2000 jeep cherokee XJ... 2wd... thinking a camping build.

a few posts from other sections to get started...

donalson said:

so I got a text from a good friend yesterday asking if I want his clean 2k jeep cherokee... 

 

what I know about it... 4.0l i6, auto, rwd... a/c doesn't work, the heater core is going (mists/smells of coolant), a pretty good oil leak somewhere, and at the moment it doesn't start... 

 

he said it would randomly not start in the evenings, he'd wait a few min and then it would crank up no prob... never an issue in the morning... until the morning that it just wouldn't start... so I get to see whats going on soon over at his house... 

pictures will follow :)

donalson said:

got my first look at it since it becoming "mine"

bealive it's a 2k has about 190k miles, TONS of oil buidup in the engine bay... once it's running I'll work on that.... it's very clean for how many miles it has, it was a 1 owner car, given to my friend by his father in law after losing their house and cars in hurricane harvey... my buddy isn't mechanically inclined and doesn't like getting greasy so when he looked under the car at the starter that was caked with grease he noped out... I offered to fix it several times but he just wanted something newer and this thing gone... 

 

like I said it's clean, has the Chrysler rear end which is stronger than the dana option... when I get a chance I'll look for an LSD tag on it, the car has a full size but non matching spare tire, 29" tires on it, looking under the car I could see zero rust... I belive his father in law is also from Cali... so cali and houston car for it's entire life = nice for no rust... er except possibly some light surface run along the rain gutter rails, I need to look closer at that, also not uncommon to mopar cars of the time the clear coat has some pretty good ware on the roof... 

 

with some looking at it I belive the starter is dead, I started pulling it today but thanks to the awesome apartment life I was missing a few tools... i've got all but one bolt off the starter, will go back tomm to test it off the car a bit more thoughly and also have the battery checked again (he took it in but I want to make sure they did a load test), once I get this Fixed I'll work on the other issues, the a/c doesn't work and in houston that is a big deal, the heater core has a leak (mists into the car when heat is on)... i'm debating on trying one of those "quick fix" type jobs on it... sadly between rain and how cold winters CAN get I'd like to keep the heat, mostly for defrost.

 

it is pretty nice that I'm able to crawl under the thing to work on it with it still on the ground (for those that don't recall/know i'm a 6'4 300# dude)... I'd rather a bit more room but my hydro jack is missing a piece right now (got missplaced in the move, I saw it a while ago and put it somewhere "safe"... i'll have to dig in the storage shed to get it back up... 

\

now we jump to today... I got a starter from amazon a few days ago... $55 with no core... don't know how... don't know why... but I got it swapped in and it started right up...

on a side note as I mentioned in another post i'm not a small guy so changing a starter without needing jacks or anything was very strange...

I drove it around a bit, very strange driving position after driving newer cars for a while... don't get much further from a prius TDI jetta lol... drives very well considering what it is, enough power to be fun and spin the tires from a stop... sadly the peg leg take offs on cement and the dirt tell me no LSD or the pack is gone... I'll inspect that when I get to changing fluids.

as it stands my intentions are to build it into a mild offroading camp truck... for now I'm just getting it into a solid daily driver though... I want to try some coolant treatment stuff to maybe seal the leaky heater core, I need to find all the oil leaks... it looks like it's coming from all the standard locations, valve cover gasket, oil filter extention O ring, and looks like a bit from the oil pan drain bolt... I'll go with those easy ones first and hope it's not the rear main seal...

once I'm happy with that I'll goto the mods...  some sort of rear end locker/LSD will be high on the list, I'm thinking about a 2" lift on 30"-31" tires (stock are 27" and it has 29" on it).  I noticed the front bumper is a little tweaked along with the drivers side fender... so that'll give me more reason to replace the bumpers I'll likely come up with my own rear one but not sure up front... I def need some good towing points... on the rear end I'd like to get the spare tire out of the inside of the car... short term it'll likely go on the roof, but I'd like to get a rear bumper mount built up...

the mod side of things will wait as I have money and will have to wait until I'm in a house with a garage (next few months hopefully) and access to my welder again... 

here are a few more pics of her while and after driving her around today... I pick her up tomm and will get her cleaned up soon...

note I'll add... a 4x4 conversion isn't 100% off the table... but for what I want I think a locker, some decent tires, and a come along and maybe a winch down the road will be more than enough for whatever shenanigans I'd like to do except maybe running her out on the beach down in Galveston... I'll keep my eyes open at the junkyard for the needed parts... but that will be low on the priority list for a while.

No pics to be found

Yeah, the images aren't showing for me either. 

I get nothing either.  But i dont care because you are back!

My 87 XJ 4x4 with nothing but a locker (minispool in the Dana 44) was AMAZING in 2wd.

I was tackling trails in 2wd that were tough in 4x4 weeks earlier.

I don't think Google lets you hotlink images anymore.

In reply to rothwem :

Thanks I’ll try fixing that again tonight

I'd bet you can buy a junked 4x4 parts vehicle for less than you can buy a winch and bumper. Those things are a dime a dozen for dead ones.  I'd also bet the locker and good tires will get you anywhere you really need to go, but you'll get it stuck when you start d*cking around with it in sketchy stuff

In reply to donalson :

Welcome back, haven't seen you around lately.  I'll be following along with interest...

rothwem said:

I don't think Google lets you hotlink images anymore.

so who is the goto for hotlinking pictures these days?

ultraclyde said:

I'd bet you can buy a junked 4x4 parts vehicle for less than you can buy a winch and bumper. Those things are a dime a dozen for dead ones.  I'd also bet the locker and good tires will get you anywhere you really need to go, but you'll get it stuck when you start d*cking around with it in sketchy stuff

ya I'll be saving money and keeping my eyes open... also I've got notifications set for a few of the local junkyards for when XJs come into stock... 

I figure for what I want the traction aids will do well for me... but like you said stupid stuff could get me in trouble... so good tow points setup with a come-a-long will be the budget rescue gear at first haha... 

In reply to donalson :

Don’t forget the Hi Lift jack! (ps, they can be configured to be used as a come-along too).

donalson said:

rothwem said:

I don't think Google lets you hotlink images anymore.

so who is the goto for hotlinking pictures these days?

 

easy button is just upload them to the forum directly. avoids the issue altogether. 

pretty clean, typical faded trim...

nice tint... good stuff to have in TX

only real damage I could find... was crunched at some point in the bumper I think and ended up bending the front bumper and the drivers side fender, if you look at the first pic above you'll notice it angled/tweaked a bit.

engine bay isn't too bad from the top but it does have A LOT of oil/grease buildup on the underside... lots of work to clean it in my future... you can see the old and new starter...

interior is pretty stinking clean for a 20 year old truck... under the steering wheel isn't too bad... but it's also pencil thin at areas... I'll replace the wrap with something else... gotten used to thicker steering wheels over the years.

full size spare with matching tire, also has the factory option cargo cover (currently tucked up into the netting)

Chrysler 8.25 rear end... from driving it seems to have an open diff... 

anyway... I picked it up today... she starts right up every time...

the coolant stank is pretty bad once it warms up and mists up the windshield quickly... I'm going to try a few "quick fixes" for that... with an old boat anchor engine design I'm not too worried about that option.

a/c doesn't work, will look at that down the road, I'm in TX and a/c is a big deal.

blower motor only works when on full blast, research tells me it's the ballast resistor for the blower motor... but also sounds like they tend to go when the blower motor needs replaced... with 190k miles on it I'll prob replace both...

driving I also had some funny noises when I started driving that stopped after a few moments... then one start up I had a good loud sound under the hood, seems the engine fan was contacting the plastic showed, me putting the starters on it was prob not a wise thing haha... anyway it's broken now and when I initially take off the throttle tip in makes a similar sound so I get the feeling the engine is rotating a little and rubbing... so the mounts prob need replaced...  no shock with all the oil dripping in the engine bay.

there also seems to be some suspension noises coming from the front, but it hasn't been driven in a few months so it could be other things.

I'll start with taking care of the coolant/heater core issue and then I plan to move onto the oil leaks, the valve cover gasket, oil filter housing and drain bolt crush washer all look to be issues... so I'll take care of them and get down to the rear main if it continues to be an issue.

from there I'd like to toss the mechanical fan and move an electric fan on there... likely a Taurus with a volvo 2 speed controller... 

the driving experience is funny though it's an old design, the seats are pretty meh especially after so much time in comfy euro seats, so little support and the soft foam... but I do like the upright seating position... the steering ratio is so slow compared to everything I've driven for so many years... but somehow I love it... my son is SUPER excited about it, he's only 14 but already talking about it being his car when he gets old enough... then again the talk has been him getting the Prius when the time comes... he hates that idea lol.

after I get it running clean and comfortable to drive I'll start with the mods, an s-10 bastard pack out back (literally use some of the springs on the s10 leaf pack and mix it with the stock) and one of the budget lift options up front will be my goto; spring rates will be something I need to look into... new shocks will go along with them... in the end looking for a 2-3" lift based on what I'm seeing, if I go much more and the other required mods go further than I really want to spend my money on... although there are SOOOO many used jeep tires from newer jeeps around here thanks to all the guys upgrading their bro-truck-jeeps that I may end up going larger than the 30-31" tire I want and that'll decide ultimately on the lift (that and how much I am willing to trim)

As far as I know 4wd swap is a mostly bolt in afair on these. The front axle on the 2wd is literally a straight axle that uses the same mounts as the 4wd axle. The floor still has room for the transfer case best I remember. The exhaust even looked like it was bent around where the transfercase should have been on my 2wd. 

Remember the newer jeeps run a 5on5 bolt pattern and the XJs are 4.5 on 5, but adapters are pretty common on the used market too. Plenty of 4.5 on 5 options out there though.

If it's like the ZJ I had then changing the heater core is a full dash pull. If it were me I'd just bypass it at the firewall instead of putting mystery sealant in. I ran the ZJ that way for six months or so.

In reply to Daylan C :

4x4 swap is completely  a swap in job... just a matter of finding the right parts... slight changes to the trans for the later model years requires some work to use the middle aged models and I think keeps the early models as not an option without lots of work 

Listen to the voice of experience....do the rear main seal.  It is a PITA to remove the oil pan, and you have to get it off to do the rear seal.  You will probably replace the pan because the drain plug doesn't leak, the pan rusts around it and becomes porous. Or it has been cranked down so tight to stop leaks that the threads are buggered.  A new pan is good insurance and cheap, so go for it.  The rear main seal is not that bad, especially if you are already under there with the pan removed.  Watch YouTube for how to remove the pan, it can be done with the suspension in place, you might not believe it because there is a very specific angle/position/procedure to get it out and back in, but it can be done.  I did it, and I have the IQ and dexterity of a King Prawn. 

ultraclyde said:

Remember the newer jeeps run a 5on5 bolt pattern and the XJs are 4.5 on 5, but adapters are pretty common on the used market too. Plenty of 4.5 on 5 options out there though.

 

If it's like the ZJ I had then changing the heater core is a full dash pull. If it were me I'd just bypass it at the firewall instead of putting mystery sealant in. I ran the ZJ that way for six months or so.

yes on both... the newer jeeps need an adapter, from the looks of it the back spacing makes it so thats not a big deal... but I'm not hugely fond of the idea of ANOTHER set failure point of bolts for wheels... but if I find the right set of wheels/tires for the right price it may happen... but either way that is down the road... current tires are enough for driving it around.

as for bypassing the heater core I've done it in the past and not against doing it now...  I've read of a few options, namely blue devil that might fix it... I've also read of a few people using the metal flake crap but setting up a small pump and flowing it only though the heater core for a good while to get it to seal with good luck... I don't mind gumming up the heater core, being in houston I don't need the heater core frequently, mostly to demist the windshield... obviously I just don't want to gum up the rest of the engine cooling system, it's houston and needs to work fairly hard come summer... and even harder when the a/c is cranking or i'm on a slower trail without air moving.

pinchvalve said:

Listen to the voice of experience....do the rear main seal.  It is a PITA to remove the oil pan, and you have to get it off to do the rear seal.  You will probably replace the pan because the drain plug doesn't leak, the pan rusts around it and becomes porous. Or it has been cranked down so tight to stop leaks that the threads are buggered.  A new pan is good insurance and cheap, so go for it.  The rear main seal is not that bad, especially if you are already under there with the pan removed.  Watch YouTube for how to remove the pan, it can be done with the suspension in place, you might not believe it because there is a very specific angle/position/procedure to get it out and back in, but it can be done.  I did it, and I have the IQ and dexterity of a King Prawn. 

 

 

I fully expect it will need to be done but I HOPE I can get away without it being done lol... for simplicity sake I'll start at the others, if nothing it'll slow the leak to a more reasonable rate...

on the plus side between it being a cali/tx car and the oil leak the only rust I can find is some surface rust along the rain gutters lol. 

I've spent a bit of time driving it and with the kids riding with me... things I've found so far with plans

Leaky heater core - bypass for now, work on it when I have a garage in a few months.

Oil leaks

Valve covers

Oil filter adapter - fix these two… easy enough to do in the parking lot.

Rear main seal - wait for garage

Front end clunk - will see if I can track it down, fix time will depend on what it is… something serious or simple will be done in the parking lot, something that can wait will wait for a garage… I’d love to just rebuild the entire suspension, i’m sure there is a lot of well worn parts, replacing/rebuilding things before putting bigger tires and more stress on them would be a good thing.

Blinker intermittently not blinking - reading and with what I know it’s likely the blinker relay, but as per xj forums it could have something to do with the blinker stalk...

Passenger window switches won’t work- supposedly a frequent problem with the window lock on the drivers side switch… I can bypass it for free… but it’s only $20 for a cheap amazon replacement switch set.

Driver side speaker not working- prob just wiring in the accordian bit between the door and the body.

Brakes sound like they need changed- just need to check.

For not fixing but maintenance/life quality stuff

Fluids- remove and replace trans, rear end, engine oil, brake fluid… some will be done in the parking lot, some will wait for the garage.

Stereo- Install aftermarket head unit, speakers, and my subs (2 12” in a way too big box with a nice amp)... had the sub/amp in combo and it’s fun… and more fun to embarrass my kids with lol…  

Fix A/C- that’ll start shortly after bypassing the heater core… in TX you’re never sure how soon summer will show up.

heater;a/c Fan blower only works on max - common issue, the resistor pack is going out… need to see if the fan motor itself is spinning freely or not.