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.

Jeep CJ7 Steering Box Brace

Decided to upgrade the wimpy stock steering box brace with one from M.O.R.E. in an effort to fix the dead spot in the steering.  We'll see.

I ordered the raw steel one (they also have a yellow zinc coated version) and painted it with Krylon, direct to metal, semi-gloss paint.  The paint goes on nice and thin, lays down beautifully.  It is a bit glossier than I expected, but a nice finish.  The next day it is dry.  I'm letting it cure for a few days before installing.

I ground/filed all of the edges for better paint adhesion.

More to come...

CJ7 Phone Mount

Wanted a simple and solid phone mount for the Jeep.  Decided on a Ram-Mount X-Grip system.

It mounts into an existing threaded dash mounting bolt hole (1/4-20) above the speedometer.

It is adjustable using the double socket mount arm and the X-Grip adjusts to fit most smart phones and dampens any vibration while running down the road.

1" Ball Mount w/1/4-20 Threaded Post • RAM-B-237U

Adjustable Double Socket Arm • RAM-B-201U-A

X-Griip Phone Holder • RAM-HOL-UN7BU

CJ7 Heater Duct Modification

Purchased a new heat duct designed to spread the heat in a wider pattern, but it basically sends all the heat out the door openings...

Crown Automotive 55035618 Floor Heater Duct

Modified it to send the heat toward the seats.  Marked and cut 1/4" wide slots with a band saw and capped the side openings with Kydex and some J-B Plastic Bonder.

Third Hand - Welding

Welded up a third hand using a block of steel I found and some 1/2" rod.  Decided to use a rolling rod instead of two legs on the back side so it could span the slots in my table.  Ground a flat blade "screwdriver" tip to hold parts in place.

Getting better with the welder (inset).

Welding Torch Holder

Decided to make a torch holder for the welding table.  Design requirement was for it to accommodate both the stick holder and the flux core wire holder.

 Cut some lengths of 1/8" x 1" bar stock.  Purchased the 95 lb. magnet from Harbor Freight. Pre-weld setup using vise-grip and magnets.  You can see my torch holder draped over the vise-grip... which illustrates problem.

Cut a 3" length of PVC conduit and cut out a section that fits the stick holder.  The width of the cut fits on either side of the boss on the stick holder.  This will prevent the stick holder from rotating and coming into contact with the metal table.

Mounted the bracket to the magnet using a jam nut so that it will pivot on the base.  Drilled and tapped the bracket to receive the PVC piece.

Flux core torch.

Electrode holder.

Hope this helps,

Mike

CJ7 Storage Box II

Decided to add a second storage box to the Jeep for camping gear.

The box will be a UWS 32"w x 12"d x 12h ATV Toolbox in aluminum diamond plate.  I want there to be storage under the box for sleeping pads (not subject to getting wet) which necessitates some steel brackets to raise the box.

Bought a new Century flux core DC wire welder that I've been itching to try out.

After several redesigns, this is the final drawing.  It will be secured to the bed of the Jeep by the two welded seatbelt nuts for the rear seat (which is not in use) at the front of the bracket and drilling two holes in the bed near the tailgate at the rear of the bracket.

Salvage yard steel before and after wire brushing.  That was a new wire wheel...

All the pieces were cut and notched by hand using an angle grinder.  The ends were squared up using a stationary sanding disc.

Used the existing welded-in seatbelt nut (bolt on right) and drilled hole for new bolt (on the left).

Notched the 1x1 tube to lap over flush with the face of the "c" channel.  Beveled all edges that will be flush so that they can be ground smooth.

Edge beveling. 

Tacking the "L" channel.

Welding table from Harbor Freight (very sturdy).

 Tacking the "L" angle to the bracket assembly.

 In order to grind flat, the edges must be beveled to provide a place for the weld material.

 Welded bracket.

 Flush end welds.

 Transferring the holes in the storage box to the brackets.  Cut and drilled a cross piece to provide security for the items under the box.

 Welded nuts onto the bracket and the cross piece.  This is the assembly bolted to the floor of the Jeep to confirm fit prior to paint.

 The storage box bolted on.  Everything fits as it should and is square to the Jeep.

This bar adds a little security for items stowed under the box.

 Success...!!!  Now to disassemble and paint the brackets.

 Shot from rear with the spare tire carrier in place.

Shot from side.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Storage Box I