You bought what?? 88 Eagle Wagon - Overlander Build

[eaglefreek]

  Not sure when we'll start, but watch this space! I may get crazy and try to put in a NP242 transfer case, would be happy of any advice - I see from your signature that you had an Eagle with one.

As far as I know, the only way to install a 242 is to install a later transmission like an AW4 auto or AX15 manual. An NP229 from a Grand Wagoneer is practically a bolt in. I had previously installed one behind my 998 and it worked just fine. I had 2 sitting in the garage, but I gave them away to another Eagle owner.
If you make a trip a little north, maybe this guy has a transfer case. Getting the low range shifter, also if he has it. http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/pts/5828543500.html

[Prafeston]

I've read your thread about mild lifts about 100 times (Thanks for that!), trying to let it all soak in.  Still trying to figure out some good/cheap/longer shocks for front and rear.

Oh my gosh, someone who actually searches and reads post about topics he's interested in instead of just asking the same question over and over again! Can we keep him, can we keep him! Please mommy! 

[eaglefreek]

I've read your thread about mild lifts about 100 times (Thanks for that!), trying to let it all soak in.  Still trying to figure out some good/cheap/longer shocks for front and rear.

Oh my gosh, someone who actually searches and reads post about topics he's interested in instead of just asking the same question over and over again!   

You mean like on the Facebook page?

[amarshall]

  Not sure when we'll start, but watch this space! I may get crazy and try to put in a NP242 transfer case, would be happy of any advice - I see from your signature that you had an Eagle with one.

As far as I know, the only way to install a 242 is to install a later transmission like an AW4 auto or AX15 manual. An NP229 from a Grand Wagoneer is practically a bolt in.
If you make a trip a little north, maybe this guy has a transfer case. Getting the low range shifter, also if he has it. http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/pts/5828543500.html

Wow, thanks for the legwork on the Wagoneer listing.  My wife would kill me if I bought another vehicle right now though.  She's great, but there's such a thing as "too much" sometimes. 

I thought the NP242 was possible, could swear I've read some posts here about it, possibly by CaptSpillane?  Guess it's time to recheck. I thought donor XJ's would be easier to find in the junkyards.  I know the shifter is an issue, no matter what.  Does the Wagoneer linkage work on the Eagle also, or just the shifter?

[amarshall]

Oh my gosh, someone who actually searches and reads post about topics he's interested in

Glad to have brightened your day!  I'm one of the last people on earth not on Facebk so hopefully all the good info is here in the forum, hah.

[eaglefreek]

  Not sure when we'll start, but watch this space! I may get crazy and try to put in a NP242 transfer case, would be happy of any advice - I see from your signature that you had an Eagle with one.

As far as I know, the only way to install a 242 is to install a later transmission like an AW4 auto or AX15 manual. An NP229 from a Grand Wagoneer is practically a bolt in.
If you make a trip a little north, maybe this guy has a transfer case. Getting the low range shifter, also if he has it. http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/pts/5828543500.html

Wow, thanks for the legwork on the Wagoneer listing.  My wife would kill me if I bought another vehicle right now though.  She's great, but there's such a thing as "too much" sometimes. 

I thought the NP242 was possible, could swear I've read some posts here about it, possibly by CaptSpillane?  Guess it's time to recheck. I thought donor XJ's would be easier to find in the junkyards.  I know the shifter is an issue, no matter what.  Does the Wagoneer linkage work on the Eagle also, or just the shifter?

You"re right. I had to do some searching and it was bolting the 229 to the AW4 which would pose an issue. My buddy Paul has a 242 bolted to the back of his 242. The floor pan in the Eagle appears that it was made with the idea that the low range shifter from the 229 being used at some point. The 229 still uses the 2-4wd vacuum shifter and then a floor shifter to engage low range. I did adapt the 229 shifter to the 242, but it wasn't optimal. If it wasn't for the fact that I already had the floor shifter installed, I would have used an aftermarket shifter like from Novak. CaptSpillane did offer some great info, however there were a few times where is was incorrect, but seem to have a huge ego. He has since ripped some members off and disappeared.

[amarshall]

I'm still hopeful on the NP242, since XJ's are fairly easy to find in junkyards.  Fingers crossed, and when I get there I'll try to document it well.  Forums are great but sometimes you have to piece together hints and rumors to get the whole story.

I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed with all the things that are on the project list, but I had a good session over the weekend.  I thought the trans was still leaking, though I had just done the filter and used a lot of care on the pan gasket.  Turns out there was just so much mess from the job it was hard to tell.  I cleaned up the pan area and ran it for about 15 minutes and didn't see a leak from the trans.  The transfer case is pretty drippy, of course.  And there is oil coming out of the flywheel cover - maybe from the rear main seal?

I'm getting closer to doing the front end:  New springs, a ball joint, strut rod bushings, sway bar links, etc.  I'll probably drop the front axle at the same time since it doesn't look like it's ever been serviced.  I may be pretty close to dropping the oil pan at that point, with just a little more effort.

[amarshall]

II will be near several Pull-A-Part junkyards this weekend, and I'm hoping to get a Jeep transfer case.  I've been reading about NP242's on this site and others, and just can't seem to get all the details clear in my head.  If anybody can help with a couple of these questions before Saturday morning, it would be much appreciated!

What input shaft do I need?  I have an Eagle Wagon with an auto trans, the 998.  I know it's 23 splines, but I can't figure out how long the input shaft needs to be.  Apparently the Jeep Cherokee XJ's had several lengths of input shafts (appropriately named long, short, and very rarely medium).  Several posts here on the board make me suspect the Eagle would need the long input shaft version, but I can't find it said plainly anywhere.

Which Jeep Cherokees should I target?  I'm pretty focused on the NP242 for its versatility.  I know I may have to mess with front or rear driveshafts, the speedometer, and the shift linkage.  Best I can tell, I should look for a Cherokee with an AW4 auto to get a 23 spline version.  The junkyards may have vehicles as old as 1995, but this seems to mostly matter for the speedo - not other things.

I  know much of this has been covered before, but believe me I've read it.  I may be missing something, but I just can't find clear answers to these things.  If there's a source I've missed, please shoot me a link and I'll give myself a dope slap!  I'm really hoping not to take out more than one junkyard transfer case, just to check the input shaft.

Thanks for any help!

[amarshall]

...and we're back!  Work, family and holidays have slowed progress but the Eagle project has been moving along anyway.  While I was silent, I did a few odd jobs:

• Replaced hinge bushings in driver's door.  Better, but still not 100%.  I think somebody has been in there before me, and my upper pin rattles in the new bushings.
• Finished adjusting brakes, calling that good now.
• Bought some new parts, including a MotorCraft carb from Gronk that my wife arranged for my Christmas present.

Latest project was a new upper ball joint on the passenger side.  Here's a shot after removing the old one, with zip ties holding the lower arm up.


And almost done in this picture...job wasn't as bad as I expected.  The castle nut came loose very easily.  It took a little more hammer than I thought to break the joint loose, but I was probably being a little timid as a first timer. I used a heat gun to slightly warm up the knuckle and that seemed to help.  My stepdad was telling me to use a torch but I didn't even want to think about metallurgy and possibly weakening the upright.



I spent some time looking at the steering linkages.  Would have been easier without 30 years of built up grease and crud on the joints.  Here's a before and after of the grease as I worked through wiping things off.



Question for anybody out there:  The idler arm and pitman arm don't have rubber boots on the joints.  Is that normal?  The tiny diagram in the factory manual doesn't show any rubber boots, but that seems strange. My idler arm doesn't even have a zerk fitting, though there is a hole on the top of the joint.  Maybe it broke off or was removed at some point?

Here's the top view of the idler arm on the passenger side:



Here is the pitman arm, on the driver's side:



I'm really at the point of no return on this project.  It's still been driveable through everything so far, and I've been doing repairs and maintenance for the most part.  The next step is to tear down the suspension and do the lift, so there's really no going back from this point.  Time to stop thinking about it and just do it, I suppose!

[amarshall]

Here's what happened in January, or at least what I can remember:

New springs in front, what a project that was for a first-timer!  I finally got it all back together after some head scratching and cursing.  I went with the Napa springs that are (I think) supposed to be the same as the Moog 3156's.  I got a measured 2 1/4" lift in front at the wheels, with the driver's side sitting a little higher after it was all done.  I don't think I'll worry about the 1/2" difference from side to side.

Spring perch bushings were shot


I found a tip on another (the one other?) AMC forum about using poly bushings inthe spring perches, and found a kit on eBay.  Not too bad, just need a good vise.  Mine broke, so I ended up renting a ball joint press from Autozone.



Spring in place!


Before and after the front springs:


Measured for new front shocks, looks like they should be exactly 1 1/2" longer than the old ones at full extension.  I am thinking of using stock spec shocks and adding threaded extensions - more to make the search easier.

Did new sway bar links in front.  I've been telling my wife "Nascar performance, baby!" while she just rolls her eyes. 


Final item in the front is the strut rod bushings.  After removing the strut rods, I found that the metal sleeve in the old bushings had seized up with rust inside the rubber bushings.  Hammers, vise grips, etc finally got the old sleeves off in pieces.  I've ordered the 11/16-18 die needed, and am really hoping to clean up the threads enough to save the strut rods.



Can these be saved?



Took the old carb out, getting ready for a Motorcraft upgrade I bought from GRONK. A little slow to ship, but looks like a good kit so far.  Hopefully it will go together and run great.

New valve cover gasket is almost done.  Saturday's session was all about cleaning off the valve cover, what a mess that was.  I need to seafoam the engine based on the deposits I found.

[eaglefreek]

Wow, making some progress. I think of done the front springs 3 times and it doesn't get any easier. New cuss words are invented each time.

[amarshall]

Thanks, I'm trying to keep this moving.  Lots to do yet, but I'm still hoping to get on the road by late April, early May perhaps.

The springs were tough for sure.  I think the original style AMC spring tool would have helped, but I got through it finally with the one from Autozone, the internal style.  It took me a few tries to figure out the winning combination to get the taller springs back in.  Of course I was also compressing the spring with a socket - no air tools here.  I finally figured out what worked for me:  I had to put the compression tool in upside down with the nut at the bottom.  Had to release it with a standard open-ended wrench, one nudge at a time.

[Prafeston]

Nice work man!

[amarshall]

Got the valve cover put back on.  That one bolt in the rear is a booger to reach!  I got the valve cover cleaned, but resisted the urge to paint it and lose the "patina".  Really, I'm lazy and this build is for trails - not for show.

I also got a lot done on the new carb setup, just need to do a couple more lines (fuel and PCV) and then I can try to start it.  This is the cleanest part of the car!



As I dig in, I'm realizing that a lot of the smog equipment has been bypassed or went missing over the years.  There was no charcoal canister, the EGR was disconnected, and many of the vacuum lines were "creatively" bypassed or just hanging loose.  There was so much questionable stuff that the MCU/Carb can't have been fully functional so the whole thing was probably rigged up to run in one mode only.  I haven't driven it much, but stalling was common.  I kept adjusting the idle to keep it going but it wouldn't hold it for long.  I'm really hoping the new carb is as wonderful as everybody else has claimed.  I know it will be a lot simpler, and I can clean up the engine bay at least.

What should I do with this stuff?

[vangremlin]

If you do have any of the smog stuff, it might be handy for anyone that lives in an area where they have emissions testing, even if its just to pass the visual test.