andrewcx13

So i'm one saturday into owning this so far, and so far it's been pretty interesting to say the least.

it's a 96 jeep cherokee sport, 4.0 auto in red. it currently has a salvage title as the last owner rear ended someone with a bike rack and messed up the front. but it was somewhat fixed before i got it.

so far this is my battle plan for the truck, the goal is to make it into my fiance's dd when we move back up to nh in a few months. so i have some time to get it perfect, more than anything though it needs to be safe, reliable and i'd like for it to be presentable as she's going to need to use it to go on interviews, and well, it's a bit of an eyesore right now.

here's the original list, i'll x things off as i do them:
spark plugs (x)
wires (x)
distributor cap and rotor (x)
air filter (x)
sway bar links (i got one done so far)
brake pads and rotors (left side so far)
wheel bearing hubs
battery (x)
4 new tires (i think they're 31's)
fix blower motor
replace drivers seat (it's currently screwed down crooked with metal screws)
replace or paint drivers side fender and front grill (they are dark green, the truck is red)
fix drivers side door (this i'm going to need help with as it looks like an awful weld is holding the door to the chassis right now, it doesn't seal completely)
replace rear wiper arm (i broke this off this weekend accidentally)
remove locking lug nuts (i managed to lose the socket for it so i could only work on the left side yesterday and well, i'm going to just tear them off)
install speakers (currently has none)
undercoating the whole car
oil change


that's it to start.
so far this looks like someone tried to take care of it but failed on the important parts. definitely has some lifter noise that i need to take care of, the plugs and wires almost looked oem, the cap and rotor were loose enough to remove by hand. it just all look neglected under the hood.

no pictures yet, but i'll get some in a week or two (car is up in derry nh right now)

if anyone feels like helping feel free to chime in, i'd love to fix that stupid driver's side door thing

J308

In for pics as I'm looking for a restoDD also. Good luck.

andrewcx13

so no pics yet. again it was a busy weekend and i had a lot of time constraints. But still i got a lot done

finally found the locking lug nut key, so those will actually stay on now. tore out the wheel bearing hubs and replaced those. replaced the front brakes on the right side finally and the sway bar link on the same side.
This side was a lot more difficult to get the link off and i ended up having the bottom piece that slips over the torx bolt become separated from the aluminum insert trying to get it off. then i had to use a propane torch to heat it up and then clamp a set of vice grips on to twist it back and forth for it to come off.

the best part of the day was when i finished with the sway bar link, the right side brakes, both wheel bearings and the oil change, i back the jeep out of my dad's garage and the driver's side brake line blows up. so my dad grabs a set of vice grips, crimps off the metal line right at the manifold and i limp it down to my mechanic to have him replace it.

sure enough he puts it up on the lift and something else is visibly wrong. the brake shoes are so far out of adjustment that they don't even hit the drums and don't look like they've been touched in at least a decade, so he recommended that the drums, shoes and hardware all be replaced. as well he noticed a strong smell of gas while under the rear of the car and noticed that the new tank was installed by a moron who didn't hook up the sending unit correctly so it was dumping gas. yay!!!

getting it all fixed this weekend and then hoping it stays together for at least a few days

J308

I hate my drums so rather than fool with those I'll probably get do a zj rear disc conversion.

Any reason you aren't going that route?

andrewcx13

I guess i haven't done the research into changing them over.
any good links on that?

as well if i keep the drums i'm going to need new backing plates, does anyone know where i can get some or if anyone's selling a set please pm me.

the shoes, drums, and hardware for both sides were changed out last weekend. as well as the fuel filter as it was rusted almost right through. found out i'm going to need a whole new sending unit for the tank, lovely. idiot who put the new tank on left all the old parts attaching to it, seems very counter productive, and even bent the flange on the sending unit so it needs to be replaced now.