Steelcityfan29

Hello,

I have been on this forum for a couple years now and always received lots of good advice and amazing conversation. I had an 88 project jeep I used to work on alot. Then.. sold it a while back. Now.. a divorce and a layoff later I lost my nicer newer car and found a cheap 1991 XJ. I have fixed many issues but I still have a few things I need advice on.

1. 4 wheel drive wont engage. The Vacuum was all busted up. I replaced it all and the front wheels don't lock. I know I can manually lock them but would prefer it to.. work? How hard is it to swap that front end out to an electric engaged one? Would that not work or what direction should I go?

2. I have fixed the vacuum and tested it. My heater controls still don't work. The two BLACK LINES that connect to the little vacuum connector on the back of the heater controls have leaks. I believe they have a little box inline to them. Does anyone know how to get to this? I tore everything apart but didn't take the dash off yet as I really don't know how.

3 Running hot as all 4.0s do. The radiator looks good the clutch fan is likely bad but its running hot after idling for 5 minus at 10 degrees outside here in Boise. Its been COLD and it got up around 230 id say? I was going to change the thermostat.. but the "nice person" that sold it to me apparently broke the bolt off in the water knuckle housing there so I assume I have to take the front of the jeep off and hope I can cut that knuckle or get an easy out to work (ya right)

4. Suspension is SHOT, the back end hangs sooo low if i hit a good pile of snow the rear wheel will rub the wheel well. It drives like CRAP through the snow at all. It feels like a boat on the street and kind of tips right and lift driving straight. Also the brakes.. don't feel great. We bled them with a mechanic friend of mine and got a ton of air out of the,. But when I go to stop.. they feel like they're (pumping?) back at me.I can feel it in my foot.


Alright so.. the jeep runs nearly perfect other then the heat issue. Transmission is strong and the transfer case engages low range perfectly but the front tires dont lock up.

Any and all help if very appreciated people. I'm just mostly broke and need to get this fixed. If I didn't have my little 2 year old boy to take around with me and get to daycare. I wouldn't be so concerned but i need something safe to bring him in. Thanks again for all the help. This is the best forum for automotive help and good advice ive been on.

XJ Stryker

I am not good with vacuum issues I know when I used to have heating issues I would just run some water hose water through the heater core and I would get gunk out then it would run good for the winter.

For your jeep feeling like a boat. I would invest in some stiffer shocks or next make sure your Sway bars are hooked up.

Brakes sounds like hate Drum brakes like the rest of us. The old Jeeps have super spongy not always effective Brakes in the rear. Best fix is the Disc brake conversion for the rear.

You could make a thread for each one of your problems lol.

Steelcityfan29

Im sure I could. I have actually looked through thee threads about 500 times for each issue and cant seem to get a good straight answer thats affordable.

XJ Stryker

Yeah affordable is Key.

Electric lockers... Disk brake conversion...

Very expensive.

I wish I could help more on the Heat. But I suck at Vacuum stuff. You best bet is to find ya a Cheap Beater car to get you by when you have your two year old.

I mean driving a 91 as your primary vehicle that you offroad also is asking for problems.

Steelcityfan29

I don't.. or haven't offroaded this 91 yet LOL it was my cheap beater purchase for my daily driver. We get a lot of snow here and whatnot and I have owned an 88 previously. So I'm am pretty familiar with these jeeps. Not.. instead of the leaks and transmission issues I have fixed this jeep has everything else wrong with it LOL.

dilljeepo

X2
I dont know how bad the bolt is broken off but if theres still a piece that sticks out (doubtful, but just trying to help) you can just borrow a mini grinder and grind a slit into the end and use a flathead screwdriver to get it out. I dont know about older ones, but on mine the thermostat housing doesn't have threads for the bolt, it just goes strait through and has threads on the block... if yours is like this you can take off the other bolt and just pull the housing off...that's the only thing I can help with, good luck

Steelcityfan29

again.. the cherokee IS the cheap beater car.

I was going to try that but i didn't know if the housing had threads and was afraid if i got it half off.. then I couldn't seal the gasket to drive it LOL.

KTMrider

With the saggy leafs you can go to a JY and find a non saggy jeep and take their leafs. IDK how much that will run, or get a 2" or 1.5" shackle to stop the saggy but issue.

dilljeepo

if your careful you might not break the seal if you back one bolt out enough to just peek in with a flashlight

Steelcityfan29

Thank you! Appreciate the straight answer.

Steelcityfan29

Is it hard to get the leafs off the old one? Ive never done any suspension. I always took it in before. I'm more familiar with 12volt and gaskets LOL.

Steelcityfan29

Now what if I buy shocks? can I get shocks I can use now and with a 4 inch lift later? Or do I have to buy a new set now and later?

Steelcityfan29

Ok I got the front end to lock up and it feels decent except when I'm turning sharp theres a nice loud Clunk kinda sound? is that one of those front U joints maybe? or did they have those in 91? I know I had em on my 88.. I just don't know what it is. its hard to describe but familiar i'm sure to anyone who's heard it.

WantACherokee

As far as the poor braking and pedal feeling like it's pushing back at you, check your rear brakes. I'd take care of that ASAP. You may need new drums, if they are out of round they will cause what you are describing. Check all the other components while you're in there. If anything looks iffy, replace it. Brake parts are dirt cheap for these Jeeps. I'm rebuilding mine right now with new shoes, hardware, and wheel cylinders, spent under $50 (for both sides). New drums are the most expensive rear brake component at about $40/ea.

You could always hunt around for some good used drums if you're really on a tight budget, but you'd still want to have a shop check them out, and if they end up needing turning you'll have spent the same amount new ones would have cost. With anything having to do with brake friction surfaces or hardware, you should always replace the parts on both sides even if only one side looks bad.

For the saggy rear end I'd second the idea to get some good used leaf springs from the junkyard or from somebody parting out a Cherokee in your area (check Craigslist and various online forums). I'm not sure why on some of these older Jeeps the springs sag and on some they don't. My '87 doesn't have that issue at all, but then again who knows if the springs are original.

Good idea on the new shocks. Unfortunately, you'll need longer shocks for a 4" lift and those would be way too long to use while your Jeep is still at stock height. Best to get some decent stock replacement shocks now, and when you lift the Jeep later on you can always sell them to someone else and recoup part of your money.

Also, as stated above check to make sure both anti-sway bars are there and are actually hooked up as well. People tend to remove or disconnect them for offroading, but they need to remain hooked up for safe street driving. If the front bar is missing I've heard a ZJ Grand Cherokee ant-sway bar is a good cheap upgrade that you can find at the junkyard. I've heard that some XJ's didn't come with rear sways. Not sure if this is true, if it is I suppose one isn't essential, but again you could always get one off a junkyard Cherokee and install it for better handling, can't be too safe with a kid in the car.

Steelcityfan29

Thanks for the reply Want.. lots of great info in there. I will check those drums soon. One issue though.. LOL.

the kid that owned it before me.. i assume. Must have used a BAD lug wrench.. most of the lug nuts are nearly rounded off. I cant get them off without some engineering.. and im afraid of breaking the bolts. I guess I have to come up with enough cash to go to a tire shop and see if they can remove them for me and replace the lug nuts maybe?

Again on the rear springs? Are they dangerous to take off? Like under pressure or something? Are they difficult to get off? Thanks.

On the junkyard jeeps I see the rear springs but theyre like sitting on wheels on the ground.. so how do i get those off without a keep falling on me?