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StealthyMcStealth paint condition wasn't a huge concern, but I wanted a color I liked and I didn't want something I was ashamed to drive. It is however in my top 3 cherokee paint colors. I have the feeling that I have a nice looking jeep that was barely maintained, so I might end up losing out on the drivability side of things.
Next on the agenda was to be able to breathe fresh air (not mildew) while inside the jeep - time to fix the windows.
I removed the door panel and took the master window contol apart to resolder the circuit board contacts, which got the power mirrors working....
I then pulled the door wiring and made repairs to some broken wires. I now have working power windows!
This probably wouldnt have happened if the door didnt open so far.
The wiring was kind of a pain in the butt, so I figured I better fix the reason behind the problem: the door check.
My Cherokee was missing the pin, the frame mount hole was wobbled out, and the door check itself was stuck in the door. Lucky for me, my kid had just decided to part out a cherokee, so I had something to rob parts from!
His door check was broken but had the pin and frame mount so I grabbed those. I cleaned the crud out of mone and lubed it up to get it mostly working. A couple hammer stikes and a pinch in the vise and all the pieces moved like new.
This is a door check. It limits your door from opening too far, and keeps it from self closing. Looks much better
I decided "What the hell, why not talk the kid out of his spare door wiring for mine." I had fixed mine, but who doesn't want to upgrade to better parts right? So I traded him.
The drivers door wiring harness
Looks like you have a pretty good start there. I am just getting ready to start a build on a 1988 Cherokee. I can relate to finding a clean Cherokee with minimal if any maintenance. When I changed the oil on mine it looked like black paint coming out and coated the oil pan like it was tar. Still seems to run o.k. so I am hoping to get lucky and get some life out of it. I live in Des Moines, WA.
Its coming along keep up the good work! Nice when you have spare parts around and a shop like yours to do the work out of the elements. Looks like you guys are for sure a Jeep family!
Suprmn we have projects with plenty of miles and years on them, they are bound to need work. I've already muttered a lot of curses at mine, but I know in the end that I will be quite proud of it. Good luck with your project.
Thanks XJIrish4x4, I am lucky about the parts jeep, and very blessed to have inherited my beatiful shop. I'm just happy my son comes out to borrow shop space and talk jeeps with me!
On to trying to figure out the death wobble. I shot up craigslist and found some cheap tires to get me by for a while while in the testing phase. They are studded, which will drive me nuts, but at least it's legal season to drive with them right now.
Passenger front had some odd wear toward the side wall I cleaned off the heavily worn spots on the drivers front tire to see it better. Im pretty sure that was my major death wobble cause. My ex-Les Shwab coworker says they probably never rotated tires. I mounted and balanced my newer tires and mounted the best original tire as a full size spare. Still need to clean my wheels and tires, but i got them installed for my test drive.
My new tires solved the death wobble! She handled pretty well and was way quieter. Quiet enough that I could hear a few differant noises while going over bumps. I talked the kid out of his parts jeep shocks and took mine off. The front right one seems to be the cause of one noise while going over bumps. It was smaller than the rest and the only red one. All four of them would compress and extend by hand but did not pressure extend by themselves.
After five minutes neither of my front shocks had extended. My replacement shocks extended pretty quickly but the bushings arent the best, still an upgrade though. My youngest (14 yr old) learning how to turn wrenches on a jeep.
She rode a lot softer down the road and the front right suspention noise was gone, but there was still quit a bit of noise from the rear while hitting bumps.
Awesome Dad/Son project to work on. Even if it is just getting five minutes of chatting bonding moment that is all it takes and those memories will last a lifetime. That is how I inherritated my mechanical skills because I surely do not do mechanical work as a profession. Besides I love doing it outside of work becuase it is my stress releiver/peace of mind. If I had to do it for a job I wouldn't care for it long.
Awesome Dad/Son project to work on. Even if it is just getting five minutes of chatting bonding moment that is all it takes and those memories will last a lifetime. That is how I inherritated my mechanical skills because I surely do not do mechanical work as a profession. Besides I love doing it outside of work becuase it is my stress releiver/peace of mind. If I had to do it for a job I wouldn't care for it long.
My oldest helped me for years and is now so capable that he's the lead "mechanic" of his friends. I really enjoyed all the times that we worked together on other projects, and I'm very happy when we get a few minutes to do it again. In fact, I'm building this Cherokee pretty much just so I can join him when he goes snow wheeling.
My oldest helped me for years and is now so capable that he's the lead "mechanic" of his friends. I really enjoyed all the times that we worked together on other projects, and I'm very happy when we get a few minutes to do it again. In fact, I'm building this Cherokee pretty much just so I can join him when he goes snow wheeling.
Life of being a father who never wants his kids to grow up! That and do we ever grow up lol. Love it man keep it up I do the same with my son and my girls are not shy of turning a wrench too! They are itching to get in the garage but mom seldom keeps them out. Tell you what my youngest is 3 and she does everything and more than the rest of them so I have no doubt she will be soon. When she first seen the XJ she said Dad is that yours and I said yes to go wheeling off road with. She replied and with me too!
Life of being a father who never wants his kids to grow up! That and do we ever grow up lol. Love it man keep it up I do the same with my son and my girls are not shy of turning a wrench too! They are itching to get in the garage but mom seldom keeps them out. Tell you what my youngest is 3 and she does everything and more than the rest of them so I have no doubt she will be soon. When she first seen the XJ she said Dad is that yours and I said yes to go wheeling off road with. She replied and with me too!
Lol... I raised three girls in a full blown repair shop. I used to bust them later on trying to play dumb with their new boyfriends and husbands because they didn't want to get their hands dirty. "Don't let her fool you, she could rebuild that engine right now if she wanted to."
12-30-2017, 10:38 PM
