I'm a new-ish owner of a '98 4.0 XJ 4WD with ~210K miles, making me a first-time Jeep owner as well. It was given to me prior to the storm with the understanding that it needed some work done. Shortly after Helene, the need for another means of transportation became urgent, so I got her running again and have been going through making repairs where needed. I came here because it was commonly cited as friendly toward newbie owners and I don't have time for snobs. I feel like I'm going to need to tap into the wealth of knowledge here, so I'm glad to be part of the community.

Repairs done so far:
Crank position sensor (giant pain in the a**)

Harmonic balancer (the failure of which led to overheating and subsequent crack in radiator, which I think has been patched, if not Ill be replacing it too)

Currently working on valve cover gasket, but in the process of getting all the rocker bolts torqued to specs, I must have overshot and broke a bolt. I got super lucky and was able to retrieve the pieces. Ordered 6 more from Mopar, now I just need to figure out what went wrong with the torque wrench. Once all the rockers are set then I can finish the valve cover gasket. If the oil leaks don't dry up after that then I'll be moving on down the engine looking for the culprit.

On the menu:
Flush and refill of all systems (rad, brakes, front and rear transfer cases, trans, etc.)

New distributor, wires, and plugs.

Once she's reliably drivable and caught up on all recommended maintenance and repairs, then I'll dive into some of the more fun aftermarket stuff.

 

Welcome. I found my way here some time ago after joining a few of the other forums and finding very little in the way of activity. This forum is a bit slow but large numbers of regular posters on here and a great resource to solve difficult and challenging issues.

Post some pictures!

 

welcome aboard