The Basket case
 

Hey everyone, thought I would post this here because it might help someone else eventually. I just brought home my most recent jeep; a 1998 Cherokee sport with pretty much zero options. Long story short, it's a bigger mess than I thought when I bought it.

I was told that it was mostly driven by a 20- something woman as a daily driver, and it had been sitting for several years. The guy had tried to part it out, but no one ever showed up for the parts. When I picked it up, the valve cover was just sitting over the lifters missing all but one bolt to hold it on, the t- case was just sitting in the trunk with the crossmember, and I later found out that the tranny was missing the tailshaft housing. I had to pester the guy for the driveshafts, and I'm never renting a trailer from u haul again. Bought the jeep for $350 CAD then spent almost that much getting it home.

So, like I said, I'm posting this because it might help someone with their project. The plan for it is 2-3in lift and 33x10.5's, we'll see how that goes. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...14da5516b5.jpgDrivers side is a little rough.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...feadd11712.jpgpassenger side is pretty straight though.

So as I started getting into the jeep, I discovered that the tailhousing on the aw4 was missing, and the transfer case front output doesn't match the drive shafts that I got with the jeep. This is when I started to think I wasn't told the whole story by the guy that sold it to me. But the jeep has a clean active registration so I can put it back on the road eventually. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2d59e86e00.jpgAnyone know what this piece is?
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2f588b4527.jpgI'm kind of pissed at whoever cut the wires here. I think it includes the wiring for the t-case sensors and possibly the o2 sensors. Can anyone confirm that?
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...a8cc48384f.jpgI have no idea what this is.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2fc433920b.jpgthey cut out the cat and o2 sensors. From what i can tell, the 98 Cherokee has 2 o2 sensors, correct? One before and one after the cat?
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2b45c66a5d.jpgTo the junkyard I go I suppose. I'm guessing I need one from a 98 or newer?

Funny t case
 

Sooo the jeep had a 242 in it originally, and I confirmed the case in the back was a 242 even though it is missing the i.d. tag by cycling through the shifter positions. The funny part is that the front yoke doesn't match the driveshaft that i grabbed with the jeep. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...d1e4ea9603.jpgI grabbed a 1310 yoke if I need to swap it out. Should I go with the 1310 cv front, or try and find a shaft to match this output?
and the last weird thing for the moment is what appears to be either a kill switch or a start switch, unsure which it is yet. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...fb0264f132.jpgThe offending switch
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...03aebd5fc3.jpgNot a great picture, but the red wires along the firewall run from a grommet in the firewall to the battery and to the starter.

Got some work done on the basket case the other day. I also sort of hit the jackpot at the junkyard when I went to accumulate parts.

So I got the trans tailhousing out back on, waiting on the rtv to cure before bolting on the t-case.

Picked up a radiator and a few stock wheels for the rig, and while I was walking around I found a late model Cherokee with what looks like a rusty's 4.5in short-arm lift with full leaf packs. The lift is taller than I wanted, but the LCA's are gonna be a lot stronger than the stock ones. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2c32f54149.jpgThe bushings are a little worse for wear, have to see what is going to fit in these. The bend looks a little unusual though. Can anyone confirm if this is what it looks like new?

New information on the basket case
 

So I now know for sure that I never got the whole story when I bought the jeep. I got the tailhousing on the jeep, put the t- case on, then decided we should make sure the engine will turn over.

the oil dipstick was showing WAY over full, so I pulled the plug on the oil pan... and was treated to a very watery substance the color of a cappuccino before seeing very black oil. Definitely not good.

I put the plug back in with enough oil still in the pan that it could run safely and we tried to start it. The funky switch inside the cab turned out to be a push- button start someone had wired in for some reason. My dad was visiting so he helped me get the thing to run sort of. It would run very rough for about 20-30 seconds before it would die. The gas in the tank is at least 3 years old so I attribute the not running very long to that.

After trying to start it a bunch of times we checked the oil again... it was back to over full... really not good.

During the times we tried to start it, we could hear a knock in the motor as well; almost like someone hitting the block with a small hammer. So the plan from here is to remove the head and see if the water was from a blown head gasket or a cracked block.

Also, thanks for the pictures of the rusty's control arms; pretty sure that's what they are. Is it possible to add a flex joint at one end?