ground.
The second method is to put a socket extension or drift against the inside edge of the hub and steering knuckle and use the power steering to pop it off.  This method does work quite successfully when it works.  But there is the danger of that extension/drift popping out under load from the power steering and becoming a projectile.

The method I like to use is a hammer and chisel.   Driving the chisel in around the edge of the hub will work the hub loose from its seat.  This will generally take a while usually the hub is pretty well stuck in from exposure to the elements.

This is the position I start in:

Notice that I start on the ear where the bolts go through.  In this area there is extra space where the hub doesn't actually set inside the knuckle.  But DO NOT drive the chisel all the way into where the bolt holes are at.  You can damage the bolt hole if you do.

When it comes loose the hub will pop out and you can slide the shaft out.  Generally using the hammer and chisel method you will damage the dust shield beyond use.  But if your Jeep sees any really kind of trail time, you might have already damaged it, or it serves only to collect mud,dirt and sticks off the trail and hold them next to your brake rotors.

When the hub and shaft are out it will look like this:

Step five: removing the U-joints.

There a couple of different methods for doing this also.  I use a joint press that I bought from Harbor Freight for around $20.  I know people have said they have had the C-frame crack and break on it.  But I have done over 20 sets of U-joints using the same one, so if it breaks at this point I have gotten my money's worth.


While we are doing this we need to take care to make sure that we don't damage any of the splines on the shafts.  These engage either the hub or the carrier inside of the differential, and we don't want to have to fix them.  And if you have a vacuum disconnect axle, there is a small needle bearing inside the end of the shaft.  Take care to protect that from damage and debris.
The first thing we need to do is remove the C-clips from the insides of the Joint caps.  If we don't we can't drive the caps out of either side of the yoke.

We can see the small C-clip in this picture,  Its just below the yoke side.  It is the black piece.  This picture shows a new joint in place.  When you are trying to remove the old ones, they will be just as rusty as the rest of it and it was VERY hard to see them in the picture so I swapped this one in.

Now I use a press to slightly press one side of the U-joint in far enough to remove the C-clip on that side.

What we are doing there is pressing the entire joint over far enough to remove the C-clip on the screw side of the press. Once we have that C-clip out, we flip the shaft in the press and repeat the process.  Press the joint far enough that you can remove the C-clip.  Removing the clips is often a bit of trial and error.  many times they are rusted in and you need to take a punch and drive them out from their edges.

Once we have the C-clips out, I like to remove the joint from the press and use a hammer and drift to remove the caps.  I have seen joints that are pressed have caps explode and throw pieces everywhere, caps come completely out with a good deal of force throwing pieces of needle bearings all over. Even an occasional yoke crack from the force.  also you can risk bending the ears of the yoke slightly making it much harder to get the joints back in.

Now take a drift and pound the caps through the outside of the shafts.  You have to remove both caps for the cross to come out.  There simply isn't enough room to do it other wise.

Once we have the joint completely out, take this opportunity to run a round file inside the ears of the yoke and both the inside and outside faces of the yoke.  This is just to clean everything up so that there will be less difficulties getting the new joints in.

(Yea! We are onto the reassembly phase)

Step six: putting in the new joints.

I have always found it easier to put the new joint into the outer stub first than put the stub onto the shaft rather than putting the joint on the shaft and trying to add the stub after.

Reassembly is VERY close to the same as dissasembly.  Remember that we had to remove both caps before we can take the cross out?  Well, we need to put the cross in before we can put the caps on.
Here you can see the cross sitting in the joint as we get ready to put the caps on.

At this point,  I give the cap on top a few hammer blows to ensure that it is seating in straight, then I flip the shaft over and start the opposite side cap.  When placing both caps at the same time its important to make sure that they are going in straight, so use a level surface.

Once you get both the caps in all the way, you can see the C-clip groove. Just install the clips and you are golden.

Step seven: Reassembly

Reassembly is pretty much the reverse of the disasembly process.  But we want to take this chance to clean up and use Never-Seeze to keep from having such terrible corrosion problems in the future.

When we look at the knuckle we want to take a wire brush and clean up all of the areas where the hub will meet it. Also we want to clean out as much of the axle tube as we can reach into and ensure no debris gets pushed into the seal area.

Also we want to clean the edges of the hub where they will meet the knuckle.  You will be able to see an outline in the rust to identify where you need to clean.

Once everything is clean, put a THIN coat of never-seeze on.  A little goes a long way.  You will end up with it all over stuff otherwise.  Put a touch of never-seeze on every bolt you put in as you reassemble.  You will thank yourself later.

The rest of the reassembly process is straight-forward.  If you were able to get it apart, you have all the knowledge to get it back together.
Needed Torque Values:

Axle Hub nut:  175 ft. lbs. to set, recheck 150 ft. lbs.-200 ft.lbs.
Unit Hub to knuckle: 75 ft. lbs. to set, recheck: 70-80 ft. lbs.
Brake Caliper bolts: 30 ft. lbs. to set, recheck: 25-35 ft. lbs.

Welcome!!! Come on in.. grab a seat, beer is in the fridge.

Welcome to the very first post here. I had been considering doing something like this for quite some time.  Sometimes the Jeep related message boards and forums can be a rough place to learn some basic ideas and projects for your Jeep.  Too many people get internet Rambo syndrome and forget that not everyone has a mechanical background to draw from.  So you will see some pretty basic repairs, including ones that only require the contents of your basic junk drawer at home.  You will also hopefully get to see some things that require more than your average amount of thought to attempt.  You are always encouraged to contact the author with any questions you have.

One of the things I really love about being a Jeeper is more than most auto hobby groups.  Your attitude will determine how far you go. You can not even know how to do the most basic repairs but if you show a willingness to listen, learn and try Jeepers will go far out of their way to help you.  Act like a jerk though and you are in a rough ride.

You will notice I refer to my Jeeps as 'the victims'.  This is really a term of endearment.  All of them are at least 16 years old and over 100k miles.  Yet they keep on chugging along.  This is more a testament to the quality of their construction compared to my ownership of them.