hey guys,
so i just bought a 1988 cherokee chief w/ 169,000 miles 5 speed manuel tranny seems pretty good overall for $800.00 bucks
needs a new rear main seal
valve cover gasket
thermosthat?!?! over heats, but heater blows cold (would love some input)
syncro is possibly going out in second gear

i was wondering if anybody could give me some spec's on what these chief's have stock w/ diffs and what to watch out for this particular trim
and possibly a budget lift?
appoligize fairly new to cherokees a lot of questions i know!

John ;]

First of all welcome to cf.
The heater issue is either low on water or heater control valve next to firewall on passenger side,make sure it is opening.
The diffs are D30 in front and either a D35 in the rear or 44,the 44 would be very rare.
The main issue with any xj from 87-90 is the coolant system,the little plastic bottle has always been an issue,I just changed mine over to the newr style and have no issues with cooling. The plastic bottle gets warm and brittle and cracks overtime,I would alays have a spare,and never tighten cap when it is warm or hot,strips threads.

Yeah, that bottle is annoying. Good tip about the cap on hot days, I could not figure out why it would not come off of there. I am going to change my cooling system out also, when I can finally afford it.

Hey guys Im a new member, and a brand new jeep owner. I just picked up an 88 cheif with a 6" lift, 32's, 5 speed,4.0, 94 cherokee rear end, white coated roof ( it feels like a cheap rhino lining? ) and all primer black otherwise. I love it, I took it out shooting and trail climbing yesterday and it kicked ***. My question is, the radiator system is different than all other cars right? I cant find a radiator filler cap and it ran pretty warm, the overflow seems like the only place you can fill, and if so, where can I drain it at? Thanks for the info!

a mechanic once quoted me 300 for labor and parts to fix this becuase its a PITA. i ended up pay a hair over 600

never again...

thank you for the replies, for the overflow tank just a 90+ tank off another xj? and for the rear main seal i found this website as well http://www.jeepin.com/features/rearmain/
the part i am worried about when it comes to using the gasket maker to seal the seals correctly (i will try to get pics up here within the next week hopefully)

john

your reffering to RTV? the gasket maker?

not a hundred percent on what type of gasket maker i would need if i attemped this but towards the end of that webpage for the rearmain seal it says what type is best for keeping the seal in place

You fill it through that piece of **** plastic container. Fill it, close it, run it till the thermostat opens, and repeat until all the air is out of the system. Drain it by pulling the lower radiator hose. If its.an automatic be careful of the tranny cooling line. It's held in by a plastic clip. They break easy and are.really expensive from the deallership. I ended up using two hose clamps and some vacume line. Lol.

So my 88 cherokee chief is overheating and shooting water out of the reservoir. Didn't find any oil leak but there is smoke coming from off the block....could be from the water hitting it but still not sure. Replaced the thermostat but it is still overheating... Any ideas why it might be overheating?