Cooling woes

Monday, April 7, 2010

Joey pulled upper and lower radiator hoses off and tried to run water through, with no results. Due to the large amount of visible rust flakes, we pulled out the radiator, fan, water pump, and thermostat. We were both amazed at how easy all of the bolts came out, but then JOEY snapped off BOTH thermo-housing bolts. The valve cover is also the head, so I am not crazy about pulling that to back out the snapped bolts. I am starting to ask myself why I am so fixated on the cooling system first…oh, yeah, because I live in Arizona!

Checker only has a 180º thermostat, so I might have to order one, as well as the funky metal spring cuff that holds the thermo in place in the housing. Just in time for such needs, my new Kaiser Willys Auto Supply catalog arrived in the mail. To get yours, call 1-888-648-4923—Mike is great! I picked up some cooling system cleaner and some acetone to clean out the gas tank. I am going to have Darryl work his magic on my snapped bolts tomorrow. Maybe Friday I can get around to dropping the gas tank.

Baby steps

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Changed the oil. Lots of sticky sludge in the bottom of the oil canister, but I will address that at her second oil change. I figured that we need to get everything circulating first to flush it out. Unbeknownst to me, Joey had sprayed some WD-40 into the stuck cylinder #4 a few days ago, an old VW trick. So, when we turned the crankshaft today, cylinder #4 is now blowing air. Woo-hoo! I hosed down the grimiest road grime with PB Blaster—will see if that helps loosen it up and make it easier to scrape off. We are going to be way too busy to do much for the next couple of weeks.

Nickel and Dime

Monday, March 29, 2010

Pulled the top radiator hose off—lots of scaly rusty grime inside. Joey says it looks like lots of radiator stop leak was in there, so I will keep my eyes out for a new radiator.

I bought plugs, wires, negative battery cable, oil filter, case of 10-30W oil, and a case of PB Blaster. Checker Auto Parts in Sedona carried all of those parts, though we did have to get creative with the vehicle reference listing. For example, for the oil filter, we used the ’49 Willys listing, but for the plug wires, we used ’65 Dodge truck…? So, unlike new Jeeps, it is critical to bring the old part with you.

Started to siphon out the gas tank—nasty varnish, and very little gas, so will just drop the tank in a few days and clean it out. The gas cap is missing, so will need to get one of those, too.

We have been way too busy with the JK's to spend much time on the old girl, so not a lot of progress, but there seems to be a leak in my wallet...