Daniel_jeep

Hi guys, new to the forum.

i've owned 3 cherokees previously, this is our 4th. everything before this had been modified, and high mileage with issues. it took a little patience, but snagged this deal within a 2 hour drive for $4,200. the ad wasn't even posted for a full 24 hours. it's a 1999 cherokee classic with 15X,XXX miles. everything seems to be solid, including the floors and unibody. it needs some minor TLC which i will address here shortly.

current known issues
-passenger side leaf spring is busted (3.5" rubicon express lift ordered with new leaf packs to fix this)
-wrong sized battery
-headlight out
-someone had it repainted, rockers may have some bondo in them. will address the rockers shortly.
-factory radio doesn't work

CantDrive55

I miss being stock and clean sometimes. Your paint is in good shape, take care of it while you can! Mine's cracked and peeled everywhere. Take care of that rocker rust before it eats through or you'll be kicking yourself over it in a year or two. Ask me how I know. That being said, i'm excited to see your progress!

EDIT: Didn't see that you said someone had it repainted and that the rockers may be pieced together. Hopefully it isn't too bad!

Daniel_jeep

yes unfortunately, i'm a landscaper so coming out of winter- funds are a little limited at the moment. rockers will be solved ASAP, i plan on doing weld-in rock sliders in place and either paint matching them or just black. everything seems to be pretty clean on this one, it does bother me that it was repainted, but i doubt i could have found a cleaner one in ohio without waiting and paying a premium.

Daniel_jeep

this week i picked up a set of wheels/tires for pretty cheap, tires are 31x10.50r15; mickey thompson atz.
also installed a new battery and the factory battery tie down that was underneath the drivers seat along with a new passenger headlight & oil change.

waiting on the lift to arrive next week.

XJIrish4x4

Looking good and be nice to see it sitting on those 31's and lift soon.

Daniel_jeep

can't wait. figured i'd share my last two cherokees, i really enjoyed the red one- lifted 3" & on 31's even though it was a rusty piece of junk. i had a little trouble deciding on lift size, but chose the 3.5" rubicon because i felt 31's are sufficient for the wheeling we do and still being road friendly. if i ever want to upgrade, i can easily stuff larger tires with a little fender trimming later on down the road.



trail #22 from windrock park, one of my favorites.






carryville flats @ windrock

J_Irish85

oh wow awesome pics wish I had somewhere to ride like that. Not much choice around where I live?

Daniel_jeep

where are you at? we're from columbus ohio and theres really nothing in our state, or within a 2 hour drive worth mentioning, just a couple small parks and lots of folks wheel unmaintained county roads in southeastern ohio. windrock is a 6 hour drive for us.

Daniel_jeep

went to walmart and purchased a $20 head unit w/ bluetooth... spent another $13 on a cheap mounting kit.
finally i have some tunes to listen to! (still waiting on lift)


wiring diagram i used, easy installation

Daniel_jeep

i know its been a minute, i have been super busy lately and just got my jeep back from being lifted. i dropped it off 4-18 & picked it up 4-28, in my opinion 4wheelparts is just meh. that's another subject. anyways, i took it out saturday the same day i picked it up, it ran great. the transfer case is making quite a bit of noise now so i plan on dropping it this week along with servicing the diffs.



day i picked it up after the 3.5" rubicon express lift, sits a bit higher in the rear than i would like-

Daniel_jeep

changed the fluid in the rear diff and added a new plug since it was leaking, sprayed the diff cover with some flat black paint i had laying around and baked it in the oven for 10 minutes on 170 to cure the paint.

Slackdaddy

Just read the thread,,
I guess XJ's are starting to become "collector cars",, cause when you look at it from a strictly "automotive/transportation angle,, 4200 for an almost 20 year old vehicle, with 150K miles, broken leaf spring,, rust in the rockers?
3 years from now, they "endless supply will have dried up, there will be none in junk yards for parts, and a clean (ish) XJ with 250K will fetch 10K+

Daniel_jeep

ha, i can only hope. i get sick of all the "i paid $500" for mine posts on Facebook, i overpaid for this one no doubt, but i also know that finding decent xi's in ohio is becoming tough.

Daniel_jeep

alright guys, heres the rundown. since i purchased, it has always had a shutter noise in reverse- i never knew what it was. after lifting it @ 4 wheel parts- told me that my transfer case was making noise and the driveshaft was causing a slight vibration when i picked it up. okay, great. after taking it on its first little trip, i noticed that it made a screeching noise when off the gas and coasting, even more so at 55mph.

i picked a np231 with 140k off a friend and swapped it in the other night. I immediately noticed the transfer case i pulled looked rebuilt, oh well. i swapped them anyways. took it for a spin and the noise is still there. i'm certain its the cardan joint going bad, but now i have a horrible vibration that appears only when I'm on the gas. its bad. no i didn't chalk the driveline, or such. what should i do? i figured rebuilding them with all new u joints and a double cardan would be a start- but i don't wanna keep throwing money at this damn thing for nothing.

also, on my way home the upper radiator hose let loose and started pissing coolant everywhere- lovely.

Daniel_jeep

the output on the transfer case i swapped in was bent causing the vibration ended up swapping the transfer case i took out back in. i dropped the driveshafts off at driveline 1 for a rebuild & balance hoping to fix any noise or vibrations for good. now, i seem to have stripped two of the crossmember bolts. i have never used a tap & die before so i'll probably drill them out, drop bolts through the floors and throw nuts on the end. now my alternator is bad too, trying to decide if i wanna grab one from auto zone or just throw a junkyard one in for now.