Hello Jeeple. I have been using this forum as an educational tool for months while I researched the Cherokees in my area, and even more after I bought a black 1989 XJ 2 months ago. I am excited to fix the problem spots and make her proud like she used to be! I feel like a doctor at times, helping this poor vehicle to come back to good health. I have to admit, I am now officially obsessed with Jeep Cherokees.

So anyway, I try to fix something everyday, and it's coming together nicely. I bought her sight unseen from Craigslist for 1200. The owner seemed like a capable guy. He had installed a 3 inch lift and swapped the motor, so I felt like he knew what he was doing. He said it had minimal rust. First breakdown 1 mile down the road. Corroded brakeline. Second breakdown 50 miles later: loss of clutch fluid due to loose cap. Third (and last) breakdown: ignition coil.

After that we spotted a coolant leak and swapped the reservoir, and gave it a general tune up. I found and replaced a few vacuum lines that were completely blown, and a resistor for the blower motor that was completely corroded.

Bought Rough Country rear shackles with 2 extra inches to replace the broken rear shackle on driver side that the P.O. had been driving on for far too long. Removed old patches in the floorpan and cut out all rust, sealed, painted, and patched the holes with metal plates, riveted and siliconed. The mice had gotten into the wheel wells and ripped felt out from the carpeting in the rear, and it was a mess of bed rust and I fixed that too. Put on a new fuel filter, got a grease gun and hit the ball joints.

I feel better about this car every day, and look forward to the day I finish all the work it needs, but it needs A LOT. Almost every part needs focus, from the speedometer that doesnt work to the milky fluid that came out of the rear differential when I removed the fill plug. I am learning a lot and loving it, but there are definitely many questions I have that I can't find good answers for, so I hope to use this forum to solve a few headscratchers as I go along and find more strange things that can be fixed in my Jeep.

If anyone has a pdf of the 1989 repair manual I would love a copy... tried to buy it online but the form wasn't working. Thanks, can't wait to really start Jeeping! Meeba & Ted

Oh yeah, I got this Jeep to take my dog Amoeba hiking outside of the city. We live in Brooklyn and the Catskills are a two hour drive. So as I customize my Cherokee I will do so with dogs in mind.

 

Reminds me a lot of what I dealt with at the beginning of my build.
Keep er up pal!
Sounds like your in it for the long haul.
Check out my build thread. Looks like we had lots of the same issues.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/pb...red-xj-189166/
Nothing a few beers and a trip to the steel yard can't fix.
Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome

 

nice save on that XJ! I wish I had a metal shop like yours... great bumper and yeah, cold beer is a reward I treat myself to every step of the way

 

Welcome to the site!