might be trading my car for a 1992 cherokee laredo automatic. Ive never had a jeep before, never owned a Mopar myself although my mom owns a 99 durango. And the jeep is my 2nd vehicle but ide like to be confident in driving it around town. Im going to look at it in a couple days, but supposedly it runs good, 4x4 works, it has 178k miles, new 33/12.5/15 all-terrain tires, and has dented doors (not worried about exterior) but what worries me is it "smokes a little but drives great." i emailed the owner asking what color the smoke was, trying to determine if it could be valve stem seals and got a response saying they said they think the smoke is white, and had a mechanic look at it who said it could be piston rings or valve stem seals but it runs and drives fine, never idles rough or anything. At 178k miles, is it feasible that it could be valve stem seals, maybe the owner doesnt know the difference between blueish/white smoke, or are these engines prone to headgasket or piston ring failures or anything?? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!! thanks a bunch

 

You didn't mention what kind of price range you're in but I think you should pass on this one, it might not be a good representation of what a well taken care of XJ can be. Sometimes a condition of a vehicle can be an indication of how well it was taken care of and this one doesn't look taken care of. If you're buying it to be a beater and mostly offroad then it might just be what you're looking for. White smoke might mean blown head gasket which could mean there are other more serious problems.

 

the price range is between 1500 and 2000 because the car i was considering trading for is a 1995 mitsubishi 3000gt with over 200k miles, a salvage title, that needs some TLC mechanically/exterior as well. What are the chances that its a blown head gasket, is it common on the 4.0s? When i go to look at it i'm going to check the condition of the engine oil/ coolant but if the oil and coolant is normal looking think it could be ok? the damage to the doors was done before the current owner had it Again this isnt going to be a daily driver, more of a cruise around town, go mudding with friends toy. The exterior being beat up bothers me none at all because if it was in perfect condition i wouldn't take it off road any. I just want it to be mechanically sound

 

Be sure to look at more than one XJ before deciding. This one looks a little long in the tooth. The only way you know what the market will allow is to check around......I'd highly recommend you do so.

I wouldn't pay $1500 for this one. Sorry.

 

i just dont have cash to work with, i was considering trading for my car. And ive tried selling my car several times and i always get low balled because of the work it needs. What things should i check for when i go to look/drive it?

For instance, i'm a subaru owner and from experience i learned that before buying any high mileage subaru with an auto trans its best to take it in a parking lot and drive in circles/figure 8 for 5 minutes to test the differential/transmission because they are bad to get torque bind.

What are the things i should check for on this jeep besides oil/coolant condition, engine knock, tranny shifting? Im not set 100% on getting this but it already has new big tires, and the 4.0L 4x4, would be good for offroading/toying around. And does it look stock height or lifted some?

again thanks for your advice!

 

sounds like an old xj i owned, ran great but smoked white. Mine was caused by overheating it really badly. I would stay away from it, could be a little bit of everything with the engine

 

did you have a lot of trouble with yours?

 

I paid 900 for my 89 that had 142k when I got it. No smoke, no tick, no knock. Now at 150k she runs fantastic! I've only had to replace the clutch. 1500 for a smoking vehicle seems high. I'm assuming he means it burns a little oil.

 

no it smoked but it still ran great and the guy i sold it to is still running it every day. I just didnt want to try to do my 3 hour drive to college with it every week so i sold it

 

i got 2 grand out of mine but it was a base with rigged floors and only 86k on it

 

nice man, thats what im looking at i live 1 1/2 hour away from my college and i drive home every weekend, which is 90+ miles. This jeep would stay at home most of the time but my friends at college have rigs and go wheeling so i was hoping i could do the drive sometimes to go wheeling with them as my DD isnt off road capable (even though its plenty snow capable ) Notice my buds lifted wrangler beside my car..its sittin on 33's with disconnecting sway bars and a winch. and the fj cruiser hiding way in the back.

 

that jeep has about a grand in tires in it, i think for that i would be comfortable paying around 1200 for it but there is no way i would ever consider trading that subaru on it. My bro has a wrx and i know they are good cars that run forever

 

no no no no no no no no no no i would never trade my subaru for it. the subaru is my DD. i was gonna trade him a 1995 3000gt that has 209k miles, a salvage title, and needs some TLC. its really about an even trade considering the tires on the jeep, given that the jeep runs well like he says it does.

On these jeeps does Head gasket failures tend to be external, or all internal? If the jeep was blowing white smoke out the tailpipe that pretty quickly dissipates that could be HG failure right? As opposed to bluish tinted smoke that hangs around for a while, thats oil burning right?

 

I'm looking at a pretty clean 88 W/ 5 1/2 in lift, drive-line & tires to match for 1G. 180K. The 4.0 is a supper tough, long lived engine. (263K on my dd, runs great with some blow-by)(oh, and sometimes a knock so slight I almost forgot). Head/Head gasket problems seem to come up allot, (here), but mine's fine. My take is that valve stem seal problems largely faded away when better synthetics where developed. You are correct, white steam dissipates, bluish smoke does not. Those guys really know their Jeeps/\. I gotta wonder if you shouldn't consider cleaning up the title on the Mitsubishi, then sell that for some $ to buy something that's not smoking/steaming.
Course nobody knows how bad it smokes, and at 178K, it's just broken in!

 

What do you mean clean up the title? I guess the title would be considered "Rebuilt" instead of salvage, the car can be driven on the road if necessary. But i thought once a car got a mark like that on the title that it was permanent??

and nobody mentioned does it look lifted or is that stock height?

thanks guys!