I purchased a 1988 XJ 4 dr 2 months ago.
It is and always has been a southern Arizona car, NO RUST ANYWHERE. Only minor parking lot dings.
It has 126K on it, Interior is great, no wear, no tears. No power windows, seats Etc, just A/C and power steering.
It is 4.0 , 5 speed manual, 30x 9.5 tires with over 70 % tread remaining. No under body damage which to me indicated no off roading
First was the usual, Oil, filter ETC. plugs ETC,

UPGRADES
I have upgraded the injectors to 703's, installed a bored out TB, upgraded the under hood wiring with a '6 cable set" with 4AWG wires from Kelly's, with a 100 amp fuse. The plug wires were upgraded to 8 mm wires, the dist cap was upgraded with a unit that has all copper metal instead of the aluminum.

UPGRADES ORDERED
I have on order a Pacesetter header, a high flow Thunderbolt Metallic Catalytic Converter, a Performance-Curve exhaust system with a Flowmaster 44 muffler. a 3 inch lift from Rusty's Offroad with the 180 lb front coils. and upgraded short control arms.

FUTURE UPGRADES
31/10.5 tires BFG. (I had the 3 inch lift and these tires on my TJ and it went everywhere I wanted/needed to go).

Switching from the OEM 3.07 gearing to 4.10 gearing. (I am looking for the front and rear axles out of a 2.4 Cherokee)

Front bumper with winch and "D" rings
Rear bumper with tire carrier and "D" rings
Roof rack

PROBLEMS
Then it began. It would not start when it got Hot. Fixed that by replacing the Crankshaft position sensor.


The battery that came with it, a Wal Mart 560 amp went tit's up. It was replaced under warranty and I upgraded to a 850 amp battery. The largest I could get to fit in the battery tray.


Up next the 61 Amp OEM Alternator followed the battery as it also went tit's up. O"Rileys supplied me with a 100 Amp Alt with a lifetime warranty. these are the internal regulator type Alts


Yesterday when driving to town the clutch went out, The clutch peddle went all the way to the floor with no resistance.

It would start and run in gear so I am assuming it was the Hydraulic Slave cylinder, inside the bell housing.

I put fluid back into in the reservoir and it ran out on the ground from inside the bell housing. I checked and no external lines were broken.



So my concerns is Does it ever end ????????

I got it to replace my 98 TJ because of the TJ's limited carrying space
It is going to be my backup DD, mild off roading vehicle, carrying equipment to the shooting range, Ghost towns and prospecting areas.

 

Yes, it ends. I've put a power steering hose in my 87 XJ and that's it in the past year.

 

It definitely doesn't seem to end... I have almost 10 grand into my Cherokee and it's basically stock still...

 

IT will end.
Your just suffering a few issues right now.
Most of it is common replacement parts thats part of owning car.

I bought my XJ with a bad engine, and had a spare 4.0 for it.
I put it in and the first test drive of the engine it lost a water pump.
Then replaced the thermostat and pump, and found the Alternator was out.
Then I replaced the ALternator and Starter.
Add in a new serpatine belt for good measure.
Then I found out the kid I got it from busted the shift fork in the xfer case so I
tore it down and fixed that myself too.
Then corrected a shock issue from the OEM ones being to short for the lift.

I got it all caught up and I have literally spent 0 on repairs now for the last year.
So I still have less in it with repairs than most people would have in a year of car payments.

 

Payments or repairs are the two choices most get. Repairs are a lot cheaper than payments.

 

Never a more trueism posted

 

No it doesnt ever end. haha.
Question: why 4.10's in a 5 speed with 31's?

 

Your doing something wrong. Very very very wrong.

Because its peppy as all hell, and when you upgrade to the 33s you KNOW you'll eventually move to, your speedo will be fine, and you won't lack power.

It just makes 1st gear useless. Use 2nd as first and your better off.

 

But will also kill the already crappy gas mileage. Guess it depends on what you are going for mpg's or power.

 

Not when you have 33s.

 

But he didn't say anything about 33's, he said future mod's are 31's.

 

No, it never ends...

 

Never ends… just slows down. Maintenance & upgrades are always gonna be there. Even when you think, "ya finally the way I want it", you decide to move up to 35's and now you gotta upgrade axles and such. (True story)

 

depends on what kinda end you have in mind. the maintence will never end there will just be less and less of it. got to remember your working with a xj thats 26 years old.

or you could end it by selling it.

 

Basically nothing ever ends, nothing is constant in the universe but change, it doesn't end till you die.