Pugsir

Hi Everyone!

I've been lurking here awhile, so firstly thanks for all of the information I've been harvesting.

I live in Vermont, and have been seeking out a quality XJ for awhile. Just this morning I was going to make a trip to Lowell, MA to pick-up a 2001 Limited, but the sleezeballs sold it out from under me.

Today I drove a couple of towns south to look at a garage kept Sport. It seemed nice. I really prefer the Limited because of the leather seats + my dog = easily cleaning. But it drove very solid compared to other XJs I've tested in the area. Probably about 5-6.

Some red flags:

1. Coolant was brown and low.

2. Oil leaks, seemingly everywhere. The bottom left side of the engine seemed to be caked in dried oil. This makes me think the rear main seal is either still leaking or did in the past and they didn't properly clean the engine. And then as you can see the differentials, arms, pan, are leaking.

Any ideas on this stuff? How bad is this for a jeep like this? Seems like maybe just an afternoon, and $100 in seals?

My last car was a subuaru with a gasket leak so I'm naturally a little skeptical of motor oil leaks.

The jeep is going for $4300, but I will offer and probably not go above $3800.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

HERE'S THE PHOTO ALBUM: http://imgur.com/a/yQa8k#oiV1A45

casicua

1) Could potentially be a red flag. The 0331 head (which the '01 XJs have) are known for cracking. The most accurate way to tell is with a lab analysis of the oil. If you can't do that, open up the oil cap and look inside for oil contamination. If it looks milky at all, run like hell.

2) The oil on the rear diff looks like an axle seal leak. You can service that yourself pretty easily for the cost of a rear axle seal, some RTV sealant and 2 bottles of diff fluid. The oil on the tranny doesn't look too bad - mine looks worse than that, and I've been running it for a while with no noticeable problems. Could possibly just be overflow from a prior change.

The initial looks, I'd say the rear springs look a bit saggy, though that's not a critical repair. It does look to be a bit rusty, which is not the worst thing, but could lead to more potential problems.

Personally, I probably wouldn't pay more than $3500 for it, but it looks like a decent car.

Pugsir

Thanks! Ya my initial thought when I saw the low and brown coolant was that he may have let it overheat at some point and cracked the head. What are the symptoms of a cracked head? I don't much about these cars, but I thought it would have a little more power than it did - do you lose compression with a cracked head?

Yes, I'm a noob.

EDIT: I actually know the answer to compression question, of course you do lose it. But anyway to tell without a test?

casicua

Not sure if you lose power - I would guess so. If you run a search on this site, you can probably get more accurate info on signs of a cracked head. If you're already worried about it at this phase, I'd say just don't take a gamble and keep looking. There are always XJs for sale everywhere - no reason to compromise and take risks just because this one happens to be for sale right now.

Muaddib420

The differential seals are easy fixes. I'd be more concerned with the brown low coolant and the rust under there. Even if its "just" surface rust, any repairs (assuming you do any yourself) will be a real nightmare as all those bolts look pretty rusted on. Even the differential bolts look like they'd give you a fit.

Personally if keep shopping around and find one that 1) has nice green coolant 2) less rust 3) less leaks. A little oil down there is fine if you feel like wrenching a bit and changing out some seals and gaskets, but if you don't want to get dirty I'd pass.

Pugsir

Im fine with getting dirty, and Im gonna have a hard time finding a Vermont jeep with much less rust. Gonna keep shopping - dont want to deal with a poorly maintained engine.

freegdr

It sure is shiny ...

Radi

And that's what's gonna sell it. To someone else.
Brown coolant = neglect.
Plethora of leaky seals, and some appear to have been leaking for quite a while = neglect.
Lord knows what else has been neglected. For the asking price, let someone else find out.

RTorrez1

You said that the first one that you wanted to get was a 01 but you never said what your the one you are looking at now is. Either way $3800 sounds a little to high of a price, at least where I live it's high. I would try to talk them down a lot more especial for all of the extra work that you are going to have to put in it. Mainly the cooling system should be gone through completely if the coolant is brown. It sounds like the owner has neglected it. The cooling system are one of the most pickiest thing on the XJ. Good luck on what ever you find.