Thanks for the response. Yesterday I went in and checked it out. There does seem to be some holes on the jeep but I didn't take a look at the tank. I'm thinking I filled my tank up too high and the gas stayed in the hose and that's how the smell came through. Cuz I did fill it up a lot. Thank god I don't smoke lol but I also went and bought some carpet cleaner and cleaned the area in the back where the smell was coming from. Ill let you know how it goes.

 

*bump

 

New guy here with dumb question. Recently acquired a 1996 cherokee (sport w/4.0 engine). I am assuming that everything is stock as it doesn't appear to have been raised or anything special done to it. I have went through the search function of this forum and have determined that all cherokees are a rough ride. That is fine and I can live with that but I can't believe that they are all that rough. In town driving is positively painful and I can actually feel my spine compressing making me shorter with each drive (I wasn't that tall to begin with). A speed bump is absolutely lethal unless traversed at a speed slower than what snail would cover it, literally. There are 166,000 miles on the jeep.

So my questions are: Would it be shocks or struts or both and how can I tell and what is the difference? If a shock sells for $40 (ball park) from someplace like JCWhitney, why does Midas want me to pay $250-350 per axle for shocks? Am I missing something? I am not a mechanic but have changed shocks and brakes and simple things of that nature before without problems on other vehicles. I can't figure out why shocks would be so much from Midas. Does the 1996 cherokee require something special to change them? I like the jeep but wish it was a bit smoother ride. Are all cherokees like this or am I just used to being coddled to much in my old age?

And yes, i know that they should have a stiff ride but seeing a pot hole ahead shouldn't make me wonder if my health insurance is paid up...

I am not affiliated with Midas or JC Whitney or any other automotive company or industry and was simply using them as examples.

Thanks,
Matt.

 

yes

 

Shocks are very easy (depending on the mount of rust and age of the bolts) to change in an XJ. 3 bolts at each shock. They are not struts (strut = shock inside spring (one unit), used on cars only). Two decent shocks should run about $150 + install, but are so easy to install you should just do them yourself.

I will warn you however that the top bolts in the rear tend to...well...break off when you try to unbolt them - the fix basically involves taking an air chisel to hammer out the welded nut inside the framerail, then putting your own new hardware down through the hole.

If you are uncomfortable with the ride, i suggest looking into the causes of the harsh ride - possibly very sagging rear springs, blown shocks, etc. A full lookover by a mechanic should pinpoint components that are failing. A jeep will ride much harsher than a car due to it's nature, but it doesn't have to be terrible.

Look into OME springs/shocks if they need replacing. They're reputed to give "better than stock" ride quality,

 

My liftgate will not open. How do I pry it open?

Thanks.

 

Try to take the rear liftgate panel off. You might be able to access the lock mechanism. If not then I have no idea.

Sent using CherokeeFM

 

do you think a week of pb blast would help lessen the chanmce of breaking his bolts oh and just incase hes not sure ome are old man emus. Think thats how they spelled

 

Any links to write ups on taking the cluster out to check my fuel gauge connection? It's the only thing not working in the cluster and went from intermittent to reading E all the time. I had a mechanic check the ball level and the sensor on the tank and he said everything looks good. He told me to get a whole new cluster. I'm trying to find out if it's fixable without getting a whole new cluster.

On a side note, if I get a new cluster will the mileage read what I have now or will it read whatever the replacement cluster has? They are digital readings, so I'm not sure if that information is kept in the cluster or somewhere else in the rig. Thanks in advance.

 

Hello again.

I'm in the middle of replacing my alternator, I am trying to loosen the serpentine belt... I know I have to get to the release and push on the bolt to release the tension and loosen the belt, but how do I get to it, I can see it and all, I just can't get a socket up there to push on it. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jon

 

You need to loosen the top bolt next to the ps pump and there's also the idler pulley too. That's the pain in the *** one you need a long ratchet for. At least for my 01 its like that

 

Do 97+ XJ seats sit any higher than the stock 96- cherokee seats? Even the power ones, i know the ZJ ones do, but i want to make sure i didnt just waste money again with seats that are going to sit high.

 

You need to loosen the idler pulley bolt, then turn the adjusting nut

 

You don't need a whole new cluster, just a new gague. Probably like $50 or somewhere close. To take the cluster there are 4 screws on the bezel and 6 or 8 on the cluster itself. Once you have the cluster screws out, be careful of the spedo cable and the two wiring harnesses. After that it's 4 screws on the cover of the gauges and then the three or five holding on the fuel gague.
Then again, if yours is the newer style jeep, I have no idea and just wrote that up for almost nothing. However the point is, no you don't need a whole new cluster, I think that's just my .02.

Sent using CherokeeFM

 

More than likely it's a wiring issue, not a gauge problem. Also in response to the previous poster, your XJ doesn't have a "cable", just wiring. This one may be hard to solve