88 Laredo with 82k miles

Greetings, mighty forum!

I just took delivery of my first Jeep and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It's an 88 XJ Laredo with 82k original miles. That's not a typo - it was a one-owner car for 20 years, where it spent most of its time in a vacation home's garage and was well maintained when it was run. It had about 50k when it went to the 2nd owner (a friend), who also didn't drive it much and maintained it well. It had about 60k when it went to the 3rd owner (a close friend) who maintained it well, but put about 20k on it over 3 years of daily driving. Long story short, the Jeep is in great shape after 25 years and 82k miles.

Pics to make the thread worthy:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/r...XDdo4csWLlg&startIndex=0&fid=dcb84c7bbac85115

It's an original Colorado truck that's been garaged for 20+ years, so the body has Zero rust issues. The interior is perfect in its 1980s AMC red plaid glory. The engine is solid but has seen better days: the valve cover is leaking and there's a small coolant leak up front. The rear leafs are flat, the brakes vibrate when used, and the tires are shot. The PO replaced the CPS, and the muffler and pipes look great, but the underside needs further inspection for other possible issues.

Although it's my 14th vehicle in 26 years (all of them DD and moto projects), this is my first Detroit iron, and I'm happy to see its simplicity - it reminds me of my ACVWs. I've been researching XJs for a few weeks now, and this forum has been a valuable tool for seeing what goes wrong and how to fix it, and for seeing how XJs can be improved with a little wrenching.

So the plan so far is:
Decent used tires (gift from PO) on original wheels to get thru summer
New HD rear leafs with 7" arch - ordered from Qtec
New Skyjacker Hydro front/rear shocks - ordered from Qtec
New front spring shims to match rear height
New brake shoes, pads, hardware, fluid bleed
New or turned drums/discs if necessary
New fluids and gaskets everywhere (oil, coolant, AT, diffs, TC. PS?)
Sand/blast & paint/powdercoat aftermarket wheels (see pics)
New 31" tires on aftermarket wheels
Drive it like it's stolen
Maintain it well

I'm also looking for a pre-91 AT shifter trim assembly (in the center console), as my "curtain" is gone.
In addition, I'm looking for a pre-91 instrument cluster with tach, for the swap shown here:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=921205&highlight=gage+cluster+swap

Thanks for a great resource in this forum - "Like Soylent Green, it's the people that make it tasty."
There are plenty of write-ups and threads about all of things I'm doing, so I'll be sure to search for all I need.
I'll keep you posted as I get to work.

Best,
Jason

-----------------------------
Past rides:
74 VW Beetle Hardtop
72 VW Beetle Convertible
73 Porsche 914 2.0
90 Mazda MX-5 (summer DD/autocross project)
86 Suzuki Samurai (winter DD/4WD beater)
87 Toyota Van 4WD
79 VW Bus pop-top camper
94 Mitsu Montero (200k miles)
07 Nissan Xterra (still miss the truck, don't miss the payments)
93 Toyota Previa (economy crash recovery vehicle)
82 BMW R65 moto
04 Kawi EX500 moto
87 Honda VFR700 moto

Congratulations Jason on such a good find. Here's something you should check into as your Jeep is a Renix era Jeep.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/cruiser54s-mostly-renix-tips-153657/

Dang, still has the plastic clip for the hood prop!

Sweet rig, get new injectors if they are the originals because they will leak.

Have fun and follow cruisers advice.

Yea! She's a runner, but she's old enough to need some TLC everywhere. Thanks cruiser54 for the great writeup on the electrics. Having read the list and then seen the real thing, I can totally see how any one of those 100+ connections can F up your day. They're on the long-term list of restoration items, along with the power windows and locks - the rears are especially weak, what with old age and the built-in 2V drop. One of my projects is to take off all 4 door skins and go over everything in each. The driver's side outer door lock is broken, so that's a good starting point....

Good luck finding an older auto shifter bezel that is completely intact. I would consider a 97-up center console.

Well, the original shifter curtain was trashed, so I took off the shifter handle (give it a yank!) and pulled the trim panel. The white plastic lamp holder was cracked and the thin plastic curtain was broken but usable. I took it all apart and model-glued the cracked plastic, then cut the curtain lengthwise so it cleared the shifter but still covered the light. I repainted the scratched black on the back of the clear PRND321, then put a piece of the cut-down curtain behind to diffuse the light. Put it all back together and it looks good in the dark. The curtain is now completely gone (you can see the shifter mech in the slot), but the numbers look nice and the shifter action is crisp again. Not bad for a kitchen table repair!


Pics here, numbers 10 and 11:
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=c92fd33bb446f2526cbbd47cbb382743

JZUpper said:

Yea! She's a runner, but she's old enough to need some TLC everywhere. Thanks cruiser54 for the great writeup on the electrics. Having read the list and then seen the real thing, I can totally see how any one of those 100+ connections can F up your day. They're on the long-term list of restoration items, along with the power windows and locks - the rears are especially weak, what with old age and the built-in 2V drop. One of my projects is to take off all 4 door skins and go over everything in each. The driver's side outer door lock is broken, so that's a good starting point....

Click to expand...

Power lock fix. Works great.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=11487&postcount=2

Welcome Jason! I found the shifter cover by running a "wanted" ad here on
. You never know what people have in their garages!

Yes, follow Cruiser's advance. He is the man! The power door lock fix was unbelievable. My 87's locks SLAM open and shut.

Have fun and keep us posted

Good score!

You could also check in to the Colorado Chapter. Some of us elevationally challenged people frequent the yards.

http://naxja.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=95

When you get board with the XJ, drive down to Houston, I am sure I can find something to swap with you for the XJ, that is not on your past vehicle list below, yet!
:wave:

Jason

-----------------------------
Past rides:
74 VW Beetle Hardtop
72 VW Beetle Convertible
73 Porsche 914 2.0
90 Mazda MX-5 (summer DD/autocross project)
86 Suzuki Samurai (winter DD/4WD beater)
87 Toyota Van 4WD
79 VW Bus pop-top camper
94 Mitsu Montero (200k miles)
07 Nissan Xterra (still miss the truck, don't miss the payments)
93 Toyota Previa (economy crash recovery vehicle)
82 BMW R65 moto
04 Kawi EX500 moto
87 Honda VFR700 moto

UPDATE 1: 88 Laredo with 82k miles

Update 1:
I have a rear hitch, and it has a brace behind the bumper that prevents the rear leaf spring bolts from being removed, so I set about removing it. Turns out the brace can be removed without removing the hitch from the bumper. There are 3 cap nuts on the brace behind the bumper, and there are 2 through bolts on the vertical part of the hitch the ball bolts to. There are also 2 bolts on the unibody rail on either side of the gas tank. The driver's side ones were tight, but the passenger's side ones were nearly frozen. I suspect this has to do with them being just above the tailpipe, getting more heat and corroding quicker. Anyway, after liberal application of Liquid Wrench, several loosen/tighten cycles, and a couple cans of Aspen IPA, the hitch brace is off and the rear leaf bolts are accessible.

Question 1:
How much is towing capacity reduced without this brace? The ball is still attached to the rear bumper with an L bracket. I wasn't planning on towing anything major, just curious.

UPDATE 2: 88 Laredo with 82k miles

Update 2:
I removed the OEM rear shocks and replaced them with Skyjacker Hydro shocks. I was surprised to find that the upper mounting bolts were not rusted and came out easily. YAY! The rear end is now a little firmer, but I'll reserve judgement until I replace the fronts.

Question 2:
What's the trick for removing the driver's side front shock? The top mounting nut is surrounded by the MC and hard brake lines, making it tough to turn a wrench in that area. Unbolt the bottom and turn the whole shock from underneath? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.