Hello all! New guy to CF but no newbie to auto forums (spend a lot of time @ gm-trucks). I'm about to branch out and purchase a slightly wrecked 99 XJ and have some general questions regarding the front suspension because unfortunately, that's one of the damaged items from the accident.

I've looked for years for a good deal on a good XJ Cherokee; this one certainly is despite the damage. Early (February) 1999 Sport 4x4, 4 door, 4.0L auto, 221K... it was hit in the driver's corner (the vehicle was stationary when it happened) and body wise it bent the fender, bumper, and damaged the grille slightly. Supposedly - and I haven't yet looked at it real good to see - it may have damaged a shock bracket or something similar which has knocked the front end out and shoved the wheel backward in the hole toward the door. This is according to the owner of the vehicle who owns a repair shop (whom I know well), as well as the owner of the body shop where the truck is sitting. My question is this... basically, in an instance like this, what all might be and can be damaged when the truck is hit in this area? If anything, I figure I can just swap the front axle with another one if it's not too difficult. I'm not going to do anything radical with it; it will stay mostly bone stock. I mainly just want to fix what I can and get my $750 out of it. Everything else on the truck is perfect! It's certainly worth the money, granted I don't have to spend $2K to get it fixed. I'm mechanically inclined and have no problem diving into something to get it repaired, as long as it's within my ability to do so without having to have specialized equipment.

Thoughts? Opinions? Thanks for the help!!

 

This is what I do and its what I think everyone should do. (im sure most member of this forum do this)

Call up the JY and see if they have the parts you needs, If they do get them nice and cheap, and attempt to fix it yourself. The key word is attempt. Play around with it, take pictures of before and after and make sure not to loose bolts. If worse comes to worse and you realize you really cant figure it out, than you take it to the shop. Things like body work i feel should always be attempted by the owner first if your in the situation that your in. Its not like a newbie messing with a valve job, this is something that you really cant screw up, you just might not be able to finish and either way the body shop can pick up where you left off.

 

for the drivetrain damage, i would take it to a shop and see whats actually out of whack. Replacing an entire axle can be a last resort, it could be only steering components that got damaged. Grab a repair manual, i got mine off ebay for 5 dollars but i see them selling for around 10-15. Again, the JY can be your best friend, they usually have plenty XJs

 

The body I'm not too worried about really; it's not so damaged that it can't be driven once the front end is fixed. The door doesn't hit it and I think I can straighten the fender out enough to make it look decent and to ensure the tire's not going to rub. It has so little damage that it didn't even crack the paint. That's what I was curious to know though... how hard it would be to line the front end out as best I could.

From what I was told it's possibly a shock mount, but that makes no sense to me - the shock mount being bent shouldn't knock the whole axle out of track with the rear I wouldn't think, but I'm no quadra link expert either which is why I'm here. I'm thinking more along the lines of the track bar, which if that's all it is then that's easy to fix. Could be the steering too like you said. I'm planning on going back at my earliest convenience and crawling under it to get a good look to see what's wrong and what it might need. I'd go today but I'm not gonna crawl around in all this snow that's been falling all day. Only downside is it's in the back lot at a body shop by the house, so I have to go during their business hours which coincide with mine.

When you say repair manual are you talking about a Haynes/Chilton manual or a sure enough Chrysler issued Jeep manual from a dealer?

I'm excited about getting this thing; I've wanted one since I was a kid, and even though I have to work on it a little, I can't pass it up for the price. I hope to take delivery in a couple of weeks.

Any other little quirks/issues I should look out for with it? The owner said it runs great, but yesterday when I went to look at it the battery had just enough juice drained that it only turned three or four times before it started clicking, so unfortunately I didn't hear it run. It was wrecked back during our 100+ degree summer, and I noticed the A/C was still on so I guess that's a good sign that it still works.

Thanks for the help Phoenix, I appreciate it!

 

OK guys, went and looked this thing over again yesterday and here's what's going on. Lower control arm on the driver's side... it folded the bracket over toward the center of the truck and ever so slightly bent the arm. From what I've read this is common and an easy fix if you have access to a welder and someone who knows how to use one, which I do. So, looks like it's easy to fix. Body damage I could care less about; I'll get it fixed later on down the road. I just want to get it drivable first. Thanks for the help guys.

 

I'd be most worried about unibody damage that might require a frame jig.

 

I thought about that too... I looked it over pretty good at the body end of the arm and it looked OK - I think the arm itself took the brunt of the damage, along with the axle mount.

 

Agreed. This is a unibody vehicle. There is no frame. Every component of the body panels plays a part in the structure of the vehicle. I would seriously consider getting it looked at by a reputable body shop.

 

Sounds good; I'll have it checked. It's actually at a body shop right now; I'm buying the truck from the owner of a mechanic shop and he had it towed to his preferred towing company/body shop and that's where it's at right now. I talked to the owner of the body shop when I went by to eyeball it and he said he looked at it (I specifically asked him if he had looked it over), and he only mentioned the axle bracket being bent. I'll ask him about the body, but I'm hoping that with the experience he's got he would have noticed/said something when I asked him the first time. He's worked on Jeeps before; matter of fact there was one in the shop when I went by last week. I saw same said Jeep driving around in town this week too.

Thanks guys for all the help/expertise.

Off subject... how do I tell if this rig came with keyless? It has no fob and I have no clue whether it came with it or not. If it did, I want it to work.

 

Behind rearview on the headliner there will be a plastic piece with a black dome. That would be the reciever.

 

Mine doesn't have that, but according to the build sheet it came with keyless? I'm looking into it more to see if that's true or not.

Update... got the truck home Friday. No damage to the body mount for the control arm, but the one on the axle is crushed for sure. The accident crushed the driver's headlight door, grille surround, and managed to shear some of the wires out of the harness. Other than that all is well - it runs and shifts great and I even drove it the 3 mile trip home. Ran well from what I could tell at 30 miles an hour. 4x4 seems to work fine. Only issue I've found so far is if the window lock button isn't resting in the right place, the windows on the other doors won't work. Everything else is top notch. Looking into finding somewhere that will do the suspension work I need (welding on new bracket) so I can start driving it.