tjsandog

I have had several Jeeps in the past, now have a KL Cherokee, but have been keeping my eye out for an XJ.
Most that I've seen are nice, good shape, lifted, custom bumpers, but they are asking $7,000 to $12,000.
I am going later to look at a 1998 XJ with 134,000 miles.
It has a 4 inch lift, 31 " Wrangler MT tires, but seems otherwise stock.
He said in the ad that it leaks a little oil, but not so much that he has to add any, it needs a new crank pulley, and has some down low body rust ( he moved here from Minnesota, maybe brought the Jeep from there).
Only other issue he said was, "the Jeep runs good, but it sometimes sputters out when doing parking lot maneuvers, but starts right back up".
I can get this XJ for $2200, maybe offer him a bit less.
Any idea what the "dying doing parking lot maneuvers might be" ?
Fuel issue ? I had an older Grand Cherokee once that did something similar, it would die on occasion but start right back up, I think I remember it turned out to be a throttle body sensor. Any other advice ?
Here's a pic of the Cherokee I'm going to go look at this evening:

jaydubz

1500-1800 TBH, paint is disgusting haha and that dying while parking is another thing to talk down price.

5-Speed

If that picture you posted is the same vehicle as this 98 you are talking about, well, its not a 98. I would say its more like an 89.

Martlor13

yeah thats definitely an older model.

tjsandog

My bad, it is an '89. I had been looking at a few other XJ's and got confused.
I went and drove it yesterday, and it started right up, motor sounds good, and it drives fine. I got it up to 55-60. Braking felt a bit weird, and the guy said it has a warped rotor.
I tested the transfer case, and ran it through a big dirt lot.
Tires have 70-80 % tread, and he had a Rough Country 3 inch lift installed last year.
134 K seems low for a near 30 year old Jeep.
Cosmetically there are some issues, paint is certainly bad, hole in the middle of the driver's seat, and a few rusted out spots, one in the cargo area, and a couple low on the fenders near the wheel wells.
All gauges work, brand new ring and pinion in the rear diff, new fuel pump and fuel filter, A/C works but needs recharged, cruise, power windows all work, etc.
He said he upgraded the cooling system, he told me the details but I don't remember all of what he said.
It did not die out with all the driving I did, the guy said it sometimes dies when backing out of a spot.
Anything 4WD brings a premium here, anything Jeep especially so. The other XJ's I saw were much nicer, but the owners were asking $7,000 to $12,000.
I want something to get up to my upper half section of land without taking my KL, and a hunting rig for the fall.
The guy is a younger guy that works for the Fish and Game Dept. seemed pretty upfront about the issues. I know that there might be other problems that crop up, but he said he'd sell for $2000, that doesn't seem bad for around here, especially considering it already has the lift and good 31" tires.
I had been thinking about getting another side by side UTV, but all the used ones I looked at were $7K to $14K, and some of the new ones were closer to $20K.
This XJ would be better in bad weather, and wouldn't have to be trailered down the highway. I'm thinking it would be a good project for this summer.

EZEARL

Is it tagged and on the road now? Does your state require inspections? 2K for an on the road 4x4 doesn't seem bad to me. Maybe he'll drop a couple hundred. Can't hurt to try.

tjsandog

Yes, tagged. He has a new daily driver and a motorcycle, so he hasn't been driving it.
No inspections, smog test, etc. here.
He already dropped $200 to $2K, we agreed on that, so doubt he would drop again, but he doesn't have room to keep it.

EZEARL

If you haven't already give the body a GOOD looking over underneath for rust. From what you describe for me minimal rust would be the deciding factor. Maybe give this a look. It may help you make a decision.

http://cruiser54.com/

TFitzPat87

Yeah, check out the underbody. Looks like the rockers have rusted away, so I assume that the underbody isn't in the greatest shape. Doesn't mean it's gonna fall apart, but check it. If you have even the slightest concern about how "bad" the rust actually is... I'd pass on it.

tjsandog

There's the usual surface rust underneath, axle, driveshaft, etc.
A couple of rusted through spots on the rocker panels, it looks like someone applied roll-on/brush on bed liner to them. Maybe to cover up some rust, but that might have made it worse by holding in moisture.
And he showed me a spot rusted through back in the cargo area by the wheel well, maybe the size of a quarter. But there could be other areas quite rusted that haven't rusted all the way through yet. I'll look some more when I go back there.
Cooling system was changed from a closed to an open system, he said the coolant reservoir was off a Dodge Dart ?

rgr4475

Don't think I would pay $2000 for that, especially at almost 30 years old. But that is me and I hate rust. And you still have to put money into the brakes and possibly the stalling issue.

tjsandog

I hate rust too, but don't have $$$ for the nice ones I looked at. $7K to 12K is a bit much. I'd rather start with a cheaper XJ and fix it up as I can afford it.
I don't know where you are from, but 4wd's, or any Jeep, go for a lot around here.
There's a green 2001 with 175K miles, pretty clean looking, stock suspension for $2650, and a green 1996 Cherokee Country with 125K miles for $4000, but they are about 150 miles from here. I might drive the KL over there tomorrow and check them out before I commit to the 1989 rust bucket here.

tjsandog

Here's one that the guy wants $7K. But hey, it's got a roof rack, so it must be worth that !
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/6144868503.html
This one is real nice, but $12,250 is out of my league:
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/6142636991.html
This one is nice, but $8,000 for one with a quarter million miles ?
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/6125094039.html
Going to look at this one in a couple hours, the manual trans is nice, only $1K:
https://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/6121216987.html
Will look at this one tomorrow, a good three hour drive to see it. Looks pretty clean, except for some rust on bumper, and a 2001 model:
https://missoula.craigslist.org/cto/6146506636.html

EZEARL

https://missoula.craigslist.org/cto/6146506636.html

Thought I ought to let you know that the 2000-2001's 4.0's have the 0331 cylinder head that is prone to cracking.

TFitzPat87

If you have this knowledge already, I apologize in advance. Here's some of my knowledge, which isn't a lot, but may help you out.

00-01 are notorious for the cylinder head cracking. Most commonly between cylinders 3 and 4. Still not a reason not to buy one. I would personally just make sure it isn't cracked already. Or was possibly already replaced.

97-99 are the "most desirable". But that's also a personal preference thing. Later body style, HP D30, are a couple reasons.

96 are a problem child. Transition year, and can be a mix mash of new and old. Again, still not a reason not to buy one.

91-01 are HO 4.0L. 90-older are Renix 4.0L. I believe HO put out 190hp, and the Renix put out 173hp. Beauty of a Renix is you can fix just about anything with a multimeter. Plus Cruiser54 (member here) is like the Renix guru. I've never had one, but would like to.

Few different axles... D35 (Turdy5) is called that for a reason. Low Pinion D30 is the less desirable front axle (00-01), but still not bad.

There was also a CAD (center axle disconnect) front axle that is apparently very unreliable. Think they were on older XJ's.

Personally, I don't know if I could ever bring myself to spend upwards of $12k for one. It would have to be an immaculate, completely rust free, super low mileage, stocker for me to even think about spending that much.

Some people price their XJ's high in the thoughts of getting some of that money back that they put into upgrades. However, we all know you never get that money back.

Sometimes finding the right XJ can take some time. But they are still out there, and will pop up.

Sorry! Kinda went on for a bit there.