So with our xj' getting some silver hair on them and getting out of their teenage years..

What are the OEM parts we should start hoarding now to say thank god I have a spare one of those?

 

Transmissions. Tranny internals are going to be obsolete someday. Same with a transfer cases, doors, blocks. and prob a hatch.

 

Very good point...

Spare running gear and body parts...

I'm also think electronics.... Switches...etc...

 

Door latches. I had three out of four of mine fail within two weeks and the only place to get them was at a junkyard.

The electric actuator for the lock went bad in each one of them.

 

Off the top of my head, here are some of the things I've accumulated and am generally on the lookout for on any given junkyard crawl. I like knowing I have this stuff stashed away in case of loss, breakage, etc...

-Gauges/clusters
-Factory-tinted glass
-Bulb sockets for dash switch illumination (my jeep had more with broken tabs than without when I first got it)
-Dash switches
-Extra screws (correct ones) for assembling the front grille/lights/signals and the interior dash and trim
-Hardware for the spare tire mount
-exterior door handles (mounted with bronze studs prone to breakage if the nut seizes on them)
-springs for the interior door handles
-Those plastic retainers for door handle and lock tie rods (I know you can buy them but when I'm already inside a jeep door in the junkyard, I'm grabbing them as a target of opportunity)
-Door checks and pins... Wow these are pricey to buy new!
-Windshield washer nozzles

I'm sure there's a lot more, this is just what I can think of at the moment in my personal XJ parts hoard.

 

If you can find a xj dana 44 grab that,Or the wagoneer header with grill or the fully red tail lights from the same xj.

 

One of everything. If it's unique, get two.

 

External spare tire carriers, All oem skid plates.

 

Buy a few extra parts XJ's that has close to the same options as yours. They will never go down in value even scrap gets higher.

 

If you have an aw4 I don't think this will be such a big problem as it shares internals with the Toyota a340e.

 

Anything in good shape for your interior.