Totally stupid question

I know this is going to seem like a stupid question at first, but you have to consider my circumstances...

I am in the middle of the ocean overseas, deployed on a US Naval Carrier. By the time I get home I will have some money saved and some tax refund and I'll be getting a late model XJ (probably 99-01) and likely soon after getting a small lift going. So I was thinking that the next two months or so at sea is a good time to start collecting tools I don't have, and it occurs to me that I don't know if the XJs are all metric or just some... I want to know when I order a full set of new sockets, should it be metric only, or both sets.

Sorry, I wanted to check all of this, but it's difficult from here on a Jeep that I don't have yet. Thanks.

tdkask

Get both. JIM.

i think it depends on how the factory felt that day, they are hardly consistent (at least from my experience)

just do yourself the favor and get both sets.

there you are... two new sets of everything. I will start shopping, then. Any "specialty" tools I should look towards having? I assume brake lines may be either metric or standard too, so no point in buying those wrenches until I get to that point. I'll need the tool for the fuel lines, right? Anything else anyone can think of that they wish they'd have known about when they started? Thanks again.

Don't forget you have about the "deep sockets"!

I found most of the sizes are metric.
But you can never have too many tools!

By far most used gadget I own is a Head lamp. Hands free light!

tdkask said:

Any "specialty" tools I should look towards having?

Click to expand...

High quality Torx bits will be your friend. Jeeps are covered in those damned things.

36 mm socket for the front hubs

ehehehehe... yeah... they were really on crack when they came up with the XJ bolt plan.

a really big BFH (for when the rest of this list doesn't work)
1/4 through 1 1/4 SAE 6 point (1 1/4 only necessary for swapping pinion yokes)
6mm through 18mm metric 6 point
1/2 or 13mm 12 point
some deep SAE 12 points, unsure of size, 3/4" maybe, for head bolts
all torx from t10 to t60
inverse torx e12 for bellhousing bolts
30mm (transfer case fill/drain plugs) and 36mm
t20 and/or t25 security torx
inverse torx e5 if you ever intend to work on an ABS HCU
21mm (you want a box wrench and a socket) for leaf spring and LCA bolts
spare 15mm sockets because you are gonna drop one in your frame rail when you pull the upper control arms
line wrenches in 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 flavors
spring-style AC fitting release tools
fuel line quickdisconnect tools (you want aluminum ones not plastic ones)
a very good quality 5/16" gearwrench
a good cross shaped lug wrench
7/8" wrench for o2 sensors

don't laugh... those are ALL tools I have used on my XJ. You can get away without a few of them if you are going to avoid working on certain sections of the jeep but what's the fun in that?

The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked (usually).

tdkask - To you and your shipmates, for protecting our privilege to live our lives in the comfort and safety of our home land, free to wheel most anywhere....we appreciate all you have done, are doing and will do for us! Thank you!

My son is on CVN 65, The Big E. Have a good cruise.

kastein has a good list. There's only a few on there that I haven't needed yet.

some things I'd add:
1. Harbor Freight. Especially for basic semi-disposable wrenches & sockets.
2. Breaker bar. Bigger is better.
3. Some of the smaller socket sets will NOT have certain sizes. You will inevitably need those sizes. 18mm is one I recall offhand.
4. If you are going to work on your own AC (while its still legal), watch for the good sale at HF and get a full pressure gauge head setup (that may not be the "right" name but I think you know what I mean)

I'd also add a couple of torque wrenches.
Sears has some good, resonably priced click type torque wrenches.
20-150 ft-lbs range and a second up to 250 ft-lbs should cover just about everything.

MULTI-METER!!!!

Ratchet wrenches!! Standard and metric. They fit better in tight places. Best money I ever spent.

XJ-ARNIE said:

MULTI-METER!!!!

Click to expand...

x2 but more so for early models. later models pick up a cheap obd2 scanner

A little late to the party here, but....

Lots of pb blaster and a complete assortment of taps, dies, twist-offs (or your favorite stripped/sheared bolt extricator), and thread chasers/restorers. Murphy's law comes in here. It's always the one bolt you need to make it drivable that shears or rounds off, preventing you from making it to the hardware store (where the extractor bit you suddenly need is).