RVF1

New to the forum and have a question that maybe someone can help me with...

Looking for an inexpensive 2nd car for our family that we will only put 3-5K miles on year. I have owned 2 XJs in the past and love how long they last and really like driving them. I am looking for a cheap one ($1500-$2K)...

I looked at a '91 (Laredo package) that was in my price range, has 200k miles and seems to be in decent shape. Took it for a drive and immediately noticed that the auto-transmission didn't shift from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd until the RPMs were up to about 3500. Does not seem to be right. Any ideas?

Everything else seemed fine.

Thanks!

loligator

did you check the fluid? was there enough in there? how did it look?

RVF1

unfortunately I did not. When it drove like that it kind of scared me off. I emailed the gentleman selling it and thanked him and told him I was not interested because of the odd shifting. He replied and told me that if that was the deal-breaker he would have it checked out at his expense.

Then I got to thinking about it and thought I would do a little research and based on what I have seen in this forum, it could be a TPS issue. I have not found much discussion regarding 91 XJs with this problem so I am at a bit of a loss on how to proceed.

Thoughts?

jaqattack02

$1500 seems pretty high for a 1991 with 200k+ miles on it. I picked up my 1991 a month or so back with 193k miles on it for $400. Granted it had some issues that I'm working out, but I still don't think i'd pay over $1000 for one with that many years and miles on it.

RVF1

Wow $400? I live in northern Indiana and I have been looking around here for a couple months and anything I have found for under $1500 needs a lot of work and has a lot of rust.

Not saying that anyone gets KBB for their vehicle but it states it is worth $1600-$1900.

It is hard to find a decent vehicle that I like for $1500-$2000...maybe I am just too picky.

jaqattack02

It's possible the market for a vehicle like this is different in your area. Mine did, and does need work, but it was driveable from day 1. We thought it needed a new engine, but it ended up being a cracked flexplate. Since we had already acquired an engine, we swapped it anyway. There isn't much rust on it that I've found so far. The only thing keeping me from driving it regularly is a rubbing noise from underneath somewhere that I'm trying to track down. Where are you shopping for the vehicle? I found mine on Craigslist.

RVF1

Having the most luck searching on Craigslist. I have gone and looked at 3 or 4 and liked this '91 (the guy seemed like a good owner and has had it for a while). I was ready to make an offer until I ran into the higher rpm shift issue. I was disappointed because everything else was pretty good for the age and mileage.

The others I looked at either have bad sellers (dishonest) or have been pretty banged up XJs.

BuckB91XJ

I paid $2600 for my 91 XJ 5 years ago with 185K on it. That was hands down the best money I have ever spent on a vehicle. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I knew I would get the same performance out of a rig that I daily beat the **** out of.

RVF1

Thanks for the feedback. I am still interested in this '91 and maybe someone can give me a little guidance...

I don't believe the TPS is adjustable in the '91...is checking the voltage and resistance at the TPS the best way to verify this is the cause of the high RPM shifting? Any other opinions on what else could be causing a high rpm shift problem?

Basically, I am trying to get a feel for the amount of risk I am taking if I purchase this '91 with it shifting the way it is (pretty smooth shift but RPM between 3500-4000).

I did check at a local Advanced Auto and they have a TPS for a '91 XJ in stock for $34.99 (unsure of who makes the part).

Thanks for all the help!