It's a 4x4 with the 4.0 and 169k miles, and I'm wondering what I should just do to it now to help my chances of NOT getting stranded out in the middle of the AZ desert Basically, I'm a keep it "stock" and make it as clean and reliable as possible kind of guy. Right now it has NO leaks, doesn't smell like anything when hot and the coolant is a bit dull looking, but smells fine. There really are no issues with it that I could find, but I'm not into waiting for something to brake. I'd rather just spend an extra $1500 and replace all potential failures now.

Right off the bat, I'm thinking . . .

• Water pump, t-stat
• Coolant flush
• Tranny flush
• Full brake job and bleed
• Power steering flush
• Spark plugs & wires
• O2 sensor(s?)
• Crank and Cam position sensors?
• VC gasket
• ALL coolant hoses
• Radiator fan clutch
• Optima battery and new leads
• Fuel filter
• Fuel pump?

What are your thoughts? Right now it seems to run fine. It doesn't have as much power as the 98/99s I drove, but I'm hoping a tune-up with help some.


I'm stoked!

 

It sounds like you are on a good start. Personally I wouldn't change out the cps just yet. But I would still buy one and keep it on hand since they to tend to go bad. You may also might want to consider changing out the O2 sensors that would help improve you gas mileage. Also don't forget the air filter and an oil change when doing the oil make sure to get a good oil filter such as Mopar, Wix. Stay away from Fram they cause lots of problems with our Jeeps.
BTW, Welcome to the forum

 

Alright man welcome to my world. I am the sage of preventative maintenance lol.
I have gone freaking crazy with misc repairs on my 00 . If i were you and i was concerned about overheating get yourself a good 3 row radiator and quality transmission cooler. Pwr steering cooler is nice too. When it comes to maintenance i relt on common sense: its and old jeep, lots of original parts, they break or go bad, time to replace. Lol good luck with it

 

dang that thing is clean, i have the exact same year and color as you except i have the alloy rims !

 

Looks like you have a nice rig. Plugs wouldn't hurt. Go with the ones that your sticker says under the hood. No wires on yours. You have coil packs. O2 sensors not a bad idea. You have 4. Battery terminal leads, a guy on the forum 5-90, has the best contact him. Your fuel filter is attatched to the fuel pump. The rest of the ideas are good things. The valve cover gasket I would do only if it is leaking.

 

x2 on the valve cover if its leaking, dont the 01s have the good valve cover?

 

Thanks for the tips, guys! I haven't spent enough time with the motor to know all the ins and outs (like the coil packs instead of distributor), but having replaced and rebuilt a few engines in previous vehicles, I'm comfortable with everything but automatic transmission work.

I will look into the cooling upgrades when I do the hoses. A new radiator is easy enough. The tranny cooler and oil cooler aren't bad ideas. I will hold on those until the summer though. I may need an engine block heater though depending on how this handles sub-zero.

I was considering suspension stuff, like new bushings and shocks, but there are no rattles or clunks in the system, so I'll wait until those start banging around.

Are there any known steering linkage problems I should worry about?

 

I have had three a 96, 98, and a 99. I have never had steering issues. If you are planning on keeping it stock, in my opinion you should be ok. It looks like the PO took care of it, but you can only tell so much from a picture.

 

Change your diff fluid out.

 

Good call. Also change transfer case fluid.

 

Change TC fluid. Use same ATF as you use in your tranny (DEX/MERC)

Inspect brake tube going from the brake proportioning valve all the way back to the rear axle for rust. If rusted, replace it before it fails.

Clean all ground points in the engine bay. Six places.

Tranny cooler only if you are doing towing.

Radiator only if it looks defective or your coolant is rusty.

With 169K miles, the front axle u-joints and bearing units are probably over due.

Check front and rear driveshaft u-joints.

Check any/all maintenance records and see what has been accomplished in the past.