CJ5 questions

[mx racer 904]

I just picked up my new(to me) 76' CJ5 with a AMC 304 and 3 speed transmission....all in all its in great shape....

I have a pretty big dent on the hood...and need to throw a radio in it....

but have a few question to see it this is normal or what...

first the brakes pretty much suck....really have to stand on them....i thought maybe the front or rear not totally working or do i just need to upgrade....


second I need to cut the hump to move the seat back....is thier a tutorial or something someone has done....and how far do they go....

third I think i need a syncronizer or something it grinds going into 3rd gear...not to bad but would like to fix....

defoster sucks(if you can even call it that)

would like to through a reese hitch on any cheap easy ideas...

 

[SteelHeadz]

On the brakes, check the vacuum line and check valve to the brake booster if equipped. If thats a factory setup 304 in there, that should have a booster.Make sure there's no vacuum leaks in the booster. Take a pic. of the hump that you want to modify so we can look at it and come up with some ideas. The defroster vents has a flxible tube that connects from the main heater box to the vent assembly tube. Check that and see if it's properly connected and or just rotten. As for the hitch, you can modify a class 3 straight square tube type hitch assembly from a local junkyard and have a proffesional welder make you a new bracket that will bolt on the rear bumper/ cross member support. Check the fluid level on the trans. and service it first with a good fresh fluid then re-evalute the shifting issues.

 

[mx racer 904]

the hump....is the rear wheel well

 

[SteelHeadz]

Ahh i see. My thoughts was on the trans. tunnel. The best approach would be to measure the compressed suspension on that wheel well and see if a minor mod. would be possible. I modified a 42 GPW a while back by cutting the forward section of the wheel well to accomodate the new seat brackets and make room for the roll cage to go through the body and tie in to the frame. It can be done with cutting and welding a similar gauge sheet metal to create a new section of the wheel well witout it looking like a hack job. This was only accomplished due to the lift on the suspension and this gave me enough room to take some clearance off the wheel well box.

 

[mx racer 904]

i dont think it has a brake booster....is it like most and be right by the m/c.....there is a little hose coming up from down below...it ends right by m/c with a bolt stuck in the hose....

it looks like i have a bunch of room on the wheel well....

 

[mx racer 904]

some more pics of my new baby

 

[SteelHeadz]

well, that proved me wrong. Installing a brake booster will definitely help stop the Jeep with ease. If you don't want to go that route, check all four corners of your brakes. Make sure the front calipers are not rusted and binding. I would suspect at this point that the master cylinder OR the brake proportioning valve would cause it to be stiff on the brakes. That's a nice find by the way.

 

[mx racer 904]

Not bad for 1500....its really in good shape...

 

[SteelHeadz]

$1500.00 is a steal..Good job.

 

[Crazy4diesels]

Nice Jeep!! My 78 CJ7 had the same brake setup - No power booster. It stopped just fine. Make sure all of your hydraulics are good. You might have some frozen wheel pistons. A 76 might have drums all around (though, with the 304...). Drums will work fine BUT they need to be working properly to stop without "standing on the pedal". I'd go through the brakes and make sure the linings are not petrified, make sure the drum or disk surfaces are OK, and change the hydraulics if they are at all questionable. Also, check all of the brake lines for bad rust and check the hoses for cracking. Best of luck with your new CJ!! - John

 

[mx racer 904]

i havent had the chance to look its been rainging here....it feels like only the bad are working or maybe one of the back...it doesnt pull or anything...gonna check in a little bit...thanks guys

 

[Collin the Hen]

Nice buy. I have manual brakes in my CJ7. I didn't even know they were manual until I actually looked.

 

[mx racer 904]

Havent really got to dig in yet,but its got discs in the front....I thought all brakes were manual...LOL

 

[Saddle Tramp]

A 76 might have drums all around (though, with the 304...). Drums will work fine BUT they need to be working properly to stop without "standing on the pedal".

All 1976 CJ5s have drum brakes, 1977 & up had disks. Remember that 1976 (and to a lesser extent 1977s too) was the year AMC used up parts from the previous body style so they are a bit of a B.... when it comes to parts.

 

[mx racer 904]

thats strange because mine has disc fronts....

 

[Crazy4diesels]

Someone might have done an upgrade. It looks like you DO have a disc brake master cylinder in there. Should be a good setup after you go through it - John

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Out of the box all 1976 CJs had drum brakes so someone must have done an upgrade; it may be the upgrade that's causing the problem. I'm not a brake expert but as I recall the proportioning valve needs to be changed or adjusted with this conversion. I would check that out.

 

[Turbogus]

Welcome to the wonderful world of classic CJ's my friend. My '78 "Black Betty" came with a power booster brake setup and it'll stop on a dime. I am curious too about modding the left rear fenderwell, as I have a 36" inseam, I do get a little cramped. Also I've been doing much restorative work on "Black Betty" so in the future we may share some notes, btw I have a full set of AMC service manuals for the '78 model year so I can share tech data too.

The member SteelHeadz is a wizard on this stuff too in my humble opinion.

 

[Turbogus]

Oops, forgot to mention, a recent article in JP magazine mentioned care/cleaning of the fuse panel, in your pics the motor side looked kinda funky, so if you're having some electrical issues I can paraphrase that article here, if you have a need.

 

[mx racer 904]

if you could that would be sweet....or scan and email...whatever...thanks man