New to us XJ - Cant pass it up!

[keithc]

Hey all. So in one of these right place, right time deals... Family friends are selling us their 1998 XJ (no badges, so not Limited, Classic, or Sport?), 4-door, 4.0L, 5-speed. The thing has 165K on it, but its in great shape. Step mom used it before she passed away, commuting and general driving, no kids, no off-road, no long road trips, etc.

I'm going to use it for Amyanne and the family, allowing me to take BigBird off the road a bit more for some longer repairs, and generally save the beating she is getting in the winter. Has some rust developing and I really want to clean her up. And frankly, I just always wanted to own a 5-speed XJ.

Seriously, the only things wrong are:
1. Parking brake level broken and brake light on. Brake itself seems to work, but the ratcheting doesnt. Have to pull the console and explore.
2. CEL for P0463 (Fuel Level) and P0455 (EVAP Leak). Seems like they both point to a new fuel pump and maybe some vac lines to the charcoal canister. Doesn't seem to impact start of drive at all, just has the CEL.
3. Some surface rust on rockers and behind the rear leafs. Body is solid, so I am just going to wire-wheel the rocker and paint with something dark to hide the lower edge vs. trying to match the paint.

I see myself keeping it pretty stock, not meant to be a big wheeler. Might get tow hitch and front hook, maybe some skids... eventually when the tires run out, maybe do some kind of AAL to get ~2" lift and put a 30" AT on there. REALLY going to resist the urge to beef it out, since I really want it super smooth and best mileage I can get.

So, given we only owned a ZJ for a year or so way back, and never did anything with it, I am open to thoughts, advice, warning, etc... Merry Christmas to us.

-Checca

[nostaw]

Nice score Keith!

Good to see you're still alive out there.



JW

[95xj]

Nice score dude. If you need any help in How To Treat your xj...just let me know!

[ZAEDOCK]

Good to see you're still alive out there.

Huge X2 dude. Hope you guys are doing well!


I think you'll like having an XJ. They're great vehicles.
Michaela has a 2 door 4.0L/auto.

[keithc]

Something completely wrong with the statement "Michaela has a *vehicle of any kind*'. Unless she is still like 10 and you are helping her fix it up.... *Insert last memory of her being about 6 here*

Guess its been a while. I/We are alive and thriving. Hope to see everyone on some trails more in the next year.

-Checca

[ZAEDOCK]

Michaela is 17, going on 25 and Alex is 8. Time flies.

Good to hear you guys are doing well.

[Frank]

Keith : I got a pair of hooks you can have when your ready. FjR68

[keithc]

Thanks Frank! I was looking at that a bit, more complex with the unibody! Not as easy as bolting a hook to a piece of frame!

I also seem to recall you having setup bearings for D44 and D30 on the TJ? If I get this XJ running smooth, I might get brave enough to try and regear Bigbird along with some other cleanup items! But I might be getting a tad bit ahead of myself.

-Keith

[Frank]

Yes I have the set-up bearings. Id give ya a hand. The carrier break on the 44 is 3.55 and down,3.73 to 3.92 and 4 anything requires a new one. FjR68

[ZAEDOCK]

Dana 44 carrier break is 3.73 and down and 3.92 and up.

[johnsxj]

The general rule with Cherokees and "surface rust" is that it'a always worse than it actually looks!
Check out my thread in the tech section "Project Blue Cross" there's some pics of "surface rust".
The e-brake handle should be a cheap fix. Lots of them in junk yards and you can also find them cheap on eBay.
30" tires are easy enough to fit. That's what I put on Blue Cross. Think I only used 3/4-1" spacers in the front and the tallest stock replacement spings in the back (overkill in the rear but XJ springs are known for sagging out).

[keithc]

Here is a pic of the new toy. Had a chance to get some basic fixes done like the battery and parking brake. Still watching the fuel pump and such for now, but she is on the road and Amyanne loves it!

[ChrisD]

So clean..

[Frank]

Nice ride ! FjR68

[keithc]

Figured I would carry on the updates, since I am still playing around with the truck.

Parking brake fixed with some bar bending and reassembly... Seems to be working OK.
Fixed a couple really brittle vapor lines, odd that some are falling apart and others seem fine.
Swapped out the AX-15 fluid for some Penzoil Synchomesh (local and cheaper than MTL) and that seemed to help the shifting a little.
Replaced cap/rotor/plugs/wires since they looked sorta blah. Seems to idle smoother, still have the tiniest hesitation right after shifting some times into 3rd or 4th.
Had a real bad shake at ~70mph, swapped a rear DS u-joint (again, it was sorta rough, but not bad). Didn't help.
Ended up rotating tires and in the process found they SUPER gunned down the lug nuts (jerks ). Like barely could break them free with an 18" breaker bar with me standing bouncing on it... seriously? Anyway, once I rotated and torqued correctly, the vibe was gone....

Still get the engine code for fuel level, and the gauge does dance around once in a while. But no other issues with pump. I even ran 3/4 tank mixed highway (75mph) and local and pulled down 18+ MPH.... I will take that all day.

Here is one odd one for all y'all... when I happen to push around the rear of the truck, I hear this sloshing, clunking noise... almost like something is hanging inside the take and being splashed around? Anyone?

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement. I am loving this truck right now, bummed that Amyanne gets to drive it way more than me....