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A few months ago, I picked up a trashed-out 1988 XJ 4wd 4.0 for $1000.
The good:
Runs well, transmission shifts well and the rest of the drivetrain is in good shape...for the most part.
The bad:
Most of the steering parts were worn out.
Most of the hoses in the engine compartment were rotting
Brakes were toast.
The interior was toast.
Passenger door welded shut.
Some bad electrical to lights all throughout.
The ignition key is stuck in the ignition, even after replacing the ignition cylinder.
The exterior paint was completely toast..
It was a total Heep and ugly!..but it runs strong!
I replaced most of the hoses, all of the fluids and filters, replaced much of the ignition system, replaced the brakes, replaced the steering components and replaced some of the fouled wiring.
Because I don't want to be seen driving a rust-bucket, I sanded down the whole Jeep and painted it flat black with gloss blue trim...
...and the interior was toast, so I scrubbed it out, fixed what I could and painted the interior plastic trim semi-gloss black and replaced the headliner..
There is still a ton of work to be done, but it looks way better now and runs solid. I feel much better driving it now and I think that the Jeep drives better because it feels better about it all too!
Next on the list;
New tires, 3" lift and suspension replacement, fix all electronics and add touchscreen + GPS and audio system, some offroad lighting, and I am going to try to find a deal on a front winch bumper...
The Illuminati Pursuit Vehicle! (not to be confused with the ever-popular zombie apocalypse routine..)
That headliner reminds me of a trip I once took.
But I survived the 70's and 80's.
Nice start!! Figured out why door is welded?
I think the door had been left open and the Jeep either backed up into something that caught the door and swung it past the stop and broke the hinges off of the pillar...or the door was left open and something drove into it.
I would have already pulled the door off and put a JY door on it but I can find where the welds are at so I can't cut them apart. :/ I might just try to cut the whole door off or maybe take it to a body shop and have them do it for me...
Having the door stuck shut is like girl repellent...which is OK for me right now because it is slowing down all the womanizing I might do otherwise....
I have been busy taking care of some of the little stuff that needed to be done..
New windshield. (This made it feel like a brand new vehicle!)
Window tint
Started with putting in better interior lighting..blue LEDs! (but some a-hole stole a bag of the parts I was using... $40 of wire and lights and other electrical stuff I was going to put in..)
Fuel filter and new air filter.
Rebuilt the heavy gauge wiring from Battery to block ground with 4ga and battery to starter with 8ga. Going to do the firewall to block strap next. I would have already done that but I need a u-joint adapter for my socket wrench...because the thieving scumbag stole my last one.
Replaced the power steering pressure and return hoses. This was really annoying because the fittings require a 23/32" wrench but I have never seen such a thing. I am not convinced that car engineers are all that smart...not corporate-type ones anyway. Is it really that hard to use common and standard sized hardware?
I am saving up for a lift kit, probably 3" but I might do a 4.5" instead with longer control arms and track bar and such...and with new leaf springs. Good tires and maybe new wheels too.. Also, I hope to put a proper front bumper on that has recovery points. Some HID lighting too.
Things were going great!...was adding LED lighting inside and trying to get my brake lights fixed....going good...until the brake light switch on the brake pedal moved and the circuit got shorted out causing a bit of a fire...
Hooray for fire!
I got out and pulled the ground strap off of the battery to stop it..... Yum! Smelly smoke!
Had to rebuild part of the interior wiring harness. Mostly successful...but now I need to redo all the wiring for the brake lights and related lights.
Today I added a Putco headlight relay harness in preparation for adding a switch panel that will power the headlights H and L, the exterior marker lights and the interior lights and accessories. 2 more open switches for soon-to-be LED light pods and whatever else I may want in the future.
I also completed the front brake replacement that I had bought parts for about a month ago. Rotors and pads. Very easy to replace once I figured out that it requires a 7mm allen wrench instead of the more common hex bolts....
I have been wiring in accessory outlets too...there wll be some fun computing gear inside when I get it where I want it! Communications and navigation stuff...
The headlight relay harness from Putco worked great! Quite a bit brighter headlights now and totally worth the effort and $. Probably the best value upgrade a Cherokee can get!
The thieves took my can of wd-40 so Iused some spray-on olive oil on the axle end and lugs to help get the brake rotors seated on the knuckle. Olive oil smokes at low temperature and this smoke caused me worry after I was trying to break in the new pads with the new rotors. All is good though and the Jeep stops way better now!
Brake lights are working as they are supposed to be now, and most of the wiring for the exterior lighting has been replaced with better. The soon-to-be-delivered 6x rocker switch panel will allow everything to be wired up and nice and clean and in good working order...
From there, everything should be working up-to-snuff!
This Jeep had sat out in a field for a few months and was a total mess when I got it. The PO had done a fair bit of hack-job wiring to the lights in and out and most of them did not work. Including stop lights, marker lights, turn signals and license plate lights. The rear red lights had been spliced into an always hot lead in the fusebox and I was just putting the fuse in and removing it to get the lights on.
Well, all that became a disaster and a short did a bit of damage that I have had to repair....
I have spent the last 10 days or so going through the entirety of the lighting and relating wiring and harnessing, rebuilding about half of it...all to be relayed and fused then routed through a switch panel.
It is solid now and all cleaned up, wired for safety, reliability and expandability... 2 extra switches available for more lights and stuff! ..and way easier to wire that stuff in!
...I added a Putco headlight relay harness to relieve pressure on the switch panel and produce better voltage to the headlights making them much brighter!
With all new lighting and a brand new windshield as well as the rest of the windows freshly tinted and clean, the Cherokee almost feels like a new truck!
(except for the several different rattles and squeeks...)
Today, I started out trying to cut and fold the front fenders to make room for these tires which are too big. The front left fender went easy as can be...just be careful with the angle grinder and cutoff wheels.
I then tried to the passenger side and got stumped by the locking lug stripping out and my inability to get the wheel off. Never again going to use that style of lug lock... Sheer stupidity....
For comparison...
Last edited by Crazy 8s; Mar 10, 2015 at 09:40 PM.
Then I tried to do something different...make a chameleon vehicle.
White/light blue from the front...
...
...and black from the side....
Still a lot more to do!!!
This odd paint job may look weird but it is highly practical. The lighter colored semi-glossy roof and hood keep the engine a slight bit cooler and the cab noticeably cooler.
Because the lug lock stripped out on the right wheel I had to take it to a shop to hammer out the lug. Took him 3 minutes with an air impact chisel...and it didn't harm the stud!
$10 well spent...
Drove it home, took off the wheel...removed all the 10mm nuts on the inside of the fender flare then pried it off...got out the angle grinder with a thin cutoff wheel and sliced slots around the fender then hammered it all back with a $2 rubber mallet.
Total cost...about $20 to do it all...and a bit of sweat and griminess.
...and no longer do the tires rub on stuff when turning! Plenty of room now!
IPV - Illuminati Pursuit Vehicle
(not to be confused with the ever-popular zombie apocalypse routine..)
Mostly successful...but now I need to redo all the wiring for the brake lights and related lights.
