1988 Jeep Cherokee Limited 4.0L Restore
 

So I tracked down my first vehicle, I bought it when I was 16 and sold it twice now, first time I sold it to my cousin who ended up in prison, long story short I found it in a garage. I managed to snag it back for $100, but I was in some hard times and sold it for $650, but now I found it again and I picked it up for the same price.

I'm ready to restore it, it has some major blow by, so I know the motor needs to be freshened up. The floor pans are rock solid, and there really isn't a lot of rust at all on it. The clear coat has come off almost completely though, so I know it needs a paint job.

My questions for the community would probably be...

1. When I rebuild the motor, what emissions parts can I just leave off? The emissions and vacuum setup looks like a nightmare, what needs to be there and what can be safely deleted?
2. What should I watch out for when restoring this? It appears to be quite solid still, but I want to make sure I take care of everything I can while I have it completely torn apart.
3. What is the best lift out there for 2-3"? I'm not looking to go crazy high, and I won't be going mudding a lot in it, barely at all really. I know this sounds like a sin, but I want to keep it in fairly good road condition so that I can use it as my daily summer and occasional winter driver.

Day One-
Picked up the Jeep, battery was deaddeaddeaddeaddead. Jumped it off my truck, cranked for 8 seconds and fired right up. Hasn't been started for 3 years prior, so not bad. Ran it up to the station and threw $15 worth of decent fuel in, going to run it down as far as I can and then fill it up with some good fuel.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...9304512636.jpg


First round of fixing stuff-

Already done: Battery, installed the lift gate supports too, first time it has had them since before I ever owned it. No more 2x4 to hold the gate up! Fixed the air duct with silicone, yeah, not pretty, but a solution until I pull the motor to rebuild it and install a new duct.

Following the suggested Renix tips, I'm going to be cleaning up grounds and adding some grounds.

Pulling the cargo area carpet and back seat out to get access to a hole in the floor above the muffler. Will also be pulling the driver and passenger seat to clean the carpet so it smells better until I pull it all out and replace it.

Will also be fixing the steering column, it has started the famous wiggle, but its not that bad so hopefully the bracket has not slid down the steering column.

Will post pictures of progress. Hopefully after this weekend it will be updated to my daily driver while I get things organized to fix more. Pictures coming Monday!

Start off with cruisers renix tips...

LOVE IT! I'll be sure to follow this guide! I already see the first 3 things I can do to fix some of the random issues I've had with it running right. This will be a great guide to follow while I build this amazing Jeep back up!

:thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

what size tires are on it? Looks to be lifted already.

31x10.5x15

IIRC it is lifted, but it is a really shoddy lift. I need to go over the entire suspension. The rear is lifted with blocks, because the leaf springs are bending over backwards. It needs a pick me up all around in the proper way.

OME makes the best lifts for 3"s and under.

So I got the Jeep back the other day, threw a new battery in and fired it right up. Dropped $15 worth of fresh fuel in it and drove it home. The cab was filled with exhaust, so I started poking around and found a massive hole right above the muffler under the back seat. I'll need to fix this ASAP if I want to drive this anymore, otherwise the Jeep would probably kill me lol

I'm surprised how well its actually running considering how many times it has sat and where it was sitting.

Updated the first post with progress so far, will be posting pictures Monday of the entire Jeep.