So after the tear down and the install of the Howell fuel injection unit it still runs! Finished the final wire today and fired her up. She cranked for a few while it purged the fuel lines and the turned over. So smooth. Test drive tomorrow! http://vimeo.com/96553938
So tonight after a few successful drives I decided I could finish the rebuild and install the stereo. First let me say that the fuel injection kit from Howell is probably my favorite mod we have done to this CJ. The power all of the way through the rpm range is incredible. Power used to fade above 3000 rpm and now I have to be careful that I don't run past the redline at 5000. There isn't a hesitation like I have had with carburetors since I bought it in 92'. When you floor the accelerator at any speed the pickup is instant. There isn't a bog or lag. It just flat goes!! can't wait to get it into the rocks to see how it does off camber.
Stereo install
We decided that the old CD player was shot and in the areas we play we don't have radio reception so we only wanted the aux and it had to have a built in amp. Well that made things easy. This unit was simple and sounds great for a little bit of tunes while driving on road or off.
Painted the ashtray and speaker grills blue while I was at it.
Drove RCCRWLR up to Lake Almanor today. In the middle of the day. In the heat of the day! It ran great. Cruised about 70-72 on the fwy no prob. Ran a bit hot but prob will flush the radiator and put in some fresh coolant since it's been a while
Ready to roll
Stopping for lunch in Chico. Found a friend. Of you make it to Chico... Aca Taco rocks!!
Started to climb up out of Chico on 32 and about 3-4 miles out of Butte Meadows the Jeep started to sputter and then it shut off. Made it to a good turnout. Tried to re-start but it just cranked and cranked. Pulled the air cleaner off and found we were not getting gas to the TB. Pulled the fuel line from the TB and confirmed...dry. Climbed underneath and quickly determined the issue. Vapor lock! When the PO swapped out the 304 for the 360 the exhaust route changed from the passenger side to the drivers. When we installed the new fuel pump and filter it ended up in the skid plate to protect it but that is also the location of the cat. After it cooled down it started back up. Now I'm on a mission to build a heat shield.
So I just order a set of sliders from White Knuckle offroad. Frame mounted, low profile dom tubing etc. the install instructions have you using the supplied self tapping 3/8 hardware to attach the sliders to the frame. Thinking it may be easier to pick up non-self tapping bolts and a 3/8 tap.
I have been emailing back and forth with John at White Knuckle Offroad (WKO)today about the mounting hardware for the sliders. This is his response to the question about using taped hole vs self taping (thread cutters)hardware
Hi Brendon,
Getting them started is pretty easy as long as you put force on the bolt as you begin cutting the threads. Then the bolt takes over and pulls itself through.
Just received an email a short time ago from a customer with a Jeep JK who did a comparison between the 2 systems and here is what he found:
Hi John,
I’ve done some experiments on taping processes and thought you would like to review my findings. I began with a piece of 1/8” plate to simulate a frame rail. I drilled 2 5/16” pilot holes in this plate. Then I used a White-Knuckle self-taping 3/8” bolt to thread one hole, and an Irwin 3/8” X 16 tap to tap the second hole. I used a taping fluid for lubrication for both holes. I observed the White-Knuckle bolt/hole to be tighter than the taped/Grade 8 bolt/hole.
Then I installed the White-Knuckle bolt in the White-Knuckle hole and the grade 8 bolt in the taped hole. Each bolt had 2 washers on them to assure good threads remained in the holes. I torqued each bolt beginning at 10 ft-lbs and increasing by 2.5 ft-lbs each cycle. Remarkably, the White-Knuckle system failed after 32.5 ft-lbs, and the taped/Grade 8 system failed after 20 ft-lbs.
I’d expect there to be some permanent (non-elastic) deformation prior to failure. So I’d think if you stuck you using your self-taping bolts in 5/16” pilot holes, you could safely torque to 10-12.5 ft-lbs. Some Loctite would assure that road rattle wouldn’t loosen the bolts.
The thread cutters are case hardened and because of that are more brittle than the Grade 8 bolts, but I rarely hear of them breaking. The thread cutters are the better way to go.
Looks like i will be using the supplied 3/8 x1" thread cutter hardware. So far WKO has been a great group to work with. Hopefully the product is good as well
So we tried to install a heat wrap around the fuel pump to help with the vapor lock. However we didn't wrap the fuel filter that is in the same area. I have the wrap for the filter but didn't get a chance to install before we left for home. Got all the way to Chico and it started to vapor lock when we got downtown. Just decided not to fight the 104 deg temps and towed it home. I will be installing a heat shield now and the heat wrap. This cannot happen!!!
So after having these steps for the last 22 yrs. I went to get out and it wasn't there. You know how you feel when you think you are at the last stair and you are not expecting one more?! That sucks. Going to have to learn how to get out all over.
Checking to make sure the hubs are good
After driving down hwy-32 that has a ton of 25 mph corners without a front sway bar, I decided loading up the jeep for a Rubicon trip without it would be a mistake.
Had to fix the mounting post first
