76 Jp jpmagazine.com OCTOBER 2019
YOUR JEEP
We’re not very big proponents of electric
fans over mec hanic al one s, as we see and
have experienced far more problems with
electric fans than mechanical ones over
the years. Electric fans are great solutions
where space is tight or a mechanical
fan just isn’t feasible for one reason or
another, but we wouldn’t willingly replace
a functioning mechanical fan with an
electric one. Make sure the fan clutch is
operating as it should, and make sure the
fac tory shroud is in plac e. An elec tric fan is
no match for a mechanical clutch fan with
a shroud most of the time, and especially
when you consider longevity. An aftermar-
ket aluminum radiator can be beneficial,
but we’d only consider using one if the
stock radiator needed to be replaced.
Speaking of radiators, you didn’t mention
if the Jeep is equipped with a winch or an
aftermarket bumper, but both can reduce
airflow to the radiator.
Double-check that the gauge isn’t lying
to you. An infrared temperature gun is
handy for checking indicated temperatures
against reality. If all else fails, then your
overheating problem could be the result
of a blown head gasket—4.0L engines are
extremely robust, but they are susceptible
to head gasket is sue s, e spec ially if the
engine has been overheated several times.
If you find the head gasket is the issue,
then most likely the head is warped and
needs to be decked.
FSJ Turning Radius
I have a 1973 J4000 Jeep Pickup and a
1977 Jeep Cherokee. The steering turning
ratio is awful on the pickup but acceptable on
the Cherokee. Will a 1977 steering box work
on the 1973? If not, what would you recom-
mend I do? They both have power steering.
Doug B.
Via email
The turning radius of your two fullsize
Jeeps is ac tually impac ted more by the
front axle than the steering box. First, have
a look under the pickup, as it should have a
c losed-knuc kle Dana 44 with drum brake s.
Most resources claim that open knuckles
and disc brakes came in 1974, but sources
c an be wrong. Jeep wasn’t 10 0 perc ent
consistent with its model changes, and
there’s always the chance that someone
swapped in a later axle at some point. The
be st thing to do is physic ally look under
the truck. Meanwhile, your 1977 Cherokee
should have an open-knuc kle Dana 44
with disc brakes. The change to an open-
knuckle design and discs also reduced
the turning radius from 44 to 38 feet, a
substantial difference.
Assuming the pickup has a closed
knuckle, there’s not much you can do to
improve the turning radius with the original
axle. Have a look at the steering stops to
see if someone adjusted them out for some
reason, but that’s unlikely. The best thing
to do is track down a later-model Dana 44
open-knuckle front axle and put it under
the truck. In addition to gaining turning
radius, the change will net you much better
disc brakes at the same time. The axle itself
should just about bolt in, and the only other
modification you will need is a later master
cylinder to match the discs. Just pay atten-
tion to the position of the differential when
axle shopping, as fullsize Jeeps came with
both driver- and passenger-side drop axles
during their production run. There should
be no need to me s s with the steering box,
as it should have enough travel to work
with the later axle.Getting Shifty
I have an NP241OR out of a 2006 TJ
Rubicon that I swapped into my 1989 Jeep
MJ with a Novak cable shifter and a new
two-piece rear shaft. I had to pull the case
from the MJ because I could not get the
c ase to c ome out of four- wheel drive. Even
with the cable shifter disconnected and
the shift lever manually moved to 2-Hi
the transfer case was still in 4-Hi. Neutral
worked and 4-Lo worked but it would not
come out of 4-Hi. It eventually did come
out once I pulled the case from the truck.
I thought it was a fluke and put the case
bac k in only to have to same is sue. I’m
not really sure what the problem could be
because I’ve never heard of anyone having
the same issue with this case. Could it be
something internal or maybe a driveshaft
length problem that is causing the case to
bind? Thanks for the help!
Ryan
Via emailIf it shifts fine on the floor but not in
the Jeep, our first thought is that it is an
adjustment problem with the cable shifter,
but it sounds like you’ve already checked
that. It still might be worth checking again.
Disconnect both driveshafts and the
shifter, and then manually shift the transfer
case through all the ranges using the little
lever that’s right on the case. If it shifts into
all the ranges normally, then it’s a simple
adjustment problem. We’ve had some
experience with the Novak (novak-adapt.
com) cable shifter in the past and know
it ’s a very high- quality piec e, but gettingit adjusted properly c an take a little time.
Follow the directions that came with the
shifter and try again. To double-check
yourself, disconnect the cable shifter and
manually shift the transfer case into 2-Hi.
Then put the Novak shifter in 2-Hi. When
the cable is adjusted properly, the end of
the cable should line up with the hole in the
lever on the transfer case.
If it still won’t go into 2- Hi with the
transfer case installed in the Jeep but
with the driveshafts and the cable shifter
disconnected, make sure the little lever on
the T-case isn’t hitting something that’s
preventing it from going into 2- Hi. If that
c hec ks out, make sure the output shaf t of
the transmission isn’t bottoming against
the transfer case input and binding up the
case. You didn’t mention what transmis-
sion you were running, but output shaft
stick-out lengths vary depending on the
transmission type and model year. If all of
that checks out but the transfer case won’t
go into two-wheel drive with the drive-
shafts hooked up, then there’s some other
problem with either the driveshafts or the
axle s. It seems unlikely that drive shaf t
lengths would be the culprit, since it would
be pretty obvious when trying to hook
them up to the transfer case. Lastly, though
it is unusual for an NP241OR, the shift fork
could be bent. The only way to check that
is to crack open the case and inspect it.Spring Bushing Slide
I recently bought a 1981 fullsize Cherokee
and it’s already lifted on 33s. The issue is
that the rear springs seem to have shif ted
on the bushings. The main eye of the spring
is all the way over to one side of the spring
hanger and is rubbing on the hanger itself.
Aside from being noisy, I don’t like the
metal-on-metal contact. The bushings
look like they are regular rubber. What is
supposed to keep the springs centered on
the bushing and what do I do to fix this?
Darryl B.
Via email