Help needed- New owner- 2001 Xj 4.0
 

Hello everyone,

I am the new proud owner of a 2001 XJ with a 4.0 I6 , five speed manual and four wheel drive. I apologize for the length of the email, but please bear with me:)), it's all technical;)

This specific car is an overseas version that was assembled in EGYPT, I've got some comments / questions that i hope the experienced members in this website can help me with:

- The car's trim level is ( country ) with VIN DA4FF48P614041820. This trim level and engine/ transmission combination as well as the VIN does not match with any build history or VIN decoders that i found online, although the vehicle is completely stock and unmodified. Any thoughts on that?

- The car has got only 30,000 miles on the clock, it belonged to an old lady and was stored / not used most of its life. Maintenance she did was only oil and sparkplug changes, maybe brakepads or so. transmission / differential fluids, etc..were never drained or changed. The car has never been off-roaded or involved in any sort of accident. All other mechanical items were untouched since the car was new.

- Although the car is in excellent condition externally I have the following driving comments after 2 days of intensive driving.

1. huge harshness and vibration felt from under the driving seat at all speeds above 30mph. The noise is not a whining noise but sort of mechanical harshness accompanied with high frequency mechanical vibration. The noise drowns the engine noise at full throttle and is very annoying while cruising on the high way. It seems to be coming from the car's " belly " somewhere near the transmission area.

2. General lack of power below 3000rpm, when i floor it at say 1500,2000 rpm in 2nd gear, the car seems very sluggish ( but no backfire or hesitation )until it hits 3000rpm where a sudden release of power occurs till the redline.

3. a very loud rapid clicking noise when the steering is at full lock during parking maneuvers at slow speeds. Similar to the of noise a stun gun or electric taser.

4. strong vibration in the steering wheel and brake pedal when braking from high speeds, although the brake pedal feel and braking itself is ok.

5. There seems to be some banging noise coming from the front axle when passing over heavy bumps.

6. very heavy clutch pedal, some noise &vibration occurs if the clutch is released slowly from standstill in 2nd gear.

since i want to restore the car to 100% condition,I went ahead and had a complete vehicle status report conducted by my local dealer. The outcome is a bit puzzling.They agree that all of the car's systems are in good/ excellent condition except the follwing areas.

1. They want to take apart the transfer case and conduct a rebuild!!. According to them thats the source of the vibration / harshness from under the seat. They cannot narrow it down to more than that without taking it apart first! your thoughts please, does this make sense?

2. They say the general lack of low rpm torque/ weak acceleration is caused by bad spark plugs ONLY!

3. They say the car need a new steering gear and power steering pump. ( in reference to the clicking noise )

4. new brake disks and steering damper for the vibration felt under braking

5. 4 new control arms for the front axles . They as well say there is some sign of accident damage to the front axle housing which affected one of the control arms. The weird thing is the the front axle is visually PERFECT! no sign of even a scratch! I lifted the car and tried to inspect for any sort of odd looking damage and there is none!.

6. New clutch , pressure plate and bearing for the heavy clutch pedal.


All other car systems checked: Engine, Cooling system, suspension, drivetrain, brakes, tires/wheels, exhaust system,electrics, body condition and paint are more than good as per the report.

I appreciate the inputs , thoughts recommendations of all the technical community in this forum. I am an experienced car enthusiast but new to SUV's and off roading, and i always thought the XJ is the only proper suv:)). so guide me though to restore it to excellent condition

Regards
Mostafa AG

Have u check the tires to see if they had eggs in them that could cause the vibration r even the drive shaft if it's off balance r bent just a tad .

The reason for the humming noise is if the is a 2001 and the 4 wheel drive has never been used it's because in the owners manual it tells u that at least every 2000 miles u put on it u r suposed to run the 4 wheel drive system at least 50 miles .

The shaking when u press the brakes at high speed is cause from warped brake rotters it caused from getting ur brakes hot and instantly get cold by water.

Its a Jeep, if its not squeaking, rattling, or leaking then you have somethin to worry about lol.

Not too technical myself, but I'd say try and change all the fluids, put in new spark plugs (Always good to do anyways), seafoam it, try to tighten the worm gear, and then see if any of the problems go away... seafoam first though. Also- I'd say take it to a mechanic, mine had really loose steering, took it to the dealership, "You need a new steering box!" Took it to a mechanic, "Just need to tighten the worm gear."