Looking at a lifted 94 Cherokee. Guys says turn signals will not turn off on their own and windshield wipers will ONLY work on high or low. He said the speedometer doesnt always work but if you tap on it, it will. He said it doesn't always start in PARK but it will in N....he claims the NSS just needs "adjusted"...and by that he stated that the switch is good but due to the lift kit, the tranny cross member was lowered an inch and that the linkage to the tranny needs adjusted. I need some serious help here. Ive got him down to $2800 and its got 160k on it...4.5" lift and 32" Km2's all around 8 months old. Also has the 8.25 rear axle. I'm going to look at it tomorrow...but I'm just really uneasy about the NSS needing "adjusted" cuz I've never heard of it explained this way as a fix. PLEASE HELP ME!!

 

I had a 2000 xj that had a problem with starting in park it was lifted 6 inches and no transfer case drop, I did drop later on to stop driveshaft vibes and dropped it 2 inches problem was in the NSS , I would just jump the starter solinoid when it would start, just make sure it's in the park or neutral position or something behind wheels when doing this because mine was in reverse the last time I did this and it ran over me and totaled my jeep . 2800 seem kinda expensive

 

Sounds like it needs a new NSS...THe linkage may just need adjusting like he said..
Prolly a bad ground on the speedo.
Id offer 2500 bucks if it was super clean. No more.

 

I paid 1800 for the 1998 xj sorry think I put 2000 xj in last post, lift kit was home made "lca and uca". 6 inch springs up front and blocks aal in back. Brand new craiger soft 8 rims and 35 inch Bfg all terrains with 400milwa on them. 165000 miles. Just bought a 95 with 3inch lift 31 tires American racing rims 255000 miles for $1000

 

A lot of times you can take the Neutral Safety Switch off and clean it... Only takes about 30 minutes or so.

 

Wish it was on video. Epic fail

 

buy a stock one.. dont buy someone elses headache.... buying a stock one to start is best

 

Pass on it, you can do better

 

I'll second this! I had a 96 that had all kinds of stupid stuff done to it like blocks for a rear lift, neglected motor/tranny/brakes - but the shiny Mickey Thompson rims and brand new MTZ tires sure looked nice. Oh, it had rust holes all through the floors too with a some kind of lame-*** filler for a fix and within 3 years the rockers fell off.

After four years of learning the hard way what all could go wrong from neglect, I finally sold that for cheap and started over with a completely stock 99. All it needed was a center console bracket and an oil change! I looked for over a year before I found one that was totally clean, and I probably paid too much for it but whatever, I know it will last me and be worth my time and hard earned cash. It'll be a while 'till I can save the money and find the time to do everything I want to it, but I will know it was done right from the start and not have to hope for the best only to find something else wrong that was neglected and now needs $500 thrown at it every few months just to keep it safe/running. Where there's one thing wrong from neglect, there will likely be more you didn't see and someone "forgot" to mention.

Don't settle, they made the XJ for 17 years - there are plenty left out there that haven't been abused. I noticed in my area, a lot of the gov't and fleet owned ones from the later generations are going up for grabs with low mileage and impeccable service records... from the sounds of it I say keep looking, you'll find the perfect one - it just may not be right away!

 

I am keeping mine stock, as it is my daily driver!!

 

Tell the seller, I'll give him $500 for it. $2800 is funny price.

 

For $2800, you can get a bone stock 1998-2001 with 120k miles on it and looking great inside and out.

I got what is probably a decent enough XJ. 1998 124k miles. Average interior could use a new console and carpet to make it "nice". No dents. Just one small rust spot. Good drivetrain. Owner changed all fluids regularly. But, he wasn't exactly rich, and didn't really fix anything else.

There are many small issues to be addressed: 1 rust spot, Airbag light, bad window switch, needs alignment, new tires, u-joints, hubs, exhaust, new carpet and console)
Listed for $3000. My gut was conflicted, but I decided to buy it when he said $2200. I should have waited.

I've already dropped $1000 on brakes, suspension, and exhaust. Tires will be another $500. So, I will easily be into this thing for over $4000 before that list above is settled. (Then I will drop another $2k in common XJ repairs to make it "nice", but that would happen with any used XJ)

My advice: You want to start with as nice as possible. You'll pay one way or another.
It's way cheaper to buy something nice for a few bucks more than to fix up something rough.

In only the 2 weeks since I bought my 98 XJ, I have seen a dozen better candidates on CL. Mint interior. Lower mileage. More recent repairs. Better tires. Zero rust. Everything. All for not too much more than I paid anyway. I should have paid $1500 max for that XJ, in hindsight.

Do not rush. After watching for a few weeks, I now see that XJ's are a dime a dozen, and sellers can't even GIVE these things away. NO ONE wants these old trucks. It's just easier to lease a brand new truck for $300/mo. I have seen some of these ads listed for over a month.

Don't just get one that's "ok". I mean, it's not the end of the world, BUT, for $2000-$3000, you can get an XJ that is mint outside, mint inside, has under 150k miles, never abused, never off-roaded.
You might even find one with tons of recent work you won't need to do. All sunk money for the seller.
I bought my XJ for $2k, and will be in it for $6k total, and will never be able to sell it for more than $3k. THAT is the XJ you want to buy!


$2000 145k
$2100 121k tons of new parts
$2199 90k
$2400 112k
$3500 85k
$3700 132k

 

Must be a geographical thing. Here they disappear shortly after listing. Rust eats them up pretty good around here so clean examples sell for a decent price. Nothing available for low (under 150K) mile XJ's. Plenty of grand cherokees for sale cheap though.

 

I would get one on Ebay and pay $500 shipping for an awesome example.

For example, 141k mint $2999.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SE-Sp...t_20050wt_1202

 

It is a geographical thing! You can hardly find an XJ for less than $3k around here. I still see them with $8k prices for 99+. I just saw one for $2999 for a 2wd model.