The beginning of my '53 CJ3B build/resto

My flywheel was the same way, greasy and sticky. I just kept degreasing it cleaners and stiff brushes until the grease residue finally disappeared. I also ran an orbital sander with some fine grit sandpaper over the surface of it until it shined. I'm not sure if this is proper but it worked. I considered taking it to the machine shop and asking them to soak it in their tank but after a few rounds with degreaser and stiff brushes, it finally came clean.

As for your exhaust manifold studs, this is extremely common. Caution, though, I tried drilling out one of the center ones and couldn't get an ez-out to work. So I decided to drill all the way through and put in a heli-coil, which worked fine but the center holes don't normally go all the way through. There is a wall separating the stud hole from the water jacket but I penetrated it. I panicked when I realized what I did and thought I ruined my block. But I put some sealant on the stud going into the heli-coil and everything is fine.

If you go this route, do it BEFORE you put in the head bolts or you will end up drilling through one of them.

 

Thanks, Stout. I'll work on the flywheel like that then. What are you using for a good degreaser? I have been using Simple Green and it works ok, but I wonder what would work better.
And as for the studs I may try something that I saw at Sears for broken studs. It looks like a bolt head that you hammer onto the stud and then you're able to get a wrench on it to turn it out. No word on how you get the stud out of the tool afterwards though. At least my studs aren't broken off flush to the block yet, but they probably all need replacing.

 

I used a combination of spray degreasers (not sure of the exact brand but just basic stuff) and dawn liquid detergent in my garage sink. Made a huge mess of my sink but there's a price for everything. I think I also used some engine cleaner, the kind that foams when you spray it on.

I would definitely replace all of the exhaust studs, even if they appear to be OK.

 

A friend of mine on my forum suggested a 1/2" socket extension and I'll be damned if it didn't work perfectly. I tapped it a few times and moved it about 1/8". I was hesitant about moving it out the rest of the way with the extension as I didn't want to **** it and jam it by hammering on it at an angle. It came out the rest of the way with the dowel as easily as the countershaft. Just a matter of getting it started as the original idea man had said!

 

I started getting alot of work done on the T90 today and one of the gems that I uncovered was the original casting date for the case... July 29, 1953! How about that!?! A week from today it was cast 59 years ago! Pretty cool! I love dates on things like this and was hoping to find some frame numbers when I cleaned up the frame, but this almost makes up for it. I didn't know that these existed until I chanced across a reference to it on the 2A Page here. As the OP said, the fake screwheads are a nice touch!





The mainshaft gears. Mainly a bit of surface rust but you can see some wear on the large gear's right hand teeth on the sliding gear or the 1st/Reverse Sliding Gear as Stivers refers to it here- http://www.cj-3a.com/T-90 Rebuild.htm. I think that it's related to the excessive wear on the countershaft/ cluster gear set or.





And speaking of which...











Anyone have any experience with how much wear is too much. Stivers says 3/8"... Guess that its time to break out the file and dress 'em up a bit.





Got nice and dirty with the grinder and wire wheel. Its messy but does a nice and quick job of thick accumulated grease and dirt. A bit of Simple Green and a couple of shop rags later and its looking almost ready for paint! Still gotta get into the corners and niches with an old toothbrush and then it'll be Rustoleum time!








And another little mystery. Anyone have an idea about the stamped numbers on the lip of the top plate? "56", "61" and "H183-3"

 

Another scorcher today that really sapped my drive. Got a bit done though... Cleaned up the flywheel to look nice and purty with a bit more degreaser and then tried the unconventional 150 grit sandpaper and random orbital sander on it. Didn't go crazy with it, just got her nicely buffed and shiny. Took off the stubborn bits of grease.
Popped out the pilot bushing easily enough using the grease and input shaft trick... I wasn't convinced that it was going to work, but wow, was I surprised! I'm freezing the new one and then I'll try tapping it in with the end of the input shaft again unless anyone has a better idea?



The aforementioned 'SP' initials on the front oil pan facing side of the bellhousing shield.



Pretty sure that it isn't a random set of scratches... who knows who 'SP' was!






Anyone know what this could have been or where it came from? It looks like a rounded lock washer with pointed ends... I found it somewhere near the rear of the engine after removing the clutch.



Closer view...



Lastly... I went to set the transfer case mount in today as well and discovered that it didn't fit. Looks like when I was cleaning up the old deteriorated one I left the old bottom metal seat of the old one in its cup in the crossmember. I remember scraping out the rubber from this cup when I was first cleaning up the frame, but that was all that came out. Just wanted to make sure before I start to chisel this piece out.

 

Didn't get much done today, still too damned humid to feel like moving. Tried tapping in the pilot bushing after taking it from the freezer... Hmmm... short of using a press (which I don't have...) anyone have any creative solutions for driving a new one in? I've tried using the input shaft as a guide but still manage to start pushing it in cockeyed. I mean they're pretty cheap but I'd rather not damage it too badly before I get it back in the flywheel. Comparing the old one to new slid onto the shaft you can feel some very slight... like 1/64" slop but its enough that I'm glad that I replaced it... well trying to replace it!
Still bashing away at the collar of the old transfer case mount now painted within the crossmember mount. I've got it started to separate with a chisel and punch, but that sucker is still firmly seated. So after losing a pound or so in sweat I decided to call it a night.

 

One step forward and two back today, man am I bummed...
But first the good news- I spun the pilot bushing on the end of a taped up bit on my drill and ran the bushing over some sandpaper and took a few thousandths and lo and behold it went in easily with a rubber mallet and a few more gentle taps from a sledge.
Torqued down the flywheel and cleaned and repainted the T90's metal mount and got the old transfer case mount out of the crossmember. I was on a roll! Decided to clean up the pressure plate and put in the clutch. I was just about to call it a day while I torqued the bolts... The third bolt seemed to either be loose or had alot of slack in it and just before the message got through my thick head that I should stop because the torque wrench wasn't clicking... snap... sheared a bolt off in the flywheel.
Got a bit too eager. I should have stopped and replaced the old bolts. Instead I was using the old pressure plate bolts. Probably didn't have anything to do with it though. With all the reach of the torque wrench it put too much on the bolt... Just don't know why it didn't click.
So.... now I have to replace my old drill as it's shot and try to drill out the bolt... it didn't even have the decency to snap off with any thread showing so I could have tried to get it out with a wrench...

 

So I also need to invest in something better than my little old tap and die set. Anyone have a recommendation for a good quality, preferably American made set? Or should I be looking for a thread chasing set or re-threader set?
Yep, I learned a lesson today! Like I said, I thought to myself on the third turn, why is this bolt so loose? At the end of the fourth turn I knew that it hadn't been loose at all... But with that extra leverage provided by the long handle I hardly knew how hard I was torquing it. Wish that I had been using my old needle type wrench... lesson learned, I guess...

 

Slow progress/ no progress... Forgot to post that last week I did get that broken bolt out. I bought an easy out set that seemed to have alot of recommendations as well as being an American made product, from Alden. They make a line of easy outs for both bolts and screws. They seem to roughly all work the same way. One end of the bit cuts a centering hole and then you switch it around and the other end acts as the reversed thread shank that cuts and grips the bolt to pull it out. You get the idea...
Anyways, bought a set and I started to cut into the bolt just to find out that the pressure of the cutting end was enough to back it out enough that I easily got a pair of pliers onto it and unthreaded it... :?
To have gotten a grade 8 bolt to snap off I thought that the bolt would have been too torqued in there to get it to unthread that easily otherwise I would have tried it. Oh well, live and learn. I still have to get a new set of bolts from Walck's before I get to start over again with the clutch!

 

Yay, small steps! I finally got around to ordering the replacement pressure plate bolts from Walck's a couple of weeks ago. Got a UPS tracking number and I noticed that the shipping weight listed it as 10 pounds!? Huh, for six bolts, lock washers and a keychain? Oh well, got the box last week and its huge and HEAVY! I open it up and yup, its a whole pressure plate! Got in contact with his wife this past weekend and she sent the bolts out which I got today and pre-paid packing slip to mail back the plate which I did today.
Spent a few minutes out in the barn with one of my sons and now have the clutch and pressure plate re-attached. Now, I just have to find what I did with four missing bellhousing bolts and I'll be back on my way with things!

 

Sitting around the house on yet another below 40 degree early spring day and feeling anxious and I realized what was up... I needed to get my hands a little dirty and get back to rebuilding the carb that I started taking apart back in probably December. Luckily I remembered how most of it went back together, but then my friend Doug's excellent rebuild guide, filled in the other 75%! (Especially how the needle float and float pin went back in because I dumped my new one out of the bag and they spilled out jumbled from the needle seat!) Thanks for the excellent writeup and photos (which I really didn't take enough of... ). It would be back together by now but I'm soaking the diaphragm housing which seems rusted or sealed in. I remember it sticking in past rebuilds but not this firmly stuck... Now if I had only remembered that my wife told me not to rebuild the carb at the kitchen table a few months ago I wouldn't be in the dog house!

 

One of the first nice days of the year so the boys and I got outside to play and work on the Mistress. A few little things done. I installed the rear pinion seal after wrestling with getting the old one out. Think that I was just too delicate with it before. Seemed a shame to bend the nice old silver one up as the new replacement doesn't have half the style, but it was definitely leaking like a sieve. I retorqued the clutch to flywheel bolts and started putting the bellhousing back on. Somehow miraculously I hadn't misplaced but one of the bolts for it.Decided to let the newly rebuilt carb sit on the intake as well and so its starting to look more and more like an F head again.
However I need a decent pair of FLAT nose snap ring pliers in order to finish disassembling the T90. Note the emphasis on the word 'flat.' I have a pair that I thought would work, but don't. Well, another tool is always a good thing! So i decided to take the empty T90 case over to sit it on the crossmember and start thinking about how it would look back together. However it doesn't align with the bellhousing. The T90 sits about 4 inches or so higher than the bellhousing... Huh? I have no idea how that can happen, but I must be overlooking something. Well maybe next weekend!

 

Good news and bad. Took the old clutch throwout bearing off and easily installed the new in the vise and then realized that the rear pinion seal that I changed last weekend is still leaking.

 

PS. the rear pinion isn't leaking. I was a bit shortsighted and realized that it would stop leaking when I torqued down the yoke! Just glad that I realized that I could actually install a pinion seal correctly!
Been thinking about this recently and realized that I hadn't given it any consideration before, but I never used any locktite on things like the center pins in my new to me assembled leaf spring packs or the clutch to flywheel bolts. Then again I hate to have to apply heat to break them loose at some future date. As for the clutch bolts I just tightened to the torque specs and did a good tighten on the spring center bolt nuts. Should I think about disassembly already? Talk about measuring twice before you cut!

 

RockRunner85, thanks, good advice that. Now for a combo update...
And there was another weekend. I needed to get into the barn yesterday and tonight for a mental holiday. I started to disassemble the front axle. Pulled everything up to the brakes including the hub and drum assembly yesterday to find that not surprisingly, the brakes and drums are a complete loss. There was alot of leaking grease and dirt clinging to the outside of the drums that I knew something was up, but had no idea! It was like something from a 60 million year old fossil, not a 60 year old jeep. There was so much bearing grease, gear oil and knuckle pudding that you could barely tell that there were shoes in there! So some new grease seals are in order as well Tonight I took off the spindle and pulled the shaft and imagine my surprise as in the immortal words of Dr. Vern "Disassembly was not difficult at all. With the Bendix joint removed from the axlehousing, you can pivot the joint beyond the normal travel and watch the balls run off to the four corners of your shop."
Only wish that I still had these tags installed. I was a bit surprised as I thought they were only used in earlier 2As and 3As.








So last weekend I began to take the Dana 25 apart. now I knew that judging by the amount of grease and dirt that was crusted to the outside of both drums that both of the inner axle seals had long since dried up and failed, but I wasn't prepared for this mess that faced me once I pulled the axle flanges... Pretty much ever drop of gear oil that should have been in the diff was crusted and dried to the drum and backing plate and pretty well concealing the brake assembly. I wish that I had noticed how the autofocus was off slightly, but you get the point. I'll go through a half roll of shop towels just trying to clean up the backing plates somewhat. Or maybe I shouldn't? I'm not going to get too fussy about them because I'm going to look around for an 11" brake assembly. Now if I'm thinking about it correctly all I need are the backing plates and the hubs (once I get the lug studs sawn off or knocked out of the drums...) and new drums of course? Is that it? I've also read something about needing longer brake hoses, but I can't immediately see why?





I'm thinking that the bearings here and the ones that I removed from the shafts are going to be ok, but is there any way to check them more than just sorta eye balling them and making sure that the rollers all roll and everything seems intact?





Some more Bubba handywork, the typical, well I don't have an axle shaft nut socket so I'll get in there with a screwdriver and bash away method. 'Course I've been there before but have a proper socket now. Think that these can be saved with some minor filing and smoothing down.





But these I can't figure out- the outer lock washers. Seems that Bubba had struck and folded them over maybe as a way of 'locking' them? Once again maybe some time with the vise may flatten them enough to work.
If I have the time tomorrow I may get to taking the knuckles apart and checking out the bearings and starting to clean them up. Not there yet, but what is everyone's favorite knuckle pudding recipe?


Just got back in from an exploratory tour of the rest of the axle in the barn. Removed the steering knuckle and kingpin assembly and here's the count... One- Bottom kingpin bearing shot... bearings fell out of a destroyed cage, so that means a new race too and probably means needing to replace the upper bearing as well? Two- No Kingpin shims whatsoever.... hmmm... thought that they always needed some shims for bearing preload? Three- sigh... removed the pinion nut and discovered that the pinion has WAAAY too much slop back and forth/in and out movement... too much backlash? Plus, the beginning chipping/ wear on the ring gear fills me with the thought that I will be learning how to change a pinion bearing and setting a differential up in the near future... I mean I wanted to learn one day, but this is a bit too soon...


No problem with the drums, John. I'm in no hurry for them at all. I've been looking into things and stumbled across this idea for converting to front discs... http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/show...disk-brakes-on-my-dana-25-and-had-no-problems. I like the idea alot, but with money being really tight, I'm not in a hurry to jump into anything. That being said I'm also not ditching the idea of 11" drums either. I have a feeling that this front axle will cost me more money than anything that I've yet done on the jeep!
And it may well have been a plow jeep based upon what we've seen earlier with the worn gear pattern in the T90.
Its also strange then that it was the bottom bearing that was trashed and the top seems to be in fair enough shape. And with the cost of bearings (and even more if I replace them with OE Timkins...) I'm trying to conserve as much as possible. Can you reliably guesstimate the condition of a bearing just by the feel and look of it? 'Course, with what you said as well as most of what I've online it seems that you shouldn't expect too much from the originals...
Anyone know of a good writeup for changing out the pinion bearing and adjusting the backlash?
I've been re-reading the axle section on Moses Ludel's CJ Rebuilders Guide and its given me alot of food for thought... little things that I need to go back and check for. I'm going to take a better look at the innards this weekend hopefully. But I spent the whole day at work thinking about it and needed to take another look when I got home at the pinion and man, is it sloppy. I wish that I had a video cam, but I'm psyching myself up for digging into after I get the drivetrain squared away.

 

I believe the lock washer is folded over one of the flat sides of the nut, if not it would be a sliding washer and not lock anything.

 

Makes sense... I've since found this out in a manual. I had thought that the tab had something to do with the locking mechanism and based on the Bubba-ism that I've found in this jeep, it made sense at the time.

 

Well, I've been playing around with first dry and then greased up needle bearings and going back and forth between dropping them and not being able to get them to disconnect from my fingers in equal amounts. Now, after about 3 hours, I'm admitting defeat for the afternoon and enjoying a beer. I just don't have the fine dexterity required right now. I can't understand why I can get three sets of them into the counter gear set and then when I go to place the fourth there isn't enough room to insert the last set.... I think that there is next to no room for even slight play and that one set is juuuuuuuuuuuust cocked to the side not allowing the other sets to move freely and binding everything up. But I'm heartened by the fact that its nowhere as complicated as my mind was making it out to be beforehand. I did actually finally get everything to sit correctly once and then took the gear set, placed it in the case and then decided to take it out again to double check something and with horror realized that I didn't have my thumb over the wooden dowel and it slid out and dropped the bearings again...I tried a dry setup first after having watched this YT vid, but it just wasn't working for me... this man has the magic touch I guess. Gravity wasn't MY friend...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7C_mOSlyU

 

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