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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Hey guys B_Gook here, I'm a new member but have been a long time lurker as I went through the process of finding and purchasing my new to me XJ. My story is a few months ago I began having troubles with my DD. After battling with it having problem after problem I decided it was time to pick up a second set of wheels for the winter so I could tear deeper into the truck without having to worry about getting to work in the morning. I had a '95 Grand Cherokee in high school that I absolutely thrashed and no matter how bad I beat her up it always came back for more and I decided it could be fun to have another beater upper car I could relive those glory days through. I always liked the styling of the XJ's better than the ZJ so I began looking for one in running condition I could do a super budget "build" on. I had planned on a junkyard lift, hacked fenders, basically something I could make moderately cool for super cheap and just run until it blew up. Eventually I came across the one I ultimately ended up buying, an absolutely bone stock 1990 Cherokee 4x4 with a 5 speed manual transmission and 260,000 miles. I think I got a steal of a deal on it at 1,200$ as it was a California car with absolutely zero rust anywhere, completely straight body minus one small door ding on the passenger front, relatively clean interior (for an almost 30 year old jeep), and paint that can be salvaged pretty easily with a little TLC from a buffer, basically a unicorn here in Colorado. I love the thing already and the more I drive it the more I realize I just cant hack apart such a nice vehicle with a clear conscience so obviously my original plan is not going to work. Considering I'm looking at a much more long term project than I was expecting I'm looking for some guidance on how to go about getting started on the thing. I still plan on a lift kit and tires but I would like to give it a little more solid base to start from first. The steering is my biggest concern right now as it's not terrible but has a huge amount of slop with some mild vibration from 55 to about 65 mph and the thing absolutely wanders around the road more like I'm directing a mule team than driving a car. I still do have to work on my truck so my budget is going to be a little thin for the Jeep at first and I just don't know how much I should invest into the steering system now while planning to do suspension work sometime in the next 12 months or so. I could just drive it as is for now but with this being my primary mode of transportation staring down the barrel of what they're saying is likely to be a bad winter the thought of taking this thing 30 miles to work and home everyday without some kind of improvement makes me nervous. Can I make it more drive-able just replacing bushings or do I need to look at part upgrades/replacement? Also those of you who have started your projects from total stock like this what was your order of operations? I'm working through the drive train replacing fluids and just making sure everything is as solid as possible but what kind of common upgrades should I start looking into? Any kind of links would be great I love cruising through the forum and reading through other peoples experiences and look forward to getting started on my own build journey and becoming a member of this awesome community.
My 96 is a bone stock Country in great condition and I'm not going to do a darn thing to it. Too may beaters out there to tear up for cheap to crap up a really nice XJ. I love my XJ just the way it is.
You should diagnose your steering problem and attack it head on now before winter. Throwing bushings at it might not solve anything and start you down a long and expensive rabbit hole only to discover it was your track bar mount or TRE that was causing it. Check your alignment, ball joints, TRE's and track bar. Watch the death wobble vids those will show you the same places you should be looking. If you're planning on keeping your steering stock, then any fixes your finance now will be less you will have to finance later when you do your suspension wrenching. Only thing may be that you may have to get two alignments now... Gl and welcome! Hope to see you in the build section so we can follow along. Oh, and let's see this beauty! Where's the pics?
Yeah that steering needs fixed ASAP it driving me nuts. Thanks for the death wobble video suggestion that's given me a good idea where to start. I'll pull it into the garage tomorrow and start working on finding my gremlins and hopefully I can have parts here for next weekend! As far as pictures go I haven't gotten any yet, weather has been dreary and rainy (Denver got the first snowfall of the season last night) so I've been too lazy to go out and shoot any. Tomorrow while I've got it inside I'll snap some so I can properly show off! I definitely will start a build thread on it if only so I can keep a record for myself of how far it comes. @jpk I really like the stock look of mine as well but I definitely have an addiction to larger wheels and tires so I'll pick it up a bit just for that but nothing extreme. I kind of like the idea of keeping an at least semi stock build. Most everything you see around my area of the world in the foothills of the Rockies is either completely thrashed and trashed or built up so much there's hardly anything left of the original Jeep. I'm definitely excited to get started working on it and see where we end up, hopefully I can make it into something really cool and at least somewhat unique.
I got a real nice rust free 01 sport that was wrecked for free! thought it was way to nice to let go to scrap so put in my garage and fixed it now have a sweet ride!
Get under the front of it have someone to move the steering back and forth and you should be able to see what it is. If the whole front axle moves side to side pay attention to the track bar ball joints and bushings Sloppy steering as in play in the steering can also be a worn steering box. At 200k plus miles it is bound to need some TLC. I would definitely fix it. If just one part fails you could trash a perfectly good Jeep, AND YOURSELF we don't want that. POST A PIC of this sweet ride.
I'm in the same boat as you. My ultimate goal is to get my XJ into good shape while still doing basic mods. Check out the Rancho leaf springs, they supposedly provided 1.5" of lift, which I think would allow 30" tires. (Hopefully getting these soon for my truck). If you are going to be doing work, I would recommend replacing parts (as long as they are not expensive) while you have the truck apart, instead of having to take it apart twice. With that much mileage, parts are bound to be worn especially if they are original. Personally I would say to make sure that any mods that you do be able to be undone back to stock without too much fuss. Also, it's your truck, so you have to be able to make it your own. Whatever you do, make sure to keep it washed in the winter. There are enough salt-rotted jeeps out there.
Great find - I got my 95 5-speed for 800 and it was definitely NOT "too nice"... lolol.
For the steering stuff, I will wholeheartedly agree that you need to:
1) Decide on what level of lift/upgrade you want
2) Make your steering repairs/upgrades toward that end.
You can generally do about 2" of lift before you start needing to replace components with something other than stock.
Steering slop is common when you need to replace either the steering gear or the steering shaft (the one that connects the wheel to the gear) since it has non-serviceable u-joints that can wear out. Tie rods and all that are super easy and inexpensive to replace (I did a full stock replacement with premium parts for under $200). Do your research if you need a new steering gear as this is something that choosing the right solution is important to a successful and lasting repair.
Okay guys update, I crawled underneath and the tie rod ends are definitely at least a part of my problem. They're bad but not as bad as I had expected so I suspect I may be doing some work on my steering box and I'll start reading up on that right away I put it up on stands to get underneath better and I gotta say the more I look this thing over the happier I am with my purchase. I've never seen a vehicle with so little rust in my life! I've been trolling around online and finding some good front end rebuild kits for not outrageous money and I think my plan moving forward is to just go through and do a stock replacement on everything that needs replacing (so most everything) for the time being so I can focus my efforts and $$$ on drive-train work. The power steering pump has a substantial leak somewhere and squeals like a jet engine spooling up 24/7, definitely not going to work for me. The valve cover gasket could use a refresh and after a closer inspection I think I have at least a small leak from the oil pan. I'll have to give it a pressure wash and keep an eye on how much drippage I'm getting back there. Other than that I think she just needs a good cleaning and a generous dose of TLC and I should be well on my way to having a real gem on my hands! As promised I got some pictures for you guys, the lighting isn't the best to really do it justice but as soon as the sun gets out again I'll head out and get some real glamour shots.
10-06-2018, 05:09 PM
Accidentally bought a too nice XJ....What now?
I put it up on stands to get underneath better and I gotta say the more I look this thing over the happier I am with my purchase. I've never seen a vehicle with so little rust in my life! I've been trolling around online and finding some good front end rebuild kits for not outrageous money and I think my plan moving forward is to just go through and do a stock replacement on everything that needs replacing (so most everything) for the time being so I can focus my efforts and $$$ on drive-train work. The power steering pump has a substantial leak somewhere and squeals like a jet engine spooling up 24/7, definitely not going to work for me. The valve cover gasket could use a refresh and after a closer inspection I think I have at least a small leak from the oil pan. I'll have to give it a pressure wash and keep an eye on how much drippage I'm getting back there. Other than that I think she just needs a good cleaning and a generous dose of TLC and I should be well on my way to having a real gem on my hands! As promised I got some pictures for you guys, the lighting isn't the best to really do it justice but as soon as the sun gets out again I'll head out and get some real glamour shots.
