chitown

Howdy folks,

I just joined the ranks of XJ owners last week with an all black 2000 Cherokee Sport. It's got the 4.0L/auto tranny w/100K, 3" RC lift w/ 31x 10.5 Pro Comps, really sharp (will post pix soon). I picked the Jeep up from St. Louis (I'm in Chicago) & it ran/drove great for the 300 mi. trip home, knocking down 20mpg. No poor handling manners & no vibrations. After driving around the city a bit, I noticed a few minor problems that I need to address. I'd like to pick the brains of whatever experienced Jeep owners would like to help a newb.

#1. Upon light acceleration from a stop, I can hear (not really feel) a light series of "knocking" under the trans for approx 1-2 seconds. It then goes away with no noticeable vibrations or noises afterward. I crawled around underneath when I inspected it & all the u-joints felt good. The rear slip joint seemed ok w/ what I would call normal play. I do not believe the T/C has been dropped but the rear axle has been shimmed. I have not measured the pinion angle yet. Has anyone experienced this & any ideas on what to look for.

#2. The other issue I had was a couple days ago & then again this morning (both days were damp). Upon start up, the engine was running a bit rough (normally ran fine on start up) w/ hesitation & even an occasional "pop" in the exhaust manifold. The check engine light flashed on & off a few times & then stayed off & ran fine. I'm thinking an O2 sensor but not 100% sure. Would there be a code stored that would indicate what the problem & how do I access that code?

#3. The steering wheel is off center at approx 11 o'clock. I do not see anything obviously bent with the tie rods or drag link. I've used the string method to adjust toe in/out before. I was thinking that I could check the travel left & right in the box, center the wheel & adj accordingly. Is this something that I could address myself or should I just take it to an alignment shop?

Once again, any experienced advice would be GREATLY appreciated & I hope to be able to provide the same assistance as I learn the ways of the XJ.

Thanx again,
scott

Bustedback

To adjust the steering wheel, just adjust the sleeve closest to the pitman arm. Park with the steering wheel at the position that it is normally when driving, loosen the sleeve and adjust until the wheel is where you want it.
You can pull codes by cycling the key three times and the code will show at the odometer readout.

chitown

Thank you very much! Check the codes & all will be revealed

chitown

Cycled 3x & no code at all, OD didn't change. Still running crappy upon start up. I think it's the O2, do you think it's time to change all of them?