When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
It looks like I'll actually get to drive a Jeep, and do something cool with it. So far I've only driven mine, to and from the store.
Though, maybe not. There'll probably be a long line. We'll see. I am not about waiting in line, especially when there are people to interview and trucks to see.
So, progress has been slow. But I HAVE been accomplishing things.
1. Removed steering knuckle from driver's side. I had to cram a bottle jack in there to pop it off.
2. Bought a MAPP gas torch from Home Depot:
MAPP GAS "Hotter'n hell, but she gets the job done." - guy at Home Depot.
I'm no chemist, so consult your local scientist for specifics, BUT...MAPP gas is a mix of Acetylene and Propane. It burns hotter than just a regular propane torch(like 500 deg hotter.) Wikipedia says that there is no longer Acetylene in the mix. IDK.
Whatever, it worked to remove the OTHER two passenger side hub bolts. The broken bolt, the one I tried to remove without heat, is still in the hub and knuckle.
I thought (was hoping) that the bolt shaft would just sortof "pull through" the knuckle when I tried to remove the hub. No dice. I've got the hub loose, but the bolt shaft is binding inside the knuckle and won't budge.
We'll see if my new set of for-real Vice Grips will remedy this problem.
Vice Grips The Original
Tonight I'll heat up the broken bolt and grab the nub with the vice grips. See if we can't spin that sucker out of there. (Next solution is to purchase a grinder and cut-off wheels and just dissect the hub/bearing. Then punch out the bolt. I'm replacing the hubs and bolts anyways.)
THEN I can remove the bearing/hub from the passenger side.
THEN I can remove the knuckle from the passenger side.
THEN I can replace these damn ball joints.
I'll also replace the front u-joints while I'm in there. The driver-side one I removed reads 377 on it.
Driver Side U-Joint 377
A quick scan through my Crown catalog, and I find the part in question. But there are options...1.06" caps, or 1.187" caps. Hmm...I don't have calipers. EDIT:I see that the caps are different depending on if you have ABS or not. I do not have ABS, so I'm probably running the li'l guys.
I took a field trip to find some XJ pieces. I don't like the big pull-a-part or whatever they're called, so I went looking for a local mom-n-pop type place:
Bedford Auto Wrecking, BedFord, OH.
I used to go to this place when I was just a teenager, wrenching on my lifted Ranger. And they are still there.
Their inventory is pretty limited on Jeeps; just a single Wrangler, and three older body style Cherokees.
The rear windows of this Jeep have little air flaps that open, like a minivan. Rear vent windows.
Take a peek inside - It's a 5 Speed. A two-door 5-speed. Nice! 2 Door, 5 Speed XJ. Golden!
It looks like this place will have some pieces that I need for my XJ. And I didn't have to go to the big guys. I'll have to get a small tool kit together and head back up there in a few days.
Hey big guy.. just in case you missed my post on the "ask a question" thread... That Cherokee with the vent window is the same as mine..
Hey guys, Anybody on here who would be interested in visiting A Pick-a-part and grab something for me? It would be easy money for somebody.
Hit me with a PM if you're interested.
Actually, It could be anybody anywhere for that matter. I'm looking for both left and right front inner fender splash seals in good condition, or at the very least, an outline of one on some craft paper. This is what they look like (same for both sides I believe)
They should be from an 88-90
Last edited by jdjonesdr; Apr 24, 2017 at 09:45 AM.
Hey big guy.. just in case you missed my post on the "ask a question" thread... That Cherokee with the vent window is the same as mine..
Hey guys, Anybody on here who would be interested in visiting A Pick-a-part and grab something for me? It would be easy money for somebody.
Hit me with a PM if you're interested.
Actually, It could be anybody anywhere for that matter. I'm looking for both left and right front inner fender splash seals in good condition, or at the very least, an outline of one on some craft paper. This is what they look like (same for both sides I believe)
They should be from an 88-90
Field trip? Are you sending me on a scouting mission?
Challenge accepted!
Does it have to be the 88-90? There's a newer body style 2-door 5-speed at a different bone yard, near me right now. I could go check it out at lunch. Or maybe tomorrow at lunch.
The green 1988 with the vent windows will have to wait until this weekend for me to go check it out.
Finally. Here we have my passenger side hub and axle shaft a-danglin' out of the steering knuckle and axle tube. Looks like my knuckle vomited after a hard night on the trails.
I had broken one of the son-of-a-bastard hub bolts and couldn't remove the hub. The bolt head twisted right off, leaving a bunch of bolt shaft buried in the knuckle.
I heated that sucker up and put on my new pair of vice grips, but that just chewed up the end of the bolt. I wasn't getting any movement.
So I went to harbor freight with my 20% off coupon and bought this cheap angle grinder.
Chicago Electric Angle Grinder, $21.xx 4.5-inch, 5 amps
Hub Ear Cut right through the ear and bolt
Cut right through that sucker. I had to go at an angle cause that's how the tool would squeeze in there. Which was perfect, because it left a little nub of bolt for me to try to punch back out through the hole.
Hub Bolt Nub left after cutting off hub.
No dice. I hammered on it with a big hammer, and got the nub flush with the knuckle, but I can't hammer it any further.
So I bought some MF'er punches. But I can't seem to hit the punch hard enough to get the bolt to budge. Plus I missed that ****er twice and hit my thumb. Twice. So now I'm too scared to REALLY hit that sob and punch it out of there. I'll see if I can rig something to hold the punch with, but I don't think that's going to be solid enough. I'm thinking I'll remove the knuckle, then use my bench vise to press out the bolt. Or maybe I can do it with the ball joint press I'll need to rent.
Crescent Wrench? More like croissant wrench!
(mic drop.)
Fine, let's remove the knuckle.
Upper ball joint nut = No problem.
Lower ball joint nut = Nope
Crescent Wrench Croissant wrench?
I couldn't get the lower ball joint nut off with my big no-name crescent wrench. The frame kept flexing and the bastard would slide off of the nut.
Hmm, what do I have that is adjustable, and won't flex, at all, ever, even in a volcano or on Titan?
A vintage Swordfish Brand Benchvise, from the Peoples Republic of China! Someone left this by the dumpster at work, probably because it didn't work...until one smart young man oiled it and hit it with a hammer. Now it works perfectly. (I obviously haven't installed/bolted it down yet.)
Swordfish Bench Vise Made in China
So anyways, the procedure is pretty straight forward. Clamp that sucker onto the nut, stick a pipe in the other end of the vise, and twist that mf bolt off.
Vise as wrench Using a bench vise as a wrench.
ViseWrench Get a vise, get a pipe - get to work.
NEXT:
- Finish removing the lower ball joint nut. ViseWrench broke the nut loose, now I need to finish removing it.
- Pop that knuckle off of there.
- Press out the hub stud/bolt probably using the vise.
(How? I'll probably have to use various sockets as spacers. Maybe cut one of the other hub bolts short to use as a mini-punch.)
If I can't remove the bolt - I'll need another knuckle. A new one is like $100, but I'm pretty sure I can pick up a whole front axle assembly for that much...so we'll see. First, lemme see what I can do to remove that damn bolt.
Field trip? Are you sending me on a scouting mission?
Challenge accepted!
Does it have to be the 88-90? There's a newer body style 2-door 5-speed at a different bone yard, near me right now. I could go check it out at lunch. Or maybe tomorrow at lunch.
The green 1988 with the vent windows will have to wait until this weekend for me to go check it out.
You have my sympathy on that front end. That coming from somebody who changed ball joints this past weekend, and mine were in exceptional condition. Doing it without the correct tools is a giant PITA.
I can certainly wait until the weekend.
I don't think the newer ones have that seal, but if you're in the yard and wanna take a look, you will probably be able to see if it has them and if they are the same. I have my doubts though.
Even a traced drawing on some craft paper would do the trick. I have rubber mats that are perfect candidates to be transformed into a seal if I had the template to cut them.
It kills me to see that 5 speed in a junkyard for what looks like a slight punch to the face. That could have easily been saved.
Last edited by jdjonesdr; Apr 25, 2017 at 05:36 AM.
lmao @ the vise... thinking outside the box, I like it
Thanks! With a 16-month-old, Jeep Time takes a back seat. So when I have one solid hour to work on the Jeep - I gotta get **** done. Cut something, bang on something, remove something, clean something - just keep moving.
I'll pop that SOB knuckle off today and try to press out the hub stud.
Also, I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and purchase a ball joint press or whatever. If I rent, I'll be in a time crunch to get the job done and get the tool returned. And I don't have large blocks of time to spend on the Jeep (6 hours on a Saturday or Sunday aint gonna happen. That's primo baby time.)
It is missing some certain spacer, and I'm not sure if I'll even need that spacer, but it's available on Amazon separately.
Plus I'm still drooling over Wrangler wheels on Craigslist, like every day. I'll need tires to safely drive this hog, and it'd be at least $400 to slap tires on my stock wheels, so why not spend the same amount and get something I actually would like?
Some quick examples from my local Craiglist:
$350, set of 5, brand new. Wheels are in boxes, I'm not sure if they're the ones I want. I'd have to go get these mounted and balanced. But the price is right: https://cleveland.craigslist.org/wto/6100659961.html
You have my sympathy on that front end. That coming from somebody who changed ball joints this past weekend, and mine were in exceptional condition. Doing it without the correct tools is a giant PITA.
I can certainly wait until the weekend.
I don't think the newer ones have that seal, but if you're in the yard and wanna take a look, you will probably be able to see if it has them and if they are the same. I have my doubts though.
Even a traced drawing on some craft paper would do the trick. I have rubber mats that are perfect candidates to be transformed into a seal if I had the template to cut them.
It kills me to see that 5 speed in a junkyard for what looks like a slight punch to the face. That could have easily been saved.
I'll use a ball joint press to do the ball joints. And I'll likely be replacing that croissant wrench soon with something beefier.
I'll see if I can grab a minute this weekend to head back up to Bedford Auto Wrecking and snag that fender liner for you. Is it held in with those christmas tree plugs? The plastic snaps? I wanted to get the upper radiator crossmember from the same XJ.
The gold XJ is at Joe's in North Ridgeville (or North Royalton, not my neighborhood.) It sure was punched in the front - both airbags are blown.
UFC XJ
"...you should see the other guy..."
I'm kinda digging the 2-door, 5-speed thing. I could see myself turning a 4-cylinder, 2wd into an airbagged street rod.
I'll see if I can grab a minute this weekend to head back up to Bedford Auto Wrecking and snag that fender liner for you. Is it held in with those christmas tree plugs? The plastic snaps? I wanted to get the upper radiator crossmember from the same XJ.
The gold XJ is at Joe's in North Ridgeville (or North Royalton, not my neighborhood.) It sure was punched in the front - both airbags are blown.
UFC XJ
"...you should see the other guy..."
I'm kinda digging the 2-door, 5-speed thing. I could see myself turning a 4-cylinder, 2wd into an airbagged street rod.
Yep, they're held with 4 of the little plastic tree clips. I think the ones that have a pin that pushes into the center. Take a look at the pic I posted and you can see them.
I love the daylights out of my 2 door. I bought it from a junkyard many years ago and have been tearing into ever since.
I have 4 SUV's, and my favorite DD by far is that 27 yr old Cherokee. I'm running outta things to fix!!
Personal update:
Slipped in the tub last night and my ribcage came down hard on the edge of the tub. I bruised or cracked a few.
So mobility is limited, Jeep work will be limited for a few weeks.
(any ideas for low-physical activity Jeep stuff?)
Jeep Update:
The night before I injured myself
Went and picked up the OTC ball joint press from the Craigslister - it was missing the exact adapter I need, the "middle" one: 2.25" ID - 2.5" OD
(I knew it was missing an adapter when I bought it. I just didn't know it was missing THAT adapter.) So I ordered that sucker off Amazon for $10. It'll be here in a few days.
I DID manage to break loose the upper, driver-side ball joint with the largest of the adapters. But I could only move it a half-inch or so before bottoming out the tool.
I also snapped off part of the base on my bottle jack. I was using it to pop off the passenger side knuckle. I was working on the Jeep after midnight, and didn't want to wail on the pickle fork. So I crammed my bottle jack in between the knuckle and the axle tube upper flange. No dice. It worked on the driver's side. So it's pickle fork time - but I can't swing a hammer right now.
There you go. I'm discouraged. I was hoping to get the ball joints done this weekend, then order new hubs and U-joints. With my ribs all jacked up, I'm not sure I could crank down on the ball joint press right now, or swing a hammer. I'll see this evening.
I'll find something less strenuous to work on, like vacuuming it out. It is still disgusting inside.
Personal update:
Slipped in the tub last night and my ribcage came down hard on the edge of the tub. I bruised or cracked a few.
So mobility is limited, Jeep work will be limited for a few weeks.
(any ideas for low-physical activity Jeep stuff?)
Jeep Update:
The night before I injured myself
Went and picked up the OTC ball joint press from the Craigslister - it was missing the exact adapter I need, the "middle" one: 2.25" ID - 2.5" OD
(I knew it was missing an adapter when I bought it. I just didn't know it was missing THAT adapter.) So I ordered that sucker off Amazon for $10. It'll be here in a few days.
I DID manage to break loose the upper, driver-side ball joint with the largest of the adapters. But I could only move it a half-inch or so before bottoming out the tool.
I also snapped off part of the base on my bottle jack. I was using it to pop off the passenger side knuckle. I was working on the Jeep after midnight, and didn't want to wail on the pickle fork. So I crammed my bottle jack in between the knuckle and the axle tube upper flange. No dice. It worked on the driver's side. So it's pickle fork time - but I can't swing a hammer right now.
There you go. I'm discouraged. I was hoping to get the ball joints done this weekend, then order new hubs and U-joints. With my ribs all jacked up, I'm not sure I could crank down on the ball joint press right now, or swing a hammer. I'll see this evening.
I'll find something less strenuous to work on, like vacuuming it out. It is still disgusting inside.
Damn man. Sorry about your ribs! I fell in the shower a few weeks back too. Pulled the towel bar and shower curtain down with me. I think that slowed my fall though, 'cause I didn't really get hurt... well not anymore than I already was 'cause my back was giving me hell... so that didn't help.
