I have a 96 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0 with 150k. I had the car for a while now and it has been great. I'm not going to lie, by your guys standards, I've probably been neglecting it, but want to start working on it more. I work with computers as a profession so I really have no problem ripping the car apart as long as I have a plan on how to do it from start to finish and feel confident I can do it. My tool set is pretty standard. I see a lot of how-to videos and it seems driveway mechanics can do a lot of work with minimal tools on the XJ.

Recent mechanical work:
All brakes have been worked on in the last 10k miles by a shop. Brakes work good other than front squeaking at lower speed breaking
Oil changes happening on regular schedule
Greased all 7 stock zerk fittings on the front of the car
Did a ok job spray painting the underbody with hammered black to help preserve and protect from rust
New radiator a few years ago
New starter a long while ago
New water pump a long while ago
Almost 3 year old battery
Passenger door was jammed shut, had to rip seat/door panel out with door shut to fix. Works somewhat ok now lol. Locks don't work, not a big deal though.
New cheap stereo with SD card input and all new speakers.
more???

Planned projects:
Grease slip joint and replace rear u-joints - any other work back there while it is apart? This project is basically to prove I can replace a u-joint as the rears seem to be the easiest plus I have the issue where the back clunks when I hit the gas from a stop.
Check and/or drain/replace dif fluid (probably never been done)
Check and/or drain/replace transfer case fluid (probably never been done)
Check and/or drain/replace tranny fluid (Had a major leak a while back that was fixed so some fluid has been replaced)
Check and/or drain/replace antifreeze

Replace all front u-joints? Front of car makes squeaking noise while turning sharper at lower speeds. I think it may be the knuckle u-joint in the front. Can I replace these u-joints? What other maintenance work should I do when I have the front end apart?

Replace entire exhaust system (pretty sure header is cracked somewhere and cat/muffler ready to rust off) - hopefully I can rip everything out and bolt on all new exhaust. Is this something I can do?
Parts I think would be header/front pipe/cat/cat back/ 2x O2 sensors??
I have read new motor mounts should also be installed during the project to prevent any future cracking/issues. Anything else that should be done during this?

As is the car drives pretty good still. It sounds like the exhaust has the common Jeep header crack, and the front sounds like a u-joint or otherwise is stressing when turning sharp at lower speeds. The shocks and steering stabilizer look to be is rough shape but the rides/steers/handles fairly well yet. I tried to re-charge the A/C but the front condenser has a leak as well as something underneath the glove box from what I could tell. Not worth fixing at this point.

FYI, this is my daily driver. How do my thoughts look? What should I do first, etc?
Thanks in advance

 

First thing to do? Make sure your running a GOOD oil filter. NAPA Gold(Wix) is one.

 

Nice list! Absolutely check the oil filter as EZEARL mentioned. A lot of places use the $1 jobbies.

Only thing that pops out at me is the front axle. Do some searching for a writeup on it. If your seals are good then it's very simple. Mine were shot and I didn't have enough leverage to remove the differential carrier. Otherwise do tour front U joints, hub bearings, and diff fluid at the same time.

Cheers from a fellow nerd (Network Admin at an ISP/telco)

 

Yeah I actually just did the oil...... And I put a Fram on without researching first :/

I will just plan on changing the oil again soon with a legit filter.

Cheers!