Xj Longevity

I apologize if this is in the wrong section, I did a search first and couldnt find any answers just by case simular thread posted before.

I have a 1994 XJ. 4.0L AW4 auto with 8.25 rear and 3.55 gear ratio. It has 173K miles on it. I have had it for almost 5 years, I have minor stuff done to it, 1" lift 235-75-15 tires, 2 row radiator, new Ford fuel injectors, fuel presure regulator, fuel pump, shocks, exhaust, rebuilt brake system, and I can bore you and keep going on.

My question is what is the life spaned of the vechile? Its 18 years old, I use it for mild off roading like sand pits, puddle hopping, and trail cruising. It doesnt smoke, still passes inspection, and oil PSI still 40-60. I put alot of money into it, between mods, repairs, and maintance its about 125 a month and put about 5K miles a year on it. My concern is at this age I dont know if its solid to keep going with it or its at that age where maybe looking into getting a 2000-2001 XJ, maybe 2004 TJ or WJ. My XJ gets 12-14 MPG and I try to keep up on all of its maintance like just had rusting through floor area where pedals are and had all of that rewelded.

I guess best way to sum it up is I want to raise it 1 more inch to a 2" lift, then a winch bumper and a 8500 lbs winch. But I dont want to put 2K more into it then I find out its at that age where 175K miles the tranny goes out or somthing major like that because its just the nature of the beast.

Thanks alot for any advice!

A transmission is simply a "component" like a starter, only a little bigger! Easily swapped. Same with the engine really. Nothing is a dealbreaker except rust that creates a problem with structural integrity.

If you like your XJ, keep it. You know the history of it. Buy another one and you may not be pleasantly surprised.

birchlakeXJ said:

If you like your XJ, keep it. You know the history of it. Buy another one and you may not be pleasantly surprised.

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That is a very good point, thats what I am on the fence about. I put a fair amount of new parts on it over the last few years and I would hate to start over again! My XJ has NEVER left me strainded!

Most of the rust was on the floor boards and back under the tail gate and not on the chasie. Its like some of the splash gaurds where removed or ripped off prevosly.

Thanks for the advice!

i have the same year Limited ive lifted it fitted a new 8.25 with 4.10 gears and a new d30 front with matching gears, ive had the head done front control arms and bushes 3rd radiator, 4th water pump, had the trans serviced changed the oil filter adapter O rings twice.

had the front leather seats retrimmed re trimmed the hood linning re done the carpet, had the hood turret and tailgate resprayed.

and spent vastly more than what the car is commercially worth.

HOWEVER i own it NO payments and i for the most part know how to fix it

yep i,m keeping it, when i quit work the BMW X5 goes but the XJ stays

so dont worry about it, if you like the car and own it do what you want with it, dont worry about what it costs to fix it, at least you dont have that monthly commitment to a finance co.

and we wont see you on operation repo heheheheeheh

I have a 95 and it has been great it has 188k on it. Owned it for about 8years now. Has never left me stranded. I have replaced most of the floor this past year and still am comfortable driving it daily, beating the crap out of it, and I recently put a 1000 mi trip on it with absolutely no problems. Just keep up on the maintenance and it's going to last forever.

Also I have an extra transmission I pulled out of a wrecked zj, I've been holding onto it for almost five years now, you know just in case. But I have never needed it and I think the aw4 is a great transmission and I wouldnt worry about that component very much.

I have a 1990 with 266,700: 3 waterpumps and a new head on the motor, and every other mechanical component replaced (except the trans and Tcase) she takes a second to start but I DD it everyday with a 3.5 lift. if you stay up on the maintenance i have a feeling this jeep may outlast me

(Yeh i could drive me 325is but its my track car )

Both of mine have 150000+ on them and are doing fine being wheeled. I cracked the unibody by the steering box got it welded and plated and is good. Watch for cracks in the unibody. Now my brothers is a 92 with over 300000 on it and it is still running like a champ. It has it rust spots but nothing that can't be fixed. This jeep with minor care will last as long as you are willing to fix it

i plan on having mine untill the thing Gets totalled (Serious unibody damage?) or untill i die.

if it needs a new engine /Trans or whatever part it will get it
The way i look at it if its not rusted to swiss cheese or completely smashed theres nothing i cant fix or can't learn to fix or swap out. Especially with resources like to get the info on anything you don't know (and most often with pictures or a walkthrough)

How many other vehicles can have a broken piston, broken connecting rod or other major internal malfunction and still run like a champ? :repair: Even if you do end up with a major issue and need to replace an entire engine / transmission, how cheaply can you find those items??

The Cherokees are built to take abuse and get you home and they're not too far from being just as cheap and easy to work on as a VW bug..

birchlakeXJ said:

If you like your XJ, keep it. You know the history of it. Buy another one and you may not be pleasantly surprised.

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Agreed.

My 1987 Ranger has 285k on it, and the transmission is slipping a little. Am I getting rid of it? Nope. Trans is just another "part." Had it for almost 15 years, grandfather was first owner. no rust, paint is perfect, and I know every inch of it. Just swapping in a 5.0L because, well, I can :greensmok

If you can't use the word "unreliable" to describe it, then it's fine.

You will find a lot of late 'eighties on the roads.., so you should last as long as those of us in the pre-ninties, lol. If I was to be in position I'd go for a '99'er, and have two XJ's !!

Thanks everybody for your help! Your posts give me great confidence! I was a bit concerened being at 173K miles and putting more money out on more lift then hopfully a winch and bumper, but you guys have def helpped me out! My cherokee is owned and not my DD just mainly my off road puddle hopper, toy, and my veichle when its wet out and I dont use my car. I do most of the repairs myself so that does help keep the costs down as parts are cheap for the XJ.

I appresate everyones posts!

from what i have seen here if you don't know how to fix it someone on here does and more then likely be willing to come and turn wrenches with you to get you back on the trail or road. after being here a while you will want to join so you don't feel like you are stealing.lol plus the money is put to good use.

Of course it is going to depend a little on history and climate, and how you care for them, but my previous Jeep, a 95, reached the "not worth bothering" stage of deterioration a couple of years ago, at 263k miles. At that point, rust and a host of annoying problems like no heat, electrical gremlins and huge rust holes, made it prudent to set it aside even though it ran strongly. Now at 264K my current 99 is threatening the same. I'm going to try to keep it going a little further, but right now it has a cracked windshield, huge rust holes in the floor, a cracked header, a leak in the heater connection at the water pump, and a bad wheel bearing. I hope to finish the winter with it, and I have the wheel bearing ready to put in, but it's not going to get much more money thrown at it.

I should add that I never had engine trouble with any of them. The 99 has never burned a drop of oil, and even now leaks almost none. I broke the AX15 tranny on it when the clutch failed, but put the one from the 95 in last summer, and it's fine. No drivetrain issues either except of course for universal joints.

It may be my last XJ, though I hate to think it. It's getting too hard to find a good one up here in Vermont at any kind of reasonable price. They're all getting old and rusty.

So I'd guess if yours is pretty solid now at 173K, you are looking at a good hundred thousand yet to come if you take care of it.

i guess thats the sad part about it, if your in an area that gets freezing / wet/ snow weather that will take its toll.

luckily here in Australia we don't see that and can expect to get better service from a vehicle

I really expected to see some higher mileage numbers on this post. I've been consistently running mine to about 250k and then selling them. They still ran and drove fine at that point. My current XJ and TJ both are approaching the 250k mark now, but I think I'm just going to keep them. It wouldn't surprise me if they went another 100k with normal maintenance and minor repairs. Now if I could just find a 4.0L MJ that's not rusting back into the earth...

Well, my 88 has over 350k on it, and runs fine, altho the trans is starting to shows signs of its age.

I say over 350k, cuz it has had 30" tires since ~ 90k....... so that adds another 20k or so to it, and the uncorrected odo actually reads ~340k

Body still looks good, and have only had to repair one spot in the floor.

My xj is an 89 with 250k on it, still runs good, I hope she sees another 100k.

Motors and trannys are cheap and fairly easy to come by.

I picked one up for $200 before and I see AW4s around for 100-150 bucks.

Most of the time I can find a motor for $200-$300.

I've got a 1992 with 195k miles and it still runs very strong.

17-19mpgs usually, 40psi oil pressure, no rust, great heater, fits me, my wife and 3 kids whenever we're not in her ford.

Cargo area always seems too small "in my head" when I daydream about other vehicles (it's a sicknes..lol) but on a daily basis when I load it up, it works just fine for everything.

I like you, OP, have done a fair amount of work to this rig, (all myself in my driveway by the way) and I feel like I know just about every inch of it.

I feel like if the engine "blows" at some point and its not a simple componant fix, I'm just going to spend the $2200.00 and get a nice ATK reman'd engine. I honestly don't expect the motor to be an issue at all. That's one reason I'm putting a snorkel on next, because I'm somewhat impulsive when I go offhighway, and I'd hate to hurt a vehicle that seems to be purring along just fine, simply because I wanted to get to the campsite across the river/stream.