Slackdaddy

An informal poll of the 5 most common failures that leave the XJ broke down, and the 5 that need fixed but not stranded.
Make 2 list - stranded and not stranded.
Purpose is I want to see if the common failures can be overcome in a complete restoration/rebuild by upgrading those items.
(I am sure the overheating will be on there?)

Slack

LadyKenai

i speak for my own experience doesnt have to be for everyone the same things but i had this on both xj's

vibrations: transmission mount, lower control arms those two make a huge difference and a good starting point for fixing vibrations up and around 55mph
leaks: valve cover gasket get the felpro 40$ one its worth it and water pump

stranded? yes and no.. cps lets you sit on the side of the road until the jeep cools down you can make it back on the road usually

cant really say we got stranded im trying to stay ahead of that and this forum is awesome for help, cruiser54 his website very good help and really appreciate hes putting all this time into it to help others.

-Marc

firebane

Cooling system. Nobody does proper flushes and it rots out the insides and then it overheats and you see the brown coolant.

cpttuna

dead battery ,starter died

jordan96xj

The following are not in order of likelihood. They are just the most common I see here over the last few years. The list can also be a little different for various eras of the XJ (for example, 96 and older are much more likely to see ignition switch problems when AC is in use frequently - because the full blower fan amperage goes right through the ignition switch).

Stranded (doesn't mean they can't be fixed or bypassed on the trail though):
1. Failed Neutral Safety Switch (it gets hot, and the grease gets dry and cruddy and causes electrical contact problems)
2. Failed Crankshaft or Camshaft Position Sensor
3. Corroded Battery Cables and/or Ground Connections (particularly the body back to battery negative terminal)
4. Failing Cooling System (Thermostat stuck closed, water pump blades disintegrated, failed radiator cap, etc).
5. Failed Idle Air Intake controller (causes crank-no start condition)
(you said 5, so I picked the ones I see the most here. But a failed starter and failed alternator would be the next 2 on the list).

Non-Stranded (typically):
1. Failed multi-function switch (problems with bright/dim control and turn signals)
2. Failed AC blower motor resistor (its gets hot, and can melt down)
3. Stuck brake caliper (at best an annoyance, at worst will burn your Jeep to the ground)
4. Failing u-joints in front/rear drive shaft or front axles
5. Failing hub/bearing on front/rear axles

PatHenry

I think Jordan's list is excellent.

The only time I've broken down - broken down in a Jeep (knock on wood) was with my TJ when the water pump impeller broke clean off inside and caused rapid overheating. A bad alternator was close, but not a true "broken down" condition and a bad ignition switch - again both in the TJ. I once had a valve spring break - it threw a flashing CEL and drove like crap but limped "home" and to the shop.

From my time on this forum, I've seen a lot of CPS failures (I still have the theory that this is an automatic only problem since in over 700k of manual Jeep personal experience there were exactly 0 CPS replacements.)
The hubs seem to go frequently (probably a lot of folks not torquing them to 180 per spec.) and u-joints and tranny mounts - as was mentioned.

PatHenry

Obviously the 00-01 head failure is also a big one.

cruiser54

Buying one and driving it without doing a good safety check, fluid level and condition check, and visual undercarriage inspection.

Then, getting on a forum and pissing and moaning what a piece of **** an XJ is.

tinytrax78

crank sensor left me sitting

OldTires

I was left stranded last Sunday, the Jeep just shut off. But that was my fault, my own stupid stupidity, not tightening an electrical connection tight enough.

If you stay ahead of the maintenance, these Jeep are very reliable.

dave1123

Word of warning! The CPS will almost always give you warnings that it's going by shutting down for no apparent reason, then restarting. If you don't get to replacing it soon, it'll crap out totally and you'll have to get towed home! Ask me how I know.

Searcher

Xj 4.0 Has a known problem with the Damper Pulley rubber separating and causing the belt to shred. Definitely a stranding situation. I think it's more of a time event as opposed to mileage (my 98 only has 78K miles but it is 20 years old). I shredded 4 belts and checked everything for alignment. Everything looked fine. I checked here on the forum, and found the culprit. I think that under load and rpm, the damper was moving out of alignment.

00t444e

The Dana 35 rear snaps.

Morat

The three things that have stranded me:
1. Fuel Pump
2. Headgasket
3. Core Plug

They could all have been prevented if I had understood the early symptoms better.

Garrett S.

My crank sensor died without warning and left me stuck at a friends house. I had a caliper lock up on a trip but I limped it a mile to the parts store and fixed it in the parking lot. I guess that would have stranded me if I was far from civilization. Also the blower motor resistor but that's more of a comfort thing.