Coat Rack From Railroad Spikes

Decided we needed a coat rack to hang our coats on chilly days when taking off and returning from a Jeep ride.  I had some 2" flat stock, found some railroad spikes from a kid on Craigslist and brought out the trusty FC-90 flux core welder.

Evaporusted the spikes, cut them down to 5" and welded them onto the bar stock.  Drilled the bar stock at 32" on center.  Found a couple of 1/2" spacers so the coat rack would "float" off the wall and screwed it into the studs.

I painted it with that Rustoleum hammer finish spray paint (gray), let it dry, then used some Rustoleum satin black oil based paint in a can and brushed on a solid coat of black, then immediately wiped it off.  What was left made it look old.  

I think it came out nice... what do you think?

Welders • Welding Info • Welding links

These are the welding products that I've purchased.  The Amico stick welder is definitely harder to master.  The Century DC flux core welder is a dream to use so I've used it for almost everything I've done to the CJ (non-structural).

 

Amico DC-160A Stick Welder

Century K3493 FC-90 • 90 Amp DC Flux Core Wire Feed Welder

 Upgraded the FC-90 ground clamp to the Berger 300 amp copper


Antra AH6-260-0000 Auto Darkening Welding Helmet


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License Plate Bracket Fix

The license plate frame has slid to the right on a couple of occasions allowing the tailgate to rub against it.  Decided to weld a washer to the license plate bracket to prevent it.  Also positioned the washer 1/4" beyond the previous left most position to add clearance between the license plate frame and the tailgate.

CJ7 Transfer Case Torque Damper Replacement

I've been trying to isolate an intermittent buzzing/vibration noise while downshifting.  Usually low RPM and usually from 3rd-2nd, or 2nd-1st.

Took it to the shop and they decided it was the clutch throwout bearing and replaced the entire clutch with a new one from LUK.

NOT THE PROBLEM... $700 down the tubes.

I was thinking it was the speedometer cable, but the other day it did it while pulling into the garage and it seemed louder than what a cable would produce.

While changing the transmission fluid,  I noticed that the transfer case torque dampener was loose where it attaches to the crossmember and decided that could be the culprit.

Lumpy Grits over at Jeep_CJ suggested a 1/2" all-thread solution so I came up with this.

• 4 1/2" 1/2-13 tap bolt (could have been 4").
• 1/2" fender washers (thick).
• Damper bushings
• 1/2-13 Crimp nuts
• Locktite

Decided to use a lag bolt so that I could get some purchase on the bolt while tightening the crimp nuts.  

Tightened the bushings so that they were firmly seated to each other, but not deforming.  Mostly didn't want them to free-spin and apply some pressure to the nut. 

Like I said... 4" would have worked.  May grind off some... might not.

Well, that wasn't it... buzz still there.  Speedometer cable next.

CJ7 Steering Wheel Paracord Wrap

Decided to wrap the steering wheel and grab bar with 550 paracord.

CJ7 New Rear Shackles and Bushings

The shackles on my CJ7 are frozen solid at the pivots and shackles.  The bushings are shot and the shackles are flimsy.

Decided to go with Warrior 120 and 121 shackles.  They are 1/4" thick steel with a welded center brace and provide 1/2" lift.

I purchased the bushings and shackles for both the front and rear.  I'll do the front later.

• Shackles • Front 1/2" Lift • Warrior 121
• Shackles • Rear 1/2" Lift • Warrior 120

• Shackle Bushings/Spring Eye Kit • Front • Prothane • 1-1002-BL
• Shackle Bushings/Spring Eye Kit • Rear • Prothane • 1-1003-BL

Here is the process:

Had to cut the nuts and heads off the shackles and then cut one shackle side in half to get them off!  Removed the rear shackle hanger.

Rear end of leaf spring free.  Wood blocks support axle.

Had to use a hole saw to cut the bushing out.  They were hard as concrete.

Never install shocks over painted pins...!!!  Took me two days to get them off.  Shocks have only 5k miles on them so no reason not to save them.

Made a roll up paint booth.  Got tired of cleaning up overspray.

Cleaned up the spring plate and the shackle hangers, edge ground, cleaned up the threads, polished the pins, etc..  Painted with Krylon, direct to metal, semi-gloss black.  Nice paint.  Nice build.  Lays down beautifully.

Wire wheeled the leaf springs and painted them with the Krylon.

Had to knock out the sleeves to fit the poly bushings.

Parts cleaned, painted, and ready to put back in.

1/2" U-bolts installed.  Perches are 3/8" wider than pivots which increases to 3/4" at the shackles.  Mid-year 1986 CJ7's received Dana 44 rear axles, but the perches were wide.  

Side view of leaf springs, axle, pivot, and shackles.  You can see the twist in the spring.  This has been the case for over 32 years.

The picture does not reflect how much the shackles are pivoted outward.  I decided to have new heavy duty perches installed to align with the pivots.  This corrected the problem, but the springs had taken a set over such an extended period of time.

Decided to swap the springs left for right which corrected most of the problem.  The shackles now cant slightly inward.  I'm hoping they will relax.  The only perfect fix at this point would be new springs.  I'm calling this good for now.

The interesting thing is that now, in 40 mph flat turns, the Jeep settles in nicely.  Before this project the Jeep would skid and felt like it wanted to roll over.  Another unexpected result is that the dead spot in the steering is almost gone.  I'm anxious to get the front springs, shackles, and bushings done to see if there is even better steering performance.

CJ7 Dana 30 and Dana 44 Differential Service

Decided to change the gear oil in the, Dana 30 front and Dana 44 rear, differentials.

Procedure:

1. Place floor jack on differential and lift to get wheels just off the ground.
2. Place jack stands just inward of frame/leaf spring pivots.
3. Remove differential cover bolts (leaving the top bolt loosely threaded into bell housing).
4. Gently tap the cover to the left and right to break the seal.  Cover will hang on bolt.
5. Have an oil pan ready.  The gear oil will drop when the seal is broken.
6. Slightly jack up each axle, one at a time to drain the oil into the differential.
7. Clean both faces of housing and cover with acetone.
8. Spray liberal amounts of brake cleaner in the differential and all of it gears.  Spin the tires to rotate the gears.
9. Mop up any debris and cleaner from the bottom of the differential with a towel.  Allow to completely dry.
10. Glue down some 80 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and lap the face of the cover flat.
11. Paint the bell housing face and one side of the gasket (Fel-Pro RDS-55019-Dana 30)(Fel-Pro RDS-6629_Dana 44) with Indian Head Gasket Shellac and apply gasket to housing being careful to align bolt holes.  Press the gasket down flat.
12. Apply the shellac to the exposed side of the gasket and the cover, then place the cover on the housing being careful to align bolt holes.
13. Finger tighten bolts in a criss-cross pattern, then snug them with a torque wrench to 15 ft/lbs., again in a criss cross pattern.
14. Wait overnight and torque them to 20-25 ft/lbs.

Front • Dana 30

Rear • Dana 44
Jacked it up onto a couple of stands, removed the cover, and green slime poured out.  Took four cans of brake clean to clean up the gears.  The cover was rusted outside and part of the inside was pitted.

Wire wheeled the cover and lapped the mounting surface flat, then painted with Dupli-Color Cast Coat Aluminum #DE1650 engine enamel like I did the front cover.  I'll paint the bolts black.  They are currently soaking in Evap-O-Rust.

Cover mounted and filled with gear oil.