MajorCollateralDamage

I've been lurking the thread for around a month and thought I'd join. It seems to be a pretty chill place with a lot of talented people. That being said, here's my Jeep story.

I have had multiple projects in the past, all of which I grew tired of and had no use for. I decided to scale back from quite a few vehicles down to two. My new car and DD, a diesel VW, and my other older project a supercharged grand prix.
The Pontiac got old quick, not because it had issues, but because I knew if I upgraded it I'd probably be getting tickets left and right and I really don't need that. (Still trying to sell it)

I bought a Jeep. I've always wanted an XJ since I was a kid. My parents had one and so did one of my uncles. I bought mine for $300.00 and got it running for $5 (pack of fuses) and cleaning all the grounds.

This one is in average condition for it's year (hey no rust) and I expected problems immediately. The problems being was sitting for around 2 years and a bit more severe one recently which I have already searched the fix for using your handy dandy search feature on the site.

The problems began when I started it, I was trying to get it to operating temperatures when I noticed coolant pouring off the driver side of the engine right under the intake manifold. It appears the waterfall of coolant is coming from where the cylinder head and the block (rest of the engine?) meet. I'm pretty sure it's not freeze plugs.

At this point I noticed some wacky Spy Hunter antics occurring. I had a genuine smoke screen POURING from the tail pipe. I think my buddy said my exact words were "friggin sweet". It has to be a cracked cylinder head or a really messed up head gasket. The smoke was white in color and definitely vapor in nature. I'm not exaggerating when I say smoke screen, it hot boxed the entire front yard.

I started damage control by immediately moving it where I could get it on a trailer or dolly. I only ran it like this for around a minute to get to the front yard. I assessed the Jeep and know I'm going to have to potentially sink some money into it to replace quite a bit for preventative maintenance, not to mention the already necessary repairs.

The good news is that a TON of things have been replaced. I have paperwork from the friend that I bought it from proving the transmission is only 20K miles young and the transfer case is right around there as well. Most every sensor (including the dreaded cam sensor) had been replaced, the look new. There's also very little rust and only one tiny dent.

I plan on using this as a "fun" vehicle. No big crazy wheelin' with it, although it will see some off road use. I go mountain biking and frequently need the capacity to bring some camping gear since I like to stay the weekend and ride the entire time. I also needed something that my kayak would go on easily. They both fit on my VW, it works decent, but I see the Jeep holding way more of my gear. The main use for it though is for caving. No, not taking it underground, getting to places where most vehicles will not go. This goes back to the needing to hold more people and gear since I never go alone. It can get dirty and I won't feel as bad since the VW is new. It can also haul my squadmates around when we go on those allnighter wilderness rescues.

There you have it, my Jeep story.


My planned modifications are:
As many LED light bars as I can fit
Bumpers
Winch
4.5" lift (not sure which one yet, possibly RE or Rusty's) (dunno if SYE yet)
31" tires
carpet removal and some tan bedliner
modern sound system
wiring up my valentine 1 detector
plastidip
CB radio
LED tail lights
some sort of body protection
some sort of small fender flares
headliner (I've got my fabric I work with textiles making rappelling harnesses)

That's about it....thanks for reading, I figured I'd make it something other than HI I BOUGHT A JEEP.

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XJwonders

Welcome!

madmanmarty

Welcome to cf from another cherokee & vw owner