Patman

Howdy folks,

New here and new to jeeps.

I’ve been gifted a 95 XJ 2D, 4x4, 4.0, automatic with roof rack.





The good:
It’s free
It ran great before it was last parked,
Rust free (Southern California)

The bad:
It was parked 3 years ago
Transfer Case is broken (Owner was pulling stumps with it and it broke)
When I went to put a new battery in it, we found a cute little bunny rabbit all cufddled up on top of the motor. Little Bunny Fufu seemed to be snacking on the wiring on the top of the engine.. It looks like thats all that was damaged though. Just the wires on the top of the engine itself. Like a sensor or two it seems.
Broken Blinker Lens (Passanger)
Motor has 280K or so
A family of back windows has taken up residence in the interior, engine compartment and undercarriage
Needs tires
Needs drivers seat redone
Interior is starting to flake due to heat and sun exposure (Southern California)

Ive wanted a good knock-around desert 4x4 vehicle and for a few hours of hard labor, I can get this towed to my house. Im no mechanic but I have a few tools. I currently have an 85 K10 that I can keep running to the point of dependability, for the most part.

Anyways, I was wondering if it would be worth it to get it running.

Im guessing that I can rebuild the T-Case myself (with it still in the vehicle (once its fumigated))and I can tackle the wiring one component at a time, until Im done, replace the blinker lens, meanwhile can get the drivers seat recovered and put a new set of tires (31s?) on it and maybe have a 1200 in it. Get it registered and insured, maybe another 600-800 more? I’ll have right at 2k maybe a little more into a running, driving, bone stock Jeep XJ.

SO, what says the folks that have been there, done that?

Is it worth my time, effort and money?

For what its worth, I have a 14bolt FF thats been trussed with disc breaks and a Dana 44 front with high steer knuckles that I could drop this onto. Just an idea, a 3/4 Ton XJ... That’d be fun...

Thanks!

GreaseMonkey17

Check Craigslist probably pick up a transfer case for 50 bucks , set of stock tires and wheels for 100 bucks ... battery 50 bucks for a value start at Wally World ... oil change ... maybe it’s jsut plug wires that the Easter bunny are . We can keep this cheap don’t waste your time splitting the TC on a cheap Jeep just swap it !

awg

I would first join the wires and see if it runs..rabbits are a terror for any wire coated cable!

if it runs, buy a seat, TC case & blinker from the wrecker

spiders hate WD40and similar sprays

dave1123

Spiders and rabbits, huh? This brings back memories of my first car, a 37 Dodge with mice living in the trunk and moth worms in the carpet! Around my neck of the woods, porcupines will eat the brake hoses for the salt on them.

Patman

Ill get some pictures of the interior and engine compartment today and try to post them. Thanks a lot for the info guys. Looks like I’m gonna be a Jeep owner! WooHoo!

XjJunky

Full of black widows, burn that b@$%h to the ground and walk away lol. In all honesty get it runn8ng and sence it was free sell it, take profits from sell and the 2k you where going to put into it and get you a spider free jeep with upgrades off of craigslist, ebay, or even cherokee forum. Just my $0.02. Either way you have been bitten by the xj bug so be prepared for your girlfriend/wife to always be pissy with you because you spend to much time with your jeep and alwayd have a empty bank account. Good luck my friend lol

Red1992XJ

If it's rust free, keep it.

When you do put in a transfer case, maybe check it over and see if it needs anything, gaskets, seals, etc. It would suck to put it in only to find it leaks. Seats can be easier to find, since you can swap in seats from other jeeps (look around on here for instructions).

When you fix the wires and get it to start, I would do a tune up, (plugs, cap, wires, etc. etc.). It's easy stuff to do and not too expensive.

You can get plenty of trim, seats, etc. at junkyards for a cheap price. Once you get it looking decent and running, you can always flip it for a pretty penny. Rust free 2 doors are rare, and can command a nice price.

Patman

Sad thing is, my wife says that she wants it. She wants to keep it stock and for it to be her daily driver and our excursion vehicle for when we take friends and family out to show them cool things in the desert.

Truth be told, I am thinking that I’ll get it up and running and kitted out a bit and sell it for another XJ that’s a 4 door, or maybe find someone willing to trade, assuming that it’s in good nick.

A couple questions if I may:

Once I get everything fixed, address any leaks, resolve the wiring, transfercase swap, tires, full on tune up and all of that, what will she be worth? 2-3k? I have been told that the 4x4 with the 2 door configuration is a good find by a few folks already but I have no real context, I’ll do a little googling to see what’s out there.

What transfer case is in these? It’s an automatic if it matters.

I know the valve cover gasket is leaking. Ive read that its pretty normal. Ive also been told that these motors are pretty good and fairly easy to work on. That said, any upgrades or minor modifications you’d suggest that might make it more marketable/driveable(if we keep it)? Ive looked at the Junkyard section of the forum and am impressed with the things that you can do with these Cherokees.


As always, thanks for all of the feedback and advice.




Pat

awg

the transfer case is a NP231 or 242..have a look on the data plate on the TX case

I would fix the wires and see if it runs before spending a cent on it

dont worry about the spiders...spray a can of insecticide inside, roll up the windows and leave it in the sun for a few days

spray WD40, CRC etc on every external surface, focusing on crevices like rearview mirrors, doors, hatch, etc

degrease engine compartment

its spider heaven around here...that procedure will get rid of them

Red1992XJ

Agreed with awg, if you can get it to at least start up before you start putting money into it, that would be a good thing.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep it. They are easy (and somewhat cheap) to repair, and will last a very long time assuming you don't beat it or neglect it. Your wife will probably enjoy driving it, and it really isn't that difficult for younger people to get in and out of the back seats.

You can get a lift kit for it for a good price, but if it is going to be a daily, look into the "upcountry" lift. It uses replacement parts to duplicate a factory offered lift that will raise it approximately 1.5 inches, and I think will allow you to run a 30 inch tire, definitely a 235/75R15. That kind of a lift will still appear stock, but you can replace the shocks and springs, and necessary hardware, for around $500. You can also do the ZJ steering upgrade while you are going through the vehicle to get it running and reliable.

If you can fix the missing trim pieces, some paint and center caps for the wheels, maybe get a basic maaco paintjob to eliminate the sun damage, and neaten up the interior, you can probably get (maybe) 5000 for it. It seems to me that XJ's that are relatively stock and somewhat clean (no high lift kits, trimmed fenders, etc.) command more than ones that are heavily modified. Also, since it appears you are from the desert area, i can assume there is little rust, which is a major selling point for people, especially those of us from the rust belt. I've seen junk 2 door xj's go for at least a grand around me (NJ).

Patman

Got a few more pics. Looks like the rabbit only at the injector wires. I’ll be heading to boneyards next week to start looking for the parts. Gettin stoked...

Red1992XJ

That doesn't look too bad. Also, that's a 5 speed manual. Even more rare to find one of those. Get to work and have some fun when you are done with it.

3Dog

From your interior pics above, that is definitely a manual transmission.


.

tech

1ST thing I would do is set off some bug bombs and do it 2 or 3 times to kill any thing in side the jeep , the out side and the under side you can use a yard bug killer , then after that a good cleaning so you can work on it .

awg

all my jeeps came out of paddocks, took me a fair while to get rid of ants in particular

spiders are very resistant to some insecticides, so be careful, thay can take a few days to die

I would probably try and solder up those wires and use heat shrink, looks like there is only about 10 chewed ?

another harness is all well & good, and may be needed, but you risk introducing new issues(+$)

I always try and get them running before much else, a non running vehicle is not very saleable, as you have found