Neil

I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
having a wonderful day.

Earle Horton

The 304 should run pretty smooth if it is tuned up properly. It shouldn't
"smell like raw gas all the time", but swapping in a 4.0 is overkill for
fixing that problem. There are fuel injection kits and manifolds available,
and these are fine if you are rich, but you probably just have a bad float
needle valve.

Manual transmissions are a pain in the neck to rebuild. If they need
rebuilding, there is always a high dollar part like a countershaft that is
bad. If you just want to refresh the bearings, gaskets and small parts to
get some extra life out of it, that shouldn't be too bad.

Earle

"Neil" <neilbedwell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155825546.472270.318040@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
> a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
> weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
> daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
> whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
> albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
> Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
> than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
> speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
> great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
> home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
> it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
> supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
> knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
> what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
> case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
> rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
> I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
> exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
> brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
> renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
> steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
> back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
> description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
> frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
> even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
> pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
> good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
> nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
> like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
> leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
> seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
> fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
> nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
> its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
> ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
> a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
> off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
> off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
> Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
> injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
> fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
> brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
> drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
> and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
> to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
> I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
> to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
> I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
> steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
> the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
> stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
> which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
> lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
> having a wonderful day.
>

Earle Horton

The 304 should run pretty smooth if it is tuned up properly. It shouldn't
"smell like raw gas all the time", but swapping in a 4.0 is overkill for
fixing that problem. There are fuel injection kits and manifolds available,
and these are fine if you are rich, but you probably just have a bad float
needle valve.

Manual transmissions are a pain in the neck to rebuild. If they need
rebuilding, there is always a high dollar part like a countershaft that is
bad. If you just want to refresh the bearings, gaskets and small parts to
get some extra life out of it, that shouldn't be too bad.

Earle

"Neil" <neilbedwell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155825546.472270.318040@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
> a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
> weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
> daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
> whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
> albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
> Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
> than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
> speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
> great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
> home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
> it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
> supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
> knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
> what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
> case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
> rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
> I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
> exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
> brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
> renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
> steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
> back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
> description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
> frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
> even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
> pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
> good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
> nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
> like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
> leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
> seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
> fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
> nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
> its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
> ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
> a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
> off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
> off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
> Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
> injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
> fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
> brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
> drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
> and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
> to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
> I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
> to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
> I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
> steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
> the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
> stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
> which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
> lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
> having a wonderful day.
>

Earle Horton

The 304 should run pretty smooth if it is tuned up properly. It shouldn't
"smell like raw gas all the time", but swapping in a 4.0 is overkill for
fixing that problem. There are fuel injection kits and manifolds available,
and these are fine if you are rich, but you probably just have a bad float
needle valve.

Manual transmissions are a pain in the neck to rebuild. If they need
rebuilding, there is always a high dollar part like a countershaft that is
bad. If you just want to refresh the bearings, gaskets and small parts to
get some extra life out of it, that shouldn't be too bad.

Earle

"Neil" <neilbedwell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155825546.472270.318040@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
> a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
> weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
> daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
> whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
> albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
> Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
> than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
> speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
> great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
> home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
> it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
> supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
> knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
> what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
> case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
> rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
> I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
> exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
> brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
> renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
> steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
> back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
> description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
> frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
> even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
> pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
> good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
> nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
> like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
> leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
> seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
> fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
> nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
> its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
> ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
> a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
> off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
> off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
> Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
> injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
> fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
> brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
> drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
> and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
> to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
> I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
> to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
> I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
> steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
> the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
> stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
> which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
> lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
> having a wonderful day.
>

Earle Horton

The 304 should run pretty smooth if it is tuned up properly. It shouldn't
"smell like raw gas all the time", but swapping in a 4.0 is overkill for
fixing that problem. There are fuel injection kits and manifolds available,
and these are fine if you are rich, but you probably just have a bad float
needle valve.

Manual transmissions are a pain in the neck to rebuild. If they need
rebuilding, there is always a high dollar part like a countershaft that is
bad. If you just want to refresh the bearings, gaskets and small parts to
get some extra life out of it, that shouldn't be too bad.

Earle

"Neil" <neilbedwell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155825546.472270.318040@m73g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
> a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
> weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
> daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
> whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
> albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
> Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
> than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
> speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
> great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
> home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
> it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
> supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
> knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
> what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
> case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
> rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
> I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
> exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
> brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
> renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
> steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
> back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
> description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
> frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
> even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
> pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
> good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
> nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
> like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
> leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
> seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
> fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
> nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
> its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
> ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
> a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
> off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
> off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
> Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
> injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
> fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
> brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
> drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
> and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
> to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
> I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
> to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
> I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
> steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
> the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
> stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
> which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
> lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
> having a wonderful day.
>

Carl

Congrats on the CJ. The 'bug' is less like a bee and more like a wasp, so be
careful.

A1: Get a carb kit and rebuild it. Chances are it needs it. Change the
plugs, check the timing, cap/rotor, ect. Check all vacuum lines and fluids.
Give everything a good once-over, and once everything is up to spec, I think
you will be pleasently suprised with the driveability of your 304. Unless
you are a sucker for pain, I would not advise switching the 304 for the I6
so long as your 304 is running I feel this would be maximum pain for minimum
gain. The 258 is a GREAT motor, but it will never sound as good as a v8. If
you are hell bent on a swap, a SBC and TH350/400 might actually be easier
and cheaper than the I6. If you go this route, avoid the 700R4 like the
plauge.

A2: Not sure why it has drum brakes. I suppose you could get the knuckles
and parts from another (D30?) and add discs if the manual drums aren't
stopping well enough for you. Before you go dumping a ton of money and
energy into a power brake swap or front disc swap, try pulling the drums and
making sure everything is within spec and adjusted properly. Finish off with
a good brake bleed and see if that helps. I suppose if the brakes still
wearn't good enough, I would do a power brake conversion and add front
discs. If they still wearn't good enough, I'd remind myself that it's a
Jeep.

A3: The D300 should work, don't know about the T-176. I would think you'd at
least need a new bellhousing and input shaft.

A4: With the Jeep parked, E-brake set, and wheels chocked, lay down in front
of the Jeep. Have the wife sit in the driver's seat, turn the igniton to
unlock the steering (Engine should be OFF) and move the steering wheel back
and forth. At first, only back and fourth in the free play, then back and
fourth to turn the wheels a bit. Watch the tie rod ends, and drag link
joints and look for slop. Also look for slop in the steering gear box, or
the mount. It may be as simple as a new tie rod end, or as expensive as a
new steering gear box. Also make sure it is aligned properly. The
cross-frame brace is better. If something is worn out and causing the slop,
a stabilizer will mask it for a while, but it will get worse and come back.

Overall, it sounds like a solid Jeep. I strongly reccomend trying to fix the
little annoyances before going to all-out swaps. You'll find a LOT more
headaches swapping motors than simply tuning yours. If you take a picture of
your front axle, chances are someone here can identify it for you. Is it
5x5.5 bolt pattern?

HTH

Carl

Carl

Congrats on the CJ. The 'bug' is less like a bee and more like a wasp, so be
careful.

A1: Get a carb kit and rebuild it. Chances are it needs it. Change the
plugs, check the timing, cap/rotor, ect. Check all vacuum lines and fluids.
Give everything a good once-over, and once everything is up to spec, I think
you will be pleasently suprised with the driveability of your 304. Unless
you are a sucker for pain, I would not advise switching the 304 for the I6
so long as your 304 is running I feel this would be maximum pain for minimum
gain. The 258 is a GREAT motor, but it will never sound as good as a v8. If
you are hell bent on a swap, a SBC and TH350/400 might actually be easier
and cheaper than the I6. If you go this route, avoid the 700R4 like the
plauge.

A2: Not sure why it has drum brakes. I suppose you could get the knuckles
and parts from another (D30?) and add discs if the manual drums aren't
stopping well enough for you. Before you go dumping a ton of money and
energy into a power brake swap or front disc swap, try pulling the drums and
making sure everything is within spec and adjusted properly. Finish off with
a good brake bleed and see if that helps. I suppose if the brakes still
wearn't good enough, I would do a power brake conversion and add front
discs. If they still wearn't good enough, I'd remind myself that it's a
Jeep.

A3: The D300 should work, don't know about the T-176. I would think you'd at
least need a new bellhousing and input shaft.

A4: With the Jeep parked, E-brake set, and wheels chocked, lay down in front
of the Jeep. Have the wife sit in the driver's seat, turn the igniton to
unlock the steering (Engine should be OFF) and move the steering wheel back
and forth. At first, only back and fourth in the free play, then back and
fourth to turn the wheels a bit. Watch the tie rod ends, and drag link
joints and look for slop. Also look for slop in the steering gear box, or
the mount. It may be as simple as a new tie rod end, or as expensive as a
new steering gear box. Also make sure it is aligned properly. The
cross-frame brace is better. If something is worn out and causing the slop,
a stabilizer will mask it for a while, but it will get worse and come back.

Overall, it sounds like a solid Jeep. I strongly reccomend trying to fix the
little annoyances before going to all-out swaps. You'll find a LOT more
headaches swapping motors than simply tuning yours. If you take a picture of
your front axle, chances are someone here can identify it for you. Is it
5x5.5 bolt pattern?

HTH

Carl

Carl

Congrats on the CJ. The 'bug' is less like a bee and more like a wasp, so be
careful.

A1: Get a carb kit and rebuild it. Chances are it needs it. Change the
plugs, check the timing, cap/rotor, ect. Check all vacuum lines and fluids.
Give everything a good once-over, and once everything is up to spec, I think
you will be pleasently suprised with the driveability of your 304. Unless
you are a sucker for pain, I would not advise switching the 304 for the I6
so long as your 304 is running I feel this would be maximum pain for minimum
gain. The 258 is a GREAT motor, but it will never sound as good as a v8. If
you are hell bent on a swap, a SBC and TH350/400 might actually be easier
and cheaper than the I6. If you go this route, avoid the 700R4 like the
plauge.

A2: Not sure why it has drum brakes. I suppose you could get the knuckles
and parts from another (D30?) and add discs if the manual drums aren't
stopping well enough for you. Before you go dumping a ton of money and
energy into a power brake swap or front disc swap, try pulling the drums and
making sure everything is within spec and adjusted properly. Finish off with
a good brake bleed and see if that helps. I suppose if the brakes still
wearn't good enough, I would do a power brake conversion and add front
discs. If they still wearn't good enough, I'd remind myself that it's a
Jeep.

A3: The D300 should work, don't know about the T-176. I would think you'd at
least need a new bellhousing and input shaft.

A4: With the Jeep parked, E-brake set, and wheels chocked, lay down in front
of the Jeep. Have the wife sit in the driver's seat, turn the igniton to
unlock the steering (Engine should be OFF) and move the steering wheel back
and forth. At first, only back and fourth in the free play, then back and
fourth to turn the wheels a bit. Watch the tie rod ends, and drag link
joints and look for slop. Also look for slop in the steering gear box, or
the mount. It may be as simple as a new tie rod end, or as expensive as a
new steering gear box. Also make sure it is aligned properly. The
cross-frame brace is better. If something is worn out and causing the slop,
a stabilizer will mask it for a while, but it will get worse and come back.

Overall, it sounds like a solid Jeep. I strongly reccomend trying to fix the
little annoyances before going to all-out swaps. You'll find a LOT more
headaches swapping motors than simply tuning yours. If you take a picture of
your front axle, chances are someone here can identify it for you. Is it
5x5.5 bolt pattern?

HTH

Carl

Carl

Congrats on the CJ. The 'bug' is less like a bee and more like a wasp, so be
careful.

A1: Get a carb kit and rebuild it. Chances are it needs it. Change the
plugs, check the timing, cap/rotor, ect. Check all vacuum lines and fluids.
Give everything a good once-over, and once everything is up to spec, I think
you will be pleasently suprised with the driveability of your 304. Unless
you are a sucker for pain, I would not advise switching the 304 for the I6
so long as your 304 is running I feel this would be maximum pain for minimum
gain. The 258 is a GREAT motor, but it will never sound as good as a v8. If
you are hell bent on a swap, a SBC and TH350/400 might actually be easier
and cheaper than the I6. If you go this route, avoid the 700R4 like the
plauge.

A2: Not sure why it has drum brakes. I suppose you could get the knuckles
and parts from another (D30?) and add discs if the manual drums aren't
stopping well enough for you. Before you go dumping a ton of money and
energy into a power brake swap or front disc swap, try pulling the drums and
making sure everything is within spec and adjusted properly. Finish off with
a good brake bleed and see if that helps. I suppose if the brakes still
wearn't good enough, I would do a power brake conversion and add front
discs. If they still wearn't good enough, I'd remind myself that it's a
Jeep.

A3: The D300 should work, don't know about the T-176. I would think you'd at
least need a new bellhousing and input shaft.

A4: With the Jeep parked, E-brake set, and wheels chocked, lay down in front
of the Jeep. Have the wife sit in the driver's seat, turn the igniton to
unlock the steering (Engine should be OFF) and move the steering wheel back
and forth. At first, only back and fourth in the free play, then back and
fourth to turn the wheels a bit. Watch the tie rod ends, and drag link
joints and look for slop. Also look for slop in the steering gear box, or
the mount. It may be as simple as a new tie rod end, or as expensive as a
new steering gear box. Also make sure it is aligned properly. The
cross-frame brace is better. If something is worn out and causing the slop,
a stabilizer will mask it for a while, but it will get worse and come back.

Overall, it sounds like a solid Jeep. I strongly reccomend trying to fix the
little annoyances before going to all-out swaps. You'll find a LOT more
headaches swapping motors than simply tuning yours. If you take a picture of
your front axle, chances are someone here can identify it for you. Is it
5x5.5 bolt pattern?

HTH

Carl

Lee Ayrton

Congrats on the Jeep. I've got a `79 CJ-5 with eh 258 in it.

Front disk brakes were optional in 1977, standard equipment from 1978 up.

Pretty much everything on the CJ-5 remained unchanged from the redesign
in 1976 through the end of the line in 1983, although the emission
controls changed steadily during those years. Most parts are common to
both the CJ-5 and the CJ-7, except those that deal with the sheet metal
from the door hinges back and of course the drive shaft.

Decades ago, my brother converted his `74 CJ to front disk brakes. As I
recall it was a simply bolt-on conversion using boneyard parts. You
might have to swap out the hubs, but from the backing plate out it
should be a bolt-on job -- Jeep didn't change the steering knuckles. Be
sure to change out the proportioning valve located on the inner side of
the frame just below the driver's right foot.



Neil wrote:
> I guess I've finally been bitten by the "bug". My wife and I purchased
> a 2006 TJ a few months ago. I thought it would be my daily driver /
> weekend toy. Boy was I wrong! Now she likes it so much that it's HER
> daily driver and definitely not a weekend toy. Anyway, after a lot of
> whining on my part she agreed to let me buy another jeep of my own,
> albeit it had to be an older/cheaper one. No complaints about that.
> Plus I think she wanted another one too. Guess the bug can bite more
> than once, LOL. Anyway, I found and bought a 79 CJ5 with 304 V8 and 4
> speed transmission. It's in fairly good cosmetic shape, the frame is
> great, it runs pretty good and the price was right so it followed me
> home, LOL. Here's where it get's interesting, though. After I brought
> it home some things started looking a little funny. OK, it is
> supposedly a 79 model but it has drum brakes in the front. To my
> knowledge all post 1976 jeeps had discs in the front, correct? From
> what I can tell it has a T-176 transmission and a Dana 300 Transfer
> case. Again, that transmission wasn't available in 1979, right? The
> rear axle is an AMC 20 and the front axle, I think, is a Dana 30, but
> I'm having trouble proving that as there is no tag and it doesn't look
> exactly like a Dana 30 should. It has power steering, but no power
> brakes. It has a clock in the dash, so does that mean it's been a
> renegade model? If so, shouldn't it have power brakes if it has power
> steering? Here's where it get's even more bizzare. I got the title
> back and under the year column it says 1979, but under the vehicle
> description column it says exactly this: 83CJ5. So, it is a
> frankenstein jeep for sure. Again, the drum brakes in the front make
> even less sense if it turns out to be an 83 model. The 304 has side
> pipes for the exhaust that I'm not nuts about, but boy do they sound
> good going down the road. It's just the exhaust fumes that are a bit
> nasty. The carb on the 304 seems to be running very rich so it smells
> like raw gas all the time. The passenger side rear axle seal was
> leaking so I went ahead and installed a one-piece axle kit and new
> seals/bearings. It just made sense to do that instead of worry about
> fixing the old two-piece design. So, here are my decisions: I'm not
> nuts about the 304 for a few reasons. It is simply tooth chattering in
> its current configuration. After 30 minutes of driving my ears are
> ringing. The side pipes could go, I know, and that would take care of
> a little of the noise, but not all of it. I'm not building an extreme
> off roader. This will be a weekend rider and a VERY mild sunday picnic
> off roader, so I don't need rock-crawler ability. Question 1 is:
> Would I be happier swapping the 304 V8 for the 258 I6 and adding fuel
> injection to make it smoother driving? Would it be wiser to just add
> fuel injection to the 304? Question 2: I know that I can add power
> brakes by just adding a brake booster, but what do I do about the front
> drum brakes? I could find a junk yard axle and rob the parts off it
> and switch them over, but is there some weird benefit I'm not realizing
> to having drum brakes on the front? Question 3: If I go with a 258
> I6, will it bolt up to my T-176 trans and Dana 300 TC? How hard is it
> to rebuild a T-176? Question 4: The steering wanders just a bit, so
> I've been looking at ways to upgrade it. Do I need a new Heavy Duty
> steering box bracket, or is the brace that goes to the other side of
> the frame better? Or both? I already plan on putting on a steering
> stabilizer, so that may fix most of the issues. I am just wondering
> which is better the brace or the HD bracket. I apologize for the
> lengthy post. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope everyone is
> having a wonderful day.
>


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