Mike – Page 43 – The Jeep Guru

November 8, 2011

Leaf Spring Repair on the Trail

This past weekend in Harlan, Ky our group experienced two serious leaf spring failures. In my case I was able to get my jeep back to camp make repairs there. In the second case, we had to repair the Jeep before it could be extracted from the obstacle where it broke.

On my Jeep, I noticed that the rear axle was moving back under braking. It would sometimes contact the rear of the fender opening. I carefully drove I back to camp minimizing the scraping on the tire.

Once I removed the wheel, I saw that the center pin of the spring pack had sheared off. This loss allowed the axle to move the rest of the spring pack along then main leaf.

I used a floor jack under the axle to support it. I then used a Hi Lift jack to lift the body of the XJ enough to unload the spring. I sat the Jeep down of a large log to give it stability during the repair.

After removing the U bolts, I was able to line up all the leafs of the spring pack and drive out the remainder of the pin. I then went into town and was able to buy a new set of pins at Advance Auto.

I used a screwdriver to line up the holes in the leaves and slipped the new pin into place. I used two C clamps to compress the spring pack while I tightened the pin. Once the spring pack was back together, I used a ratchet strap to pull the axle back into alignment with the spring pack. I then used the floor jack to press the pin into the hole in the axle.

I then reinstalled the U bolts and tightened then securely. I remounted the wheel and removed the blocks. I will inspect the other side and replace that pin in my shop at home.

The second leaf spring failure of the weekend was more serious. At the end of an especially difficult obstacle, my friend broke the main leak spring just in front of the axle tube. This breakage allowed the axle to move forward and back uncontrolled as well as side to side some. He was unable to move more than a few feet at a time.

His Jeep was also in a precarious place. We were able to get the spring back into place enough for him to roll back down to a somewhat level spot. We then used the weight of the Jeep to force the two parts of the spring close to the correct position.

Next we used two C clamps to press the main leaf into the supporting leaves. Friction between the leaves held it together. He added several wraps of baling wire to give some lateral support. He then added a ratchet strap to keep the whole assemble from sliding apart to the rear.

Which the spring secured in this manner, he was able have his XJ winched out of the hole it was in and then he was able to drive it a few miles down the trail to where we could pick it up on his trailer.

Through some clever thinking and working together, both of us were able to keep our Jeeps going. By working with the tools and supplies available both Jeeps made it home safely and without an expensive tow bill.

November 8, 2011

Free Energy Machines

All my life I have been fascinated by the concept of free or perpetual energy machines. I have studied the inventions Nicola Tesla. I have researched many proposed methods of producing energy form a vacuum. So far I have been disappointed by all of them.

Today I clicked on an ad for the HOJO motor. It is supposed to produce energy through eddy currents in an aluminum plate or something like that. It turns out they are selling plans that used to be available for free on the internet but where pulled when they were proven to be fakes.

I guess I still hold out hope for a perpetual energy machine because of a story my Grandfather Strawbridge told me. He told me that during his apprenticeship at a machine shop as a boy he helped his mentor build a motor that ran off virtually nothing. It was small but very powerful. He said even as a strong young boy he could not stop the motor from turning.

My Grandfather’s story takes the usual conspiracy twist that all free energy marketers add. He said one day some people in suits came to visit the little shop. When they left his mentor looked very sad and ordered him to destroy the motor and other inventions in the shop. My grandfather used a sledge hammer to demolish every trace of the inventions. He said his mentor never explained why.

Having heard this story all my life, it is easy to believe that there is some conspiracy to suppress free energy technology. However, I also believe in the power of free information exchange. Other than cave locations, I have not found much to be hidden on the internet. It would seem to me that if free energy technology really was available, there would be some people somewhere using it. And they would write about it on the internet.

I still hold out hope. For now I will just have to be content with fanciful stories of how the inventions of Marconi and Tesla have been lost or suppressed. I know that we have minds today equal to theirs. If it was possible to do once, it will be invented again.

http://mlstraw.teslascrt.hop.clickbank.net/

November 7, 2011

Fall crawl 2011

The XJ List returns to Harlan County’s Black Mountain Adventure park

My GMC Suburban was just not running right. It was down on power and had a severe stumble puling from stops and up the long hills on I 75 north of Knoxville. I had changed the distributor cap and rotor before leaving, but clearly there was still something amiss in the ignition system.

I arrived at the Harlan County campground about 30 minutes later that I had expected. However a quick text message to the group found them still having lunch at the top of the hill in the campground.

I got my park pass and checked into the campground. The drive up the hill to the campground was still a challenge towing the Jeep; but this time I made it without any assistance.

After, I unloaded and set up the tent, Wayne arrived and then we hit the trails. We were hoping to beat the rain. We managed to make it to the helipad and onto White Tail trail before the rain came.

We dropped down in to the ravine. Neal, Mitch and Adam took the rockier track While Wayne Jenny, Evan and I took the gravel track parallel to the boulder strewn path.

Soon the tricky downhill rock garden had Neal’s Cherokee lying on his side against the bank. A couple of guys pushed him back onto his wheels. Just a few moments later, Mitch laid his Wrangler on its side a little further down the trail. He was able to drive out of the flop with some encouragement from his spotters. No damage was evident on either rig.

The rest of us made a scary off camber scurry to join them at the bottom of the hill. The top of the hill had gotten slippery by this time due to the rain. At the end of the trail we found it blocked by banner tape. Apparently this trail was closed but we had seen no markings on the other end. We untied the tape and drove out onto 10 and put the banner back behind us.

We then did a little exploring on trail 11 and made our way over to Rail Bed. Jenny took the lead as this has now become her trail after the scary incident a few years ago. She made it look easy going over the slippery rocks all the way to the exit before getting stuck in the mud near the top of the exit. She got a quick tug and was out.

I tried to follow her line at the exit but I got mostly no where before burying my tires in mud. She tossed me a strap and pulled me to the top. Adam made it up behind me with lots of wheel spinning action. Mitch took what used to be the hard way out, but now that the rocks have moved around a bit, I wonder if I would not have been better off going the way he went.

We then made our way across the park back to our camp. By then the rain was hard and steady. Trail 45 was a slippery muddy mess but a fun way to end the day going back down to camp.

On the way down I kept hearing a dragging sound for the rear of my Jeep. It would go away when I accelerated but on the long downhill sections, it would just continue to get worse. I finally saw a place to stop and noticed that my left rear wheel was no longer centered in the wheel well. The noise was the tire dragging the rear fender opening.

I limped it on to camp. When I jacked it up and took of the wheel, I saw that the center pin of the leaf spring was sheared off. The main axle was free to slide back and forth along the main leaf. Using a couple a jacks and a large block of wood for a stand, I was able to get the spring pack apart and drive out the broke part of the pin.

We made a trip into town and luckily found a center pin. I also picked up an extra C clamp to help press the spring pack together. The next morning, I used a tapered pin to align the spring pack. I put in the new center pin and used the two C clamps to press the pack together while I tightened the new pin. I then used a ratchet strap to pull the axle back into place and align the pin with a hole in the perch. I then tightened the U bolts and was ready to wheel again. I did all this while most folks were still sleeping.

The other Kentucky folks showed up soon afterwards and we hit the trails again. We decided to do some exploring in the western part of the park where we really have never been. After the long climb up a very muddy trail 45 we regrouped at the Middle Fork Playground.

There were two high powered big tired buggies getting spanked by the slip and slide of trail 15. Adam could not wait to show them how it’s done in his XJ. He made it easily to the top and came back down one of the play hills.

We all made it up the slippery hill and regrouped in the small perch at the top of the first hill. Neal got hung up on about the third hill and those of us remaining at the bottom decide to take the bypass to speed things up some.

The two groups met back up at the end of trial 15. We then made our way out trial 12 to a wide spot for lunch. It had snowed on us here the last time I was there. This year is was just windy and cold.

We then paused at the Tough Truck challenge area. Josh made a run at the huge rock pile there. He made it across but somehow in the process of having all four wheels in the air at once got air in his power steering. We jacked up his rig and did a quick system bleed to get him going again.

We decided to head on west and see the sights. The leaves were beautiful as the sun broke through the fog. We stopped at 4 poles over look for a group photo. We also did a quick clean up of the area collecting a 30 gallon trash bag of bottles and cans.

We continued on west to the end of the park. Some how Neal spit out an axle shaft U joint so we paused for a quick trail repair. Unfortunately we had the trail completely blocked by out large group. He was nearly done with the trail fix when a group of ATV riders showed up. They were at first concerned over how long we would have the trial blocked but they were soon amazed at how fast we can swap an axle shaft as a group in the woods.

We then made our way up what looks like Kentucky’s version of Moab’s Lions Back. This trail is called Cliffhanger. It begins as a long gravely climb. Then it levels out and becomes a very narrow and steep rock ledge. There is an electrical tower right in the way so you have along the cliff to exit hence the name.

I was a little spooked as I drove to the top because I had not walked the trail like those in the front of the line had done. But I made it up with just a slight new pucker in the seat cushion.

After cliffhanger, we made our way across the park back to camp. It got dark on us along the way. The darkness added a little to challenge for us except for Evan who had no head lights. The darkness added a lot of challenge for him

The next morning we headed out to Lion’s Den. We had lunch and walked the trail. However rains had made entrance a mucky mess and Josh decided not to run. We then headed back across the park to Crawford’s cry. We had planned to run Your Turn but we got lost at a confusing intersection.

We headed out and got to watch so people on the new zip line fly across our heads. We eventually made it around to Crawford’s cry.

Neal headed up fist and Josh, Mitch and Adam followed. The climb was slipped in places and had large dry rocks in others. It was much harder than when I ran it a few years ago. Neal made it to the top but had trouble on the exit. There was no place to hook a winch line either. I walked back down and was driving Jenny’s Jeep up to use as an anchor when Josh found another way out.

Somehow in the maneuvering, Neal broke the main leaf in his right rear spring. As darkness approached we began to engineer a trail fix to get him out.

About the same time Adam popped a front axle U joint and had to back down. He also found he was out of fuel when he got back to the bottom. We had two trail fixes going at once.

I took my tool bag up to Neal and we decided to try using C clamps to hold the spring pack together long enough to get the XJ off the trail and down to the Evart parking area. With the springs clamped together, I left them to lead the rest of the group back to camp and get Neal’s tow rig.

Back at camp part of the group began dinner prep while Jenny and I took the long highway around the mountain to take Neal’s truck and trailer to him. It was well after dark when we got around, meeting Neal. But his rig had made it to the parking lot and he was able to drive it onto the trailer with the C clamps holding things in place. Our trail engineering fix had worked.

Once we were all back at camp, we dined on delicious fire cooked steaks and potato boats. We enjoyed the stars and conversation well into the night. Another excellent trip with the XJ list.

November 3, 2011November 1, 2011

Replacing the Idler Pulley on a Jeep Cherokee

If you get a strange chirping sound from the front of the engine in your Jeep Cherokee it is likely the idler pulley. These have a replaceable bearing but it generally easier to just buy the whole pulley with a new bearing installed.

To change the pulley, you will first have to loosen the serpentine belt. The belt is adjusted at the power steering pump. On most vintages, the power steering pump moves to adjust the belt. On the later vintages, there is an adjuster beside the power steering pump. Removing the air box makes access easier.

With the belt loose, remove the bolt in the center of the pulley. Most have a 15mm hex. Slip the pulley off and remove the sleeve from the center. In most cases you will reuse the sleeve.

If the pulley comes with a new sleeve, use it instead of the old one. Otherwise put the old sleeve in the new pulley. Bolt it back to the engine.

Reinstall the belt and tighten it up. I found the tension is about right when the belt will only twist 90 degrees between the power steering pulley and the water pump. It has to be pretty tight or it will slip when the AC is on.

November 1, 2011November 1, 2011

Replacing the steering box on a Jeep Cherokee

The steering box on a Jeep Cherokee rarely goes bad. Mine has over 345,000 miles on it. However, I recently changed one that had been damaged in an engine fire. These instructions will also help if you want to upgrade to a larger steering box.

Begin by removing the air box and electric fan to gain access. Remove the hydraulic hoses. The fittings at the box are 18mm. It may help to have a crow foot line wrench but I always make do with a stubby 18 mm open end.

Remove the bolt that secures the sector shaft to the box. It may not look like it, but the bolt has to come all the way out to release it from the splines. Use a pry bar if necessary to slip the sector shaft off the splines. Use some penetrating oil on the slip joint in the shaft if it seems like it does not want to compress. If you try to compress it and it sticks, the rubber joint at the top can be damaged.

Disconnect the pitman arm from the tie rod. You will need a tie rod puller to do this job. Be careful not to damage the rubber cup on the tie rod while removing it. Put some tension on the joint with the puller and then use a sharp strike with a hammer to free up the joint. Trying to pull too hard will likely damage the puller and not release the joint. A sharp blow from a hammer on the side of the pitman arm will pop it right out.

The box is held to the unibody by three bolts. These have 5/8 inch heads and are held in by thread locking compound. Use a long handle ratchet to get them out. There is an aluminum spacer between the unibody and the pump. Sometimes the bolts will seize in the aluminum. If the spacer breaks, you can replace it with a stack of washers on each bolt. Also, if using a larger steering box, you may have to space the box further away from the frame rail.

With eh bolts out you can lower the box down behind the sway bar. Be careful because it is heavy.

Removal of the pitman arm is difficult. Use the proper puller and possibly heat to remove it. If possible, get a replacement with the pitman arm already attached.

To reinstall, hold the box in place and start one of the bolts. It may be helpful to have an assistant hold the box from above while you align it and start the bolts from below.

Reconnect the tie rod and install the cotter key. Attach the sector shaft and install the bolt. You map have to use a hammer and lightly tap the end of the shaft in place. Alternately you can use a chisel to spread the coupling apart before attaching it to the steering box.

Reattach the hydraulic hoses. Lift the wheels off the ground and turn the steering from side to side. Make sure there is no binding. Fill the system with fluid and repeat the side to side motion. Start the engine and turn the wheels from lock to lock to purge the air from the system. Make sure the reservoir stays full of fluid while purging. It is common for the fluid to foam while purging.

If the pump sounds like it still has air as indicated by a growling sound when turning the wheel, turn to one of the stops and hold the wheel there for a second while the pressure relief opens. You will hear the valve open when you hold it against the stop. Repeat a couple of times to purge all the air.

Test drive the Jeep to make sure the steering is centered and has the proper feel. Adjust as needed.