gruenlich

Looking for advice. A few months back, I totalled my beloved XJ, and have been trying to replace it since. I found a great XJ for a great price, and was all set to buy it, when the guy called me and said that he's going to keep it.

Looked around, and found a '93 ZJ Laredo which needs a little work. I'll have to put on a bumper, RF fender, and headlight. It also needs a battery, windshield, new tires, and radio. It has the V8, is an automatic.

Just what am I getting myself in to here? It is full-time 4wd, but I have no idea what t-case is under it, or what to expect from that, the transmission, and even how reliable the V8 is. Are there any major common pitfalls that I should be looking for? I've looked at it once, didn't drive it, but he started it for me, and it sounded fantastic, I'm just wanting to look before I leap.

Thanks! Ian

troy fritz

Check the uni-body frame rails for rust holes. They are notorious for the frame rails rotting away.The 5.2 318 V-8 is a great motor and will last almost as long as a 4.0.My mom had 3 318s growing up and put 2 to 300,000 on all 3 of them and they still ran good when she sold them.Not to mention all the other 318 we've had in the family.With all that body work needing done I hope your getting it for really cheap.

gruenlich

Oh yeah, I'm paying $800 for it, and he's done most of the work to the body behind the fender already. Hopefully the replacement will just bolt right on. What should I do with the plastic cladding, that's the one thing that I've never liked about the Grand Cherokees, it's all faded! Does it come off well, without any holes behind it?

troy fritz

You can get Back To Black and it will restore it to like new condition. I left mine on for parking lot protection. If you take them off you will get dings in your panels.It will restore any color trim ,not just black.

gruenlich

Ok, so I bought it yesterday, for even less than was previously offered. (I found some more things to fix, like the brakes!) Drove it home and got a nice friendly warning for driving without a tag...

It's a '93 Laredo, with QuadraTrac. The 4wd lever says 4hi full-time, N, 4lo part-time, iirc. What does this mean I have for a transfer case, and should I be worried?

EDIT: I see that I've got an NP249, so what are the pros/cons of this critter?

twinkdog586

they work good i had mine for over for 2year and i like it ive climbed really big hills with know spinning i wheel it all the time the down fall is that u cant spin tires cause its awd but thats me

boardmanXJ

np 249 is cheap and plentiful if you break one but they are also very dependable. one quick tip, since you have a laredo with a V8 you have ujoint style front driveshaft. it is very handy to keep atleast one front v8 driveshaft because they are hard to find. most ZJs had a CV stlye front driveshaft. also, the v8 trannies are extremely expensive to repair. and they are ZJ specific only. dodge half ton trucks have the same internals but the starter is on the oppsite side so the dodge tranny wont work. it does have a factory security system so if you disconnect the battery you will need to unarm the system by sticking the key in either front door or the liftgate and turn the key to lock and unlock a few times untill the lights stop flashing. thats pretty much about it. goodluck!

ironhead64

....."it does have a factory security system so if you disconnect the battery you will need to unarm the system by sticking the key in either front door or the liftgate and turn the key to lock and unlock a few times untill the lights stop flashing. thats pretty much about it. goodluck!"

x2 on this....i've had to do that several times. I've had my 95 Laredo for three years...118k right now and daily driver (some light wheeling now and then). All i've done so far is change the fluids regularly and one complete tune-up and she runs like a champ!

CRoading

Seems like a nice deal at $800...
What mods are you planning for your new vehicle?
Hope you could post some pics so we can see...

gruenlich

As requested, here's some pics!

Here's the good:


Here's the ugly:


After going through it with a fine-toothed comb, I've come up with an extensive list of things to fix... But who's ever bought a used car without one? Already I've removed most of the ugly window tinting, fixed the one non-functional power window, removed, pressure-washed, and reinstalled the front carpet, and cleaned every square inch of the interior. I just need the obvious body parts, a good tune-up, find/fix a transmission leak, tires, and a windshield. It's a good thing that I love working on my cars!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and there's the brake job too, it feels like the car is gonna shake apart when i'm slowing down at a moderate rate, though hard braking is nice and smooth.

Ian