5-Speed

Nope not yet. Need to put some miles on it before I come to a conclusion. I have a feeling once I start driving it, I am going to want to keep it. I dont have much in it, so it wouldnt be a bad idea to keep as a spare vehicle. Besides the other halfs Lexus, its the only auto trans vehicle I own, so she can drive it too (she refuses to drive a manual). Actually she is going to drive it, cause she has too many miles on her car already!

5-Speed

Last night was very successful but I am still not done with this thing. I got the remaining little things all buttoned up so I could take the Jeep for a test drive. I also finished breaking in the cam. The test drive went pretty good. I did about a 5 mile loop. It is so much quieter then my white Jeep. No clunks or rattles and the engine is so quiet you cant even hear it. It does need an alignment though. I need to check the trans fluid and kick down cable as well. If I am coasting around 5 mph and get on the gas a little, it feels like it drops hard into first gear. Hard enough to hear the rear end make a clunk. It only does it every now and then. The trans also makes a rattling sound at idle. Going to double check the tq converter bolts. When I got home from the test drive, I saw a few drips in the driveway. Upon looking, I could see some fluid next to the power steering box. Didnt look like the lines were leaking so I have a feeling it might be the box itself. Here is my final list of things to do.

- Check trans fluid level and condition
- Adjust kick down cable
- Check tq converter bolts
- Put inspection cover back on
- Hook up heater core
- Find leak and fix
- Alignment
- Clean remaining dirt in engine compartment
- Drive!

Bugout4x4

How long has it been sitting? If it's been awhile stuff in the trans may have dried out a bit and needing to soak and swell back again.

5-Speed

Well the guy I got it from had it for about a year. He drove it everyday until it started mis-firing. Then it sat for about 2 months until I picked it up. The trans is completely covered in oil and I am pretty sure its leaking out the tail shaft. Seeing how the PO didnt bother to check his engine oil, I highly doubt he ever checked the trans fluid. So I am hoping its just low on fluid. Thats the first thing I am checking tonight. If the trans does end up having issues, you know what that means? 4wd conversion!

Bugout4x4

Dave and I talked about this one time. But, even if you don't do the front axle right away just having the trans and TC installed would be cool until you do. Having the low range in even just two wheel would be cool! lol

5-Speed

Thats exactly what I did with my white Jeep. Took me like 2 months to find a Dana 30 so I just drove around with it being halfway 4wd. 2 low worked out very well!

Bugout4x4

I have a 58 Ford that originally had a tall three speed in it. And all of the 1/2 tons in these years had tall highway gears and sucked in soft sand because they were way too tall between the three speed and the gearing. So I threw a compound low four speed in it and the difference in off road capability was absolutely incredible even with the tall rears.

5-Speed

Alright, had some time to work on the Jeep tonight. So to start off, it was 1.5 qt low on trans fluid. No more funky shifting. The tail shaft is definitely leaking so I will get a seal for it tomorrow. The pressure side power steering hose is leaking from the crimp. Ill get one of those tomorrow as well. I will also hook the heater core up tomorrow and hope for the best. Bad news, trans is still knocking at idle. Its not too loud but I know its there. Other then that, did another 5 mile loop with no issues. Jeep runs great. Once I get the leaks fixed, I will drive it to work and see if it makes it.

5-Speed

I had a compund low four speed in my k5. It was awesome with 450hp in front of it. I honestly wish the manual trans XJs were the same.

Bugout4x4

Here's one for you... I have a 66 International Travelall with a Spicer compound four. I drove that thing for almost 15 years and then parked it for about a year because I didn't really need it. Then I had to fire it up and get the cobwebs out because I needed to pull something big and heavy.

So I drove it down to the bar about a mile and a half down the road to have a beer and clean it out a bit. But when I left to come home I couldn't remember if reverse was towards me and down, or towards me and up. It has the pattern on the **** but it was dark and I had no interior lights.

So I pulled it over and went up. Well it tried to go forward so I thought I had somehow put it in 1st even though I was a long way from the 1st slot. So I wagged it in neutral and came back over and went down and it was in reverse this time.

But as I was backing out I thought to myself "that went in up there too easy, just like it was another whole gear and meant to". So I stopped to experiment with it, and guess what? It was another whole gear selection! It was a compound four with another even lower granny gear! The **** only showed it as a four speed but it was a five with a super low granny aside from the already very low first!

Can you believe that? drove it for 15 years and never knew, then found it by accident! lol

5-Speed

Haha my dads first vehicle was a Travelall. He has told me many stories about it. That is pretty funny that you never knew about the granny gear. If it wasnt marked on the shifter, I can see why.

Tail shaft seal and power steering line have been ordered and should be dropped off at work a little later today. Getting closer and closer to driving it to work! I also ordered a heater core just in case. If I end up not needed it right now, at least I will have one for when its time.

Edit - Parts are already here. That was fast haha.

Bugout4x4

After researching it, apparently they came with both the 4 speed and the optional 5 speed granny but both had the same shifter ****, they never made one for the 5 speed. But the travelall is a 3/4 ton TRACTOR classified as a station wagon. It even has a true posi in the rear, Just a spooled ring gear with both axles directly splined into it. Too bad they went under, what an incredible vehicle built to last. They even dipped the whole body in a light coat of liquid bondo type coating to prevent rust.

5-Speed

I had a pretty busy last night getting the last of the little things done. So first thing up was the power steering hose. I had to pop off both hoses on the gearbox just to replace the one. There is no room down there even with the air box out. And of course, once I broke the fittings loose, I couldnt get them out by hand. So I had to use the wrench and could only get a 1/16 of a turn at a time. What a pain! Moving on to something a lot easier, I connected up the heater core. Instead of spending $25+ on preformed hoses, I spent $0 on hoses I already had. Nothing fancy but it works. To my surprise the core is not leaking. Bad news, the part that controls the temp blend door doesnt work. Ill take it apart tonight to see if I can fix it. After that, I replaced the seal in the tail shaft of the trans. That was super easy to do and solved the leak. 10 min of work and a $3 part to fix a leak that looks like it has been leaking for years. Quite sad. The trans was still low on fluid so I added another quart and all is good. The trans is still knocking/ticking at idle but I will get over it. Drives just fine. I still havent put a thermostat in and I really need to. On my 11 mile drive to work, it took forever to heat up and never got over 180°. Its a downhill drive the whole way and that didnt help either.

So the list of things to fix is getting close to the end. Here is hopefully the last of things to do.

- Finish flushing the coolant system
- Add in a thermostat
- Fix temp blend door motor
- Alignment

5-Speed

Well last night did not go as planned. I was just going to flush all the flush out of the cooling system and fill with fresh coolant. Well after 10 drain and fills and 20 times back flushing the heater core, I still have nasty brown water coming out. It seems like no matter how many times I back flush the heater core, the water always comes out brown for about 10 seconds, then back to clear. I can run water through the radiator and block and it comes out clear every time.

So at this point, do I put in a new heater core (its not leaking and I have heat) or should I run another bottle of flush through the system and hope for the best? As you guys know, it not very fun draining the water, filling it back up, letting it run and then repeating.

Bugout4x4

Honestly? I would rather be safe than sorry. As old as that core is, it won't be long before it starts leaking.