Lolololol. but like he said you would be suprise what your jeep can do with orginal equipment. I havent gotten the chance to really do work to my jeep yet but the little bit i have got to play in it, it really suprised me. I have bald tires and no lift and i was following a buddie with 31 diggers and 3 inch lift with no issues. Jeep suprised me.

 

Yeah that is a good point about the clutch.. I am startin to get scared now.. all this talk of money and just empties every pocket... lol and to make matters worse I took it for another little drive today and discovered it won't go into 4 wheel drive... i keep having these images of that movie the money pit... what have i got myself into??? ha ha

 

Try not to get nervous. Take one step at a time. I really don't consider my Jeep a money pit. I have had surprisingly little repair costs during the 13 and half years that I've owned it.

Since I began modifying my Cherokee, the most expensive line item has been the tires. $750 for a set of five new 31x10.50 BFG ATs. The rock rails that AJ is fabricating for me are next up at $340. Frame rails stiffeners cost me another 3 and a half installed. The other skids and a 2-inch lift were relatively cheap. As you may notice, I don't have the means to build my own stuff, and I haven't scoured the classifieds for used parts either. So my "budget" build could have certainly been cheaper.

You're right to be concerned, however. After maintenance and repair, modifying an old Cherokee can be a slippery slope. It's easy start sliding with the expenses and not being able to stop.

But if have your new Jeep evaluated for needed maintenance and repair as if your were looking to buy it from a stranger, you can find out how much making it driveable will cost and add to that the modifications you'd like to make for the trail. Getting a professional to look it over should run around a 100 bucks give or take, and I believe it would be well worth the investment. If you decide to do so, be sure to let them know about the transmission, transfer case, and any other problems you've encountered, and tell them to prepare you a line item estimate of repair.

 

Ok so here is what i am thinking now.. I have a friend that is selling HIS 88 cherokee. He has a ton of mods on it- bushwacker flares, custom bumper, safari rack, nice wheels and tires,.. etc. It is an automatic though. But his T case and tranny are in good shape but his engine is marginal. MY 88 has a great engine but tranny and t case are shot. soo i think i want to buy his and just use it as a parts car. and since his is an 88 the automatic and t case should bolt right on correct.? I know it would make more sense to just put my engine in his but my grandpa gave me it and i want to build it and keep it for sentimental reasons.. So anything i should know about swapping the auto and t case in his to mine?

 

you will need the flex plate off the aoto motor plus of course the trans and tcase you will need the radiator and trans cooler plus all the trans lines cross member for the auto trans if it is diff than the manual if his is a complete xj everything you will need should be there should be a matter of just swapping things around

 

Yeah that's what I was hoping.. and yes his is complete- a daily driver actually so that should be no problem...

 

you will have everything you need to convert yours into an auto

 

Let me start by saying I was 18 when I did this.
My first vehicle was an 89 Cherokee Pioneer with the 5 speed Peugeot. One day I was out with my brother, his wife, and another girl. I was running 30 9.50s I pulled up to the highway and floored it tell the engine would not spin any faster. Again I was 18. I then slid my foot sideways off the clutch. I got a quick chirp and Bang thud thud thud. I sheared the drive shaft off the the rear end. I drove it home that night in 4WD using it as a front wheel drive. The Peugeot is not a great tranny but it's not made of glass, and can stand up to the 4LTR. I bought that Jeep with 199,800 on it I got rid of it with 250,000 on it still with the Peugeot. I would keep it tell you blow it, if your grand-father has put only highway miles on it change all the fluids and keep your money for other mods, it might just surprise you.

 

Sounds like a good project. You might find that you prefer the automatic on the trail. Is your friend selling his for cheap? And will he throw in his assistance on your build with the deal?

But I still think that you need an evaluation on your transmission and transfer case before signing their death certificate.

If the friend's XJ is cheaper than buying all of his modifications (lift, tires, rack, bumpers, etc.) separately plus an automatic, all you'll need is the time, labor, tools, and know-how to remove from his and install on yours.

 

Thanks for all the input guys.. yeah he will give me a good deal on it.. 1500 cash or I might throw some things in on trade for it. It would be much cheaper then buying all the stuff separately. It even has some stuff that I don't really even care about but would be cool to have-dvd player, leather seats, killer sound system.. so it would be worth it. Plus always havin a parts rig would be nice. I have gone back and forth over auto vs 5 speed.. and I've decided I would prefer an auto anyway. My last trail rig was a 5 speed(a 95 4runner- gutless v6) and so since I'll have a tranny available ready to go i'd rather just swap it out and be done. I plan on driving it to mexico so I want to be able to trust it. Anyway since his is an 88 the t case is vacuum controlled right? Not electric.. ?