Mydadscherokee

Hey all! I've wanted an XJ for about 15 years, ever since my dad sold his white 2WD (which was supposed to be my first car but he figured it was too bad on gas. still mad about that). Now I'm finally in a place where I have the time and funds to own one. I'm extremely picky. I'm also kinda paranoid about stuff going wrong with the truck, which is why I generally don't look at anything older than 97-98. However, I just found what looks to be an amazing deal on an 86. I know that's old, but it only has 84k miles and looks to be in great shape. It's the "Chief" edition. Where I'm looking for advice is what to look for and what to expect. I plan on taking it for a test drive and looking under the hood. I've texted the guy and he says it's all original/stock and NO rust. Plus he's only asking 2500. It seems a little too good to be true but that's why I came here. Does this sound like a good deal or should I avoid a truck that old altogether? It's also been sitting on Craigslist for over two weeks, which is unusual for XJs in good shape.

Bugout4x4

Welcome! Man that sounds pretty good even if it needs paint, if all that is straight up and true. Just the engine would cost you that to have someone rebuild. I hope some more here can add their two cents... Main thing is the "no rust". Important to make sure he is not fibbing on this part. Go crawl around under it, look well, and be ready to say "never mind".

Mydadscherokee

Thanks for the warm welcome and helpful advice. I wasn't sure if it was so cheap simply because 86 wasn't a good year. Sound like it's a steal if everything he says is true.

Bugout4x4

Maybe Cruiser will drop in here... He is the absolute Guru on those earlier years and might be able to share more about those. But any decent running 4X4 of any make or model is worth at least that if true.

00t444e

I think the 86 had the v6 which isn't nearly as good as the 4.0 l6 is.

SirCyber

Welcome! I think you are right 00t444e, but that's not a reason to NOT buy it necessarily. Drive it. Get it to 50-60, make sure there's no death wobble. If there is you are gonna be on the hard track replacing steering components. V6 may be better than the I6 in this regard, but all Jeep's have documented death wobble. Give it gas hard, brake hard. Any stalling/pulling or failures here should steer you away. Check wiring. Under hood, under dash. Cut wires aren't bad... Grouped melted, RUN!! You will have a headache trying to trace down burnt wires, years in the making sometimes. Crawl over, under, everywhere. Look for rust. If it is dusty ruse, no worries. Flaking, not a huge worry on cast parts (thicker). Holes? You be the judge there.

RocketMouse

All good points made here... Give it a solid look over and under. A little surface rust on larger cast parts is normal, especial for the age. Well, most vehicles actually... but just make sure the minor surface rust is all it is.... you don't want an important part rotted through and breaking on you while you're driving it.
Before you drive it, slide underneath... look at the condition of things like the tie-rod ends, steering gear (for leaks), also where it attaches to the pitman arm, and definitely check the steering track bar for unusual play due to worn/rotted bushings. That's where part of the infamous "death wobble" comes from is those wearing out. Personally I'd check that before I drove it.
As for the reliability of the drive-train, I'd look up common issues with that specific setup for that year so that you know more of exactly what else to look for when you inspect it.