ViDominic

Howdy all, I have a 96' Cherokee Sport that I have been gradually bringing back to life. At the moment it is fully operational but still needs alot of work. it currently has 177k miles on it, and for the most part it runs great (now...) but it would appear as though I am the first person in this XJ's lifetime that actually cared about it. When I bought it, I bought cheap it under the assumption that it was on its last legs, but low-and-behold all it really needed was some serious TLC. Whoever had it before me didn't do Anything!, No oil changes (Old stuff came out in clumps of mud), no trans fluid changes (looked like water), the brakes were worn halfway through the rotors, the old radiator fluid looked like rusty chocolate milk, etc. (I think you get the impression)

I'm just a hobby mechanic and my question is there anything in particular I really need to know about these things in order to turn it into the off-road machine that i know it can be?

So far, i Have done:
all the plugs. (Old ones were burnt to a crisp)
Radiator Flush
Oil Flush
Trans Fluid Flush
Brakes
new Thermostat
New exhaust manifold (With a Cherry Bomb)
Next up is new shocks, new idler pulley/serpentine belt, clean the IAC, clean throttle body. Plus whatever else needs to be done to bring her up to spec.

Yet I'm still reluctant to put it through its paces w/ some serious off-roading. I just want to make sure it will survive the journey. I love this thing, and i don't want to kill her if it can be avoided. Everything in/on it is stock, and i was just hoping that someone can give me some pointers as far what needs to be done to ensure her survival.

Thanks all,
Tony

black-knight98xj

The oil was chunky and the coolant looked like "rusty chocolate milk"? Ouch.

Just curious, but does your Jeep run hot? What's the temperature at idle and when you're on the highway?

salad

Now that the lubricating kind of oil is in there a compression test is in order. Don't forget transfer case and differential oils

I'm willing to bet that there's a lot more wrong with the cooling shstem than rusty colored liquid. Like no impeller blades on your water pump

RTorrez1

Also if you had that much rust in the cooling system I would also be worried about the steel freeze plugs more then likely one if not more will begin to leak.

Dr J

Congrats on your purchase. Great the way you're thinking. I bet you checked the air filter. I'd change plug wires (Denzo, great price at Advance), brass-pinned dist cap and new rotor, too. I'd also run some injector cleaner through the tank, at about twice the recommended strength. If she's been that neglected, I'd carefully check the rad and heater hoses and replace as necessary - my mind set is that I'd rather do that chore in my own driveway on my own shcedule rather than on the side of the road or at a gas station when already need to be somewhere else, doing somethnig else. When/if you replace the water pump, also buy a new heater return tube (metal) - I like the OEM (dealer, Canada mfg) rather than replacement (parts store, China). $25 versus $15, tho. Heaveier metal, threads fit better, thread sealant already applied. I bet you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of your new beast. You will find tons of useful information here - already posted and in reponse to your queries. Good luck!

ViDominic

initially it was overheating all the time, but now it seems to be fine. Just installed the new 195 degree thermostat last week, wont know if she's still running hot until she actually shows signs of a problem. when i start her up, she usually shoots right up to to 200 degree zone after maybe 10 mins of idle, but as far as i know, that's where she likes to be. and currently it seems stable.

ViDominic

Also, she is currently squealing like a banshee. The belt needs replacement, but I know that most of the noise is coming from the pulleys as opposed to the old belt itself. I've never done that kind of work before, so i was going to start with the idler and work my way through to figure out where all the noise was coming from.

ViDominic

She seems to running at desired temps, but I am actually having some issues w/ the system itself; in particular, she doesn't seem to utilize the over overflow tank properly. it seems like when i top-off the overflow to the "full line" she will suck every drop out of it, but then never return fluid to it afterwords. At least it seems that way. I figured that if she had enough vacuum pressure to suck it dry then the water pump was at least partially functional, but it is an issue that needs to be addressed.

95Cherokee

Cherokees aren't really on their LAST legs until you drive them off a cliff.

scottmphoto

If it keeps sucking the overflow tank dry, you need to find out where the coolant is going. That could cause big problems if it's leaking into the oil.

ViDominic

That does not inspire confidence. but then again, the oil leaking out of her (not a bad leak) looks like good, clean engine oil. lol
no signs, as of yet, of the dreaded milk-shake.