Build Thread 1980 CJ7 rehab project..

[smbundy13]

worked on the jeep for a little bit yesterday

separated this


from this


T177(or 6) going into my CJ from a J truck.. interestingly enough, the adapter to go to the NP208 looks similar to the adapter to go to a dana 300.. we will see when the one I just bought gets in.. hopefully they are the same because I cant figure out how to get this one off... I think it is seized on the dowels..

also, replaced my broken coolant temp sensor.. if you havent ever done that, have the new part ready!!! the coolant is under pressure.. even on a stone cold engine.. luckily, I was sort of ready for it as my buddy told me about that.. but still surprised by how much pressure it was under.. shot up a good 6 inches.. or if my wife is measuring, 12 inches.

 

[shum8]

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[smbundy13]

got the rear adapter off the T17(X) going to my CJ. my favorite helper was out there while her brother and momma napped..




after using this wheel to get the gasket off..



after the gasket was out of the way, I found something...


dont think this will be a problem.. if it becomes one, we will cross that bridge..

so, next step is to start getting parts to do the swap.. new clutch and clutch rods etc.. will have to decide if I am going new driveshafts or just getting mine modified by a driveline shop.. what do yall think? my jeep isnt wheeled hard if at all.. could i get by for a time with the stock driveshafts after lengthening/shortening?

 

[smbundy13]

no pictures today but yesterday, I took the trans and axles to my buddy's house. we got the transmission torn apart and everything looked good inside the trans, albeit with really thick goopy oil.. we didnt see any chipped gears or anything like that..

also, started the tear down of my Wide-Track axles.. only had time to tear the front down.. but it was the first time I have been inside an axle like that.. the axle shafts look good so i will re-use them with some new u-joints. I will def need to regear as the axles have 2.54(ish) gears.. I am going to move to 3.73 as a good in-between gear..

with that gear ratio, based on my reading, I will need to get a new carrier for the gears.. is that correct?

thanks.

 

[gert]

IIRC you are correct, due to the 2. Whatever ratio they moved the ring gear mounting point on the carrier........ time to upgrade to a suregrip or an air locker a tru track


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[shum8]

You probly have the std. 2.73 gears...... just awful to deal with. You will definitely need a new carrier - both front and rear.




Sent from the surface of the sun wondering where Fall is...

 

[smbundy13]

yeah. for budget reasons, I will not be adding a traction aid to these axles.. as I dont really wheel this rig.. if I start to, I will then do lockers of some sort..

 

[smbundy13]

updates, updates, updates.... have had to daily drive the CJ for the last 4-5 days because the wife's vehicle was in the shop (because the kids put a quarter in the CD slot without us knowing)... had a few mishaps with the clutch pedal/adjustment.. one such event happened the other day... basically lost 50% of my clutch function kind of suddenly...

got the CJ home and about to pull into the shop, the pedal went to the floor.. I pulled it up with my foot and instantly had clutch function. I still adjusted the rod and am happier with it... regardless, I have gotten all the parts (except driveshafts) for the T17X swap..

I ordered a new clutch linkage kit that I will modify to use heims... I will document alot, but I will be using my buddy's jeep forum posts...
the reason that I ordered new linkages..



I also confirmed that I do, in fact, have a leaky rear main seal.. its a pretty good leak..



ignore how dirty the engine is.. it is driven through the fields and dirt.. will change the RMS when we do the trans..

also ordered new motor mounts, trans mount, torque arm bushings to change out when we do the trans..

 

[TnCJ]

LOL, that clutch rod looks just like the one that came out of mine a couple of months ago.
My linkage was so worn out the clutch pedal wouldn't even come all the way to the top.
Sounds like your making good progress!!

 

[smbundy13]

LOL, that clutch rod looks just like the one that came out of mine a couple of months ago.
My linkage was so worn out the clutch pedal wouldn't even come all the way to the top.
Sounds like your making good progress!!

yeah.. its pretty worn out..

thanks.

 

[smbundy13]

finally got time and the help (expertise) to pull the engine, trans & tcase yesterday..


pulled the oil pan to take a look at mains and what not to see the internals. everything looks good.. the camshaft has a little bit of pitting and the timing chain has some slack. I am waiting on some opinions on the camshaft and plan to go ahead and do timing chain along with other odds and ends like this clutch...



luckily all the damage went to the pressure plate which is being replaced. the flywheel looks good but i will probably replace it anyways..



those are quarter inch deep gouges in that thing.. amazing it was still even driveable.

plans are to replace motor mounts, trans mount, timing chain, clutch etc, valve cover gasket bc the cork one we just put on a year ago is leaking, rear main seal.. there is a good chance i will say screw it and do a holley sniper kit.. that is if I dont have to rebuild the engine..

 

[smbundy13]

after talking to my guy, we are going to rebuild the engine. the camshaft had a small amount of pitting so we are going to head that off at the pass and rebuild the whole engine. so, we will be fully disassembling the block (hopefully) this weekend, taking to the engine shop to clean and vat the block... and potentially other work.. but we (i) would like to reassemble the engine myself so i can learn more. my buddy that is helping (doing most of the work) has done some real engine work so i trust his expertise on reassembly.

if we dont do the engine this weekend, i will pull the fenders off the jeep, degrease and clean the engine compartment and maybe clean up the frame with some scotchbrite and paint.. we will see..

one new upgrade i have is an h1 steering box and hd mount that will be going in. I got it used from a buddy that is going full hydro..

 

[gert]

You know I think you could of got a few more miles on that clutch lol


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[smbundy13]

got the engine broken down almost all the way this weekend. overall, i am super pleased with the condition of the cylinders, no score marks or scratches that i can see.

here is the reason we broke the engine down.. pitting on the camshaft.. almost all the lobes have some pitting..



one of the cylinder walls..







my buddy forgot a couple tools to fully disassemble the block to take for cleaning... maybe this weekend..

 

[smbundy13]

​got the engine taken to the machine shop and we are going to have to bore the cylinders some to get the ridge knocked down. while there, they are going to check my head and do a valve job. they will be ordering a rebuild kit and i will be getting a little hotter cam after i discuss some options with Comp. should be a week or two at the machine shop then will get the motor put together. I plan to do it "myself" (with the help of a good friend that actually knows what hes doing). anyways, pictures...

took the fenders off to help when we get everything get back together.


loaded into the truck.​

 

[smbundy13]

got my new cam in the mail.. went with a comp cam kit with new springs etc.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I started with a brown 1980 very similar to yours. No where close to done 2 years in... Keep up the good work.

 

[smbundy13]

update, decided to get the engine shop to go ahead and assemble the short block while its there. the labor cost for the is negligible as compared to getting the time to do it myself with substantial help from my buddy.

have some other things to buy before we get it inside the jeep.. oil pump, water pump, flywheel, thermostat, radiator hoses, new driveshafts because of the trans change.

alot of those are just to replace since we are doing this and dont really want to do it again.. (except the d/s..)

 

[smbundy13]

been driving my jeep for a bit to try to get rings set and lost a drivers side rear bearing.. which lost the brake drum, wheel/tire and axle shaft.. luckily (very very luckily) I was driving about 10-15 mph so no drama.

I already had a set of widetrack axles. I re-geared to 3.73 and one piece rear shafts...

went from this..


Narrow Track to these Widetrack





unfortunately, someone decided to play washers with one of my (brand new) brake drums...

luckily, Q-tec is making giving me a partial refund because I went ahead and bought a new rotor and vatozone. hoping to be driving this weekend.

there was a comedy of errors with the re-gear. I bought a set of used carriers required for the gear change and 50% of them were good.. got hosed on the Dana 30 carrier on three fronts.. one, it didnt have the required offset to get backlash set correctly (so it wasnt a 3.73 carrier) and the bearing surfaces were so worn that the new bearings dropped in as opposed to being pressed on and the spider bearings were trashed.. luckily, Bezos saved me $40 over Q-Tec on a brand new carrier.

It took several months to complete, mostly because my best friend did the majority of the work on the side.. and we work on the barter system so I wasnt going to pressure him...