So, I had this little gem follow me home the other night. 93 2wd Country.


Had a 80 mile drive home so got a chance to see what she needs.
The good:
73000 miles
White paint in really good shape. Should buff out nicely.
Interior is all there and in pretty good shape. Even the "wood" trim.
No rust or body damage that I have found yet.
Runs and shifts smoothly.
New battery, fuel pump, brakes front and back,

The bad:
A/C blowing hot air
ABS light on
Needs tires. These are 12 years old
Paint faded on the flares and lower body cladding.
Brake lights not working
Headlights only works on one side high beam only.
Significant vibration in front end starting at 55mph
Tach not reading correctly
Radio not working.

Overall, this was the cleanest, lowest mileage XJ under $4000 that I could find in Houston. Most had 250-300K miles and significant issues. Best of all, I got it for a whopping $1300.

Plan for it is to be a toy for me to tinker with. Not looking to build a hard core off roader as it is 2wd, but want to give it some attitude. Going to catch it up on the maintenance with a full fluid change, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and coil, fix the headlights and brake lights, clean it up, new tires and wheels, and eventually Rhino line the lower cladding. Also needs a new headliner. Not because it is sagging, as the previous owner actually redid it. Unfortunately? She used a fabric she found on sale cheap and it is an interesting choice to say the least. Will have to post a pic and share.

 

Got a few minutes to tinker this evening. I figure I need to see what I'm workimg with. Underhood is a greasy? Oil covered meas. So, with only about an hour of daylight left, time to start doing some cleaning.



Using nothing other than Dawn Powerwash and a garden hose, sprayed it down and let it soak for a bit. I think the Dawn works better than a lot of Engine Degreasers.



Not too bad for dish soap and a garden hose. No pressure washer or rags were used. That is coming tomorrow.

 

Ordered in the last few days:
Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and coil
Brake light switch
Headlight switch
Thermostat and housing
ProComp 51 series wheels x 5
Cooper Discoverer AT 235/75-15 tires
Lug nuts and center caps.

Picked up local:
Oil and filter
Antifreeze

 

Pressure washed and degreased under the hood. Replaced the headlights switch that, while it did not fix the issue with the headlights, it did fix a little issue I was having with the Interior lights staying on all the time and the buzzer going off whenever it felt like it. Also pulled the radio out since the dash is apart.

I do have a question. What in the world is this thing in the ceiling near the windshield?


You can also see the headliner that was redone by the previous owner. Will deal with that soon enough.

Didn't get a chance to do much else because we had to do a brake job on my son's truck. Did front and rear new pads, rotors, shoes, drums, fluid flush, the whole shebang. After being in the 100+ degree heat all day, I didn't have it in me to do anything to the Jeep.

 

Brake light switch replaced. Brake lights work. Get the headlights working and I can get it inspected.

On a different note, anyone know what all these connectors are for?

 

The two smaller ones are for dash light bulbs, one is for fog lights switch, and the other is for the rear window defrost switch.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

The dome thing on the headliner is for the IR keyless entry system. Not reliable and the remotes are expensive.

 

Went through the brakes today. The previous owner stated they did brakes on all 4 corners, along with new calipers. Had some suspicion about the quality of the work when the fluid reservoir was nearly empty and the pedal felt like a soggy marshmallow. After getting it home, found some "extra" parts including the spring kit for the rears intact and a brand new set of brake shoes in the box that was in the back.

So, what we found was a bit scary. L rear was not done at all, R rear had new drum and shoes but used one of the shoes for the left on the right. Front brakes weren't much better. New calipers and pads on both sides, but nothing that indicated that the rotors had been turned. So, off to the parts store we go.

New front rotors, 1 new drum, scuff the new pads and shoes (less than 100 hwy miles) to remove any glaze, and then put it all back together right. Since it was all apart, went ahead and repacked bearings, and replaced all the shocks and steering stabilizer we pick up while at the parts store.

 

After a final bleeding of the brakes, time to mount the new tires/wheels.

 

Test drive went well. Great brake pedal feel, and after a few quick stops to break in the brakes, stops like it should. Ride is greatly improved. Got it up to 75 on the freeway with no vibration or death Wobble. Driving it home after buying it, any speed greater than 55 it would shake violently. I did check all the steering bars and linkages and everything is nice and tight. Thankfully these were some of my biggest concerns and now they are handled. Feels good.

Unfortunately, the test drive uncovered a new problem. On the test drive, temp started creeping up. I kicked on the heater and it brought it down enough to get back to the house. I already have a new thermostat and antifreeze and was planning to do that tomorrow. Thinking I should replace the water pump while it is apart.

I also did the home R134a conversion using the kit from the parts store. I didn't think my luck would hold out but it cools nicely now. I'm hoping there are no leaks and if so, another problem solved.

 

Changed out the plugs, wires, and coil. Was planning on doing the cap and rotor too, but had to stop working several times because of thunderstorms. From looking at the old plugs, I am surprised this ran as smoothly as it did.


Anyone more experienced than I want to analyze these for me?

 

Haven't been on in a bit. Let me catch everyone up.
Changed out thermostat, housing, temp sensor, and water pump. Old pump actually looked pretty good, so don't think that was an issue. Either way, it's cheap to replace. Flushed everything throughly. Still running hotter than I would like, but not overheating.

 

New Sony head unit ($80 Walmart special). Sorry, no pic yet on that one. Also got windows tinted. Then, discovered a small but developing exhaust leak from a rust hole in the

muffler. Stopped by a muffler shop, and an hour and a half later new muffler, tail pipe, and even a tip for show. Muffler shop even put my hitch back on that the previous owner removed when they did the fuel pump for an extra $20.

Also, removed the gold pinstripe using an eraser wheel and drill.

Now, it's time to detail it, do something about the baby blanket headliner installed by the previous owner, a speaker upgrade, and to do something about the paint on the cladding/flares.

 

And I almost forgot. Got the title changed and registration, so I'm legal now!!