1st time Jeep owner

My name is Mike and this is my 1978 CJ5. I bought it last year to drive out on a deer lease. This is the first four wheel anything I have ever owned. There is an electrical short so the lights start flickering when the jeep warms up. I put the LED lights on due to the flickering light problem, not like it solved anything but I can see at night. Today I put on new fenders, my wife doesn't like cow crap flying up and hitting her.

The front bumper is off due to trying to change out the power steering gear box. This little project seems to be quite the endeavor in getting the correct part. I have order two parts and both do not fit the steering shaft connector. I need some intel on if I need a new steering shaft or is there a place where I can get the same part?

I do not drive this thing on the road due it kind of scaring the crap out of me. I've had it up to 45mph and hit the brakes and almost peed in my paints ;-)... so it's only off road. I'm not sure as to what has been done to this guy in the past, but I can attest this guy hasn't got stuck in some real nasty stuff as of yet... knock on wood... multiple times. 4H and 4L has all four tires spinning, not sure if that's factory or not. I would think that someone did something to have that little feature. Makes steering in the mud kind of useless, but fun at the same time. Slings mud and cow sheeyat everywhere. What guy doesn't like that kind of stuff.

I paid $3500 for it last year and to date this is what I have done:

1. All the led lights $650
2. Fenders $80
3. New Carb $350
4. Replaced radiator $100
5. Added the old Corn Spreader $100
6. Changed all the fluids out. (Except brakes)
7. Replaced front shackles $40 (had to, I broke passenger side in March)

So hopefully fairly soon I can add:

8. Changed out the power steering gear box. $????

Anyway if it still performs like it has last year I'll do a wire harness when she comes home next spring and might get the blinkers and such working. I like to get as much done in the next month as she stays out at the lease unless there is some sort of problem I need to fix here. Way too much trouble towing here back and forward.

There are two of us on the lease with jeeps and the rest have those Polaris rangers and Kawasaki mules. The jeep is way cooler and doesn't scare the crap out of the wildlife like those little rice burners.

 

Welcome! Keep us up to date with the progress. Looks like you're making all the right steps to bring that CJ back onto the road.

 

Welcome. I Have a 79 CJ-7. Our steering is in the middle of some changes like when they started switching some things to metric etc. I switched mine from manual to power steering. It was really a bear trying to get the correct year parts. Every one wanted to tell me that the 1980 was the same as 79, but the hose fittings and the bolt sizes were different, and no way they would work. I finally ordered a used one off of ebay from a 79 to confirm what I suspected. That was 6 weeks of frustration.