Newbie questions

I've been waiting and watching for a deal on my first XJ, and it finally happened! I picked up a '98 Cherokee 4 door Sport 4x4, with the 4.0 & automatic tranny. All stock with 170k miles (kinda high miles, but I couldn't pass up $1500.00) All in all it's in pretty good shape, after cleaning up after the pig that owned it for the last two years. I don't think this guy washed or vaccumed it once in two years, totally nasty, Ooo that smell.

I have some newbie questions for you experience XJ'ers.

1. :smoker: The dude was a smoker and man did this thing stink!!! I stripped the entire interior out of it, cleaned everything and got it back together. Most of the smell is gone, but still has a hint of cigarettes. Anyone know how to get the smoker stench out totally?

2. It came with factory keyless entry, but it doesn't work. I replaced the batteries on the keyless remote, but still not working. I did locate the curcuit board on the dome lamp housing, with the help of this forums search, but could see anything out of the ordinary. Any ideas of why it doesn't work?

3. Rear hatch wont open with the exterior handle. I pulled the interior panel off and can get it open with a screw driver by working the mechanism from the inside. I saw a couple things on the forum about this, but nothing very clear on how to fix it. I haul some equipment around for my job and really need the cargo area. Anyone have good instructions on how to fix this?

4. While driving and coming to a stop there is a clunking noise after releasing the brake to start moving again. I think it's coming from the rear end. It almost seems like something is rapping up or binding on braking. Is this bad bushings, loose suspension?

Once I get everything fixed up and solid I can begin to build it up. Gotta have it all working correctly first though as it is my daily driver now.

Thanks ahead for the info!

This should be fun!

1. :smoker: The dude was a smoker and man did this thing stink!!! I stripped the entire interior out of it, cleaned everything and got it back together. Most of the smell is gone, but still has a hint of cigarettes. Anyone know how to get the smoker stench out totally?

4. While driving and coming to a stop there is a clunking noise after releasing the brake to start moving again. I think it's coming from the rear end. It almost seems like something is rapping up or binding on braking. Is this bad bushings, loose suspension?

the build will be fun, indeed...

I'm nebbie on the forum but the two above items I can share my limited experience with you..
Same as you I bought a XJ few months ago that was previously owned by a smoker, after several ties using wal mart carpet cleaners & odor removals...I ended hiring a profesional carpet service for the floor, seats & ceiling ...so I ended with a very clean 12 year old interior.

If I ever face the same issue again, I would rather remove the whole interior and just install rubber floors - at the same time you can install insulation pads to reduce the heat transfer-, and buy the ceiling fabric ( comes with some special adhesive) all three items can be purchased from a place that sells fabrics-.....for the same price you will have an interior that will be wather proof and easy to clean ...

clunk from the rear, mine was caused by a loose shock in the upper mount, I used rear bar pin eliminators due to the rust - thats another story- when installed the shocks for the lift...clunk was gone.

good luck and have fun building your XJ.

azwnbfpro said:

1. :smoker: The dude was a smoker and man did this thing stink!!! I stripped the entire interior out of it, cleaned everything and got it back together. Most of the smell is gone, but still has a hint of cigarettes. Anyone know how to get the smoker stench out totally?

Click to expand...

Coffee Beans! Cheap and plentiful, just pour some into a bowel, place bowel on the seat and in a day or two, the smell will have gone. Just hope you love the smell of coffee because the coffee scent will last a little while:laugh3:

--------------------------------------------
1988 Cherokee Laredo, 4.0Litre, 4WD AUTO...basically stock with a few upgrades

vinegar - same deal...in a bowl or bucket...couple days sitting.

Good with chips, mate.

Congrats on the purchase! Get ready for the most worthwhile relationship you'll ever have...

For your odor problems, I'd give the coffee and vinegar a try. Never heard of those tricks myself, but I've heard of far stranger things working. If they don't do the trick, give the carpets a good shampoo-ing, and consider putting in a new headliner. I'm not sure of the proper way to clean seats, but I'm sure there's a DIY method.

As to your keyless entry, you might need to get your board re-programmed. Stealerships will still do this, but unless you're getting something else done there too, they'll probably charge for it. I think there's a way to do it yourself, but I'm not sure what all it involves - if I recall, they actually program the board to your fob's frequency, instead of the other way around.

The hatch not opening is a pretty common, and fairly easy to fix problem. A little searching should find you a write-up.

I second the notion that one of your rear shocks might be loose - those upper mounts are problematic, at best. If that's what it is, and you try to replace them, PB Blast the crap out of those upper mounts, and give them a few good taps right after for good measure. I did this almost every day for a month and a half (minus the tapping) before I put in my lift, and I still broke all four bolts. Drilling and re-tapping (or popping out the old nuts and putting in new ones, which is what I should have done) isn't that difficult, just a pain. BPE's are a really good way to go, too.

Bleach. In a glass bowl, not as a drink mix. Set aside the day. Park in the sun, roll up the windows, lock the doors and take the keys with you.

The sunlight will break the bond of the sodium hypochlorite and the evaporating chlorine molecules will bond with and oxidize the partially combusted organic compounds of the cigarette smoke and render them inert from your nose point of view.

BE CAREFUL. The bleach could spill onto your carpet or seats, then you will have white carpet and seats that tear easily. Take adequate precautions.

BE CAREFUL. The sodium hypochlorite and free chlorine are toxic to you. Make sure you ventilate prior to inspecting the results. Jumping in and breathing deeply would be a bad thing. Take adequate precautions.

Live better through chemistry.