Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum. I just bought a 98 Cherokee sport with 134K miles. The deal was pretty good, only 2 previous owners and one was a rental car company. I knew before buying that it was going to need some work, and that's why I'm here. I'm not looking to lift it or anything, but just keep it in great working order and hopefully get it to last several more years.

10 years ago I owned a 94 Jeep Cherokee (back when I was 18/19), so this is my second time around. I don't really know a whole lot about working on vehicles (I haven't even owned a vehicle for 6 years), but I would like to at least know what I should be concerned about, proper maintenance and priorities of what to fix up.

Here is what I do know:
* Passenger side door does not lock.
* Parking lights sometimes stay on long after power is shut off. They seem to turn off if I turn the lights on and then off??
* The driver side brake caliper is wearing unevenly, it will need a new caliper and brake pads soonish.
* Small rust spot on the top, directly above the windshield. What would be the best way to stop the spread?
* Some light rust in the wheel wells. Nothing flaking yet, but again, what is the best way to stop the spread?
* Power steering fluid looked like it was below the "low" line when it was cold. It seems to be working fine, but should I get this looked at?
* Slow oil leak.

I plan changing the oil and such every 3K, but I have no idea what other kind of maintenance it may need that hasn't been done by the previous owner. Do you have any things I should check for?

Thanks!

 

Also, I have a slight "death wobble" in the 50-55mph range. Seems to get better the more I drive it, I don't really think this vehicle has been driven a whole lot in the last 6months...

 

caliper is self explanatory, replace it. rockauto has close outs on a few cherokee calipers going on. i picked up a pair of centrics a few weeks ago for $20 each with no core and all hardware.

would also love to know more about the 50-55 wobble. mine also does it slightly and only in that speed range

to stop the rust...the correct method is to wire wheel and use por15, what a lot of guys do is wait till august, wire wheel, rinse well, make sure it's totally dry and spray undercoating all over from the rattle cans. it's cheap, easy and prevents further spread...usually.

 

Thanks!

I am planning on replacing the calipers and fixing the lock this coming week.

Regarding the wobble, I drove it a lot today on the freeway and it didn't happen once. I don't know what to make of it right now? I've heard this referred to as the "death wobble", and if you google that, there are large checklists of things to look at in terms of addressing it.

 

One more question: what do you mean by "wire wheel"?

Thanks

 

http://homecontractorstpetersburg.co...0461433067.jpg

Hook that up to a drill.

Regarding parking lights...

If you leave your lights on and shut the Jeep off and then flip the switch they have a 15 second timer. If you turn them off before you shut the Jeep off, they'll stay off. If that's what you're wondering.

Regarding oil leak...

It's a Jeep thing. :P

But you can start by physically looking to see where it's dripping from. Or get some black light activated dye (meant for this) into your oil and use a black light to see where it's starting from and fix it.

 

Thanks for this info!

Re: the oil leak. Yup, it's a Jeep thing. My first Cherokee did exactly the same thing. Just mentioned for completeness sake.