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It's been awhile
Hi all,
I used to be on this site almost daily for a long time, and at one point I was even in the top 5% of posters I think. About three years ago I got a promotion, and it was decided by my boss that I needed a nicer vehicle to haul clients around in, so I picked up a 2011 Grand Cherokee 4X4 Limited, which has been my daily driver ever since. I immediately set about making it NOT look like a suburban housewife grocery-getter, and the XJ just sat in front of the house going almost nowhere for about 2 1/2 years. At any rate, my wife and I decided about 6 months ago that if I was going to keep the XJ (and she DEFINITELY wanted me to) I needed to drive it once in awhile. So I started the process of getting everything ship shape, starting with cleaning lots of accumulated trees sap off the exterior, and leaf and acorn debris out of the roof gutters and body gaps around all the doors and windows. I also did a tune-up, got the trans rebuilt, and replaced some bushings that had dried out and cracked, among other things. Going through all this got me thinking, so I dug around in our filing cabinet for my records on the XJ and started putting together a list, with material costs if I had receipts or could remember. I did almost all the labor myself except the trans and rear axle. I think at this point I could have picked up a decent used JK for what I've poured into the XJ! It's a bit of a "sleeper." It doesn't appear to be much different than stock, and isn't some hacksawed-uber-lifted-bubba-rig. But if you go through the list you'll see that almost all the mechanical bits except the front axle have been replaced, rebuilt, and/or upgraded. I've been trying to find a good white drivers front fender to replace the dented one, but I've focused on making sure it was mechanically sound first. I'll probably keep this in the family and pass it on to a niece or nephew down the road. My wife and I have a lot of good memories of our adventures in the XJ, including a drive from Dallas to Hot Springs for our honeymoon, and while teh Grand Cherokee is lot nicer and easier to drive on a daily basis, there's something about sliding in behind the wheel of the XJ every once in awhile and taking it for a jaunt around town. I bought it back in late 2011, and had it road worthy by early 2012, and drove it for about 5 years. It's now more than 20 years old, but like a great pair of your favorite jeans, it just feels good. Here's "The List"
In addition, I have the following items waiting to be installed.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...0d84d1fa2a.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...0f18745235.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...387dcb05c2.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...eca2f74a71.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...6219fafa75.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...dcf92ef8d2.jpg |
I do get questions on the WK2 Grand Cherokee. Here's some info (I have this in a list with line breaks on my PC, but it refuses to stay in list form when I post it here):
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Welcome back.
Both rigs look fantastic, I like the detailed list. Plenty of work went into making sure you would be less likely to have any problems down the road. That's the way I try to take care of my vehicles. Keep up the great work. |
Very nice fleet! Both rigs look killer. The XJ could become an appreciating asset one day.
How reliable has the WK2 been for you. That's probably the newest car I could stomach buying for myself. The 2011s still had the five speed auto, right? |
Nice looking set of Rides you have there!
I really like the hood treatment you did on the WK2! |
Originally Posted by Battle
(Post 3543278)
Very nice fleet! Both rigs look killer. The XJ could become an appreciating asset one day.
How reliable has the WK2 been for you. That's probably the newest car I could stomach buying for myself. The 2011s still had the five speed auto, right? Yes, the 2011 still has the 5-speed. Everything I read about the 8 speed told me I didn't really want to mess with it. So it was a toss up between a first year model redesign with a 3.6 Pentastar that didn't have any long term reliability info versus a trans that had numerous reported issues. So far it's been pretty good. I've had it three years and put about 45K miles on it. Last month the trans cooler / AC condenser combo unit sprung a leak, and I had to replace it. About 7 hours out in the garage, including having to vacuum down and recharge the AC system. I had to have one of the cats replaced two years ago. $180 with labor. The brake booster also failed under a known recall/TSB and was replaced under warranty. Outside of that, no issues, and it is sitting just under 120K miles. |
Originally Posted by RockinRonnie
(Post 3543282)
Nice looking set of Rides you have there!
I really like the hood treatment you did on the WK2! |
I also forgot to mention that I just installed axle shims to tilt things up so that I could install a brand new Tatton double cardan drive shaft with 1310 Spicer joints ($280). While I was doing that I replaced the trans mount and one of the motor mounts.
I've also got an Azzy transfer case adjustable shift linkage assembly coming this week. |
Originally Posted by macgyver35
(Post 3543871)
I also forgot to mention that I just installed axle shims to tilt things up so that I could install a brand new Tatton double cardan drive shaft with 1310 Spicer joints ($280). While I was doing that I replaced the trans mount and one of the motor mounts.
I've also got an Azzy transfer case adjustable shift linkage assembly coming this week. |
Originally Posted by GreaseMonkey17
(Post 3543873)
Same Mac from NAXJA? |
Originally Posted by macgyver35
(Post 3544035)
Not that I'm aware of. I occasionally got on NAXJA in years past, but I'm not sure I ever signed up as a member. Maybe I did and just don't remember. At any rate I would not have been a common sight there.
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