Hot mess, a 1967 CJ-5 restoration

[TJones]

It works davide, but like I said it’s a PITA

[LarrBeard]

On the other hand, don't worry too much about it. We're used to looking at things upside down, sideways and with rust and dirt in our eyes.

[davide]

I am fairly sure I goofed and pressed the front wheel bearing seal in too deep. If I recall when I tore this all apart a couple years ago, the face of the seal was flush with the hub. There was a little play between the inner part of the seal and the bearing. Here is what I did...

IMG_2171.jpg IMG_2172.jpg

I think I can easily get this seal out and try again if what I believe to be correct is.

Here is the other side with how I believe the seal should be in:

IMG_2174.jpg

What do the experts think?

[gmwillys]

Davide,

If you are living right, you may be able to persuade the seal to migrate back to flush. With my usual luck, I would spend the money for a replacement seal from the parts house, and start over. You'll be hard pressed to overcome the outer coating of the seal case, without bending the crap out of the inner sealing rubber. If you press on the bearing to use it as a backer to push flat against the seal, it tends to tee pee the inner portion of the seal. Again, you may have the lucky horse shoe hanging in the shop, so you might get lucky and save it. Give it a go, and see where you end up.

[TJones]

I’m with gm, my luck would be to getter back all flush, pat myself on the back, spend about 2 hours putting everything all together then 2 months down the road take her out for her maiden voyage and have it sling grease and oil everywhere over a $6.37 seal!!!
Replace it while you gotter out,apart and laying right in front of you and we’ll keep it a secret between us davide

[davide]

Thanks again guys for your experienced feedback! I ended up being able to pop the seal out using the washer and axle nut method. No tee pee or damage to the rubber portion of the seal, so I ended up re-using it. In fact, when I originally dismantled this, both axle seals came out looking fantastic too. The rubber on those were very pliable and I have kept them as emergency spares (yes, sometimes my thrift ends up biting me in the rear). So with the exception of the front pinion seal, I am calling the axles finished!!
IMG_2181.jpg

I started the engine work a couple days ago. A space heater got the oil pan warm and the old oil was drained. Before I drained it, I looked at the dipstick to smell for gas, look for signs of a bad head gasket (milkshake) and overall oil level. The oil poured out easily and no signs of gas or coolant contamination were detected. The only thing I noticed was what appeared to be more than 5 quarts in my drain pan. The dip stick level was way over the fill markers and I attributed that to everything finding it's way to the pan after sitting for years. The radiator looked good for just having water in it. Maybe I will do a pressure test on it and spring some leaks

Here is what I am starting with: IMG_2175.jpg IMG_2176.jpg IMG_2177.jpg IMG_2178.jpg
Here are a few things going through my mind:
- Oil bath air filter. Not a fan of it and will probably change it to the set up in the Tech Library
- California emissions (What the bleep!). That will go for sure!
- Spark plug wires that drape over the exhaust headers
- All vacuum, fuel and coolant hoses need to be replaced.
- Fram PH11 oil filter. My research tells me that this is the wrong filter. I already have a couple Wix 51049 replacements on order. Also looking to get 10 quarts of high zinc non-detergent oil. I found the Valvoline racing VR1 10W-30, but it's pricey!!

I'll start tomorrow by pulling the plugs and adding the oil/penetrating lubricant as well as draining the radiator and looking at the cap, rotor and points. This should keep me busy for a few days...

[gmwillys]

You Sir are living right in regards to the seal. Like TJ said, if it were mine, it'd be slinging grease all over the place on the first drive.

Fram is always the wrong filter, no matter what the cross reference book at Big Wheel Rossi auto parts says. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycdDpfb3384 ) Wix is definitely the way to go.

[bmorgil]

I'm with gmwillys, Wix is the go to filter.

[TJones]

If you have a NAPA store near you davide Wix makes most all of NAPA's filters.

[LarrBeard]

"I found the Valvoline racing VR1 10W-30, but it's pricey!!"

Yep - it's pricey. But - on the other hand it's only 5 or 6 quarts and for most of us we end up changing it every couple of years because we don't put that many miles on the Jeep. I'd run a at least one fill of every day 10W30 or just 30W through through the engine to clean it out (and a second filter as well) before you go to the long term oil/filter setup.

The oil bath filter is a bit clunky and it can get messy - but if you are going to play in the dirt it is still the best choice. It is a fail safe filter - the paper filters fail unsafe(clog up). GMWillys works with big engines that have come back from sandbox places and they show a lot of wear that would probably have been avoided with oil bath filters.