New to Jeeps

Hey guys, a friend suggested this forum to me to get acquainted with jeeps as they aren't really my thing but the Wife is looking at a '98 XJ at a local dealer. Its got 140xxx miles clean interior, it got hail damage in a storm last week. It also has minor rust on the rockers and a scrape with a small dent by the tail light. Also I found some weird stuff like the pins for the door stop was replaced with a bolt, and the hatch had some play where the hinge mounts to the body, it looked like the whole screw was moving but it wasn't rust. It ran good and shifted nice, The 4x4 took a little to disengage and it really bucked when turning past half way when in 4x4. The trans fluid looked dirty but not chunky or stinky but it hadn't been changed by the dealer to cover up a problem. They are asking $3000 for it do you think thats a fair price? I know its probably gonna need some work and thats ok I just don't wanna get into a money pit. Thanks in advance

That doesn't sound so bad, but I have no idea on the price. Is it loud - cracked exhaust manifolds are common. As are the usual cause- bad motor mounts.
If you do change the trans fluid yourself, it'll cost about 6 qts of Dex/Merc fluid and the gasket/filter kit= around 60 I think. It would also be a great time to install a transmission cooler.

Rust is pretty big deal on the unibody. It's common under the driver and front passengers feet area (behind the front tires) too.

NBD for the door check pins--bolts, clevis pins are popular replacements for the stock tapered pins.

You shouldn't use 4wd on dry hard surfaces unless it is equipped with the NP242 and full-time 4wd. If it has the part-time only NP231--2wd/4hi/N/4lo then don't engage 4wd on dry hard surfaces as it binds up the drivetrain.

The AW4 holds about 12.5~13 quarts of Dex III/VI. If you drop the pan you will only get about 3.5 quarts changed. You can do a poor man's flush and get most of it cleaned out.

Definitely check the underside, WI--I would look for rust in the floor pans, front, back, and cargo areas should be carefully inspected.

Go to kbb.com and see what the value is in your area.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info, I will be sure to check those problem area. as for the 4x4 on hard surfaces I guess i've never felt it bind that bod on my Fords but they are a different system though. KBB in the area is $4500 in mint condition. The T-case has the 2WD Part-Time 4x4, Full-Time 4x4, and 4LO.

I've never payed more than trade in value for any of my cars, even the new ones.

97fordrunner said:

Thanks for the info, I will be sure to check those problem area. as for the 4x4 on hard surfaces I guess i've never felt it bind that bod on my Fords but they are a different system though. KBB in the area is $4500 in mint condition. The T-case has the 2WD Part-Time 4x4, Full-Time 4x4, and 4LO.

Click to expand...

Ok, it has the NP242 and it shouldn't have any 4x4 problems in full-time, only in 4hi/4lo part time would it bind.

There is no such thing as a "MINT" used vehicle. Hail damage, a little rust, scrape and dent="FAIR" to "GOOD", you should make an offer accordingly.

EDIT: double post.

I was figuring $2500 to start with and go from there.

Well we pulled the plug and brought 'er home. We ended up out the door Tax, Title and License at just under $3100, he came down to $2650 on the price. It did throw a code while test driving it, and before we signed the papers he checked it and it showed an o2 sensor which is no biggie. I did feel it stumble once on the way home, it kinda shuddered a little bit while maintaining about 55. So tomorrow after I get done in work i'm gonna pull it in the shop and dump all the fluids and change the filters, hook up the Snap on scanner to it and get more info and get the o2 fixed. It sounds like it may have a exhaust leak at the muffler and maybe at the manifold so I wanna see if its cracked. I figure I'll pull the wheels and check the ball joints and wheel bearings and get new pins for the door stops. And I wanna get the A/C fixed, then finally give it a bath. I'll post some pics up after that. Kinda excited about getting into an XJ although my buddies have disowned me.

Screw your buddies, they obviously don't know what type of pioneer the XJ really is lol. Welcome to the club, I think once you get everything straightened out you'll fall in love real quick.

They're just jealous. Just wait until they want a tow home.

I've owned 4 Jeeps:

77 CJ-7 304V8 3spd
82 CJ-7 Renegage 258 5 spd
2000 TJ 4 banger
1998 XJ 4.0 liter

The XJ is my favorite....I do miss open top driving but the XJ is just a great all around vehicle and it's been just, if not more reliable than my toyota Celica.

53 Willys Wagon
71 FJ40
46 CJ2A
84 Bronco FS
90 XJ--far and away my favorite!

64 Chev C-10 (292-6) 4x2 (Gone but not forgotten, I lost my virginity in that truck)
92 F-150 (304-8) 4x4 (Blew up 3 months after I sold it - about 8 MPG)
02 Ford Ranger 4.0L 4x4 (P.O.S good riddance)
90 XJ 4.0 4x4 (had it for 6 years - great ride - 240K)
88 MJ 4.0 4x4 (work in progress)

For me the Jeeps are easy to work on, parts readily available and CHEAP compared to anything that ends in YOTA. They take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcomes, So yesterday I evacuated the A/C and it had about 6oz in the system, so I Nitrogen tested it and let it sit with pressure for about an hour and no leakage, I the leak checked the condenser, lines, and connection and no bubbles, So I pulled a Vacuum for 15 min and then charged accordingly, A/C now blows at about 54 which is good since it was 94 and about 70% humidity yesterday. I then hopped on the I-94 and headed to the cities and all was great till I got off the freeway and stopped at a light and the temp gauge shot to 260, I pulled into a lot and let it idle and I opened the hood and checked the temp of the hoses and cap with a laser temp gun and they supported the gauges temp. I let it cool down and then I took off without the A/C on and had no problem after that. The coolant is nice and green, probably changed by the dealer. Any suggestions? I did a oil change yesterday as well as changing out the #2 O2 sensor. I am planning on changing out the T-stat tomorrow and I will take a gander into the head and see what that looks like as I have been reading that the 4.0 heads tend to get plugged.

And I thought I would play along
'88 T-bird 5.0
'91 Ranger STX 4.0 5spd (Locked tranny at 198000)
'97 Ranger 4.0 Auto lifted and locked ( Daily Driver for going on 7 years)
'90 Ranger 2.9 2wd (sold)
'86 Bronco FS 300, 4spd 8" lift 38" TSLs (parted out)
'89 Bronco II 4.0 swap, 5spd, 6" custom lift, EB coils, Durango Leafs, 4.88's Locked Fr & Rr (current weekend wheeler)

Then the XJ. since its the wifes I am working on getter her out wheeling with it to get her hooked, then let the Mods flow freely.

The coolant on my current jeep, was BY FAR the worst coolant I've ever seen since I started working on cars. Had the consistency of pudding. Flushed it out about 25 times and it's been golden since. No overheating whatsoever. If the heads were gonna be plugged, THIS is the jeep they would be plugged on. But it runs like a champ, so I wouldn't run straight to the heads. Make sure everything else is clear first.

Will, do, I will get the skinny tonight when I change the T-stat, I figure if if it was changed by the dealer the coolant might be clean but if there was some "pudding" in it it would show up at the t-stat. I am really liking this forum you guys are so quick to respond and I thank you for that.

97fordrunner said:

Will, do, I will get the skinny tonight when I change the T-stat, I figure if if it was changed by the dealer the coolant might be clean but if there was some "pudding" in it it would show up at the t-stat. I am really liking this forum you guys are so quick to respond and I thank you for that.

Click to expand...

Things sometimes slow down a bit, Friday through Monday--wheeling, camping, etc., but there is always somebody lurking around.

I wouldn't have paid that much for that, but hey, it's your jeep :dunno: if it's in good shape I guess you got a good deal.

Might be able to pull the hail dents out with some freeze spray or something.

Mine, in order:
96 XJ, lots-o-rust, paid 2400, overpaid by at least 1000, but it got me started and taught me a lot
91 MJ, not quite as much rust, paid 800, still fixing it up incrementally while DDing it
98 XJ, almost no rust, paid 1000, came with a whole bunch of spare parts in the back, some assembly required when I got it, will replace the 96 as the wheeling rig when I junk that one, currently acting as the lab rat for some electronics trickery I'm designing
90 (actually built in 60s/70s afaik, rebuilt in 90) M54A2, paid 2500 and drove it 550 miles home, overheated it for ~20 miles after the belts all blew up without realizing it, it was so bad the oil cap blew halfway off when I pulled over, these things are tough, it drove the rest of the way home and continues to drive fine, no milkshake and no oil in the coolant!

Changed the T-stat running at 190 now so good there, I did look into the head and it looked good, no pudding. I also changed out the upstream O2 sensor and found the wires had been cut and spliced and were green, and I also changed out the old rusted out muffler, now it is a running machine!! May have paid to much but in the area up here I really couldn't find anything cheaper unless it was older and much higher miles. I am excited cause it is so easy to work on.