Hello From another Willys Fan

[BLE Bob]

Hi all,

Purchased a 55 CJ5 this Spring and just now finding a little time to tinker on it here and there.

Have been a long time fan of the Pre AMC Jeeps even though I am the owner of a 94 YJ as well. Just finished rebuilding that one too!

Plans to start for the CJ.

1. Compression test to see if its even worth doing anything right now.
2. If (1) is ok see why the trans is stuck. It was 3/4 full of water when I got it. Then again its going to be hard to do a compression test if its stuck in gear!?!?!?!?
3. Came with some extras, see what I do and do not need and sell that stuff off
4. If (1) is ok, get it running and tinker as time/money allow.


Take care,

Bob

[BLE Bob]

I will post some pictures soon, but the body had a half a#$ed repair job recently. Really crude patches etc.

Might go the route of a Juan body in the long run. For now likely try to stop as much rust as possible.

[bmorgil]

I'll take door number 4 Bob!

Lets hope that's what you have. Is the trans locked up or stuck in a gear? If its stuck in a gear can you get the transfer case to neutral? The good news, it is a fairly straight forward task dropping the trans. I am a fan of pulling the drive shafts and dropping the cross member, transmission and transfer case all together. With a good floor jack it is surprising how fast you can get them in and out. If the trans was full of water there is a good chance the transfer case is full of water. They really should be disassembled anyway. Prop up or tie up the rear of the motor and drop it all out. I wouldn't risk a lot more damage driving it around when you know there could be potential water damage. Some of the parts in the trans and transfer case get expensive. You never know what you might be able to save if you take a look before it fails catastrophically.

[BLE Bob]

bmorgil.

The old "don't step over a dollar to pick up a dime"!

I rebuilt the AX15/NP231 on my Wrangler so I am not too worried about tearing into the T90/D18 combo. I suppose I do not need the trans in to do a compression test either. Only thing I am a little hesitant on is the D18 shimming. I guess a bunch of YouTube is in order.

[bmorgil]

On the shimming, it is a matter of using your dial indicator and properly seating the bearings between readings. I don't think you will have any trouble with the shimming. I will tell you to be careful on the information out there on the T90 tear down. A few persons wrongly tell you to remove the reverse idler shaft by driving it out of the case from the inside. This is wrong. It goes to the inside just like the manual says. There is a tear down article out there that is very good for the most part. However they are adamant that you have to drive the shaft out from the inside. They state you will "ruin the case". In fact driving the reverse shaft out from the inside is a bad idea on a T90. The Jeep service manual does a good job on the R&R of the drive line components.

Anyway you won't have much trouble if you are familiar with transmissions and transfer cases. These are very simple transmissions and transfer cases.