Welder and other stuff

[JCJ]

Yesterday I made a 600 miles round trip to Medina, OH, meeting the wife halfway to pick up my kids and a load of crap that wouldn\'t fit in our moving truck.. (wife is still teaching in Indiana until our house sells)

My CJ, towing an empty trailer was a gutless pile of crap..
No top end power and drinking gas like crazy..  10 mpg was the best I got..  It feels great around town, kinda flat off the line on a hill but good otherwise. No felt difference between loaded and unloaded..  kinda strange,,

I pulled over and bumped the timing up by ear. Seat of the pants it was a 25% improvement.. When I installed the distributor I hit it at 5\' btdc and left it, my setup calls for 6...  I ran my old motor at 10 - 12 but needed 91 octane on hot days.    


If the rain ever stops I intend to prove the harmonic balancer timing mark at TDC, check and reset timing. Then do a compression test.. The cam looked great when I had the pan off and it sounds healthy but who knows? Water temp and oil pressure are dead nuts perfect..

According to my air fuel ratio meter my mixture is good but I will go through the carb and make sure nothing is clogged, broke, etc..

[JCJ]

The harmonic balancer is spun by better than 10 degrees making my initial timing 6\' ATDC..  Much better now :-D I really should have checked that during initial setup like I normally do..  I got lazy but hopefully not burned..

Anyone have any input on the \"new\" or reman balancers? Anything cool in the aftermarket world?

[MrMindless]

I though I\'d heard fluid dampers are the new hotness but that may be a diesel thing, thts about all I pay attention to these days.

[JCJ]

MrMindless wrote:
I though I\'d heard fluid dampers are the new hotness but that may be a diesel thing, thts about all I pay attention to these days.

Fluid dampers have been the shnizzle in my circle for a long time..  Have run them on all GT-1/Trans-AM Chevy and Dodge race motors as well as on a 240z EP.  Unfortunately, without a good lathe at my disposal converting one for the Jeep is out of reach..  

I\'m going to check out the one on my old motor as a temp band-aid until I figure out the long term solution. I have some fear of the bad balancer coming apart and tearing things up..

[JCJ]

I picked up a new aftermarket harmonic balancer off of a fellow Jeeper.  Looks really nice,, hopefully it\'s not a pile of Taiwanese crap..

[ollllllo]

That is some interesting info. I might have to check a few other motors for the same issue. Hadn\'t crossed my mind. Thanks

[JCJ]

I finally fired up the welder today. I never got around to getting a bottle for it so fluxcore was the flavor of the day.
Amazingly enough it works really well. And although I was welding on a fairly low setting I\'m happy to confirm my extension cord and panel wiring are good , so far.  I\'m wondering if my 2 previous bad experiences with fluxcore were due to the polarity set wrong? I didn\'t own or maintain either machine, just took it for granted they had been setup properly.

Anyways, a few months ago I replaced my exhaust from the manifold back with a new Walker non cat system for a 78.  The supplied tail pipe from the axle back was crap so I cut it and left it pointing down just past the axle.  I was able to cut about 2\" off of the bend and index it about 60* from stock. A couple of tacks, a little wire brush action and a decent bead around the joint and I\'m happy..  I hosed down the entire tailpipe and clamp mount with some leftover BBQ paint for rust protection and bling factor.  

I\'m going to give the flux a try for awhile, much more practical welding outside etc.. Should be just fine for my upcoming frame repair. (Classic CJ around the rear spring hanger) I\'ll maybe get the bottle when I have a project that I want really pretty without grinding and probably need the gas with any sheet metal work..  

[JCJ]

With the water pump pulley on you would never know..

[ollllllo]

thats crazy!

[smichaelR22]

258?  i had a small learning experience and took a standard gear puller to mine when i rebuilt my CJ5.  Ebay got me a new one in good shape for 25$ to my door they are pretty common on there.  

[JCJ]

yep, 258.  
So you learned what the inside of one looks like huh? :-D

I bought a brand new one for $60, made in Taiwan..  I rented a pretty decent puller from Advanced Auto. I replaced the seal and flushed the cooling system while I had the rad out. Should be good for a while..

[JCJ]

We got a decent offer on our house in Brownsburg tonight..

If everything works out we will be closing on Nov 29th.. :zoooom:

[CoraC143]

Wohoo!!! Congrats! Can\'t wait to meet Mrs JCJ

[ollllllo]

yea...good luck
Fingers Crossed!

[JCJ]

Thanks guys, She\'ll be out getting dirty with us before long..

Gears and lockers as soon as the check clears.... :bounce:



Both kids are still going on and on about yesterday, we all had a blast..   I\'m amazed they didn\'t fight or piss and moan once all day. 13 hours is a new record for them, the previous being about 3 hours.

 Nicholas, my younger one was already sold on the whole club deal before lunch but the RC Rover prize put him over the top.. He\'s been driving it all night, inside and out practicing for the RC crawler that I am apparently getting for him now..

I really appreciate all of your hard work on planning such a great ride. We\'re all looking forward to the next play day.