89 MJ Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 I'm sure most of us at some point have done something that isn't quite the right way to do something, but it worked anyways. Let's hear some of those stories. Not so we can try them, but more for an entertainment factor. I have a few from the engine and transfer case swap in the Eagle. First, when we disassembled the engine, the valves looked like the surface of the moon with pitting and carbon. The picture shows how we cleaned the carbon off. To get the mating surface of the valves smooth, we pinched a piece of sandpaper (first 180, then 320) between the seat and the valve and held it still, then turned the valve with a drill. For the seats, we stuck a piece of sandpaper (180, then 320 again) to the valve, then spun it in the seats. Valve lapping compound was used to finish it up. Filling the combustion chamber with water, then using compressed air in the intake/exhaust ports looked like a jacuzzi before this highly scientific valve job. Afterwards it was sealed almost perfectly. Next up was the transfer case swap. I needed a longer driveshaft and was supposed to go wheeling in a couple of days. We ended up cutting an original Eagle driveshaft for the compressing part and welding it to another unknown driveshaft that we had. We did do it correctly by making sure the lines were absolutely straight and used the complete end of the Eagle shaft with the sliding part and used a dial indicator to get it straighter than AMC did from the factory. We even reused whatever u joints were in the driveshafts. Somehow it has been working perfectly for a couple thousand miles. I guess sometimes its better to be lucky than it is to be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.T.Hands Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 The story of my life I make my "living" by working on machinery, you would not believe the number of times I have been told something along the lines of "that's not gonna work" and It may or may not be something I have done before, one of the best ones, we had a new, fresh out of school engineer and very cocky, he walks up and says "you know that's not gonna work right???", I never gave him the satisfaction of knowing he was behind me and proceeded to finish the job at hand, turned around and asked "won't work huh???" and he answered "well it's not supposed to" I just told him I didn't think the machine knew that we got to be good friends after that and still are to this day Unorthodox ??? maybe, But my Dad always told me "if you want to find the easiest way to do a difficult job give it to the laziest guy in the crew and they'll figure it out" some things I have learned through the years; A dishwasher will do a fabulous job as a parts cleaner Your Mom/wife will kill you if you do this twice Bearings in the oven and axels in the freezer works pretty good but you Mom/wife will freak out when she finds car parts in the oven Fooling with vehicles you'd better be "industrious" like making specialty tools for specific and maybe even a one-time job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaman09 Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 Back when I used to own a 2002 BMW M5, a near pristine example at that, I definitely got lazy one day installing a new mesh guard in front for the AC condenser fan. 3 of the 4 attachment screws were easily accessible, that last one required the entire front end of the car to be removed to reach. I decided to drill a hole covertly in the front of that extremely nice M5 to access said screw and call it a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboedMJ Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 40 minutes ago, pizzaman09 said: Back when I used to own a 2002 BMW M5, a near pristine example at that, I definitely got lazy one day installing a new mesh guard in front for the AC condenser fan. 3 of the 4 attachment screws were easily accessible, that last one required the entire front end of the car to be removed to reach. I decided to drill a hole covertly in the front of that extremely nice M5 to access said screw and call it a day. Whoever works on that next will probably think "how nice of the engineers to include a little access hole for that screw right there!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ωhm Posted October 18 Share Posted October 18 Vacuum line (rubber) about 2’ long. Put your spark plug in one end, find the hole with one hand, insert plug and use other end for twisting hose. Never cross threaded a cylinder or plug. Harder the hole, the easier to do. Once plug is set, pop off hose and tighten to spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted October 18 Share Posted October 18 38 minutes ago, Ωhm said: Vacuum line (rubber) about 2’ long. Put your spark plug in one end, find the hole with one hand, insert plug and use other end for twisting hose. Never cross threaded a cylinder or plug. Harder the hole, the easier to do. Once plug is set, pop off hose and tighten to spec. I keep an old spark plug boot in the tool box. Works the same as your vacuum hose. Old tech showed me that years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff351 Posted October 19 Share Posted October 19 Despite having my 4.0 being hot-tanked after machine work, I pressure washed the bare block inside and out (sticking the nozzle in every crevice) with a piece of cardboard underneath to watch for debris flushed out. Took several times to get no crud flushing out before I felt confident it was ready for assembly. After the initial 50 mile oil change, I cut open the oil filter and there was zero debris inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted October 19 Share Posted October 19 Toilet paper to remove pilot bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbred0609 Posted October 30 Share Posted October 30 not on the mj but instead on the 99 xj. ordered the wrong wheel cylinder off amazon (10 inch instead on 9 inch) and didnt notice until i already got back from the parts store with new drum hardware (didnt wanna go back and look like a fool if i didnt have to) grabbed a wheel cylinder off a mustang 8.8 from the back yard, and it now resides on the jeep. not the same part, but definitely a bolt in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinnakerblue89 Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 on my 2003 Landrover Disco II, I had a problem with the headlights getting hazy. I fixed that, but one started to get condensation inside, and I fixed that also. Unfortunately during this process, one of the caps that screw onto the backside of the headlight assembly went missing. Each opening to a lightbulb is covered by a threaded cap, and those aren't easily replaced, and ain't nooooo way I'm paying $1200 for a set of new headlights just yet (I would get both at the same time). Soooo... My mother being a cat person... She keeps canned food in her fridge with a plastic cap on the can. She happened to have a whole set of them, and they fit the actual headlamp opening perfectly. Since they had nothing to thread onto, I first duct taped it in place for the winter season, and then last year I finally took off the headlight again and just screwed the lid in place. I love that truck, but if there is ever a brand that teaches you less expensive, and often better alternative ways to fix something, it's any Landrover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 fyi, today I've found it's easier to bleed the new power steering box by manually pushing the tires back and forth with your hands than rotating the steering wheel back and forth. (engine off, tires in the air). for bonus points you can use your knees and stand right there and watch the bubbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 and by pushing the tires, you can feel the bubbles. plus you can work it back and forth faster than the steering column could ever do. I'm having a hell of a time getting the last bubbles out of the box and I've found I can feel the dead spot in the middle of travel, wiggle the tires back and forth vigorously at that spot, then hard to the pass side which pushes a bubble out. rinse and repeat until you're exhausted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaman09 Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 I had a spark plug silicone boot get a hole burned through it on my project car. Instead of getting a new boot I took a small chunk of string trimmer line and a lighter and melted it into the hole. It worked and doesn't appear to arc to the head through the hole anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvthnks Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 Not MJ specific, but I had a 79 Golden Eagle that had sat for years prior to me getting it. Got it started and it just rattled like crazy due to NO oil pressure. OIl pump lost prime. The 304 is easy to access the oil pump so I filled the pump cavity with KY jelly as it's what I had close by and voila.... oil pressure jumped up and all the noise went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 2 hours ago, gvthnks said: Not MJ specific, but I had a 79 Golden Eagle that had sat for years prior to me getting it. Got it started and it just rattled like crazy due to NO oil pressure. OIl pump lost prime. The 304 is easy to access the oil pump so I filled the pump cavity with KY jelly as it's what I had close by and voila.... oil pressure jumped up and all the noise went away. You keep KY in your garage? Is work that exiting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted November 22 Author Share Posted November 22 3 hours ago, gvthnks said: Not MJ specific, but I had a 79 Golden Eagle that had sat for years prior to me getting it. Got it started and it just rattled like crazy due to NO oil pressure. OIl pump lost prime. The 304 is easy to access the oil pump so I filled the pump cavity with KY jelly as it's what I had close by and voila.... oil pressure jumped up and all the noise went away. I’ve done that with white lithium grease when my car got a new oil pump. White lithium grease was also used as assembly lube for the rocker arms and pushrods on its previous engine. Not the right way, but effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvthnks Posted November 25 Share Posted November 25 On 11/22/2024 at 2:34 PM, 87MJTIM said: You keep KY in your garage? Is work that exiting? Doesn't everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinnakerblue89 Posted November 26 Share Posted November 26 16 hours ago, gvthnks said: Doesn't everyone? Daaayum! I guess now I gotta get me some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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