Mechanically Declined

Hey everyone, I bought my first car since hight school (10 years ago) and pulled the trigger on a 98 XJ with 96k. I've got tons of questions and will be trying to lean a lot about these old classics. The guy I bought it from works on a lot of jeeps. It reportedly has new brakes, coil and springs, new shocks, new A/C, radiator, alternator, JCR steel rear bumper, HD off-road unibody stiffeners, and a new headliner among other things. Only lifted like an inch.

(I tried to pull a picture from my phone on here, but it's not working...will have to upload to computer I guess).

So far she runs great! No oil leaks or anything. The seller has had a lot of these XJ's and works on a lot of them. In drove it from TN back to KY about 65 miles and the only thing I noticed was a low pitch HUMMM around 65 miles and hour and over. Hopefully new tires will fix this as the one on now are fairly worn. The body has some dings here and there (going to try the hot water/plunger trick to pull out a passenger little side dent) but over all it's in pretty solid shape with almost no rust besides the exhaust. I think I'm going to make separate threads for the things I want to do to it like new tires and fog lights, maybe seat covers if I can find some that fit. I'm here to learn and get the most out of this Jeep. Hopefully with time I will have the knowledge to make this gal last another 150k or more. Happy to be an XJ owner, there isn't much out there that has this mix of ruggedness, reliability (so I've read)and capability, especially for how cheap these things are.

'00 XJ

Welcome. Good to have you on the forum.

You mentioned dents. Had a couple dings removed by paintless dent removal, and they looked great afterward. One of them spanned the factory horizontal crease in the front passenger door. Came out great. But you have to find someone really good. Passed on a couple guys, saying I needed it sooner. Which was true. But whenever someone said they were too busy, I asked who they'd take it to.

Mechanically Declined

Thanks for the info! I've never heard of Paintless dent repair? I'm guessing they are everywhere? How much did it cost you?

'00 XJ

It was around 110 bucks or so, Several dents.

I tipped the guy also. Usually comes with a money back guarantee, but get it done right the first time. Makes it harder if somebody experiments first. Use an established shop, not hail storm chasers.

There for sure are PDR shops in the cities. Maybe check with a car dealership you trust, or a few you don't, as to who they use. Or, ask some of the forum guys in your area.

I had my hood done, later on. It was a Reflexxion cowl hood. I tried to buy one 8 years ago, searched for one since. Finally found one.

The local garage assured me they could put it on, and they did good mechanical work. Learned the hard way the owner/mechanic had a some kind of problem. Dinged it up badly. His staff even seemed put off.

Well, drove it to a PDR shop in Amarillo on Western. My wife's family lives in the panhandle area. The PDR shop recommended Dennis at Dent Clinic. Came out perfect. Took my outrage down a bit.

The garage where I had it painted was amazed. Rt 66 Autobody in Flagstaff - just awesome folks . Took it to them, originally, but they didnt do PDR.

The hood has two layers of steel at the back edge, and other tricky spots, which must have been difficult. But I wanted the steel to be right, didn't want any body filler in a hood.

So I made a long drive to get it done right. If the shape and condition of underlying steel doesn't matter, or you don't care about the existing finish, traditional body work is fine.

Willys55

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