boxburn

After checking my forum join date I guess my first 3-4 months must have been relatively difficult problem free. I made sure that when I joined here I didn't just ask questions then leave and I've enjoyed sticking around. Thanks to everyone who has helped me out when I've asked so here we go.

May:

• Pulled it out of the hole it had been residing in for 7 years
• Mega welding job
• All brake lines
• More welding

June:

• Cracked the windscreen
• Windscreen frame welding

July:

• Repair the air conditioning
• Buy multiple condensers as the sellers didn't actually have any in stock
• Lot of work but worth the effort
• Brakes overheat due to new pads and calipers sticking due to being pushed back

August:

• Oil filter adapter O-ring replacement
• New handbrake cables
• Bit more welding

September:

• A month off from issues

October:

• AW4 solenoid #1 packed in

November:

• Bought rear wiper arm
• Fixed wiper motor
• Broke wiper motor
• Bought another wiper motor

December:

• Rear seatbelt snapped with no known cause overnight
• Boot and floor welding over Christmas

January:

• Another month free of work

February:

• Replacement headlights, what a difference they made
• HL harness added prior to this but don't know when, maybe January wasn't free of work
• Rear wheel bearing replacement prior to MOT inspection
• Trackbar replacement to tackle death wobble

March:

• Replacement radiator

April:

• Replacement radiator hoses due to a burst (I know I should have done them with the radiator)

May:

• Full engine service
• Rocker/valve cover gasket replacement
• Oil loss due to pressure sender
• Replacement oil sender and sensor for both gauge and idiot light

June:

• Dana 35 starts whining badly

The answer to the title question is yes, it's been worth it and will continue to be. Taking on this Jeep was never expected to be as simple as my Fiesta was, but it's certainly better for me when it's working. Here's to year 2 and fixing out the rear end.

dzywicki

Nice. It is so satisfying once you get it to a stable point. The best part for me is telling the tories around what you've done. At some point, you will progress to removing the engine for a rebuild and not even think twice about it. I don't see any suspension work. You will want to check your front control arm bushings at some point. They are hard rubber and will deteriorate.

boxburn

I thought I was doing well until it lost it's oil, which was a simple fix with no damage caused. Now my axle issues. Once that's sorted I hope it's back on track to be stable.

samiam

That’s a lot in a year! Think I did a lot the first year then not so much the second year, just a little the third year and nothin so far the fourth. But it is reliable and I’m close to being able to seriously wheel it. Just need some more protection and $$$$ gears n lockers. ��

dave1123

Yeah, mine was a forgotten yard critter that was driven hard and put away wet every year before the guy I bought it from found it. It seems it was driven all winter, then put in the back of the yard all summer without even being washed! It only had 125K miles on it but the frame needed welding to make it road worthy by the time I got it. I paid $600 USD for it and put about $1000 into it for welding, new tires and wheels, and a complete brake rebuild. Then, just before Christmas, the rear wiring harness went up in flames! It took me until February working outside in the cold to rewire it, but now it's reliable and fun to drive. It'll always be a work-in-progress, but I don't plan on making it perfect. The body it too far gone to be worthwhile spending the kind of money it needs. This jeep was found in the backwoods of the Adirondacks and left all summer to rot. It was bought by a construction company to transport the boss to and from worksites until it got unmanageable to drive because of a broken swaybar. The entire driveline is perfect except for that damned 0331 head that's a time bomb waiting to happen.

This is my XJ which was bought as a backup for my WJ.

OldTires

That's a lot of work, Boxburn. Good job. It never stops.....

jordan96xj

Nice work boxburn. The first year on mine was pretty busy. It eventually reached a point where I use it a lot more than I work on it. But I always have a list of things to get to when I have a chance. Any job that you do because you -want- to rather than -have- to is a pretty good job.

These days it is:
1. New trackbar (joint is pretty shot by now)
2. Rear brake teardown, cleanup, and service
3. Would love to replace my rear brake dust covers (have them), but this will likely require A LOT of things to be fixed at the same time (new lines, new wheel cylinders, probably axle bearings and seals, etc.).
4. Headliner (which was freshly done when I bought it is finally crapping out. Mostly started at places that my fishing poles touched it, and then just got worse from there.
5. Upper control arms and bushings (rebuilt front-end some time ago, but put this off because they were in pretty good shape)

boxburn

It turns out I forgot about a few bits:

• Backbox as the old one fell off its mountings due to rot
• Replace old LPG fill port
• Drivers door (scrap yard)
• My signature of printed parts
• Wheels
• Tyres
• Clean up NSS

I know there will be more in there too.

Don't I know it

awg

My 12mths with the most recent one, pretty good really.

swapped 2-3" lift & A/C compressor across from wrecked one, new A/C gas, thermo, water pump, harmonic balancer, change all fluids & filter, spark plugs
just found out the windscreen is fitted bodgy, have to re-fit with new seal, fixed some electrical probs, more to go

still investigating my 55mph vibe

I have a couple of spare '96 XJ and many parts

In 5yrs of XJ ownership, according to my records, I still havent spent a single $, as I am ahead on Insurance payouts

soon will start pimping out my XJ for better appearance & performance