My first CJ5

Hi guys. First want to say this is a great forum...very informative. Picked up a 56 CJ5 this weekend for $900. Seemed like good deal to me but who knows. I have one major question im trying to answer. I know steering has been beaten to death in here, but my CJ has a Ford 302 and have a question on steering shafts fitting. Not sure if the fit is different from stock since the 302 is bigger. From the location of the steering box i assume its saginaw?? Now in these pictures can some of you pros tell me whats wrong? Obviosusly steering shaft shouldnt be on the frame like it is, but not sure to do to fix. Dont know if the normal CJ5 shafts will fit because of the bigger engine. Suggestions for best fix. Please take a look at the pics if you dont mind and tell me what you think. Thanks guys.

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/s...ictureID=57420294025/a=3221964025_3221964025/

 

umm I can't see your pics.. By the way, my 57 has a 283 in it. I converted to the Ford reverse power steering box (Herm Tilford's kit). Upgraded to the thicker rods up front. With some minor mods it fits great. I can't seem to be able to post pics here. I am looking into a picassa account to post them.

 

Hmm okay. First time i have posted so let me work on the pics. Thanks for the info though.

 

Ok Hopefully these work. If you need any other pics just let me know. Thanks again guys.

 

Nice looking cj5, I like that roll cage.. any info on it ?

For your question about the steering shafts.. I'm not sure what your problem is. I do see what looks like a coupler joining pieces of shafts together, welded probably, and that it is slightly rubbing on the motor mount that has been notched out for the shafts. Your steering box does not look GM to me.. like I have and seen on alot of cj5 steering conversions. A pic of where the steering coulum shaft coming out of the firewall may give us more of an idea how your steering has been converted. I cut my steering column shaft off and put a universal joint there, and from there I had shafts from the donor vehicle that all the peices fit up to the steering box. Also I added a pillow block to keep the shaft in place. Do you have something to keep your steering shaft in place and not wander around ?

 

The roll cage is nice, but know nothing about it. It looks brand new, but the PO had it as a project that he never did anything with and didnt know much about.

There is nothing in there to holding the shaft. It just spans the entire length with out anything holding it. I can move it an inch side to side with my hand. Here are a few pics of the joint at the fire wall. The joint is very loose and sloppy. Also, the shaft going up through the firewall into the column is very loose. I read there are beaings in there to replace but havent made it that far yet.

As you can see I took the steering wheel off and found a little surprise.

 

Thanks Warloch. Yea trying to figure if it is even worth messing with or should just start over with it. Would you guys just give it a little love or does it make sense to upgrade and use the newer better parts? Havent done enough research on here yet, but also trying to figure out if it makes sense to upgrade to power steering. It would be nice but havent really priced it yet. Iknow there is tons of info on that on the forum...just havent checked it out yet. Guess it depend how much money i want to spend

 

It's a Jeep.. you have to spend money on it.

If it was me, I'd redo it with power steering. Probably cheapest to go to a junkyard for parts.. and a welder and cutting tools would be needed. Your steering column does not look factory to me.

 

Yea im starting to lean towards power. Might as well i suppose. thanks

 

THumbs up on the power steering. My 57 CJ5 turns with 1-2 fingers on the 32x11.5x15 tires.

 

Thanks Warloch. Its going to be a couple weeks before I get to work on it as its vacation time. Am planning on 31s and no serious wheeling. I may just stick with the manual for now and see how i like it. Need to get my brakes done as well to make this thing safe. For now Ill just work on getting it safe and then upgrade from there. I appreciate the info and if I run into any problems Ill probably holler back at you. Thanks again

 

Good luck with your project, but that bumper has to be one of the ugliest things I've seen on a jeep

 

Thanks...I will need it.
Haha... Terrible isnt it? Got the jeep home on saturday and first I snapped a few pics to send my dad and second I took off that horrible thing off. They drilled 4 big holes in my perfectly fine bumper to mount that thing. Oh well its gone now.

 

Did any of those steering column guest come home with you?