'79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

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Topic author
jhayden
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:43 am
Location: Duluth, MN

'79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by jhayden »

Hi all,

Wanted to say 'hi' and share a few photo's of my new project - a 1979 Cherokee W/T 360 TH400.

I've been lurking on the forum for the past two months since acquiring this rig, and have learned so much. Thank you to all of the members who have shared their knowledge on this forum. Reading your posts has allowed me to fix quite a few small things (like get my oil gauge working) and I appreciate the help since this is new territory for me. I've also been inspired by the build threads.

I've had other Jeeps - XJ's and and MJ but never anything with a carburator and more than 1 cylinder

I put about 100 miles on the Cherokee before the tin worm was unleashed on our northern MN roads so it is happily tucked in the garage by the wood stove for the winter repairs although I had to take a break to clean carbon out of my gas direct inject car with dental picks....that's another story.

Currently replacing the timing set: I bought the Edelbrock roller chain from BJ's (great service and fast shipping) to replace my very loose set. Oil chamfers were plugged with sludge so my thought is the chain was starved for lube?

Engine seems tight otherwise (haven't checked compression yet) with tons of power, no smoke and good oil pressure. I get ~20 PSI at slow hot idle and 40's when driving from what I have seen (I'm running SAE 30 with ZDDP added). The oil pump gears are worn into the oil filter adapter and I'm planning on adding the stainless midplate from BJ's. Gears look okay but are scored some.

The floors are "well-ventilated." I'm hoping to get the engine sorted and then tackle the floors this winter with new pans. The build threads have been helpful. One body mount (rear passenger) is rotted out but otherwise seems solid. The rear inner fender liners are very thin and I will need to figure out how to fabricate those...

Thanks for looking!
J

PS - I used aging reality TV star filters on the picture below of the Jeep - not quite that clean up close :-)
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will e
Posts: 5097
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Re: '79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by will e »

Thanks for joining! Good looking rig! Is the edelbrock set you bought the one that you can 'degree' the cam with? If so, pay very close attention to the alignment instructions if I remember correctly they are a bit confusing.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge

Topic author
jhayden
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:43 am
Location: Duluth, MN

Re: '79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by jhayden »

Thank you! This Jeep has been a ton of fun to wrench on - love the design and layout.

Yes, the Edlebrock kit has several different keyways in the crank sprocket and it took me a while to figure out the correct orientation. There is a small 'dot' at the '0 degree' position on the crank sprocket which lines up with the 'dot' on the cam gear - the '79 TSM I found courtesy of 'oljeep was really helpful because with the dots correctly orientated, there should be 20 pins between a specified space if I under stand correctly.

For anyone that is considering a new timing set my impression is that the Edlebrock chain is quite good. The chain is heavy and the oil chamfers on the cam sprocket line up exactly as the original that I removed from the engine. I haven't rebuilt my oil pump yet so haven't used it but it's a really nice chain.

Topic author
jhayden
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:43 am
Location: Duluth, MN

Re: '79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by jhayden »

I set up a Flickr account to share some photos:

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Here is the new Edelbrock timing set from BJ's installed:

Image

Thanks for looking!

letank
Posts: 4010
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: '79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by letank »

looks sharp, I am sure that you checked the alignment of the oiling hole on the timing gear

viewtopic.php?t=12192

Unfortunately a lot of the picts have been blurred by photobucket or links that have gone to the void of the internet outerspace, but on the back side of your posted pict the oiling groove should align with the oil on the cam, I may have a pict of my own somewhere

here from the web, shows alignment of bit off due to pict taken, but the white mark show alignment, otherwise a little grinding w dremel can be done to notch a groove at the proper location

Image

and my own install with a finishing nail to check the proper alignment, timing kit from bjs

Image
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)

Topic author
jhayden
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:43 am
Location: Duluth, MN

Re: '79 Cherokee W/T project - new to forum!

Post by jhayden »

Thank you for the pictures and your explanation above - I read through the discussion you referenced prior to purchasing the Edlebrock kit. I compared the oil chamfer on the back of the Edlbrock sprocket with the one I removed (assuming the one removed was correct) and they matched position (visually) but may be slightly different sizes. I should have taken a picture of the Edlebrock gear's back side before installation. I can remove it for a photo since I still have the timing cover off.

I've seen debate on how many oil-slinging grooves should be on the front of the cam gear as well - both the one I removed and the Edlebrock have 6 groves. The one I removed had several of these grooves (that fit against the fuel pump eccentric) plugged with sludge.

If I understand correctly, the concern is having enough oil make it to the cam gear and not 'bleeding' off for the chain?

I also got the MSD cam gear set (8005 and 8007).

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