My '99 has been running for a long time and has had very little maintenance, so I am trying to change out every fluid and oil I can. This is the first time for me doing most of these myself so I am not particularly sure what I am doing. My question is will I need any special tools, or are there any tricks to make this process easier? And around how much will it cost me to do a project like this?

As far as I know I am: changing the oil, oil filter, air filter, want to flush my coolant system, transmission fluid, differentials, transfer case, power steering fluid, are there any I am missing that I should be doing?

 

Sounds like a good plan. The only other thing I can think of is brake fluid. Over time, DOT 3/4 absorbs moisture, so it's a good idea to flush it once in awhile. Good for you for changing your fluids!

 

get a good oil filter such as wix or mopar, dont buy fram. air filter changes without any tools. when you flush your radiator make sure that you have a 50/50 mix when fillin it back up and use the green antifreeze, no yellow! as far as the tranny fluid goes if the level is good and it aint burning you dont nessecarly need to change it

 

Do that tcase I think it takes atf fluid... front and rear diffs. I like 75w90 for them. You shoukd.probably changer your heater hoses and radiator hoses too while your flushing out the cooling system. Changing the cap rotor and plugs isn't a bad idea either.

 

Do some searching and you can find pics and such of people changing theirs, it'll be a good reference for yourself, both the tranny and transfer case take dex/merc 3

 

Get a service manual if you're working on your XJ. Absolutely, positively essential!

Factory Service Manual (FSM) is by far the best. Chiltons and Haynes manuals which are often found at parts stores are okay, but can be pretty generic at times and have been known to contain some errors.

Here is a link to a licensed, legal digital FSM for $7.95. Not a bad deal. ebay often has hardcopy FSMs for sale too.

http://www.pacificcoastmanuals.com/j...e_manuals.html

 

That would be a vindaloo with a pint of lager.




Major +1 to what tjwalker wrote. Demonoid369's tip into looking up writeups is a great one as well. We have a section just full of writeups, and if you add "site:cherokeeforum.com" into Google you'll search the site directly without getting crap about Jaguar XJs or Yahoo Answers.

A lot of work on XJs is easier than the first timer may think! Mostly you need to understand that they're all old vehicles so a certain amount of oomph is needed on all fasteners. Except when they're rusted and just break. That kind of sucks. In addition to materials cost some of these can take a while until you get used to them.


As for pricing, I can't remember which tools open what but this should help you figure out what you need:

Engine oil: 6 quarts of whatever you like. If it gets cold there, get a small number before the W. 0W30, 5W30, 0W40, and 5W40 are fantastic choices for the Jeep 4.0L

Engine Filter: The cheapest ones on the shelf are the cheapest for a reason. Filters have a much greater importance on the longevity of an engine than most people realize. WIX manufactures NAPA Gold and Carquest Blue oil filters. Purolator and Mopar are also great units for a good price. One of my favorites is a WIX 51515 (NAPA Gold 1515) for street use.

Coolant: Takes 12 quarts of 50/50 coolant once you're done flushing all the crud out. As mentioned the green universal ethylene glycol is what needs to be run in these engines.

Transmission fluid: Grab about 6 quarts of Dexron III/Mercon (aka D/M). A basic drain-and-fill of the AW4 transmission uses about 4 quarts, you can expect 1.5 or so to disappear into the transfer case.

Power steering: Hard to give a cost on this as most people do the ghetto fluid change by sucking out old stuff with a turkey baster and pour some new fluid in. There is no drain on these systems. Start with a bottle and have fun!

Differentials: I stock up with about 4 quarts of 75w90. Capacity changes depending on which rear axle you have.

Don't forget RTV! Permatex Ultra Black or "The Right Stuff" is what you'll need to get the diff covers back on. But if you're already looking at writeups you'll know this... and why an angle grinder with a wire brush is handy

 

Thank you guys very helpful advice.

I have a haynes manual from when I first got the jeep it has been very helpful lives in the back.

The tranny fluid is one of my major concerns, I hit a deer a little while back and crushed my radiator the new one i got had a different thread for the transmission fluid line so I had to create a fix and it dumped a lot of tranny fluid but now when I check the levels they look ok but i really cant see how they would be.

 

as mentioned about the turkey baster, you can also use that for the ghetto brake fluid flush...

but to flush means just that, 'flush it out' so start with the longest brake line first and keep pumping/adding fluid etc, etc, etc....

 

Oh yeah I forgot the brake fluid! I'm lazy and bleeding brakes sucks... some shops around here will do it for like $35, fluid and labor. Worth it for the time savings IMHO

As far as your transmission fluid goes, are you checking the level with the system up to temperature, engine running, and the transmission in Park?

 

Here's a weird tip for your cooling system flush...

Toss a quarter cup of Amway SA-8 laundry detergent into your radiator, and drive with that in there for a couple of weeks, THEN flush.

It's completely safe for your system, and will clean it out as well as any of the harsh chemical flushes you can buy at the auto parts store.

Best thing is, if you get tied up and it stays in there an extra month, or two....

No problem. It's fine.