The XJ finally crapped out.....

Well the other day my XJ took a dump and the tranny is toast. It was only a matter of time before it went so I'm not shocked. Overall, my jeep is built fairly well for what I need/want. It was my daily/camping rig. Have always LOVED Xj's and when I got my current one it wasn't ideal but the price was right. Since having it I've rebuilt the 4.0HO, put in a D30 HP and ford 8.8 w/ 4.11's and LSD F/R, durango/wj steering upgrade, 33 BFG AT's, majority of IRO for steering components and a few other things. I thought about selling it but won't recoup crap. I thought about just putting in a tranny and rumbling around but it needs a lot of help outside the tranny. So I'm thinking I'll just be better to pull off what I need and scrape the body. Between the rust, cracked unibody and other issues it's just not worth the headache to fix. So my question is I want to get another XJ and build it up with the parts I already have, but which one should I look for? Goal will still be the same a solid daily that can head for the hills. I would prefer to get a 97+ just because I hate the earlier interiors, but I'd prefer not to have power anything. Will most of my parts swap over? Engine, axels, steering? Thanks

Depends on the year of your original if you're planning on bringing the engine over. If just the axles, suspension and steering, you're going to be in pretty good shape. I'm in kind of the same boat as you. If I see a newer XJ with no rust for cheap come up, I'll snatch it and move all my built stuff over and scrap the rest. I've seen nothing getting in the way of swapping my suspension from a 91 to any other year.

dan1977p said:

Depends on the year of your original if you're planning on bringing the engine over. If just the axles, suspension and steering, you're going to be in pretty good shape. I'm in kind of the same boat as you. If I see a newer XJ with no rust for cheap come up, I'll snatch it and move all my built stuff over and scrap the rest. I've seen nothing getting in the way of swapping my suspension from a 91 to any other year.

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Duh, I thought ya'll could read my mind. I have a 93. Does is matter between a sport, country or classic?

Are you looking to transfer the motor? If not, just do it and don't look back. The trim models determine some of the accessory electronics you have but nothing to stop you from the conversion.

Well, I would pull the motor from mine, but probably wouldn't be looking to swap it unless the new XJ was tired or needed it. I'm also debating if I want to stay with an auto or try and get a manual. Pretty sure engine wouldn't matter on that. In reading about it just seems like the heads and intake manifold where different but can be interchanged. Thanks for the replies....

I've heard going from OBDI to OBDII will be a major pain. I think the gauges in the dash work differently but you may be able to get away with using the intake and tb from the new jeep with the old head and block. I wouldn't go through that effort if the engine is working. Be just as easy to pull the new engine and rebuild it.