What's that noise?

So any drive in a vehicle this, ahem, mature can lead to apprehension when a funny noise crops up. I was out on a recent nice day and just enjoying the drive when I noticed a "thunk" sometimes I shifted. Not every time, just occasionally. Everything was working, so I had no idea what it could be.

After she cooled off I slid underneath to look around.  Can't find a thing.  Nothing is loose around the transmission, or the drive train.  So of course I start worrying that my problem is internal to either the transmission, transfer case or rear differential/axle.

First things first, I decided to drain and fill the fluids in the transmission, transfer case and rear differential.  No metal flakes, so all looks nice there, although the transmission fluid level was low.  Very low.  A quick drive and good news is the transmission is very quiet.  I just assumed that continuous hum was normal for a Jeep...

The bad news was the "thunk" was still present on some of my shifting.

A few weeks later I was looking hard at the springs and used the drive shaft to pull myself further under the Jeep...the drive shaft moved laterally about 2 inches!  Not supposed to move laterally at all, just rotate.  This was NOT a good thing.

So I rotated the shaft and tried to recreate that lateral shift; no luck but if I turned it just right I could get a little lateral movement.  That meant to me the u-joint possibly was damaged.

So I removed the bolts and pulled the shaft.  Yep, u-joint had disintegrated.

Top of photo is the original u-joint.  All the needle bearings are gone, and the metal on the one end is so worn it wasn't held on by much.  A quick run to my local parts store and they had the replacement.  An easy install.

After torquing it all down I went for a test drive, and yes the "thunk" was gone.  Also gone was a vibration I hadn't noticed before, but noticed it wasn't there anymore.  She's starting to feel like a reliable and fun driver.

Thanks for looking...

Don't light a match!

What happens when you take a 45 year old gas tank, get a pin-hole, and then fill it up with gasoline?

Answer: a gasoline leak.

For months I was trying to understand why the Old Girl always had a gasoline fragrance to her.  Was it because her age, uses an old carburetor, so the fuel mixture is kind of "open" to the air all the time?  I lived with it, figuring this must be "normal" for car of her age.  Then the pin-hole became a real hole...

Did I mention the gas tank is under the driver's seat -- INSIDE THE CAB?

So one day I get in and there is gas sloshing about my feet.  YIKES!  I immediately get it all cleaned up and then start trying to find the leak.  You know, a full tank leaking into the car is just going to keep leaking, so I decided to drain it and start troubleshooting with an empty tank instead of a full one.  Only took a few minutes to figure that one out...



After draining it and a good inspection I realized there were a couple of holes where the drain plug is, which is accessible via a hole in the bottom of the tub.  Obviously some salt and moisture got up through that hole onto the tank, and it was around the drain plug that the gas was leaking from.

Choices:

1. Fix the tank.  Requires a bit of welding, have to get ALL THE GASOLINE out of the tank for safety.  Not expensive, but not cheap either.
2. Replace the tank.  Not expensive; can replace with either a steel or plastic tank.
3. Move the tank and replace it at the same time.  This gets expensive as it requires getting a later CJ tank that fits between the rear wheels under the bed.  Also have to remove some draw bar structure from the frame and need to cut some new holes either on the side or on the rear of the tub.  Lots of new tubing, hoses and other things to make it all work. 

I chose #2 and decided on a plastic tank.  Why?  I don't have to worry about rust and it looks original.

Only took an afternoon and works a treat.  As seen below, I've since added a double grounding; one to the body and one back to a grounding strap on the firewall.  More about that later...

I still have a bit of a gasoline smell, but it's nowhere near as bad.  Given it's a pressurized system I suspect it's not sealing perfectly around the gauge sender.  I've got a double seal there now, but may try something better in the future.  For now it works and I feel safe...with the window open of course.

Thanks for looking...

Nothing like a good charge

Sometimes it the little things...sometimes it the big ones.  

Let's talk the battery.  Actually, not wrong with the battery at all; lots of charge and turns over every time.  But sometimes you have to wonder if it is secured properly.  Well, the Old Girl has her original battery tray, but it's held together with not enough bolts.  Actually, only the one...and a bungee.

Yeah, I'm thinking that's not right.

So I find a replacement tray and some stainless bolts.  Very solid.  Looks sharper, too.

Best part: one less rattle when I drive.  Turned out the original was banging against the firewall at any speed above 20 mph.  It wasn't loud, but a "tic, tic, tic, tic..." with a squeak to go with it.  Now it's much much quieter.

Thanks for looking...

The girl is ready to romp!

So after figuring out she needed new springs - the originals were flat and provided no "spring" at all - I got a set and got started. But it's never that easy with this bird. 

Here's a before:

Note the lower line of the tub.

Turns out 4 of the 8 spring hangers were cracked. One very badly - I was a pot hole or speed bump away from a broken spring and all that THAT could mean. 

So I found me a welder and after I sandblasted all the paint (and even more Maine mud!) we got it all aligned and he fixed her spring hangars up good as new. I replace all 4 springs, plus the shocks.  Lots of air-hammer ratchet time to remove some of those rusted nuts.  

Now I can really go to town!  4 weeks of fighting rusted nuts and bent hangers all four springs and shocks are now replaced.

After:

You should notice she sits higher. I wished I measured from the ground, but it looks to be about 5 inches based on comparing the two photos and measuring those distances.  I have to really hike myself up to get inside!  

She'll get some steps for the side to make it back to original. Now I can see why. Of course, first I have to replace the exhaust with a stock system.

With this fix she's now safe to hit trails if I wanted (none around here so I'd have to tow her to Virginia or Pennsylvania).

Next major job is the steering. But I'm going to enjoy her for the rest of the Fall. 

Thanks for looking...

A little bling never hurt any girl

I was looking at my stock photo of the Girl when something said to me, "It's just not right."  I wasn't sure what so I started looking around the web at photos of Jeeps from the 1960's and eventually found some that had hubcaps.

Yea, that's the ticket, hubcaps.

So I searched around and found some on eBay.  Turns out there are many many different "Jeep" hubcaps out there so I had to be patient.

How many?

Doesn't matter, the "right" ones were stock from about 1969, the year she was born.

Looks great!  

Thanks for looking...

Thanks for looking...