10 TALK

(all things that are usually critical in the restoration of vehicles).

For the time being, the CJ10 would be parked in a carpark under a tarp, so I set about doing everything that I could with what I had available. I didn't want the Rust getting any worse, and I also wanted to get the engine and running gear fixed as much as possible.

I started on the rust, buying rattle cans of rust treatment paint, standard enamel paint and bitumen-based chassis and under body paint. I had in my possession, a 5in angle grinder, wire brush, BBQ Scraper, roll of duct tape – as well as the will to win… win the war on rust that is.

I got stuck into it with the angle grinder and cut most of the rusted panels out around the cabin tub near the floor and on the bonnet near the heater vent. I felt that simply treating these areas with rust treatment paint would not be effective as the rust was caused by the entrapment of moisture in between the layers of sheet metal. I wouldn’t have been able to get the paint into where it was most needed and it would continue to rust so the best option was to cut out the double layer of sheet metal and remove the sandwich of sheet metal and rust.

Once this was done, I painted the bare metal and covered the holes with the duct tape to keep the weather out. This proved to be a good move as about two years later when I finally got to the panels with the welder, they were exactly how I left them. All this, plus the tarp, ensured that the vehicle would be no worse off over the next 18 months than it would have been otherwise. Unfortunately, rust doesn't go away by itself and pretending it’s not there and doing nothing about it also doesn't seem to be an effective rust treatment or prevention tactic… despite being very popular with many people!

The other item I was able to fix easily was the Engine. The engine had been neglected somewhat and I knew there would be a bit of work to be done in this department, so I secured a full gasket set from eBay and got started.

When I got the vehicle, the oil was black with soot contamination to the point it was turning to jelly in the valve cover where oil flow is low. The engine received two oil changes just on the drive down from Brisbane. However, after those oil changes the oil went black with soot contamination instantly (yes it’s a diesel the oil should go black), however the high amount of contamination in the engine was being instantly transferred to the oil after an oil change! The valve cover/sump would need to be removed and cleaned to fix this, so all the engine got was the cheapest oil available and regular changes. I didn't worry too much about this as I fitted an oil pressure gauge and found that the engine had good oil pressure. It also returned good fuel economy, started easily and seemed to run nicely so it couldn't have been too bad.

Next was the coolant. The coolant was green, but a dirt, rust coloured green. The SD33 in general has a habit of blocking it’s oil cooler with muck so the oil cooler was removed and cleaned out, the block/ radiator flushed, the thermostat housing sand blasted and a new thermostat was fitted. And some fresh coolant was added with an extra dose of corrosion inhibitor. The waterpump had been replaced at some point with a Nissan MQ/MK patrol pump which is identical except for the pulley flange/boss that is pressed onto the shaft (the thing the fan clutch bolts to). The Jeep spec pump has the boss/ flange pressed further onto the shaft and only 2 sheave pulleys to reduce the overall length of the engine so it fits better into the CJ10 engine bay. The fitment of a MQ Patrol water pump meant that the water pump pulleys weren't propery aligned with the crank pulleys etc. To properly fix this, the flange was pressed off, machined down in the lathe so that it could be pressed further down the shaft to better align the pulleys.

It was around this time that the power steering pump O-ring between the pump and reservoir let go and it drained all of it’s fluid onto the ground, this was not so handy. So I pulled it off, had a new pressure hose made at a hydraulic supplier and ordered a seal kit. I also opted to replace the pump itself with a rebuilt unit imported from the states for the hefty price of about $100 AUD.