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CJ typical Questions

1K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  lucdog 
#1 ·
Hey guys I've had this CJ7 for about 1 year now and I've been finally digging in and rebuilding as much as I can figure out with that Hanes manual. Now I think I've got the engine running nice and pretty sounding but its time to work on cosmetics. I have a bit of a rust problem from the previous owner being an arse and not taking care of this thing at all. I'm wondering

A) would it be easier to cut the panels that I want to get rid of teh rust off the sides and replace with a sheet metal roughly the same thickness and either weld it together or ribbet it?

B) would a kawasaki green look pretty nice on a Jeep CJ7 '79?

C) A cheap place to get a good winch is...?

D) Suggest removing the panels to get dents out or just knocking them out if I can or bondo for the win?



Plus on a side note I also am having issues with my oil pump or the mechanical gauge. It stays up around the 50 kg/cm3 when it starts up but when it warms up it drops all the way down to around 2-4 unless I give it gas resulting it it going right back to normal until I come to a halt. What gives? I mean I've checked the mechanical gauge by disconnecting it and hooking it up to an air compressor to measure 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 kg/cm3 and I'm just wondering could the engine get slightly worn out to where its not going to cause too many problems in the future and the oil viscosity changing due to the heat allowing it to be fine? That would be amazing if so.

Also if anyone is interested I'll post some pictures of the rust/jeep. Remember this has been a HUGE work in progress since a year ago so give me a break I have college haha!
 
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#3 ·
Comex said:
Hey guys I've had this CJ7 for about 1 year now and I've been finally digging in and rebuilding as much as I can figure out with that Hanes manual. Now I think I've got the engine running nice and pretty sounding but its time to work on cosmetics. I have a bit of a rust problem from the previous owner being an arse and not taking care of this thing at all. I'm wondering

A) would it be easier to cut the panels that I want to get rid of teh rust off the sides and replace with a sheet metal roughly the same thickness and either weld it together or ribbet it?

B) would a kawasaki green look pretty nice on a Jeep CJ7 '79?

C) A cheap place to get a good winch is...?

D) Suggest removing the panels to get dents out or just knocking them out if I can or bondo for the win?

Plus on a side note I also am having issues with my oil pump or the mechanical gauge. It stays up around the 50 kg/cm3 when it starts up but when it warms up it drops all the way down to around 2-4 unless I give it gas resulting it it going right back to normal until I come to a halt. What gives? I mean I've checked the mechanical gauge by disconnecting it and hooking it up to an air compressor to measure 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 kg/cm3 and I'm just wondering could the engine get slightly worn out to where its not going to cause too many problems in the future and the oil viscosity changing due to the heat allowing it to be fine? That would be amazing if so.

Also if anyone is interested I'll post some pictures of the rust/jeep. Remember this has been a HUGE work in progress since a year ago so give me a break I have college haha!
A. Cut and weld new sheet metal in. Easier to pop rivet panels , but looks like crap.

B. the color you like best is what your after, not someone else's opinion.

C. Craigslist, the local classifieds, or friends. Be patient. Warn is the best. Search the web for what they cost new. I bought my warn 8274 for $400 in good condition. I also bought a warn 9,000i for $240 in great condition.

D. Bondo is ok as long as there isn't a hole exposed to moisture, and isn't over 1/8" thick.

E. wait, you didn't list a e, anyway the oil pressure. Why did you post the metric equipment of PSI. When your from Missouri? How many miles on the engine? Is your gauge a cheap or good one? Mileage makes a difference on oil pressure. If the engine doesn't make bad noises when running, I wouldn't be too concerned with the 2 to 4 number. Of the 3 258 ci. Engines I've had, they have consistently run at 5 to 10 PSI at idle.

Welcome to the best CJ forum on the net.

Bill
 
#4 ·
Engine sounds fine. When they get warm the viscosity will drop but it is still getting there, maybe leaking pressure around the camshaft bearings. If the oil is really old you will see a big jump when you change it.
 
#5 ·
Put some 20W-50 Valvoline VR1 racing oil in it. I bet you'll see another 5 psi at idle. AMC engines are notorious for having low idle pressure. My newly re-built 360 only holds 20 psi at warm idle, but it quickly jumps to 50 psi with the slightest bit of throttle, and that's with the thicker 50W oil.

Matt
 
#6 · (Edited)
Wow I didn't think I would have so many replies, that rocks! To bagus; the oil shouldn't be an issue I just changed it out 2 weeks ago with some thicker oil, and I did start to wonder about the bearings as well..as long as its not making a noise its perfectly fine though? I thought that any play around the bearings would be asking for trouble down the road in the future, then again I've just now started to delve into this wonderful world of automechanics.

To Matt; Right now its sitting with 10w-50 in it from Valvoline and it quickly jumps back to 50 psi when I do hit the throttle, which is why I'm slightly confused.

To Brownbag; Is there any other winch out that has an ability of 5000lb pull that I could get fairly cheaper? Warn seems to be quite expensive around my parts in the woods and unfortunately I'm a college kid so $250 for a winch is pretty steep enough much less anything over it. :(

To Lucdog; Any other great winches out there possibly? I put the standards in metric because thats what the gauge reads and it was just what I were to be thinking about at the time. The engine isn't making any noises other than a squealing fan belt possibly and slight misfire which I've think I've tracked down to the amount of play in the distributor cap (whole issue on its own :( ). The dents I've been pulling have been quite large and I think I've gotten it within the 1/8" spec but its just going to take a bit more time and I've put holes in the dents so the bondo can form on the inside as well giving it a better hold (I'm speculating). As for welding any suggestions because the metal I'm wanting to weld isn't very thick and I've never welded before in my life. I'm afraid that it could wind up warping the metal already there and giving me an even bigger issue. Finally the color, I'm colorblind.. not entirely I just can't see anything deeper than primary colors basically so I was trying to get some feedback on what would be pretty gnarly looking on a jeep. The mileage on the jeep registers 125k original miles now if thats been tampered with I couldn't tell you because the guy who owned it before me was a real ... nicely put moron. Through taking the trim off last night I've realized he was just holding that stuff up by bondo and 2 weeks ago while I were to be working on the 4-wheel drive quardatrac system he claimed he used fairly often I came to found out that all 3 vacuum hoses were broken off and barely sticking out of the firewall so how the f*** could he have been using it? There is a ton of more of claims that were working with the jeep but I dare not go into them for the sake of keeping my aggression levels lowered towards the individual. I'm just happy that the jeep is in better hands now.

Thanks a ton for the suggestions! I've almost got all the dents pulled and hopefully I'll be able to start cutting the rust spots out soon and get that started. Any suggestions about welding would be immensely helpful.
 
#7 ·
Where you drilled the holes for to bondo to go thru isn't a good way to go. Without being sealed the bondo will attract moisture, and lead to rust.

Do a search on welding panels on a CJ, there are a number of threads on JF. You might enroll in a welding class at a Community college, or check a local welding shop for their Recommendation.

Be patient on the winch,

Bill
 
#9 ·
Comex,

Like you, I had never welded until I started restoring my heap, so take this advice for what it's worth.

I bought a Lincoln MIG welder, practiced on scrap metal for a day, then started cutting holes in my CJ to patch with my new toy, on the second day.

I found the key was to tac-weld (spot weld), instead of doing continuous welds. Jump around the patch with each tac-weld, so that one area doesn't overheat and warp. Keep adding tac-welds until everything is filled in. Sometimes it's useful to grind the previous tac-welds down, before filling in the final holes. And use a chunk of copper, as a backer, wherever you can, to dissipate heat.

Take your time!!. My biggest mistakes were when I rushed things, got the weld too hot, then blew thru.

Hope this helps,

Matt
 

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#10 ·
Lucdog: Thanks for the link, the bondo will attract moisture?! What?!!? I'm trying to be patient on the winch, it'd just be awfully dandy to have during the snow (if missouri gets any this year). Then what would another option be for the bondo then? Should I just cut that panel and tac weld like Matt has shown?

Matt: That looks awesome! Are you welding from the inside because it looks so smooth, its hard to believe that you're an amateur at it haha! Looks great though I think I'll give that tac weld a good try. I'll post up some pictures here shortly so I can give off the idea of some of the spots I'm trying to accomplish a good weld on. There are some decent areas that are flat like in your pictures but I've got some corners I need taken care of as well which are going to SUCK!
 
#11 ·
On The bondo thing, any exposed bondo, like on the back side of a hole will hold moisture and eventually rust the metal around it,
 
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