[blackhawk51]

Just curious - but what tilt columns will bolt right in with little to no modification?

[Bojon]

You should ask over in this thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/ti...lease-1294496/

I know that it's a GM column that didn't change a whole lot over the years, but Skerr and Mopar seem to be pretty well versed in some of the differences through the years.

[Skerr]

Originally Posted by Bojon

You should ask over in this thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/ti...lease-1294496/

I know that it's a GM column that didn't change a whole lot over the years, but Skerr and Mopar seem to be pretty well versed in some of the differences through the years.

Thanks Bojon for plugging our thread. The best part about this is providing successful help to others.

[Bojon]

Originally Posted by Skerr

Thanks Bojon for plugging our thread. The best part about this is providing successful help to others.

Your thread helped me a lot during my rebuild, the best source of information I could find on the web. I feel like the least I can do is pay it forward

[drewster]

Jered, Great build you got going there. Looks like your doing things right the 1st time around and you sure will be happy you did! Keep up the good work!

[Bojon]

Originally Posted by drewster

Jered, Great build you got going there. Looks like your doing things right the 1st time around and you sure will be happy you did! Keep up the good work!

I appreciate the good words! The only downside is I don't get to drive it, but when I get to it will be all the sweeter.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, or whatever you may celebrate. Santa was nice to me again this year.

Spartan Locker for the front diff, and a new Leupold for my .30-06, VX-II 3-9x40mm with the long range duplex

The weather here has been fairly nice since Monday, up into the 50's, but by the time it warms up there's only a good 2 or 3 hours to work outside before the temp drops back down. Spent Monday doing a little sandblasting on the frame, and painted yesterday and today. I have a few spots I need to get a small paint brush to get into, but other than that the frame is done. I need to get the skid, brake backing plates, and some other random parts ready for paint, and then I will do it all at once so I dont have to keep buying brushes.

[Bojon]

Just a small update. While getting some other parts ready for paint I found that the gas tank skid is nearly rusted through. So instead of spending time trying to fix it I ordered a replacement. Should paint a bunch of small parts tomorrow, and start reassembling Wednesday if I don't hit any snags.

[Bojon]

Have another addition to the growing pile of tools.



I was thinking about building my own sandblasting cabinet from scratch. When I checked out HF this was marked down to $209, and with a 20% off coupon it was only $170. My Uncle and myself went in on it together, so it only cost me $85!! It seems like it's actually built pretty well, and should work great. I'm going to add some castor's to it tomorrow, and then find out how well it works.

[Bojon]

I built a wood base, and put castors on my new sand blasting cabinet. It's super easy to move now, and actually raises it up to a more comfortable level.


I spent some time blasting a few parts, and I've gotta say, this might just be one of the best purchases I've made. Compared to the high dollar cabinets, the only down side to this is the gun, and the lighting. The gun works great, dont get me wrong, but it's nice to have a pedal rather then a trigger. The lighting is adequate, but I might consider using construction lights, which would be a fairly easy addition. This is going to be hugely beneficial to all the little parts I have to clean up. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Should be starting to put things back together tomorrow, although I'll be waiting to press the bearings onto my axles, and I'm waiting for the front hubs to get powdercoated.

[GlennLever]

Originally Posted by Bojon

I built a wood base, and put castors on my new sand blasting cabinet. It's super easy to move now, and actually raises it up to a more comfortable level.


I spent some time blasting a few parts, and I've gotta say, this might just be one of the best purchases I've made. Compared to the high dollar cabinets, the only down side to this is the gun, and the lighting. The gun works great, dont get me wrong, but it's nice to have a pedal rather then a trigger. The lighting is adequate, but I might consider using construction lights, which would be a fairly easy addition. This is going to be hugely beneficial to all the little parts I have to clean up. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Should be starting to put things back together tomorrow, although I'll be waiting to press the bearings onto my axles, and I'm waiting for the front hubs to get powdercoated.

What works well is the "Mini" Quarz outdoor lights, the are already sealed, put out a lot of light and are cheap.

[Bojon]

Originally Posted by GlennLever

What works well is the "Mini" Quarz outdoor lights, the are already sealed, put out a lot of light and are cheap.

That would be perfect! They are small and put out a great deal of light. I'm going to use it the way it is, but will probly look into that more towards summer, when the sun makes it harder to see in.

I spent a good 12 hours between today and yesterday, but you would never guess it looking at what I got accomplished. Installed the pinion and carrier into the AMC 20, checked the pre-load on the new axle bearings. Went to an uncles shop to use his press. Pushed the first on, got the second ready, and it dawned on me. **** I put the first bearing on backwards. After i got the second bearing pressed, I went to Carquest and they pulled the bearing in about 10 minutes. They even had a new set on the shelf. I still cant believe I made such a stupid mistake. I installed both axles, the pre-load on one felt great, and too tight on the other. Not the most ideal solution, but I used one of the original shims, and got it to where the pre-load felt about the same on both sides.



That's how it sits now. I need to paint some of the brake parts, and my new drums tomorrow, and I'll finish it off.

I spent the last couple hours jumping around on some different parts. I'm hoping that I'll get to the Dana 30 tomorrow, so I installed the balljoints. I already had a set of lower balljoints (MOOG) when I went to Carquest to get the uppers. Somewhere between now and several years ago Carquest switched from MOOG to Raybestos. When I asked them why, the owner gave me the backstory that I'll put here cause you might find it interesting as well.

Carquests biggest client on balljoints, tie rods etc, is a local shop called Jim's Tire, and they would only use MOOG joints. So when the change was made, the owner informed corporate that he was going to look for his own supplier of MOOG joints, so he didn't lose his biggest client. They talked him and the owner of Jim's Tire into a demonstration of the Raybestos, with cut aways and such. It sounds like the MOOG joints, while good, are relatively unchanged since they were first designed, and the Raybestos have taken advantage of new technology, and are producing better joints. They convinced the tire shop into switching, so if they think its better, then I will take their word on it. BTW, Jim's Tire has been voted as the best tire and alignment shop in Colorado multiple times. Another interesting detail I was informed of, Raybestos is, at least in this case, Spicer joints that are sold under a different name.



I originally had the front hubs painted with a high heat paint. After a little thinking, I realized they would take a pretty good beating just from the rims when they went on, so I had them powdercoated. Picked them up today, and they look great



I need to get a new camera, mine busted a while back, so I've been using my phone

[Bojon]

I got the correct gasket for the rear, sealed it up and set it aside until I can get the brake parts finished up.

Brought the Dana 30 and parts into the shop, and dug into that. First up was installing the new Spartan locker into the carrier.



Installation was a snap. I've read threads of people complaining how poor the instructions for these are, but to be honest if you can't figure it out then maybe you shouldn't own a Jeep. Installed the pinion and carrier into the axle, and moved on to the steering knuckles.



I used a pipe clamp to pull the knuckle into the axle so that the balljoint wouldn't spin, made the process really easy. Torqued the lower balljoints to 75 ft-lbs. I then figured out that the spanner I had wasn't actually a socket, and I didn't have a socket big enough to fit on it, so that brought me to a stop on that.

Trying to keep busy I cleaned up the spindles and removed the old spindle bearing using a pilot bearing puller and slide hammer. There was a good bit of rust on the base, so I sandblasted them down for paint tomorrow. Started to install the races into the hubs, and by chance noticed what I thought was blasting media in one of the bolt holes. Upon further inspection I realized it was actually a broken bolt! I don't remember the bolt breaking when I took it apart . I started to look at the bolts the PO had used to hold the hubs on, they were about 1.5 inches long. It seems like the hubs are only threaded a hair over 3/4 of an inch, so I'm kind of surprised any of them came out. I only have one option, and that's to use an easy out. I've tried using easy outs 3 or 4 times, and never had any luck. I filled the bolt hole with WD-40 and will let that sit overnight. Tomorrow when I can get to the store I'll mix up ATF and Acetone, and let that sit in it for 24 hours before I try. If it doesn't work trying to find a hub shouldn't be a problem at the local junkyard, but the bummer is I'll have to pay to have another one powder coated.

[Bojon]

I feel so much better with this whole project now. The last time I worked on it I was so pissed I probably would have been throwing tools if it was my own shop. Today everything went real smooth, and I got a good bit done. On the bright side, I was able to remove the bolt that was broken off in the hub. I mixed up acetone and ATF and let it sit for a good while. When I went to remove the bolt I didn't even get the easy out to "bite" into the bolt before it started spinning out. If your having a problem with a stuck bolt, I highly recommend trying the Acetone and ATF mix, its slicker then snot, like nothing I've ever used before.

I ordered some Crabtree shackle hangers for the rear leafs, so this morning I drilled a hole in the frame, and welded a nut for those. Painted both the shackle hangers, and touched up the frame. I'll have pictures of that posted tomorrow most likely.

I drug both axles into the shop and finished them up. The front axle needed the majority of the assembly to be completed. All things considered it went pretty smoothly. I'll have to remember to watch the lug nuts when I get it running, since the new hubs aren't quite snug against the new discs. This might be in part to the powder coating, adding just enough thickness to be a pain. Packed the new bearings, and got the hubs torqued to where I want them, and threw on the new Superwinch locking hubs I've had laying around for a while. Put the calipers on with new brake pads, but I might end up taking them back off for the time being. The pads came with backing plates that are supposed to remove chatter, but with them on the brakes are just tight enough that they are very hard to spin by hand. I think they should be fine, but it will be easier to move the frame around without the drag.

The rear axle only needed the brakes to be installed, and once I remembered how they went back together it didn't take me very long. Both the front and rear only need oil and then they are pretty much done and ready to go. Tomorrow looks like it's going to be pretty warm, so the plan is to have a rolling chassis, and try to get the drivetrain ready to drop in. Here's a few pics of what I got accomplished:

[Bojon]

I really wanted to have a rolling chassis today, but I cant seem to find all my parts. I would swear that my new suspension kit came with new U-bolts, but I can't seem to find them or the bushing sleeves. I'm not sure if I'm right or just losing my mind . I've looked through just about everything, and I'm about to admit that I never had them. I guess I'll have to order new ones, and set this aside for the time being

[Jim1611]

Jered you've got things coming together real well. It's all looking great too. I like your sandblast cabinet purchase. I'm curious as to how much dust you have inside that might cut down on the visibility. A shop vac would pull that out if you'd need to. Nice scope you got too!!