Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Scott's Build Thread- 85 CJ7

181K views 2K replies 85 participants last post by  Jim1611 
#1 ·
This will be a very slow thread! Since Clay and I are building his 5 I am not really building my Jeep at this time, but there are a few things that I am doing along the way. I can't put them in Clay's thread, so here is mine.

Her name is Lizzie. She's a 1985 CJ7 I got from a guy up in Hawkinsville, Georgia. She had sat in the woods for 5 years until I saw her and talked the guy into selling her to me. I got her for $1750. So far Lizzie has received a bench seat (from a Commando), MC2100, some gaskets, 2.5" RC suspension lift, ProComp 9000 shocks, and all poly suspension bushings. She is Nuttered and runs well. I am redoing the spare tire carrier and she just got some new wipers and dimmer switch.

Today I was replacing a wheel cylinder when AJ and his son JR pulled up. They helped me bleed the brakes and we discovered my Master Cylinder was bad. So we started to rebuild it. Used to be you could do that for about $3, buying a seal kit, but we discovered you can't find the seal kit anymore. So bought a reman master from Auto Zone for $18 plus the core.

Here are some pics of AJ working on the old master before we learned that we couldn't rebuild it, and some more pics of bench bleeding the new reman unit.

This is JR. He's as good a mechanic as his dad, AJ. Sitting next to JR is the old master cylinder disassembled.


To disassemble the master you have to remove the snap ring where the piston rod goes into the body. Then you carefully pull everything out. There are two plungers. The second one will be inside the body of the master. We used air pressure to force it out.


AJ buffing the lip so the lid will make a good seal.


Cleaned up and ready for the lid.


AJ used this tool to clean the bore of the master. The metal rod has a slot in the end. He used some sandpaper.


Wind it up on the rod.


Insert it into the bore and slowly spin the rod, cleaning the bore.


This is when we discovered we couldn't find a seal kit and opted for a reman. So we changed gears.


Here is the new reman master. I stuck it in my vise to prepare it for bench bleeding. I want to polish the lip so the lid will seal well. I used a metal file to do this. Keep it flat at all times. Protect the inlets from dust and trash.


Lots of filings.


Blow it out and level it in the vise.


Attach the bleeder nipples and tubes as described in the directions. Keep the ends of the tubes away from the inlets inside the reservoirs. You don't want to keep recirculating the air that will pump through the tubes.


Add clean fluid to the reservoirs, making sure the ends of the tubes are covered. Add fluid as needed to keep the tubes covered.


Push in slowly on the piston to begin the bleeding process. This will take you around a half-hour, more or less. Go slow. The directions say to use short strokes.


Bubbles!


Once all the air is removed top off the reservoirs, remove the tubes, and cap the nipples. You are ready to install.


Sorry for the super long post! But that will be all for awhile! :D
 
See less See more
16
#3 ·
Originally Posted by SonicR1Do you have a thread for your 7??? NO... don't want to have two Jeeps in pieces on the shop floor!

You ain't living if you don't have chit from more than one project scattered across your spread....didn't take you long to start a build thread Sir Scott :rofl:

I like the bench seat, that is very cool!
 
#4 ·
Originally Posted by SonicR1

I like the bench seat, that is very cool!


I have to agree. I don't remember seeing a bench seat in a CJ.

Nice work on the master cylinder. That's on of those things I still need to do and you made it look easy.:thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
Gotta get me some of that Chili Beer! Nice little write up on the bench bleed. Its the little things like smoothing out the lip I would never have thought of as a novice that I will never forget.Thank You! Also lovin that bench seat looks cool!
 
#10 ·
Wooo hoooo, I'm glad you documented the MC, I will be doing mine soon!!!
 
#11 ·
i remember that quote ;) read your stuff 2 months ago, im with Dave, I knew you would have a post coming in soon! Good 2 c your thread, i'm patient - :popCorn:


.
 
#12 ·
I woke up this morning with the anticipation of making my Jeep capable of stopping! :D Which is always a good thing... right? I mean, there are only so many big trees around at any given time, not to mention the detrimental affects of hitting even a small tree. So I had great hopes of working brakes after the new master cylinder was installed and bled. After coffee, I coaxed my wife to the shop and enlisted her help. She actually likes to work with me on the Jeep, but she also can't wait until Lizzie is road worthy!! :eek: Last night I bench bled the master, and it was ready for install. Following are some pics of the activity this morning.

The first thing you should address is the corrosion caused by a leaking master cylinder. This is what happens to your paint, and you can imagine, given enough time, what would happen to the metal on your firewall if you left this mess forever. I have to do something about it before mounting the new master.


So with a putty knife and wire brush and a can of carb cleaner, I cleaned up and degreased the area. This is a temporary fix until Lizzie goes under the knife.... which will happen when we finish the 5.


My wife is wire-wheeling the bolt threads before mounting the cylinder. She's a good helper.


Here is the area cleaned up and painted with primer, and the new master installed. I have to tell you, getting your hands under the dash and connecting the piston to the brake pedal was a major PITA! My wife actually did it, and she did it quickly!! :) I'm going to have to buy her something... maybe a new oil pressure gauge??


Now she is topping off the reservoirs as we get ready to bleed the brakes. At this point, we are gravity bleeding all four at once. This took about 10 minutes. Be sure and put something down, cardboard, etc, to control the mess. If you have tubing to attach to the bleeders you can catch all four wheels.


After gravity bleeding we went through the sequence of bleeding them by each wheel, starting with RR, then LR, RF and LF. The brakes pumped up nice, and that's the first time Lizzie has had any kind of stopping power since I got her. Keep in mind that although I have brakes, they are still manual, and MUCH, much different then what you are used to in a modern vehicle. Wifey ready to go!


After the test drive, in the rain, with my new wipers and my new brakes, I discovered my brake lights were still on after parking her back inside the shop. I reached down and pulled up on the brake pedal and the pedal came up, all of a sudden, higher than the clutch pedal! Everything is still good. Everything still works. Nothing appeared to have "broken". The brake lights remain off, but the pedal is high. You could get used to it, but it bugs me! What did I do wrong, and how do I get the pedal back to where it is even with the clutch??
 
#13 ·
I remember swapping out the rear in my TJ and having my wife help me with the brakes. She griped about helping, but she sure loved driving it!!! :)

When you gravity feed, do you have to push the pedal down or just leave everything alone? And can you do just front then back or do you have to do them all together?

Have no clues what you did to your pedal!!! :]

It's been raining here for a couple weeks, so it's about time you guys get it :) I got to work on the bike last night, great times, but it was in the rain. This is California, I thought we were in a preverbal drought!!!
 
#14 ·
I remember swapping out the rear in my TJ and having my wife help me with the brakes. She griped about helping, but she sure loved driving it!!! :)

When you gravity feed, do you have to push the pedal down or just leave everything alone? And can you do just front then back or do you have to do them all together?
Have no clues what you did to your pedal!!! :]

It's been raining here for a couple weeks, so it's about time you guys get it :) I got to work on the bike last night, great times, but it was in the rain. This is California, I thought we were in a preverbal drought!!!
Don't know if there is a right way and a wrong way, but I would imagine you could do two at a time since they are on different reservoirs. You do not have to push the pedal. In fact, DON'T push the pedal! Truthfully, doing all four at once wasn't a challenge. The bleeders don't gush or anything like that. They just slowly ooze! So is the bike fixed?? What are you doing to it? Did you get my PM? :D
 
#15 ·
I got your PM, responded… :)

I got speed bleeders, I probably won't be able to use those for gravity bleed. Hmmm

I rode "the other" bike… :D
 
#16 ·
Nice that your wife is willing to help. I had mine help me bleed the brakes on my TJ after swapping rear axles and she complained the whole 20 minutes it took to do it. There are a few things that cannot be done alone and I hate to have to ask my wife for assistance although she is always screaming in the garage for me to come do something for her.
 
#17 ·
Sorry your wife yells at you! You better start living right!! :rofl:

We sure enjoyed our trip to YH. How close are you to there? We ended up on a narrow road going to Lake Chatuge dam, my FIL really wanted us to see the view, but the road was frozen. We ended up sliding about 100' back down the road in the Astro. Kinda fun, kinda not!! :D
 
#18 ·
In case anyone is interested, here are some pics of the frame build for my bench seat. It is simple and easy to do. I used 3/4" square tubing and some flat stock. I used my vise and a hammer to bend the steel. Test fitted many times. Measured a great deal. Tacked it all together with my wimpy welder, and took it over to AJ's to weld it up correctly. I could not reuse all of the stock holes from the original seat stands, so I had to drill a few new holes.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
Damned if I know! :confused:

Another CJ thread!! I just found this today. That seat bracket ought to be plenty strong. Nice job. :thumbsup:

A.J. must have some kind of esp since he always seems to stop by when you're working.

Hey Scott my first thought when I saw this thread was that maybe this will keep you out of the dog house. :rofl:

Subscribed. :thumbsup:
You're right about AJ! He's awfully good to me. Can't say I'll stay out of the doghouse, though. Wifey's BD today. I forgot. I ALWAYS forget!! It's so close after all the "main event" that it slips my mind. Remembered on the way home tonight. Had to stop at WM in uniform, which I hate. Bought her some PJs in, like, 3 sizes too big!!! Haven't given them to here yet!!!!!!!! :confused::shhh: On top of it all, she's sick. Got the kid's mess from GA. So she's grumpy! Ahhh... crap. I'm gonna die! :eek:

I live about 40 miles west of there Scott, in chatsworth. All the mountain roads here were frozen and deep with snow. My only way out of the house was in my cherokee with chains on all four tires, or on the ATV. It was fun the first day or two, but after a few days I was glad to see it go.
I can see you getting tired of frozen roads. When we slid down the dike road at Lake Chatuge, my butt grabbed ahold of the seat so tight that I didn't think we would ever separate again!
 
#20 ·
Another CJ thread!! I just found this today. That seat bracket ought to be plenty strong. Nice job. :thumbsup:

A.J. must have some kind of esp since he always seems to stop by when you're working.

Hey Scott my first thought when I saw this thread was that maybe this will keep you out of the dog house. :rofl:

Subscribed. :thumbsup:
 
#23 ·
Hope Beth feels better soon Scott and tell her happy birthday for me! Man you ought to know better than to buy your wife clothes. Flowers are the thing. But who am I to tell you, the man that's been married to the same lady for 20+ years and me that doesn't have that long in 3 wives!!!:rofl: Yep I need to shut up.
 
#32 ·
INDEED!

You wrote her a poem!! At first I almost laughed myself sick, then I realized how truly outstanding an idea that was. She cried too, ohhhhh you the man Scott Kerr! :highfive:
Not just ANY poem, it had 5 stanzas, 20 lines, a personal poem that made her laugh AND cry. She was hugging my neck by the time she was done!! :cool:

Smooth move:thumbsup:, I'll have to remember that one.:D

Wish her happy birthday from the jeep addicts.:kiss:
Done! She appreciates it. Good news, the PJs weren't too big afterall. Rather complimentary if I say so myself!!
 
#33 ·
You like Shaft kool man, thats so jive, you the badest motha around with that poem save man ;) I will be using that if you don't mind haha, i forget bday's all the time!!


.
 
#37 ·
OK, I thought I would take a moment to share with you a little thing that I call my little piece of heaven during my work day. Fondly known as Starbucks to us west coasters. The name can also elicit some violent rage in others due to what some would call "corporate sell out." others would argue not the best coffee, and although I would agree, one thing that I do appreciate is that no matter what, wherever I go, the espresso tastes exactly the same, and there is something to be said about the feeling you get, the comfort, in a warm cup of coffee when you are in a strange place.


Every day, we go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better. It was true when the first Starbucks opened in 1971, and it's just as true today.

Back then, the company was a single store in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market. From just a narrow storefront, Starbucks offered some of the world's finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. The name, inspired by Moby Dick, evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.

In 1981, Howard Schultz (Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer) had first walked into a Starbucks store. From his first cup of Sumatra, Howard was drawn into Starbucks and joined a year later.

A year later, in 1983, Howard traveled to Italy and became captivated with Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience. He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition back to the United States. A place for conversation and a sense of community. A third place between work and home. He left Starbucks for a short period of time to start his own Il Giornale coffeehouses and returned in August 1987 to purchase Starbucks with the help of local investors.

From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection.

Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

Today, with more than 15,000 stores in 50 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. And with every cup, we strive we bring both our heritage and an exceptional experience to life.--Starbucks website


Oh, in case you were wondering, I addd a map with locations for you...



:Rofl:

Ok, yes I have way too much time on my hands!!!
 
#39 ·
The red "X" is where I live. My 19 YO "modern" son is telling me that a Starbucks just opened in Lake City, about 25 miles from me. So new it is not on the map! I would love to one day go with you and have some coffee! :thumbsup:
 

Attachments

#43 ·
Where are the progress pictures???????

Multi-task Scott...we know you are up to it. If anything, seeing all the parts strung out across the back 40 will give us all something to cheer about. You can be just like us :D
Progress? I drove her down the road, like I always do. I bought another oil filter to replace the other after I loaded her up with Rotella, and I turned on the new windshield wipers for the first time ever!! What progress? I have 4 sons and a wife.... now THAT'S multi-tasking!! :rofl: Truly, she is so close to be road-worthy I just want to drive her for awhile before I tear her down. Clay's build has been so long I'm afraid to start on mine! :(

Man I'm simple, I'd rather stay home and drink my own coffee. :D Hey Scott when I make it to your place I'll be fine with sitting on the porch. :rofl:
My wife makes GREAT coffee! Sitting on the porch, coffee in hand, pork steaks on the smoker, Jeep parts scattered around the yard, and a good story. It don't get no better'n that! :thumbsup:

You guys, I'm telling ya, Moab!!!!! We'll have some coffee and some Jeepin!!!!
Best idea I've heard in a long time Bill!! Hey we can bring a cooler full of staeks and a grille, man this is making me hungry!:D
Sounds exotic! Is it close?? :D
 
#41 ·
You guys, I'm telling ya, Moab!!!!! We'll have some coffee and some Jeepin!!!!
 
#46 ·
First off, if we planned a get together in Moab, I'm sure jeff, Jim, MoC, Jim, Dave, David, TRex, Jody, Mike, Bill, (man I can't think of all the rest of the names on here), would all try to make it too... Hehehehe

Second off, if you made it all the way to Arizona and didn't come through California, you'd be in trouble!!! :D

Aaaand, I'd assume, with that trip, you'd pull the CJ!!! :)
 
Top