Hot mess, a 1967 CJ-5 restoration

[davide]

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 )

This was a very funny video and it brought me right back to 1987.

TJones, I was unaware of the Napa filter being made by Wix. Thanks for that helpful tidbit. Sadly, my local Napa store packed up and moved down the road. I'm stuck with O'Reillys now.

Today brought progress as I took out the plugs. They were fouled good. I'm hoping that it was a rich mixture issue and not ring or valve blow by. Penetrating fluid was added to the cylinders.
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I also got the oil bath air filter off (which I am saving) and some of the smog components. Everything but the manifold air rails were removed. I know those are going to be a bear if I want to save them.
IMG_2190.jpg IMG_2191.jpg IMG_2192.jpg IMG_2193.jpg

The contacts on the cap and rotor looked great and no signs of prolonged wear were present. Dwell has yet to be checked as I have not tried to turn the motor over yet.

[bmorgil]

.49 cents for a quart of Valvoline! I can barely remember that.

Your making progress davide. Plug reading takes a bit of practice. Oil fouling always gives you a big clue. Oil when compressed in the combustion chamber does not completely burn. Consequently it is pushed up and past the threads of the spark plugs. You should never see oil, or be able to wipe oil from the threads of the plug. Black burnt oil on the plug threads and plug seat in the head, are clear indicators of oil consumption in the engine. The plug threads should be clean and dry.

Yours all look pretty good for taking them out of an engine after idling or running normally. Plugs "clean" themselves off when they get hot. They get hot under load. You cannot get a good "read" on spark plugs unless you check them immediately after a full power run or a run that you are trying to "read" like cruising. In general when you simply pull a plug after an engine was running and idling, you will get a general indication of oil consumption and idling mixture which is usually a little rich. When you "read" a plug it is important to understand the conditions the engine was running under when it was shut down. The plugs will indicate the conditions in the combustion chamber the instant the motor was shut off. This is a bit more difficult than just pulling out a plug and looking at it. On a dyno or at the track, the process was to run full power and shut the motor down immediately, no idling. No matter where the car was on the track, you pulled the plugs and looked. On the dyno this is definitely easier. You run the car or motor under the condition you are trying to "read" and shut the motor down and look.

Nowadays, I still look, but the Air Fuel Ratio sensors and indicators are way better than my old eyes! Probably the smartest thing you can do if you really want to see how its running ALL the time, is to install an oxygen sensor in your exhaust and read the A/F ratio directly. Just remember burnt oil on the plug threads is a no go all the way.

[51 CJ3]

Have a look at the O’rielly filters. Especially the more expensive ones. I haven’t checked O’Rielly’s but Wix makes filters for more than just NAPA. I am thinking some Car Quest branded filters are from Wix as well.

[davide]

Bob, good call on the plugs and another educational explanation. Brought me back to my SCCA days at Sears Point and Laguna Seca.

I have been super busy on the Dauntless. The smog air rails came out much easier than expected and I have 1/2"-13 plugs ordered to replace the rails. IMG_2198.jpg IMG_2197.jpg
The battery tray was also removed and I am cleaning up the acid mess on the cables and hold-down.

With the smog rails off, I found the exhaust leak that was evident on the passenger side plugs. The lower header bolt on the #4 cylinder (middle) was missing. I was concerned that the bolt had snapped at some point in the past, but luckily it's just missing. Note: go back to the spark plug pic and you can see all three plugs have the ceramic burned. The exhaust manifold bolts were different on each side of the block, so I went ahead and got a new set of serrated flanged-head hex bolts for both sides. There is a Fastenal store near by and they always provide great service.

Today I finished draining the coolant. I am not a fan of flex hoses and have molded ones on order. I also saw that there is some calcium build up and would appreciate some feedback on flushing the system. IMG_2201.jpg

I also managed to get the front axle pinion yoke off to change the seal. It was a little difficult, even with a puller, but it's off now. IMG_2202.jpg Do I need a slide hammer to get this off? Scratching my head on this one.

[bmorgil]

The yoke can really get stuck on there. It is a good press fit thats for sure. The amount of press is critical to the yoke working back and forth and eventually stripping out the yoke. Too loose is a bad thing. It sounds like yours is good to go! A yoke puller is the best way if you have one. They can still be tough. Here is a picture from Amazon of one. You can make one out of a solid bar threaded for a large fine thread.

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You could drill, screw and slide hammer the seal out. But I think you can get it out with a small chisel or tough screw driver and carefully collapse the sides inward, then pry it out. I have always done it that way. The slide hammer is technically correct however!

I see the header issue you were talking about. Good catch, nothing like a header leak to burn a valve.

[davide]

I saw that puller and thought it was the best solution, but couldn't justify the expense to the boss (aka, my wife). O'reilly had a loaner pulley puller that could be converted from three arms to two, and that is what I used. It got me super frustrated yesterday and I had to walk away. Today I gave it another shot and finally got the yoke off. I did note with an ink pen the yoke position and how many turns the nut took to remove. When I get it back together, I should be close to the same back lash.

I'll give the chisel a shot tomorrow and we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the advice.

[gmwillys]

A stubborn yoke isn't uncommon, like Bmorgil said. Applying constant pressure with the puller, walk away, then thump the sides with a hammer to shock it a bit works. Glad you won your battle with the yoke. The seal will be a breeze compared.

[bmorgil]

No need to count turns or mark the location. The yoke is not indexed on the pinion and the nut is torqued to specification. The pinion position can only change if you change the bearing or the shims under it. The pinion preload is also set by a shim pack. Therefore you only need to be sure you torque the pinion nut back to specification.

[davide]

Ah, shimmed at the opposite end! Excellent to know that, thanks Bob.

GM, you described to a tee exactly how it went down

One other thing I might note. I have tried to turn the motor over by hand and its barely budging. Today the oil arrives and I want to "spin" the motor as to get the oil pump gears to get oil to the top end. Can I use the crank damper nut to do this?

[bmorgil]

Yes you can spin the motor with the Crank Bolt, don't exceed the torque spec of the bolt.

You may want to prime the engine via an exposed oil port like the oil pressure sending unit. Remove the sender or tap and using a large veterinary syringe pressurize the system. Keep pushing in oil until you see oil at the push rod/rocker arms.