Hello Cherokee Forumers,



New owner of a 1998 2 door, manual XJ.

The owner of this XJ passed away from a heart attack at the young age of 36 nine years ago. The owner's mother inherited the XJ. She was not able to drive anymore due to blindness from diabetes. My good friend is the brother of the previous owner who passed on and son of the current owner(his mother) and he parked it in front his house for the last nine years.

My friend drove it around as a third car for his family when they needed it. The Jeep needed a lot of maintenance work. My friend moved out of state and I let him keep the Jeep at my house and I decided to purchase it. I want to restore it a bit for them in remembrance of their brother/son and keep the Jeep 'close' to the family and get better at wrenching on a car.

What I have fixed, replaced or upgraded-
Driver's seat frame was broken in three places. I took it all apart and brought it to a welder who welded it all back together. I put the seat back together and it is good as new.
The parking brake lever was no longer staying up. I got one from a junk yard and replaced it so the parking brake now works.
The two center console screw 'towers' were completely broken. I ordered a metal stand online and replaced that so no more center console moving around.
The horns were not working. I found that the wires were unplugged and that was easy. Not sure why they were unplugged.....
The throttle body was not closing fully and had sensors stuck in them. Got a 62MM TB and new sensors and gaskets. That helped the Jeep breath a bit better and you can feel it a little bit while driving it.
Replaced the valve cover gasket since it was leaking. Added a valve cover spacer with two gaskets and installed Harland Sharp roller rockers. Might be a few HP added. They were expensive but I think it was worth it.
Cleaned the engine bay since it had oil residue on it from the leaking valve cover.
Cleaned the interior a bit.
Installed 4 port injectors from K Suspension. The Jeep had stock single port injectors that had been in there for over a decade.
Oil change.
Replaced the CCV/PCV valves in the valve cover.
Replaced spark plugs and wires.
Aired up the tires.

Next steps-
Replace the intake manifold with HO one.
Install a Banks header and cat back exhaust with a new, improved gasket.
Install a new fuel pump and a 97-98 ZJ 23.5 gallon gas tank. She struggles on start and maybe a few fuel pump will help. The increase from 15 gallons to 23.5 will be a nice range increase.
I want to flush the coolant system and look at the water pump, thermostat, radiator and make sure they are good or need a replacement.

Once the drivetrain is running a bit better, a little more power and range, I will focus on the looks and wheels and tires and I want to put some nice metal bumpers front and back for lights and a wench and grill guard. The front bumper is pushed in on the passenger side so doesn't look so good. The fender covers are not flush any more.

I am not sure about lifts or anything yet. I will take my time on that front. No rush.

I never thought I would be a Jeeper but this car made me a fan. It is fun to drive and climb over small things.

Thanks for the reading this post.
PR

 

There's a check valve that maintains fuel line pressure when the engine of off. Have a read of this thread, this "might" have some useful info...
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/fue...-valve-245929/

 

What a wonderful gift of time and energy you are giving your friends! I'm new here too. Good luck!

 

23.5 gallons after putting in 2.4 gallons from a fuel can to drive it to the gas station.

The old gas tank and fuel pump came out with a bit of a struggle.



I got the new pump and 97 Grand Cherokee gas tank installed.

This was my hand as I removed the filler hose and replaced it. This is how much carbon/grime had built up over the years.

I got the new tank installed and didn't have gas so I went to sleep. After work I got 2.4 gallons of gas in a gas can and put it in the Jeep. I got in and turned the key to the on position but the gas gauge moved to beyond full(odd) . I tried to start the Jeep and it would only crank and I didn't hear the pump prime when I put the key to the on position. A friend was coming over so I stopped working on the Jeep that night.

I got home after work the next day and climbed under the Jeep and disconnected the electrical connector and connected it several times. I got into the Jeep and it fired right up but the gas gauge didn't move. I drove it to the gas station and put in 21 gallons in. I turned the Jeep on and the gas gauge went well above F.

So it starts right away now, drives a bit better and reads the right fuel level. Total cost was around 400 dollars for these new parts-

Gas tank(25 year old 'new' ZJ tank)
Filler and Vent Hoses
Fuel Pump
Metal Straps

I need to take her out on a long drive to see if the fuel gauge and level sensor/arm works right.

Took me about six hours of work and I am a amateur mechanic at best but was worth it I think.