tok7474

1996 Green 2-door XJ, 142,XXXmi, 4x4, new project car!!!

2nd Vehicle, Purchased for $100 got a great price and couldn't pass it up.

I'm a complete novice with the Xj but am eager to learn and appreciate any insight/ advice on my future plans. Here's the history so-far:

Daily driver, I prefer older cars and am definitely not a fan of the "new junk" out there. This is my second car and future project. Currently this is my new daily driver mostly 5-10mi trips mixed city/ highway. Longer 40-80mi on weekends. Having never driven a Jeep I felt a surprising amount of torque from the 4.0 I6 and man an Xj can be fun in the wet, really easy to slide the back around and hold out the drifts when the roads are greasy.

looking to fix up/ restore to *mint* condition/ mods will come later after all the mechanical bits are in perfect working order.

***********The Good:************************
-purchased as the 3rd owner/ clean Texas Title
-Texas car from '96, no rust.
-Low Mile for an Xj? I thought so at 142,000 when I purchased it.
-Never been wrecked, no previous body work

********The Bad:****************************
-So far I have invested $800 in new BFGoodrich A/T's
-Did the front breaks (new pads/rotors) myself $70
-Needed new Headliner $200
-Adjusted the rear drums but they'll need replacement soon
-Top surface clear coat burn
-New Catalytic Converter $$$ (under recall thank god)
-Cracked Original windshield will need replacement
-Misc. cosmetic issues to address in the future, seats, carpets, new door speakers etc...

*******What I've done:**************************
-apart from the tires, headliner, Catalyst, and front brakes I bought a set of clean 1998 Cherokee 5 spoke alloys and trashed the steel wheels.
-The tranny felt loose and definitely needed a good change(old tanny fluid was black as S**T)
drained and filled it twice now within 5K mi to clean the junk out. I felt drastically improved shifts and smoother operation overall. ***Used DEXRON III / MERCON

**********What I need help with:***************
-I believe I have the infamous cracked factory exhaust header causing my awful MPG I suspect.
-What is a good replacement brand. I've had PaceSetter recommended to me, they any good?
-Cap and Rotor, along with plugs and wires were changed at 120K so the ignition is all up to date.

***Soon to come ... Major Service***************

-Oil & Filter
-Fuel Filter
-Tranny Fluid and Filter change
-Air Filter
-Valve Cover Gasket (leaks)
-New injectors (precisionautoinjectors< opinions or recommendations on these or any other good injectors)
-new O2 Sensors
-Replace the cracked exhaust manifold
-Rear drums, shoes, and wheel cylinders
-Coolant Flush (way over due, last flush was in '06 when the radiator was replaced at 98,000mi, has 145,xxx)
-already flushed the brake fluid when I replaced the front brakes.
-lubricate the chasis, inspect drive joints etc...
-service both diffs(What fluid should I be using here, synthetic?)

**********************************************
My BIG QUESTION right now is Motor Oil. I'm leaning towards dino oil because the car's service history shows Pennzoil conventional being religiously changed every 3,000mi for the last 40,000. or since 2006 till late 2011, is what the second owner decided to do. As far as what the first owner put in her, I believe it was probably a lube shop conventional. At this point I'm still trying to decide on a good brand, I know these flat tappet cam 4.0's need zinc and probably a high mileage blend is best but as far as sticking with Pennzoil Yellow Bottle, I'm open to any recommendations on a new brand from other 4.0 owners. I've heard good things about Shell's Rotella, any advice on this????? Purolator filters were used since '06 and I'll probably stick with them.

The previous owner ran 10w-30, is there any reason to switch to 10w-40
Where I live it rarely drops below 30F and summers are hot 85F-100F my driving is mixed freeway/ city (short 5-10mi) and occasional long highway.

Any advice or tips on thing's I've overlooked would be a huge help. Again my goal is to get everything in good mechanical/ cosmetic order and get another 100-150k at least out of this Xj.