I've been wondering since I sold my manual single cab 2wd f150 if buying a manual 4x4 Cherokee with the proceeds was a retarded decision or not.

I've put maybe 1000 into it and still need to fix some things, but damnit if I don't love this truck. I'm in Houston and God has been pissing on us for weeks. Day zero was right after I sold the truck and right before I bought the jeep. I couldn't even go to work .


Since then I've been dying to get some real rain and try out the wicked windshield wipers but been working passed prime time when the streets are dry and its only drizzling.

Well, today was the day. Not that my truck couldn't do it, but I drove through some pretty nasty stuff today. Saw 3 probably fatal accidents and a couple not, and half a dozen stalled cars. Some were in deeper than I wanted to chance, but the ones I passed I offered help to. No takers since I can't tow anyone yet. More **** to buy....

Anyway, nacogdoches has gotten beat up, too.I've got a few hundred acres out there I'm going to this rainy weekend. Gonna paint my white truck red!


All that wrenching, and I'm having an incredible weekend to appreciate my efforts.


Oh, main thing to fix is my leaking windshield. Drips right onto my left leg.

 

Have fun with it and hope that leaky windshield hasn't caused a lot of rust you can't see when you pull the windshield.

 

Me too. I am trying to find a supplier for all the moulding on the doors and windows. The rear gate leaks when it is lifted, too. Not major leaks, just some drops here and there. I want to replace all of that stuff so I don't constantly have to worry about new leak locations.

 

Drat! Radiator started puking coolant. Jy didn't have what I wanted so I picked up a cheap aluminum one from autozone and installed it. Heading out tomorrow morning. I will this wheel this weekend!

 

Between http://www.morris4x4center.com/ and http://www.rockauto.com/ they should have you covered if those seals are made tho.

 

OK. Wheeled. What was tough in 2wd is boring with 4wd.










The aluminum radiator works great on the road, but for crawling it is inadequate. I had to pause in some spots and kick on the hneater to prevent temps greater than 230f. Not bad for 100$ if you're in a pinch but avoid otherwise.

 

I'd get hood vents if you're going to wheel that XJ.

 

"The aluminum radiator works great on the road, but for crawling it is inadequate."


Even the factory cooling system and components are barely adequate. BUT if the system is kept in 110% top shape it will work just fine. Here's is a reference for the system components. Parts can be gotten cheaper.


http://www.morris4x4center.com/jeep-...herokee-xj.htm

 

Awesome, thanks for the links. It's amazing how fast the temperature drops when you kick on the heater.

I think after driving her ~560 miles at 70-75mph most of the way, and doing a thorough test of the suspension I kinda don't feel like she's going to explode or fall apart anymore. It was a lot of work getting to that point, though.

The transfer case was giving me some trouble. 4HI was fine, but 4LO was a PITA to get engaged even when rolling at 2-3mph like the manual says. It kept kicking out if I hit a bump or something, but once you got it engaged well it was a dream, just slowly crawling up and down things.

Some old guys trespassing came up to the top of that "mountain" while I was up there. Almost sold the jeep for 20k. Probably would have if I had had some whiskey with me.

 

The aluminum radiator should be just fine. Its probably your clutch fan that needs to be replaced if its overheating at low speeds. Very easy and cheap.

 

Thanks Bocefus,

I did some digging on to how to tell if the clutch needs to be replaced.

I'm guessing this is a suitable guide to diagnosing a fan clutch.

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/fan-clutch.htm

Per that, the resistance on the fan seems ok. It doesn't spin freely with the engine off, but it does spin if you fling it hard.

I can't really tell if the fan ever changes in RPM. It pretty much spins fast all the time. I'll take a better look at that when I get home. Maybe the clutch isn't actually fully engaging and the thing should be spinning even faster when the engine warms up?

No real looseness or vibrations in the fan.

No leaks.

The fan makes a nice roar, drowns out most everything under the hood.

AC works fine, even when engine is over 210.

 

That was a fantastic recommendation. I replaced the fan clutch on Wednesday. I put the XJ through a lot this weekend, temps in the afternoon between 98-103, AC on max the whole time, lots of crawling ~1k RPM or less, and lots of idling. Needle sat at 210 the whole time. I was shocked.

I replaced the factory one with one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FQ0FKO...prd_ttl_sol_16

Thank you, sir!


Look ma, 3 wheels!