76 Chief - Update...Rear Mount Tank

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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

More progress....rear carpet in.

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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360
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devildog80
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by devildog80 »

Looking good :)
'81 CJ5 Base, 258 I6, MC2100, T176 4 spd, 300 TC, D30 Front NT, 3.31, 2-Piece AMC 20 rear NT, 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
'84 Grand Wagoneer, 401 V8 (.030 over), MC2150 HA Comp, 727 auto, Selec-trac NP229, AMC 20 REAR - D44 FRONT - WT 3.31, 4" high arc spring lift
Rather be driving, than waiting to be modified
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Trying to install the conical bushings to quite down the tailgate rattle....and only now noticed some PO actually welded the tailgate strikers in place :x

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I also have an issue where the tailgate hinge bolt as it mounts to the main body is stripped out and loose. To be honest I cant seem to figure out how to access the rear of it. Seems like its boxed in and inaccessible. Otherwise I'm just blind.

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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360
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jpswapmohn
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by jpswapmohn »

Any chance the PO welded nuts behind those washers and screwed the strikers into them?

You may be able to access the back of the hinge bolt through the taillight hole? Or from underneath? Probably no easy way to reach it.
One day I will wake up and realize that my jeep is complete...one day, I just know it.
88Wag, LT1/4L60E/NP242, J20 axles, etc. http://imgbox.com/g/rNuIasKYrS
95YJ, STaK, D44's, SOA, ARB's, Bilstein 5150s, 35" KM2's
50 CJ3A
77 J-10 (sold)
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

I'll check tomorrow....but something tells me no. If I can get any adjustment out of the striker it will be a positive. I can get the tailgate to lock closed with the bushings if I slam it quite hard. But I dont want to do that too much otherwise i'm sure i'll break something eventually.
1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360

SJTD
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by SJTD »

Looks to me like there was a mod to use a later tailgate. Don't I see a floating nut plate based on three big holes in the body and a nut plate with threaded holes behind it? This being for a different strike with teeth for a gear in the tailgate to engage?

Your tailgate has an arm with a single groove in it to engage that welded pin like my '84, not so?
Sic friatur crustulum

'84 GW with Nissan SD33T, early Chev NV4500, 300, narrowed Ford reverse 44, narrowed Ford 60, SOA/reversed shackle in fornt, lowered mount/flipped shackle in rear.
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Picture of tailgate....is this a later model design?

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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360

SJTD
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by SJTD »

Looks like my '84 tailgate. That's the right strike but there should be a single hole in the jamb and the strike can be adjusted. Idunno what year they changed.
Sic friatur crustulum

'84 GW with Nissan SD33T, early Chev NV4500, 300, narrowed Ford reverse 44, narrowed Ford 60, SOA/reversed shackle in fornt, lowered mount/flipped shackle in rear.
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Well...there for sure isn't any adjustment I can find. I have a workaround where I wrapped some electrical tape around the rear ear of the "fork" on the door. This essentially helps it actuate a little sooner and it now locks without too much hassle. I'll work it out more permanently later.

I had some warped front rotors, and cracked pads. So this past weekend I pulled the Hubs and replace the pads/rotors/wheel studs and inspected/greased the wheel bearings. Everything checked out and feels good now. I also got all the wheels/tires balanced. They were not done well before. So far its taken a lot of the road vibrations away.
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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Couple side questions just for familiarity.....I installed an 18" fan and clutch in place of the old flex fan. Cooling system seems to be keeping up. Its right in the middle area in 96F weather driving down the road at 50mph. When idling in traffic it creeps up to the 3/4 mark'ish...maybe a little more. Cools back down when moving to halfway. I assume this is normal AMC360 Jeep stuff?

Normal Highway Driving on Hot day:

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Idling in traffic on a hot day


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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360
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Yeller
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by Yeller »

looks normal to me. The temp rises just a bit as the clutch starts doing its thing making the fan work harder. My LS does the same thing.

I get involved in a lot of its "running hot" discussions. basically if its not boiling over its not too hot, now flirting with that all the time is bad but anything under 240* is good, getting past that is bad. I have a truck with an ecm controled electric fan, it doesn't even turn on until 227*, doesn't turn on the high speed until 240. It only hits the high speed if I'm running dunes and holding 6000 rpm for extended periods of time, or get to pushing it down the interstate at 80 and its 100+ outside. It does 80 fine but its thirsty so I know its making a ton of power to run that fast, its really a brick LOL.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909

akguy09
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by akguy09 »

I can't even get J-10 to the middle of the temp gauge, I suspect the wrong thermostat is installed in mine.
Yours looks exactly like how my old Cherokee was
1979 Jeep J-10 304/T-18
2017 Jeep JK 2DR
2021 PowerWagon
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Was driving around today in the hot 97degree sun and it stayed right in the middle of the range while moving. Sitting for a while in traffic and at stop lights it got very close to the upper mark moving into red.

Makes me wonder if the thermal switch is kicking the fan clutch correctly. I'll probably keep an eye on it and will investigate further as needed.

Joe



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1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360

letank
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by letank »

Our gauges are not the most accurate... one way is to use an infra red thermometer and point it at the thermostat housing, radiator top, and radiator bottom to see if there is a good temperature differential, depending on outside temp you can ballpark a 50 to 70F difference for a good working cooling system.

IIRC the OEM fan is 19"

here it is on the left

Image

BTW, do you have a fan shroud?
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

I got the BJ's oem fan and I believe it was 18".... They offer a 19" fan.

I probably should have considered that.

I'll bust out the IR thermometer when I get home.



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Yeller
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by Yeller »

Other thing to remember, sitting in traffic the interior is heating up as well. The reading will go up if the ambient temp of the gage goes up, simple cause and effect with using a thermister to move the gage needle. Learned a lot recently about old school gages, they are just a hint at what is really going on.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909

letank
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by letank »

Forgot to congratulate you on a very nice work!

in 97F... it could be right.

I took a peek at BJs, it is a 6 blade fan, the OE is 7.
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Thanks....At this point I'm still getting to know the Chief and kind of baselining the "Normal" so I know when something is misbehaving. When I get a chance I'll probably also look to replace the temp sending unit as It is likely original. At same time I should probably check/ohm out the wire for any issues. Just so I know.

Joe
1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360

letank
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by letank »

CBJoe wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:51 am When I get a chance I'll probably also look to replace the temp sending unit as It is likely original. At same time I should probably check/ohm out the wire for any issues. Just so I know.

Joe
Do the ohm check with the known resistors to see if your temp gauge is correct. There is a whole procedure to determine whether the gauge or the sender are off. It is in the TSM. Usually the voltage regulator in the temp gauge starts to act up.

There are a bunch of posts on the subject, but I cannot find a good clean one... back to the shop!

if you put a known resistance between the engine ground and the temperature gauge with 15,25, and 78 ohm resistors ... you should have Hot , middle, and cold in that order .

The other way around it to see the resistance value of your temp sensor between ground and the temp sensor you will read a high resistance when cold.... > 80 ohms and so forth.

I did a little gizmo with a breadboard and put all those resistors, it is convenient to test gas as well as oil pressure and gas tank sender as the values are the same or similar.
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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CBJoe
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Re: 76 Chief - Reviving for Daily

Post by CBJoe »

Just the word breadboard takes me back to Engineering Technology and my AC and Digital Circuits class in college :D I'm kicking myself for tossing out my old breadboard circuit kit years ago...should have kept it.

I'll do some more testing in the future for fun, but for now I think its doing just fine. I was out doing some testing after replacing the Fuel pump yesterday. I had a new one I hadn't tossed on yet and I had noticed recently that at higher speeds (65/75mph) the jeep would have a massive hesitation and bog if I tried to accelerate. But it wouldn't die and seemed fine at lower speeds. Fuel pump looked ancient and i noticed when I removed the fuel line the whole upper section would want to rotate.

Anyway...drove it around at highway speeds in 100F heat index this afternoon for maybe half an hour. Hesitation is gone. So hoping it was just a weak pump. Also no overheating issue.

Cheers, Joe
1976 Cherokee Chief / Stock Q-Trac, Stock 360
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