[Deer-Slayer_5]

Metallurgy certainly comes into play but in this case I think you've doubled up in increased clamping force by splicing 2 different sets of instructions. While I dont have a FSM in front of me I believe that torque spec is based on dry, non-lubed bolts. But you mention greasing the bolts per ARP's specs. Greasing the bolts before torquing them will substantially increast the bolt tension for a given torque value per this video. So by lubing AND using a higher torque you could push the bolts beyond their yield point or have crushed the gasket. Now, ARP makes good stuff and I suspect the bolts are probably OK, but just wanted to point out that double dipping on the torque could be just as bad as too little torque in certain situations. (I don't post here much but do a lot of reading on this forum and happen to work with bolt torque at my day job).

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Thanks for the video! It makes sense on how the lubed vs non lubed threads can affect the threads. At this point I can only hope everything is alright lol

I started it up last night and everything was sounding good. good oil pressure and I no longer had excessive pressure in the cooling hoses. I also didn't have any coolant leaking so we will see. In your opinion, should back them off and torque to 70? Id like to think I haven't harmed anything but if you deal with bolt torques at work on a daily basis, I'd trust your word over mine. Its been awhile since I have dealt with bolts and stresses.

 

[kschane]

Well, I do deal with bolt torque, but for structural load only and not gasketed joints, so I'm a little out of my comfort zone making a recommendation here. My gut says it's done, nothing broke when tightening, and it seems to be working so I'd leave it alone. I suspect the ARP bolts can handle the extra torque.....my only real concern would have been the gasket. I'd bet ARP would be willing to give their opinion and they certainly have more experience with head bolts and other gasketed joints than I.

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[Deer-Slayer_5]

Hey everyone, Its been a minute since my last update. I left off with the head being put back and I'm happy to say I have no leaks as of yesterday. I actually drove it around for about 45 minutes and all seems good except for the alternator. For what ever reason the bearing(s) went out. A very loud chirp when spinning by hand and a very loud scream when hooked up. Still produces voltage but it was running extremely hot. So I need to warranty that.

Yesterdays run was the first time I've messed with it in two to three weeks.. My truck decided to give me some problems right as two winter storms were coming in and I'm still working on my Ranger but I ended up getting a 2022 F150! I love it so far and it's a big adjustment from driving a single cab Ranger. With that thrown in the mix, I've also been traveling for work and working longer than usual days. I just got back from the The Navy Yard in Philadelphia, PA, helping install my companies products for the Navy. Jeep progress has been slow and will most likely slow down now that I have a new payment every month. It's all apart of adulting lol

Springs coming and I cant wait!

 

[JoonHoss]

Nice looking truck Josh! Which engine did you go with?

Hoss

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Nice looking truck Josh! Which engine did you go with?

Hoss

I went with the 3.5L ecoboost. My dad has that in his 2015 F150 and it's been a great engine. Plenty of power for me and I know it will pull a boat out of the water and up the steep grades at Lake Cumberland. It has the max towing package so it should be a power house if I ever need to tow something heavier than usual. I may never max it out but it's slim pickings when it comes to trucks these days! I was skeptical about the 10-speed transmission but so far, it's impressive with how it shifts.

It's a huge step up from a bare bones 2006 Ranger. I mean, I finally own a vehicle with power windows and locks!

 

[JoonHoss]

I hear you, took 42 weeks last year to replace one of my totalled F350 fleet trucks after the order was placed. Can't order any currently!

Enjoy!

Hoss

 

[devildog80]

Hey everyone, Its been a minute since my last update. I left off with the head being put back and I'm happy to say I have no leaks as of yesterday. I actually drove it around for about 45 minutes and all seems good except for the alternator. For what ever reason the bearing(s) went out. A very loud chirp when spinning by hand and a very loud scream when hooked up. Still produces voltage but it was running extremely hot. So I need to warranty that.

Yesterdays run was the first time I've messed with it in two to three weeks.. My truck decided to give me some problems right as two winter storms were coming in and I'm still working on my Ranger but I ended up getting a 2022 F150! I love it so far and it's a big adjustment from driving a single cab Ranger. With that thrown in the mix, I've also been traveling for work and working longer than usual days. I just got back from the The Navy Yard in Philadelphia, PA, helping install my companies products for the Navy. Jeep progress has been slow and will most likely slow down now that I have a new payment every month. It's all apart of adulting lol

Springs coming and I cant wait!

View attachment 4136669
View attachment 4136670

I would chose the light blue one and the dog

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

I'm going though some fuel gauge issues... I have a NOS speedometer. When I do a resistance check of the fuel gauge, I don't show a reading on the "I" post to the housing. All other resistance checks are fine. Does this mean I have a burned up gauge or just a simple grounding issue? I have power to the wire that goes to the "I" terminal so I have ruled the harness and fuses out so far.

I have been fighting no fuel or temperature readings. I have a new NAPA fuel sender in and I had 10 gallons in the Jeep, so I should be reading about half full with a 20 gallon tank. I've been driving it around so I can expect a bit lower.

If forever reason the NOS sender is bad, do any of you recommend the Omix "stepper" gauges? I've seen a few people talk about them.

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Figured out the issue I had with my fuel gauge. It looks like the contact for the for the power side failed and broke away from the rest of the unit, leaving the gauge dead. In the picture, you can see my test lead holding the power lead away from the post.

I'm not sure what material this is and if solder can fix it. Any input from you guys would be helpful. I might have a small circuits person look at it because I have limited tools for electronics. It sucks that this NOS gauge is broken but the good news is I swapped another working fuel gauge in for now. Everything works good for now so I can cross that off the list!

 

[JoonHoss]

Looks like it could be soldered, nothing to loose at this point, right?

Hoss

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Looks like it could be soldered, nothing to loose at this point, right?

Hoss

Yeah, nothing to loose here but I may take it apart even further. I cant fit any tools in there to hold anything together. At this point its a spare until its trashed for good. I'm just glad I wasn't wired up wrong and had two bad gauges

 

[keith460]

I went with the 3.5L ecoboost. My dad has that in his 2015 F150 and it's been a great engine. Plenty of power for me and I know it will pull a boat out of the water and up the steep grades at Lake Cumberland. It has the max towing package so it should be a power house if I ever need to tow something heavier than usual.

I have a 2013 F150 with the 3.5 EcoBoost engine, now with 110,000 miles, and has been a great engine so far. I've only changed spark plugs on it once and one of the oxygen sensors that went bad.
I pull a heavy two axle trailer loaded with John Deere tractor that has FEL and a Backhoe. Along with a Polaris ATV back and forth to Virginia a couple times a year. About a 1000 mile round trip. I may only get 11-12mpg pulling the trailer up and down the hills but is sure does have the power to pull it, no problem. 3.73 gears really do a nice job even with the bigger tires we put on it.

 

[Axhammer]

That’s a nice looking Ford F-150.

I’ve heard nothing but good from the EcoBoost F150s for years now. If my Duramax ever dies, I’ll definitely be going with the new Ford with that EcoBoost package. You get your cake, and eat it too.

When GM killed Pontiac, they lost me as a customer…for life. Mopar or Ford, is all I will ever buy new again, unless I get rich, then I might look at a Tesla.

 

[John Strenk]

Figured out the issue I had with my fuel gauge. It looks like the contact for the for the power side failed and broke away from the rest of the unit, leaving the gauge dead. In the picture, you can see my test lead holding the power lead away from the post.

I'm not sure what material this is and if solder can fix it. Any input from you guys would be helpful. I might have a small circuits person look at it because I have limited tools for electronics. It sucks that this NOS gauge is broken but the good news is I swapped another working fuel gauge in for now. Everything works good for now so I can cross that off the list!

I would try soldering it also.

It might of been spot welded originally backed up with epoxy.

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Drove the Jeep some more around town this weekend. We had a warm, but windy weekend. I have found that the steering is very "loose" and very wondery at speeds greater than 30 mph. Not death wobble, just hard to keep straight. Part of the blame is probably the alignment. I am only string aligned to get close. Another issue I found is that I have some flex going on in the shackle and shackle bushings... You can visible see the body move before the wheels move. Id say there is a good 1/2"-3/4" of movement, maybe even more. I may also tighten up the power steering a little as it seems very easy to turn.

If none of that fixes anything, then I probably need to look at a new gear box and a new steering shaft to eliminate some of the play that may be there. Keep in mind, I'm not sure what's normal for this type of vehicle. I just feel like I can whip the steering wheel with no effort. Once I get Jim's new shackles I'll see what changes!

 

[Matt1981CJ7]

Assuming you have power steering, it's common for the steering wheel to turn with very little resistance. First time CJ drivers often comment on that.

The on road wandering could be a number of things, but the usual cause is too little caster angle. It should be 5-7 degrees. I prefer mine around 7. Obviously, make sure all the steering components are tight and right.

Strong work, so far, on your build. And congrats on your new truck.

Matt

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Assuming you have power steering, it's common for the steering wheel to turn with very little resistance. First time CJ drivers often comment on that.

The on road wandering could be a number of things, but the usual cause is too little caster angle. It should be 5-7 degrees. I prefer mine around 7. Obviously, make sure all the steering components are tight and right.

Strong work, so far, on your build. And congrats on your new truck.

Matt

Matt, you bring up a point I have been meaning to ask! How can I set caster angle? I have nothing but the leaf spring under the axle other than the steering damper plate on the drivers side. Is this something an alignment shop will shim or are they going to have me buy wedges?

You also bring up a good point of checking the steering components are tight. That was literally the first thing I checked because now that its been on the road moving, nuts and bolts are seeing different stresses other than sitting and could have worked loose. I do have power steering and I am pretty sure it is all factory original, other than the pump, I had replaced the pump. I found that my shackles did settle out a little and I had to tighten them up. This however did not help the movements. I did not see any other components that came loose or bolts that came loose.

 

[keith460]

You won't need to have the Alignment Shop do the work to correct castor. Just get your readouts from them and purchase the proper degree wedges yourself. Much, much cheaper that way and also avoids the cost of labor to do it.
Not hard to do, loosen U-bolts to make space between the leafs and axle spring pad and slip the degree wedge in with the fat end facing forward so the axle tilts downward some. This will increase positive (+) castor angle.

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

The past few days/ weeks I got the alignment closer without taking it to a shop. I still don't have steering returning to center after a turn but it doesn't take much effort to help it. I'm closer to getting it to a shop now that the wonder is gone away a little.

I upgraded the headlights to the relay system. I burned up an alternator cause it was getting to hot. I would turn the headlights on and within a minute the alternator would be so hot you couldn't touch it. I tested all other possibilities and it only did that when the headlights came on. I found a Hella relay kit on amazon that someone on here used and it works great! my hot alternator symptom went away and like others, I have brighter headlights.

I placed the relays on the grill and I had to trim the wires to fit better so there wasn't miles of excess. One of the downfalls to the Hella relays are it's not a regular relay connector but to my knowledge it is hooked up the same. Either way, if they fail, I know how to replace it without being frustrated in how it works. I really went the extra mile on this install because I don't like random wires going everywhere so I wrapped every thing up and gave myself plenty of "service" length for future servicing if needed. It looks a little out of place but looks factory-ish. Here is some pictures!

 

[Deer-Slayer_5]

Lately it's been a one step forward, two steps back. Got my alternator squeal fixed and now it's doing it again. I'm not sure if there is too much tension on the belt or a misalignment. on top of that, I learned that a fail-safe thermostat is not well liked by anyone. So I replaced a thermostat that I didn't know was a "fail-safe". Great concept but for jeeps they seem to be a nightmare.

I got an upgrade I was super excited about. I got the Crabtree shackle kit this week and the frame mounts are already out to powder coat! I'm hoping that install will be easy. Other than this list of issues I've been dealing with, everything is operating well. I'm trying to get everything cleaned up and presentable before May. I get married the first week of May and at the reception I'd like to reveal it as 95% done.