im new to the jeep thing and i just bought a 89 xj cherokee auto 4x4

and a couple of things that are out of wack

the part time says its engaged but no 4x4?
i checked underneath and everything looks likt there in place

its been at 200degrees while driving and it will jump up and down?
not sure if its my radiator or the thermostat or my water pump

and im wondering but out of yalls opinion whats the best budget lift i can go with?

 

welcome to the forum,im not sure about the 4wd issue,but a good budget lift would be 2inch shackles and spacers in the front coils,and xj's tend to run warm,around 200*-210* and thats normal to run them temps

 

210 degrees is where jeeps like to be. no worries there as long as it it doesnt climb over that.

Put it in full time and see if it works. If I'm not mistaken part-time only engages when theres a slippage detected.

Theres a thread that lists most every part for a budget(junkyard) lift.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/bud...herokee-58797/

Hope this helps. Welcome to CF

 

Actually, I believe part-time is when the torque is split evenly (50%-50%) between the front wheels and should not be driven on pavement this way. Full time is the same as all wheel drive and this is only found in NP242 transfer cases. It has a differential inside to give more torque to the rear wheels. How do you know you aren't getting 4x4?

 

both of yall are right,part time is 50%-50% but it wont engage until the tcase recognizes slippage

 

well i was cruising the desert and i came across soft sand and dug the rear wheels in. i nutural it pull it to 4 hi and then get it in drive then nothing the front went no where?

 

my only consern was last night i dropped off a friend and i got home

and i noticed that i was seeing like white vapor from my radiator
it didnt check it out completely but it was enough to create food for thought

its my daily so i was conserned

thanks for the help i like that junkyard thread

 

u might have to rebuild ur T-case

 

it showed that it engaged with the light but it didnt show any movement

my friend has one and says it could be the tcase?

 

yea a new tcase or just pick one up from the junk yard

 

When you engaged it was into part time or fulltime. Stock tires won't get you unstuck once you are there, no matter what gear you are in. It sounds like your tcase may have taken a dump on you.

 

vacuum disconnect...
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/fr...ss-91-a-38629/

 

wow guys relax, try checking the vacum disc on the front axle see if its getting vacum and check the plug on the transfer case,before you go tearing into a transfer case that works

 

this is only a fix if you dont want to fix the problem

 

i would say that but i have a 91 and dont have one of the vacuum thing like ur talkin about,and his is older and dont expect it to either