Tub Removal

50 3A

Ok, so I know this has been covered before and have done a search and read alot of material on it.

I'm armed and prepared with torches, sawzall and grinder with cutting wheel.8)

So far I've pulled the fenders, windshield and grill along with the seats and gas tank and radiator. The cutting wheel came in handy already since the PO decided to weld the front of the fenders to the grill! He even tack welded one headlight pot to the grill. I'm not sure why you would do this??

Judging from prev posts, I'm going to just go ahead and torch any body mount bolts off.

The only big question I have is the steering column. I've read that you can lift the tub over the column with the steering wheel on... I doubt this will happen with my farmer patched floor. I plan on unbolting the Ross steering box from the frame and bringing it with the tub. From what I've heard this will be easier than trying to remove the steering wheel and lifting the tub over the column?

Also, the majority of tub work is in the areas where the hat channels rotted due to the wood inside. There are still a good amount of the hat channels that are still good. Should I rip them out just to get rid of the wood or leave them be?

Oh yes, then there is the wiring. It is the original cloth covered wiring and seems to work fine but seems very stiff and I feel that if I move it around alot it will crack. Replace the whole wiring harness or patch up the original wiring where needed?

Lastly, does anyone have a semi-accurate weight on an empty tub?

Thanks guys

 

I'd pull the wheel before the ross box, but either way it will work.

Are you replacing the tub or repairing? If repairing, get rid of the wood and any rotten metal and see what you have to work with. Don't throw out good hat channel if you don't have to.

Thw wiring is really up to you. Now would be the time to replace it, but there is nothing wrong with repairing as needed.

Not sure on the weight, but 2 guys can handle it.

 

It was Kathy and I only who set and removed the 63 tub by ourselves and that was with the steering column installed..

Cant get any help in this part of NC..Tub is just big and bulky.

I would replace the wiring before I set the tub back on just mark the wires with masking tape..You wont have that many under the tub most of the wiring is under the hood to the dash .at least thats the way it is for my cj2as.....She can also lift those as well..

 

If the hat channels with the wood in have made it 57 years of god knows what..I wouldn't spend my energy there. If you replace parts of them put in spacers. When you weld them on you will burn alot of paint off on the inside anyway leaving it just like it is today. I would remove the steering wheel (I know it's not easy) but you will have that thing there like a ball and chain for everything you want to do...My 2 cts.

 

When I pulled my tub, I just pulled the whole steering column out. IIRC there's only 3 bolts holding the steering box to the frame, and it only takes a second to disconnect the drag link. I already had all the floor tin out, and there's just a small bracket that holds it to the dash. I didn't need the steering wheel to steer the frame around, I just wrestled the front tires...but my drivetrain was already out, so YMMV. As others have noted, a bare tub is pretty light. I can move it around by myself. I pulled it off the frame all by my self...



I strung a couple of 10' 2x4s up in the roof trusses, and put eye bolts through them. I just used the ratchet straps to get it up off the frame enough to pull the frame out from under it. I would guess an empty tub weighs maybe a couple hundred pounds (?).

Oh, and on the wiring...if you're finding bad spots, you might think about just replacing the whole thing. It's all the same age, and if you're getting corrosion inside or anything there's probably bad spots you can't see. If you replace it, you'll know it's done right and shouldn't have to mess with it for the life of the Jeep. Walck's and others offer reproduction (original cloth style) harnesses, or you can go with an EZ wire if you need more circuits than the original harness offers.

 

Hey guys,

I managed to get my tub off last night. Reading the advice, I attempted to remove the steering wheel, which surprisingly came off easily. Th PO had recently replaced the Ross box and probably had the steering wheel off for this. I think when it comes time to put it back on, I'll remove the column to make placement easier.

For lifting, I used a setup similar to Toolbox's. I used these ratchet pulleys I found at Menards.
http://www.roperatchet.com/375ratchet.shtml

They work pretty nifty. I have a finished ceiling in the garage and didn't feel comfortable hitting the center of the rafted with a eyebolt, so I climbed in the attic, drilled a 3/8" hole through the side of the rafter and threaded rope though it. I tied it off in the attic and made a small hole in the drywall beside the rafter to drop the rope down through.

During the tub removal process, I removed all farmers patches and was disappointed to find the tub in worse shape than anticipated. I expect that by the time I cut out the remaining bad sections the tub will be 2/3 it's current weight . A repro is not in the range of possibilities right now, so I'll slug away at repairing the tub anyway with the intention of replacing it with a repro in about 4-5 years.

The bright side of things was that the frame is in excellent shape. I cannot believe that it is in that good a shape when the body is that rotten. It will require some cleaning, inspection for cracks and painting as well as replacement of the front bumper. I'm not going to tackle the driveline at all. It runs and drives fine, so I don't want to open that can of worms. It will get a cleaning and thats all.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Walks cloth wiring harness at Walck's. I'll probably go that way if anything. I prefer to keep the original look of it.

Thanks for the advise, I'm sure I'll need plenty more along the way.

Cheers

 

even though you already did it... I removed the 3 bolts in the top of the Ross box and spun the wheel out, so the column separated from the box. Got to see what nasty 60 year old grease looked like.

seems like you have it handled though.