Noobie here hunting for my first XJ. I've got a line on a '98 2 door 'Grizzly' addition, stock with 136K in great shape. Just wondering if there's any reason to avoid the 2 door models? Any advice or thoughts much appreciated. Thanks

 

 

The front doors

 

only thing i can think of is certain parts are much more harder to find

 

Ok, nice. So just the doors then? I only just figured out that they're the same length and wheel base as the four door. This might be the one then.

 

2 door vs 4 door is exactly the same.

The difference is the front doors as they are longer to make up the difference. If the glass or doors get damaged it might be tough finding others.

 

The 2 door has a reputation for having more door hinge weld problems due to the increased weight and length of the door. Unfortunately the design of the XJ door hinge is not great in that it is welded to a relatively thin body panel (true for both 2 and 4 door models). Though I think if someone is aware of this weakness and takes care not to stress the door (by hanging on it, or letting the door checks fail and have it blown open by wind, etc) its not a big concern. But it might be something to look out for on used vehicles prior to purchase.

 

The welded hinges are a problem. Many sites make pressed and cut metal to weld to the hinges and body to fix or prevent for around $40. The front quarter panel has to be removed, but that is all for the repair. My driver's four door 1992 had to be fixed, but not my two door 1988 yet.

 

No, they are getting rare, My neighbor has 96 and he won't let it go, it is sitting and rotting away, I try and try. He hasn't moved it in 6 years. I want it to make a matching trailer for mine. It is already too far gone to restore for a driver. Such a shame.

 

That sucks when people let good old vehicles rot just because they're jealous someone else might fix them up and enjoy them.

Does anyone have a line on those door hinge reinforcements so that I can get them installed before this hinge sag happens?

Also, the seller is calling this one the Grizzly edition but I can't find any information on what the heck that is. Anyone know?

 

They're great. The only issue aside from the obvious door parts being hard to find is access to the rear bench. If you ever plan on putting a cage in your jeep the rear bench will be hard to get access too. I'm having to figure this out myself for the plans of future wheeling with kids someday. Best to look around and find a set of doors for sale that you can pick up to have spare parts. That's what I did when I made my half doors out of them, kept all the internal parts and glass.

 

I bought my one from Hooligan Off-road at $40 for 1 (https://www.hooliganoffroad.com/collections/xj/products/xj-door-hinge-support?variant=25823213321). It was $75 for both sides there. It is $60 for a pair only from T & M Metal Fab (https://www.t-mfab.com/store-3/?model_number=xjmjhb).

Here is an article about the repair. https://www.google.com/amp/s/oppositelock.kinja.com/fixing-an-xj-door-hinge-1794985456/amp

 

Thanks a lot Gat, good info.

 

Something to reconsider about the repair/prevention. There is a significant chance that the inner fender will break partially or completely because the rubber is old and exposed to hear and cold every year.

 

You should run run run away from a low mileage 2-door, but give me the name and number of the people that have it