ok so I've never owned a jeep but always loved the look of the XJ's. So this weekend I found a 96 forest green XJ with the 6cyl 4.0 4wd and the 5 speed. It has 171k and it's completely stock. Paid $2500, I thought that was pretty fair, looks to be in great condition.

My question is what are some problem areas to look out for, and what are some good first mods. My plan for the jeep is to daily drive it and the occasional trail, nothing serious. Also I've been told it's normal but the clutch grabs almost instantly after you let up when you fully depress it?

Thanks

 

That's a pretty good deal, and also good trans. A lot if ppl want those.

Problem areas just normal wear , u-joints, ball joints, stuff like that.

Depending on in what ur gonna do, and wanna do? Me personally would lift it 4.5 and put 31 or 32s under it. I love that look with no cut fenders but that's just me.

For lifts, I highly recommend zone, friends and I have ran them and all have been great quality and lasted over abuse. There made by BDS just don't get the warranty. One of my friends bought a rough country and it sagged with in a few months, even with full rear leaf springs. And he has only had problems with it so I would suggest staying away from them, they are cheap tho , but I understand why now lol! Just my 2 cents

 

Thanks, yeah there's some faded clear on the hood and roof but other than that hardly any rust anywhere. Radiator looks like there may be a slight leak which may have caused some rust on the very bottom. Other than that and a new battery seems like it's perfect working order. A little seepage around the valve cover and underneath but looks normal and no drips. And I'm sure they didn't clean the engine bay ever. (owners wifes daily driver, then they let it sit for a while. Looked where it was parked for the entire time and no pools underneath) so I'm going to clean it and monitor any leaks if there is anything. Probably change all fluids and check for shavings. I may stick to just a tire carrier on the rear to give me more interior space and new front bumper with a couple lights. This will be my daily while I put heads/cam/intake/exhaust on my ls1 camaro.

 

welcomeee to the jeep world. Nice find! had one just like it.

 

Thanks, I'm excited to get it registered so I can start driving it

 

1992 JEEP SPORT CHEROKEE - $700

FOUR OF THE FIVE RIMS WON'T HOLD AIR. SLOW LEAKS. WILL NEED TO REFINISH SURFACE. 4-WHEEL DRIVE HAS VACUUME LEAK, DOESNT SEEM TO WORK FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.




Is this stuff easily fixable? Is this a good deal for a project build?

 

Grats on the XJ! Good to see more AX-15s out there

#1 problem to watch out for is rust. Thoroughly inspect underneath if you haven't already. Some other minor things pop up that I like to call Chryslerisms - in other words, electrical faults as a result of poor design (melted switches mostly). Otherwise it's an almost 18-year-old vehicle, you probably have some catching up to do with maintenance. Good place to start is the cooling system. If it looks original, it's probably junk by now. Especially if the coolant is a nice green.

My OE-style clutch ain't no racing unit either. Be nice and smooth... especially if your engine and transmission mounts are worn lol (if they are you'll know what I mean as soon as you let off the gas in 1st gear ). Also, you should know this now, but regular gear oil isn't good for the AX-15. The stuff it SHOULD use was discontinued some time ago, the juice it likes is unfortunately fancy Redling MT-90 or Royal Purple Synchromax. Works fantastic though.

 

Well the first thing you could do is replace the stock exhaust manifold. I can guarantee that things got a crack in it.

 

A few things about the 96:

There is a lifetime replacement service bulletin on the cat converter. The OEM units had very short lives. If it rattles when you kick it, it's shot. Chrysler dealer can run the VIN and see if you are still eligible for a free replacement if you need it.

Be careful buying parts. '96 has some one-year-only stuff and a lot of parts houses think '95 parts fit when they don't. Fuel pressure regulator is one big example. PCM, Intake manifold and the PDC are also all '96 only.

Watch the airbag if you ever work on the steering column. It's a mechanically triggered bag, you can't unplug it to deactivate it. It doesn't use any power.

To expand on what Salad said, the ignition switch, headlight switch and blower motor are common places to find overheated/melted plugs. They are underengineered parts and tend to fail. Don't forget to check them if you have related problems that seem tough to find. Always a good idea to clean up the battery cables, connectors and ground points too.
None of that stuff was designed with much margin, it's "just good enough". Keeping them clean and shiny helps keep the gremlins away.

I also currently have a '96. Outside the rust issue it's been exceptional. 230k+ miles, still running mostly factory parts. Still has the factory cooling system. (no not the factory antifreeze, lol) Still have the factory exhaust manifold too, no cracks. Brakes, batteries, tires and periodic fluid replacement. That's been almost all my expense over those miles.
The things are tanks. You'll really like it.

 

Ok I've been driving it all day today and seems like everything works perfectly, heat gets hot ac gets cold. The only two issues now (already upgraded to the 34gold top battery) is it squeals every time I turn the defroster on. Its either a worn pulley serpentine belt or the tensioner. And reverse kinda clunks into gear. So I bought new belt, plugs, wires, dist cap, rotor, air filter, and oil change ready to go just waiting for the weekend to put them on I still need to test out the 4wd. Then I'll change all the fluids in it. Oil pressure stays around 40psi, never goes above 210 degrees (granted it's cold out). I hear a rattle everytime I hit a bump I suspect it's a heat shield somewhere. Power steering is a little firm but not bad. Oh and the speakers dont put out sound, the aftermarket head unit turns on like normal but no sound, not worried about that at all. All in all I'm very happy about my truck! And practically no rust anywhere. Just some surface rust here and there. Nothing on the body at all.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track. Welcome to XJs!

 

Uhmmmm...a new clutch perhaps? And I mean OEM new, not Cheapo Crapola Auto Parts Store new.

Every used car I've ever purchased had gremlins that motivated the prior owner to sell. Identify those gremlins, repair them with only OEM parts and you will sleep well.

 

The owner said his wife had the jeep in college and that's what she learned manual on and theyve had it ever since. They both had new cars and so I think they just finally upgraded their cars since they were in their 30s. My buddy said the clutch is normal but I'll be replacing that because the owner said he never replaced it. Yeah I usually only replace with oem or better parts.