Jim
May 26th, 2019, 02:14 AM
I'm running down to the wire for the 10:30am Kelly Flats run. The clock just struck 2am.
The jeep had a broken transmission mount. While it was, generally, an easy task, it did have a few snags that consumed time. This afternoon (Saturday) I was ready to be "done" with the work and went for a ride. I only made it one short block before hearing an odd engine bay noise. Stop to check it out - radiator fan is ever so slightly hitting the shroud. DRAT. The slightly different transmission mount (being a bit taller) is tilting fan blades down where there was already a close clearance. I'll need to fix this before it can hit the road.
The jeep has a body lift and the radiator has a body-lift-compensator (a set of bars that allows the radiator to mount lower on the body). This kit now needed "more". Ugh - quick slap-together to get to the trail and deal with it next week or burn the candle and to it right (and only once). Do it right won out. I started at 9:30p and finished about 1:30a - then for an around-the-block test run and fuel tank fill.
Before the change, I could fit three finger widths between the top blade and shroud. Bottom blade and shroud - about 1/2 finger. In the end I added 1-3/16" to the radiator drop and clearances all around are wonderful.
See you at the trailhead so long as something from the recent work doesn't bite me.
The old mount wasn't wonderful to my eye. It used three bars to mate the body with the radiator. The setup ended up having a "shingle" effect with the bottom of one bar resting against a bolt head. The radiator didn't seem to move but it somewhat seemed to be able to swing on the bars. The new setup has the radiator flat against the one-bar-per-side setup with that bar against the body. Tightening the passenger side fasteners of the three body mounts is much more tedious and something I might a little bit of work for easy wrench access.
The jeep had a broken transmission mount. While it was, generally, an easy task, it did have a few snags that consumed time. This afternoon (Saturday) I was ready to be "done" with the work and went for a ride. I only made it one short block before hearing an odd engine bay noise. Stop to check it out - radiator fan is ever so slightly hitting the shroud. DRAT. The slightly different transmission mount (being a bit taller) is tilting fan blades down where there was already a close clearance. I'll need to fix this before it can hit the road.
The jeep has a body lift and the radiator has a body-lift-compensator (a set of bars that allows the radiator to mount lower on the body). This kit now needed "more". Ugh - quick slap-together to get to the trail and deal with it next week or burn the candle and to it right (and only once). Do it right won out. I started at 9:30p and finished about 1:30a - then for an around-the-block test run and fuel tank fill.
Before the change, I could fit three finger widths between the top blade and shroud. Bottom blade and shroud - about 1/2 finger. In the end I added 1-3/16" to the radiator drop and clearances all around are wonderful.
See you at the trailhead so long as something from the recent work doesn't bite me.
The old mount wasn't wonderful to my eye. It used three bars to mate the body with the radiator. The setup ended up having a "shingle" effect with the bottom of one bar resting against a bolt head. The radiator didn't seem to move but it somewhat seemed to be able to swing on the bars. The new setup has the radiator flat against the one-bar-per-side setup with that bar against the body. Tightening the passenger side fasteners of the three body mounts is much more tedious and something I might a little bit of work for easy wrench access.