few bugs to work out of my cj rebuild/resto

Well, finally got the CJ tagged (full resto) and drove it on the highway for an extended period. I have a few bugs to work out and could use any advice.

1) Belt/pulley squeal. I am running the 4.0 with serpentine and it is quiet until it gets warmed up (bout 5 mins). Then it squals like Ned Beatty in Deliverance. (Sorry). I am thinking the belt warms up, expands, then starts making noise. Any chance it could be a pulley? I would think the a pulley would start wailing long before that though.

2)Gear ratio. When rolling down 83 (where the avg speed is about that!) it revs about 2700 in 4th (SM465) when going about 68-70. Is this acceptable for long periods of time for the 4.0? I don't plan to do this daily, bout 4 hrs. per week max. Seems like it is screaming, but then again I cant hear it too well over the non-tailpipe, exhaust leaking, belt squealing noises.

3)How long will it take for this 2.5" superlift to break in? I feel my teeth rattle when I hit some bumps. Tire press-30 32" BFG at's All poly bushings greasable shackles torqued per spec and plenty of grease. Orig. superlift shocks. I am thinking the prob lies in these cheap shocks since the entire susp. lift (superride) was 379 WITH shocks.

TIA chris

Reply to
csperlein
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That 'belt' noise is likely the bushing in the idler pulley. If you get then soon, you can repack them, but they will wear out really fast if noisy. The replacement is 3 parts, the bushing, the washer and the bolt and they have to be individually ordered.

2700 is a bit high for good mileage, but shouldn't hurt the engine. The 'red line' is 4500.

I am turning 2300 at 65.

You will likely need a good off road bounce to settle your lift in. Likely your steering wheel will go off center when it settles too, but that is a 5 minute adjustment on the drag link.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

csperle>

Reply to
Mike Romain

Well, I can speak to 1 and 2 (despite your Deliverance reference ).

1) You could have a belt that needs tightening or a pulley that is binding up. The first thing I would try is tighten the belt a bit and see if it helps. (I'm a big fan of starting with the cheapest solution) New serpentine belts usually need re-tightening after running a little while, anyway.

2) The 4.0 should be able to run at 2700 rpm until the cows come home. My

2.5L cranks about 3000 at about 68mph and I drive it for hours that way with no problems. I don't believe that would ever be a problem with the 4.0L. If it sounds like it's "screaming", tighten the serpentine belt (see 1, above...). :-)
Reply to
TJim

On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 12:27:32 -0500, "TJim" shared the following:

My 304 turns at about 3000 at 68 also... 31" tires, 4.1:1 diff gears,

1:1 gearing in 3rd gear. The online calculators agree with that. At 3000, my engine sounds like it's really revving too high to stay there comfortably. Looks like (according to the online calculators) that if I was running 35" tires that my RPMs would drop to about 2670 at 68 mph. That seems like a much better crusing RPM for my engine. I think that may be what I wind up doing... I realize that won't do anything good to my crawl ratio, but since my Jeep spends 90% of its time *on* the road instead of off of the road, and probably 80% of that is highway usage, I think that's the way to go for me. Here's the calculator I was using in case anyone is interested:
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-- Travis

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meek shall inherit the earth. After I'm finished with it.:wq!

Reply to
travis

I'm thinking your shocks are a bit stiff. Try taking them off and replacing them with a solid bar -- if the ride is the same, you will know the shocks are too sitff. :-)

You can also drop the air pressure in the tires to between 25 and 28.

Reply to
CRWLR

quiet until it gets warmed up (bout 5 mins). Then it squals like Ned Beatty in Deliverance. <

Tighten the belt until at it's longest point between pulleys it can be turned about 90 degrees by hand.

The adjustyment point depends what engine & year you have. If it came from a YJ it's by the power steering pump. Loosen the pivot bolts, etc. and turn it slowly until there's enough tension on it.

2)Gear ratio. When rolling down 83 (where the avg speed is about that!) it revs about 2700 in 4th (SM465) when going about 68-70. Is this acceptable for long periods of time for the 4.0? 3)How long will it take for this 2.5" superlift to break in? I feel my teeth rattle when I hit some bumps. <

This is probably more a function of the CJs spring length than Superlift's design. They're not known for making kidney bruising suspensions. FWIW, I put a Skyjacker 2.5" kit on my 76 CJ5 resto project and it initially was very tiff, softened up quite a bit after awhile.

Reply to
Gerald G. McGeorge

I tightened the belt and that did not help. I noticed a bit of "belt dust" on my alternator and inner fender. I replaced the belt and it does the same thing. I am thinking pulley misalignment on the P/S pump. I replaced the pump and perhaps did not draw the pulley in enough or in too far. "Looks" in line though. I'll get into it tonight. Ill reduce tire press to 25 or so and see if that helps the stiffness. Had exhaust work done today and now 26-2700 does not seem that bad on the highway. Thanks for all of your replies.

Reply to
csperlein

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