Kevin's 83-CJ8

I just read over this thread and realized I never documented what brought it to closure. I found a Dana 300 at a junkyard. It was from a 1984 CJ-7 that was in a traffic accident. So many of the transfer cases I looked at on line were stand alone so it would go to reason that they were for sale because they had been replaced. I could only hope the replacement was for an upgrade and not due to damage. When I found the one in the junkyard, they told me it had been there for years and no one had ever asked for one. They are a reputable yard so I purchased it. The install was a piece of cake. Out with the old and in with the new. I am planning to rebuild the old one when I have time. I was all geared up for it when the used one came around. I am still looking forward to the experience. But now I can do it at my pace with no pressure. I have been wheeling a few times and it is working great. Kevin

I just looked through your photo’s that you posted on this. I thought the Jeep was really nice to start with. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when you are done. The idea of buying a Jeep with the initial intention of restoring is really neat. I have wanted to overhaul mine for years, but I have never had the money and do not want to be without it for that long. I like your approach. It is great that your kids come out to help. My son comes out to help me from time to time. It seems that I am always working on my Jeep for something so he has gotten kind of immune to the idea of helping (it has become work). But it is always special to me when he comes out to hang out and help. I just went through a major repair with my Dana 300 T-case. If you have not made your decision about that, I can tell you the $300 dollar offer is really fair. You might get that selling it online, but that is a very fair price. The folks that need a T-case, really need it. I found mine in a junkyard from a wreck and it was like a ray of sunshine. If you want to really make someone’s day, sell that T-case. Most people fear that the ones purchased over the internet need to be rebuilt. You have the piece that may make some guys nightmare go away. I might have missed it, but what did you say you were going to do with your differential gearing? Are you going to stick with the original gears? What are they? It looks like you have some big tires on there. Now that you have such superior horsepower, will you need to re-gear? Keep us posted on this – Lets see how you and your kids work through the rebuild. Kevin

Andy, one more thing I would check. Because the axle is so heavy, I kept resting it on end to work on this or that. It is possible that you got a piece of junk/debris in the grease on the end of the axle and transferred it into the receiving end of the diff. You may have a piece of debris in the hole of one side or the other. I can see all the way into mine with a good flashlight. If you have something in there, you will be able to see it. Kevin

Andy, just got this feed and want to add my 2 cents. Mine did the same thing at first. It just did not seat all the way in. What I did was took the old seal (and the nuts and bolts) and used it as a press to get the new bearings to seat all the way in place. It kind of pressed everything flush to the axle-housing end. Just put the old seal back on and tighten it back on and it will flush everything up. Then take it off and you are ready for the new parts. I would make real sure the bearings are all the way down into place on the axle first. You know where they have the round edge that fits into the hilt on the axle that is like a stop for the bearings? Make sure that round side is all the way down onto the hilt. This has to be pressed on some how. On one of them I cut a hole in a piece of wood and slid it over the axle, down on the top of the bearings, and then used a hollow piece of exhaust tube and a hammer to tap the bearings all the way down. They have to sit flush onto that hilt. Kevin

Moses, Thank you for the quick reply. I think I am going to be dead in the water for a while. No Jeeping for me for a while. The outside components look good. It is not able to hold in place at all. It feels like the shifter lever stays in place while the gears move. The lever has to be pulled back into the 4H area for 2H to start to catch at all. Then it just slips back out. Like the gears have moved. I got engrossed in the forum that you recommended, the one posted by Foreman. It looks very complete. I do not have many of the tools he used. You all talked about parts, tools and techniques that I will have to learn about before I dive in. What is the detent? What are poppers? I purchased the Jeep CJ Rebuilder's Manual: 1972-86 (Bentley Publishers) a last year and looked at it. I wanted to see a quick fix for slippage. When I did not see it right off, I turned here. I will rely on it extensively when I start to get into the problem. I really wanted it to be something like and easy adjustment. But it looks like I am in for a new learning experience. Right off from looking at the material, I suspect the springs that hold the shifting rods in place. If one of them broke, that may be it. Also, if there is a screw or something that holds the gears in place on the shaft, that may have come loose allowing then to move without the shifter lever being effected. They may just be sliding on the rod. Why does it always have to be free time and money – the two things I have so little of. Kevin

I am having a new issue with the old Jeep. Just recently the transfer case is slipping out of 2H into neutral. It does fine in 4H and 4L, but if it is in 2H it will not stay in gear. I can hear it grind like the gears are trying to slide in, but they do not. I have to pull it into gear, then it holds for a second and slides back out. This is a Dana 300 from what I can tell. It is on an 83 CJ. Please tell me it is an easy adjustment and not a transfer case repair. Kevin

I have to say I really like your Jeep. I looked at some of your Jeep pictures and it is really nice. I like the roll cage work and roof rack. So the sound that you described with the gurgling sounds like what I find happens when I sit with the engine idling too long. The exhaust gets moisture in it. I think it is condensation or maybe gas build up. You said that when you run the RPM’s up it blow’s the pipe out and it is better. If it ever happens again, have a friend look at the exhaust when you blow it out and see if liquid comes out. I find that when it happens for me, I park up hill (with the pipe down) and run the RPM's up and it blows a lot of moisture out. I had the same issue with my new ignition switch sticking. I loosened the attachment screws just a bit and it moved freely. Kevin

Moses, Thanks for this reply. It is way too much to sort through quickly. It has been a long nagging problem so I guess the fix will be complex too. I have read your reply a few times and plan to print it off so I can read it in detail. It is very detailed. Thanks for that. I have done most of the checks at one point or another but am a bit like a blind man stumbling around. I have never used a voltmeter. I have a cheep one but do not understand it or the settings. I am getting it. I just have to find a day and read up on it. Once I have the volt meter figured out, I can find the short…that is the plan anyway. I think it is in the box that relays the wire from the engine area to under the dash. I have traced everywhere else. I have the manufacturers manual, your book and a smaller shop manual. I have been reading up on the issue lately. In the past I just replaced parts and figured it should work. This is more of a technical problem than most. I have used jumper wires from the sending units and grounds to make sure it is not the wires and it is hit and miss. So, I think it is a combination of a periodic short and bad gauges. I really want to fine a good gauge manufacturer. Thanks again for the post. I will pick it apart and put it to good use. Kevin

Please help, I need some help on a nagging issue. I have been messing with my fuel & temp gauges for a few years and cannot get them to work right. I have replaced the fuel-sending unit twice. I have replaced the temperature-sending unit 3 times. I have replaced the gauges several times. The last time I worked with Omix (the manufacturer of the gauges) directly to help solve the problem. They said it must be a ground issue and sent me a whole new speedometer, odometer and new gauges. This did not work either. One set of gauges caused the ignition fuse to blow (that was a whole chain of repairs and investigation to learn that it was a fuse that would not let the Jeep start. I thought I had really done something bad). The second set worked well for a day and a half then the temperature gauge started to surge to hot. Then it would just jump straight and fast to hot. I started the motor the next morning for the first time and it snapped right to hot. It was off the gauge and looked like it was pressing against the needle stop. The fuel gauge continued to work correctly. Once the motor was stopped, the temperature gauge only returned to the middle of the gauge and is now stuck in that position. When I restarted the motor, neither gauge worked at all. I could get them to work intermittently by messing with them, but I have never been able to get them to work right or faithfully. The wires are good coming from the fuel-sending unit. That ground is good. The symptoms do not correct when I run a new wire to the sending units. It has to be a ground or short somewhere or the company keeps sending me defective gauges. I have bought or replaced them about 5 times. Is there another company that sells these that work? Is there a magic trick to getting them to work? I want to bang my head on the dash to get them to work. I really need help on this one. I would love to know how much gas I have during trips.

Moses, Thanks for the response. I talked with the auto parts dealer and a mechanic and they both assured me that it goes in with the flat part facing the wheel. So I put them both in backwards. Awesome! We will see how long the repair will last with them in backwards. It all fit real well and has .004 play. The axles were loose enough to rotate by hand, but would not move back & forth. So, it felt good. We will see. I want to replace the gears eventually so I will change the seals at that time. I think my gears are 272’s. The guys with 410’s that I ride with can do so much with no gas pedal at all. I have to get on the clutch and gas like I am in a get away car just to make it up easy climbs. They can idle up them. I really want lower gears but like all things Jeep, it is about money and time. Kevin

MountainHound, Just from reading your post, it is obvious that that you are way more capable of a mechanic than I will ever be. So please take my reply with a grain of salt. I cannot advise you about lifters, preload or lifter stuff…I am not comfortable with any of that. But I have an 83 and I just changed out the motor. I went with a crate motor and have been happy with it. It took ½ the time to install than it would to have if I tried to fix the motor and the cost was about the same. They paid for the return shipping and with the core refund, it was not as expensive as I though it would be. I was expecting about $1,800 but I think after the core it was like $1,200. It only took a weekend to install. If I would have known how low the end bill was going to be and how much work it was going to save me, I would not have messed around with trying to fix it in the first place. I would have gone straight for the crate motor and been done with it. Since I put it in, it has been trouble free and I am glad I did it. You sound like a really good mechanic so you are probably capable of handling pretty difficult repairs, but it is going to take time and money. If I were in your shoes, I would go with the crate motor and be done with it. I am just starting to do my own repairs and work, so do not put to much weight on what I say. But for what it is worth, I hope it helps. Kevin

I have been watching this for a few days and see that people are reading it but no one has answered. I want to get after the project tomorrow so I thought I would post these pictures to help make my question clearer. What side of the seal faces the bearing? I am calling the two sides the flared side and the flat side. Well, what do you think?? Help.

I am currently replacing the bearings in my Model 20 rear end. I emailed Mr. Ludel about the order of pieces for putting everything back together. That is how I found out about this forum. I have two questions to clear up. First, how tight do you set the inner seal? Second, what direction does the outer seal face….is it the flatter side that goes toward the bearings?

This is a great topic. I have had to change my bearings a couple times and have found that the main work involved is the hub. It is hard to get off and hard to get on. I have a friendly local garage that has an arbor press. They have been a huge help. Without that, I would be in trouble. I would like to get the new one-piece axels, but I always want to put the money somewhere else. I broke a ½ Inch breaker bar on the shaft nut. I had to borrow a ¾ inch to get the job done. I learned to keep an eye out for the cotter pin hole once you get it tight enough so you do not pass it and cannot tighten it enough to expose the hole again. If you back off the nut, you have to start all over again.

Heool, My Name is Kevin Richards. I have an 83 CJ-8. I am always needing help fixing one thing or another. This sounds like a great community to get involved with to get & give help. I have broken and fixed most of the parts on my Jeep at least once. I have fixed several things the wrong way so I am always looking for help and may be able to shed some light with things that I have seen. I have a few projects going on and want to take on a few big ones too. Always looking for advice and encouragement.