Hi,

I just bought a 1998 Jeep Cherokee (2.5L Petrol, 4x4, manual, 5drs) and until this morning had absolutely no tools.

One of the first thing I did on the Jeep was to tighten a totally lose screw in the door latch (one is actually missing, haven't managed to find one that fits yet), and for that I had to buy my first tool, a screwdriver with a torx.

I've also bought a wire brush and sand paper to remove the rust, but I'm not sure that qualify as tools.

So my question is, as an owner of a Jeep Cherokee, what are the most used/essential/necessary tools I should get?

I'm planning on taking good care of it, do oil changes, motor obviously (although this will be my first) but possibly the diffs and transfer case too.

I would also like to remove the rear bumper to treat the rust it has, I guess remove all the paint and rust and then just use some liner and something like Herculiner (I haven't seen any Herculiner here in Iceland so I bought something that seems to be equivalent).

I will also be taking care of the inside rust, so I'll remove the carpets to treat the rust.

I'd love to hear and learn from your experiences and would appreciate any advice and recommendations.

Many thanks.

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

hammer

:3

 

A big hammer.


Something to use as a cheater bar. A good tool set, doesn't have to be made out of diamonds, but the thing with jeeps, everything is mixed between Imperial and Metric. It's pretty ridiculous. I do recommend buying a set of ratcheting wrenches, either metric or Imperial, those have made my life so much better.

The rest really depends on what you end up getting into, general maintenance and rust upkeep is pretty simple. Once you get deep into things, you find yourself needing an 18mm wrench because a 3/4" is just a tad too big. Not sure about what the bumper needs to be taken off.


Also not a tool, but PB blaster will save your day.

 

I'm not the kind that hits the computer when it won't work, and I'm hoping it will be the same with the Jeep

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

in all seriousness, it's actually nice to be able to hammer out damage on the body sometimes :3 i was out on the trail a few weeks ago, and had a tree rip one of my mirrors off. back at camp i hammered the then-bent mirror mounting area back flat and was able to remount the mirror for the trip home.

 

I've actually been eyeing tool sets today but things are pretty pricey here in Iceland so I was actually thinking of building my own out of necessity rather than have a 3kg box with many tools I wouldn't use.

After the screwdriver I just bought the wrenches are at the top of the list, but as you say, a ratcheting wrench is probably going to be more useful and appreciated than the simple wrenches I thought I would get.

Thanks a lot for the input so far!

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

What a waste of a good XJ body. Just teasing. At least it's 4x4. I think AA covered most of it. 18mm comes in for a few odd things. You'll find 10mm things on there a LOT. I use that more than most anything followed by 1/2". How many XJs are there in Iceland anyway?

 

I assume this is something similar to WD40?

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

I would have preferred a 4L too if you're referring to the weak engine, but as a bonus I'm thinking about the money I'll save on gaz. Filled up the car would set you off almost 150 dollars here... So I'm enjoying my current circa 13L/100

18mm and 10mm, good, I'm taking notes, I'll add those two on top of the list, thanks a lot for the input!

Quite a few XJs here but I think not as many as Land Cruisers, Hilux and Pajero. Although there are probably more Cherokees + Grand Cherokees than Pajeros, I see the Grand Cherokee more in town

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

Pb Blaster, hammer, pry bar, phillps head, flat head (for prying again) Torx bits, 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 13mm, 15mm, 16mm, 17mm, 18mm, 19mm, 21mm, 22mm & 36mm, and you can dismantle the entire truck.

 

$150 dollars to fill up the tank?

Man I feel for you!!!!!!

 

Interesting you don't mention 30mm for the Torx, it's the one I had to buy today to repair the door latch (lose screw), but thanks for the rest

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

Does make the 2.5L more appealing, doesn't it?

--
Photos of my Jeep in Iceland:
http://www.pixmin.org/photos/Iceland/2011/Skorradalur/

 

I would get a large wheel lug nut socket, a cheater bar of some sort like mentioned, Large allen wrench set for the transfercase drain hole, a craftsmen type toolset (including a 1/2" ratchet), plyers/dykes, prybar, various socket extensions, and a large pipe wrench can come in handy sometimes when adjusting steering, but not totally necessary. Sure I am missing a lot, but that would get you by fine and just buy specialty tools as you need them. Air tools are nice too if you plan to do any major upgrades- I personally wouldn't do too many major suspension type jobs without an impact gun.

 

Think of PB blaster as a better WD40.

Also, nice XJ! Loving those flares.