Having just gone through the same process with not a lot of prior XJ knowledge, THIS is the one bit of advice I wish I had followed. The condition of my coolant is NOT giving me warm fuzzies about the engine, although so far it seems to be solid. Not quite 5000 miles on it since I picked it up, no problems yet.

With that said, I would get an engine swap on it ASAP if it blows, and have already begun squirreling away the money for it, just-in-case. The body, transfer case and transmission seem solid. Only light surface rust on floor pans, and not much of that. Solid frame rails.

My only regret so far is thinking I paid about $750 too much. If the engine dies, I will figure I paid $1500 too much. If I get 50000 miles on it as is, I'm golden. Needs a good throttle body cleaning and new plugs/cap/rotor/wires. Soon as I get a few warm dry days. And the O2 sensors next summer.

There are few new 4x4 vehicles comparable, and all of them are priced way above my budget for a beach toy. Not sure if there are any new vehicles that I like, maybe a full size truck. Sticker shock warning there.

I wanted an automatic, operating the clutch is painful on my bum left knee. Aside: Getting old sucks but it beats the crap out of dying young!

Good luck.

 

I just got my first XJ, '94. 2dr with 4.0. 5 speed manual, very clean inside and out. Dana 30 in front with 8.25 rear axle. I'm thinking a 3" lift with 31"s. Any info on those axles?