First time jeep owner!

Just made my first Cherokee purchase! It's a 93 sport 4dr 4x4 auto 198k. Little lift, not sure the brand but it has skyjacker shocks and a skyjacker stabilizer. It runs great shifts great. The water pump started leaking this morning on the po.. the driver side rocker is pretty rusted and the floor pans need a little attention but oh well..I've come to realize that anything this old is gonna need floor pans. But the interior is clean. Couple oil leaks nothing to bad. I just got done changing the water pump and thermostat in it. And everything is good. What I got to thinking tho, on the gauge cluster, there is only a fuel gauge and a speedometer.. but then there is just a light for charging, oil pressure and coolant.. why doesn't it have actual gauges? but I got it for $1900..

Also something I just noticed, is it is burning oil, I never noticed it when I test drove it and was looking it over, but I had it sitting there idling when I was picking my fiance up and I noticed blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. I'm pretty sure that the pcv needs to be replaced as the hose going to the air box is very oily and it got a little oil in the air filter, I'm gonna be putting a different intake on it so that will eliminate the hose going to the air filter. But the guy I bought it from said it didn't use any oil.. the oil was just changed last week in it at valvoline.. what's your alls opinions on the oil burning subject? Something that needs attention or an easy fix? Or just don't worry about it and drive it like normal? Thanks everyone, I can't wait to start doing some stuff to it! Well the first thing that is happening the the pink bow hunter sticker on the back window is coming.off but lol

check it everytime you fill up... like you should do with any vehicle. id suggest paying close attention the the check valves in the valve cover. the one closest to the firewall which leads directly back to the intake manifold is leaking in mine causing me to burn oil. drive it and see how much you burn. 1qt - 2k miles = dont worry about it. anything moar... suggest you address it. good luck w/ your first XJ, welcome to and i hope you enjoy it

Where can a guy buy that pcv valve? No auto parts store can even come up with a part number? Or can it be cleaned? And if so with what? I'm thinking I'm gonna pull the valve cover anyways cause the gasket is leaking a little thanks!

You can buy one at any auto store - just not for your vehicle. Your vehicle is equipped with a CCV - no valve to replace. You should remove the valve cover and clean it good along with the 2 fittings on top.

So what do I ask for at the parts counter? I'm on no account trying to be rude, this is just my first jeep and just trying to understand..

The cluster with gauges and a tach was an option. It's really easy to replace if you can find one in a junkyard. It's plug and play except for the oil pressure and temp senders, which must also be replaced. The tach wiring is already in the harness, ready to go.

Of course you will have an odometer discrepancy, and must decide whether to reset the new one or record the mileage difference. Either way you'll need to make a record of what you've done and remember if you sell it to specify that the odometer reading is not original, even if you reset it accurately.

I believe that for your 93 any 92-96 cluster will work. 91 might, but it's a transitional year and I'm not quite sure about the polarity of the gauges. 87 -90 look right but won't work.

Note from DJ take a look hear
Crank Case Vent Parts
Front & Rear Valve Cover Vent Set Cherokee 4.0 Liter 1991-1993
http://www.teamgrandwagoneer.com/parts/Detailed/2394.html

Breather Hose Set Cherokee 4.0 Liter 1991-1995
http://www.teamgrandwagoneer.com/parts/Detailed/1273.html

i would go to a local jeep/MOPAR dealer and ask them. its going to be the elbows located on your valve cover. simply go to the parts counter and ask them if it looks like it needs to be replaced, and if so why. also ask them if they can get it. theyre a great resource and they dont feel dumb.


they see dumb people as, grandfathers who see the check engine light on so he adds a qt of oil, repeats this for weeks, and soon enough blows it up because the oil is up to the valve cover. best part about it, the check engine lights was on because the gas cap was loose, and sent an evap code

hebertracing said:

i would go to a local jeep/MOPAR dealer and ask them. its going to be the elbows located on your valve cover. simply go to the parts counter and ask them if it looks like it needs to be replaced, and if so why. also ask them if they can get it. theyre a great resource and they dont feel dumb.


they see dumb people as, grandfathers who see the check engine light on so he adds a qt of oil, repeats this for weeks, and soon enough blows it up because the oil is up to the valve cover. best part about it, the check engine lights was on because the gas cap was loose, and sent an evap code

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Thank you very much! I never thought about doing that.. I know the gaskets need to be replaced for sure.

Last night I got to messing with it. I pulled the line off the back elbow at the intake manifold. I started it. It idled high obviously cause of the vacuum leak. Put my finger on the T in the manifold and the idle went down. It had lots of vacuum. Hooked the line back up, then pulled the other end of the line off at the elbow in the valve cover. The idle barely rose and the vacuum was pretty faint. So I pulled the elbow out of the cover hooked it up (the part of the valve that's in the cover looked really gummed up) and there is a little vacuum suction at the small hole in the valve. Am I going about checking this thing out the right way? I'm gonna go to the stealership and pull that valve and have them look at it like you suggested anyways.

This probably goes back to the old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it.. but I just wanna make sure this thing isn't gonna leave me stranded and if there is something on it that I need to fix, I'd rather do it while I still have my other truck I'm getting ready to sell. I'm sorry if this sounds like a big cluster f@#$.. I'm just trying to learn

That's a nice XJ! Welcome to . This is by far the best forum site for XJ's. You will learn lots here.

The gauge cluster is an easy fix. Find a cluster with all the gauges in the junkyard, don't go newer then 96 or it won't swap. Then go to the dealership and get a oil pressure sender for gauge and the temperature sender for gauges. I went through 4 temp sensors of different brands before I went to the dealer and got one before I found one that was accurate. The others were 15-35 degrees off. The dealership is a little more but the parts are so much better.

JTProuhet said:

Thank you very much! I never thought about doing that.. I know the gaskets need to be replaced for sure.

Last night I got to messing with it. I pulled the line off the back elbow at the intake manifold. I started it. It idled high obviously cause of the vacuum leak. Put my finger on the T in the manifold and the idle went down. It had lots of vacuum. Hooked the line back up, then pulled the other end of the line off at the elbow in the valve cover. The idle barely rose and the vacuum was pretty faint. So I pulled the elbow out of the cover hooked it up (the part of the valve that's in the cover looked really gummed up) and there is a little vacuum suction at the small hole in the valve. Am I going about checking this thing out the right way? I'm gonna go to the stealership and pull that valve and have them look at it like you suggested anyways.

This probably goes back to the old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it.. but I just wanna make sure this thing isn't gonna leave me stranded and if there is something on it that I need to fix, I'd rather do it while I still have my other truck I'm getting ready to sell. I'm sorry if this sounds like a big cluster f@#$.. I'm just trying to learn

Click to expand...

i would take the line back off the manifold, and stick 1 q-tip down there and scrap for oil residue. this will be a good indication of potential oil burning.

i know with mine its burning because of that breather leaking oil in the intake, and recently i found out that i had a spark plug disintegrated in the cylinder, took out my injector and the exhaust valve has been cracked pretty good, causing further burnage. so it could be alot of things.

and fyi, the jeep was bought while it was skipping. dumbass owner didnt do an oil change for almost 10 years, as well as coolant, atf, fuel/air filters nothing. nor plugs.

thats what i call stupid people.

hebertracing said:

i would take the line back off the manifold, and stick 1 q-tip down there and scrap for oil residue. this will be a good indication of potential oil burning.

i know with mine its burning because of that breather leaking oil in the intake, and recently i found out that i had a spark plug disintegrated in the cylinder, took out my injector and the exhaust valve has been cracked pretty good, causing further burnage. so it could be alot of things.

and fyi, the jeep was bought while it was skipping. dumbass owner didnt do an oil change for almost 10 years, as well as coolant, atf, fuel/air filters nothing. nor plugs.

thats what i call stupid people.

Click to expand...

Alright thanks for the tips! I ordered a new rear elbow with the orifice from the dealer for like 5 bux. Should be in today. And then once I get back from hunting this weekend, I'm gonna pull the valve cover, and give it a deep cleaning and clean the baffles in it. I've heard of some guys modifying the pickup tubes for the pcv valve making them a tad bit shorter? I really don't think that there is anything wrong like u had, I just don't like the burning oil and this pcv valve is a very wishy washy subject on all the forums. There are so many opinions on it and I just don't know which is right.. thank you for the help!

JTProuhet said:

Just made my first Cherokee purchase! It's a 93 sport 4dr 4x4 auto 198k. Little lift, not sure the brand but it has skyjacker shocks and a skyjacker stabilizer. It runs great shifts great. The water pump started leaking this morning on the po.. the driver side rocker is pretty rusted and the floor pans need a little attention but oh well..I've come to realize that anything this old is gonna need floor pans. But the interior is clean. Couple oil leaks nothing to bad. I just got done changing the water pump and thermostat in it. And everything is good. What I got to thinking tho, on the gauge cluster, there is only a fuel gauge and a speedometer.. but then there is just a light for charging, oil pressure and coolant.. why doesn't it have actual gauges?

but I got it for $1900..

Also something I just noticed, is it is burning oil, I never noticed it when I test drove it and was looking it over, but I had it sitting there idling when I was picking my fiance up and I noticed blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. I'm pretty sure that the pcv needs to be replaced as the hose going to the air box is very oily and it got a little oil in the air filter, I'm gonna be putting a different intake on it so that will eliminate the hose going to the air filter. But the guy I bought it from said it didn't use any oil.. the oil was just changed last week in it at valvoline.. what's your alls opinions on the oil burning subject? Something that needs attention or an easy fix? Or just don't worry about it and drive it like normal? Thanks everyone, I can't wait to start doing some stuff to it! Well the first thing that is happening the the pink bow hunter sticker on the back window is coming.off but lol

Click to expand...

Looks like mine! Mines is burning a bit of oil as well... I need to address that.

Your tires are cleaner and I have a dent in my fender...

Lowrange2 said:

Looks like mine! Mines is burning a bit of oil as well... I need to address that.

Your tires are cleaner and I have a dent in my fender...

Click to expand...

I like your hood! I wanna do something with mine cause the clear coat is flaming off something furious.. I wanna make it look different but just don't know what

And next on the list is to get rid of the running boards. But since they are welded to the frame, I'm gonna use the mounts and make rock sliders. Even tho I will probably wheel it very little..

JTProuhet said:

And next on the list is to get rid of the running boards. But since they are welded to the frame, I'm gonna use the mounts and make rock sliders. Even tho I will probably wheel it very little..

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Thank you. I was going to say to please remove those ugly ass pointless step rails but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. lol


Looking back at your pictures... If you could find somone that's really good at body work to make them look nice I'd suggest completely replacing the rockers with steel tube. It would kill 2 birds with one stone. Ya get rid of the huge rust holes in the rockers and incorporate something much stronger. I know you don't intend on wheeling it hard but if it's done right it looks good. I used 2x8x.25 on my rocker replacements. 2x6x.125 would barely stick out past the doors and look good.

My welding sucks and I haven't removed the old rail yet but you get the point. If you put them on at that seam the doors will still work correctly.

Lowrange2 said:

Thank you. I was going to say to please remove those ugly ass pointless step rails but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. lol


Looking back at your pictures... If you could find somone that's really good at body work to make them look nice I'd suggest completely replacing the rockers with steel tube. It would kill 2 birds with one stone. Ya get rid of the huge rust holes in the rockers and incorporate something much stronger. I know you don't intend on wheeling it hard but if it's done right it looks good. I used 2x8x.25 on my rocker replacements. 2x6x.125 would barely stick out past the doors and look good.

My welding sucks and I haven't removed the old rail yet but you get the point. If you put them on at that seam the doors will still work correctly.

Click to expand...

I have also thought about doing this.. can you post pics of the mounting brackets you used? And how you did it?

There is no mounting bracket. The proper way to do would be to plate the unibody and run braces from the bottom of this rocker replacement to the unibody.

I'm lazy and did not do that. It's held up fine so far.


Here's what ya do.

You can see the top seam that I cut at. Cut all the way across there from the front wheel well to the back. I cut straight thru my fender at the same time but if you want to make it look nice you may want to do that seperately.

Once you make that cut, look at the underside of the rocker. You'll see the pinch seam under there. Cut right up against the pinch seam. (cut on the outer side of the pinch seam) from the front to the back just like you did with the top.

Then you'll have to make various cuts at the end to make it large enough for the tube to fit. You'll see what I mean.

Now, like I said before I used 2x8. If I were going to do it on my DD I'd use 2x6.

I cut my new rocker to 64" long. Then cut 45* angles on the end and welded up the ends. 64" made it so that they were about an inch longer on each end than the factory "rocker".

Now that you are missing the factory rocker the 2" tall tube will sit in that hole perfectly. Once you start to fit it in there you'll notice that there's a bolt in there that you might want to cut the end off of. Or notch the tube so it doesn't hit. I notched my tube so it would sit all the way to the back of the slot.

When you're done fitting it I would suggest putting it in place one last time, take a 4x4 or some piece of wood and a floor jack and put some pressure on the outer edge of the the new rocker tube so it'll be flush with your new top cut (SO you can weld it).

Weld it up along the top and ends. I welded the ends solid and made a 2 or 3" bead every 8 inches or so. (It's extremely difficult to weld thin sheet metal to .25 wall tubing. Or it is for me anyways)

Once it's welded up go back under with a BFH and beat the pinch seam up so that it lays flat across the bottom of the new tube. Weld the flat pinch seam to the bottom of the tube. I used the jack and wood again to put it up flush while I welded. I had to move the jack 10 times...

Once you've done all that you have some options.

1. You can drill and tap holes into the back side of the tube thru the remaining (OLD) rocker material for extra support. (This is what I did.)

2. You can make braces (3 or 4) and run them from the bottom of the new rocker to the unibody. ( I would put frame stiffeners on if you do this)

3. You can leave it alone. This is what I'd do if you just plan to DD it.



NOW! Do it all over again on the other side.

Maybe I did use 2x6... You should use 2x6 too.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?p=245233596&postcount=7



This is the same thing I did except I skipped the weld in angle iron part. I didn't need it.

http://www.jeepkings.ca/forums/showthread.php?105565-Extrem-XJ-Rocker-replacement