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'96 Classic questions.....front end damage

M

mike(nj)

NAXJA Forum User
Location
nj
I also posted in the for sale section as I might sell/buy this Jeep. My question is: Do the XJ frames bend up easy from a front end hit? I looked at one today & the guy said the frame is bent.........I looked at the doors & they hardly rub the rear doors. Do you think its bent for sure? It looks real nice otherwise. Here another pic:

newvwmags033.jpg
[/IMG]
 
buy it!

That things got extra room for a winch



Actually, unless you want it for a trail rig or it's a very good deal and you are willing to crawl all over and under it to check for cracked or broken tranny, xfercase, motor mounts, front end components, etc. etc. etc., you might want to avoid it. You shouldn't buy a damaged vehicle unless you are very mechanically savy. You never know what might show up a year later like a persistent leak in the windshield, broken bolts, problems caused by persistent mis-alignment. who knows what else. That front end is caved in enough that it may have used the engine as a batering ram on the rest of the vehicle.
 
You can see in the picture that the front crossmember is bent good, That will pull the side rails in.

Like stated by Max...unless your familiar with a frame machine and mechanically inclined this is a parts vehicle for sure.

Gotta say tho...that's the 1st Classic i'v seen without bumpers matching body color. Wheels arent right for that option either..
 
I would say yes, the unibody rails in the front will bend very easily. A minor front bumper hit (less than 10mph) pushed the bumper back, and bent the tabs on the unibody. This was on my '90.
 
also vehicles with front end damage are more prone to overheating... even after the radiator may have been replaced as well as "disapearing coolant" if the vehicle was ran for any sort of time after the incident then it could have overheated causing the head gasket to no longer seal allowing coolant into the cylinders and can also cause build up and many other problems if it gets into the oil as well pull a couple of the spark plugs and look to see if they look like burnt coolant of anykind is on them u know smell them that sorta thing look for anything that looks like it may be a collor other than that from reg. carbon build up.

Trent
 
Thanks for all the tips!! The guy that owns it bought another XJ and swaped tire & rims. It had the nice alum. 5-stars.......He told me I could have it for $400........does that sound fair?
 
mike(nj) said:
Thanks for all the tips!! The guy that owns it bought another XJ and swaped tire & rims. It had the nice alum. 5-stars.......He told me I could have it for $400........does that sound fair?
Click to expand...
that turns it into a keeper

at least a "parts" keeper
 
OK.......i'll probably pick it up this weekend...........When it gets warmer i'll get out there and pull it apart too see whats up. If it too much work I might sell whole or part it out.
 
John B said:
Gotta say tho...that's the 1st Classic i'v seen without bumpers matching body color. Wheels arent right for that option either..
Click to expand...

All the '96 Classics I've ever seen have the black bumpers. When they brought that trim level back on the new body style it received the monochromatic paint job. Agree on the wheels.
 
mike(nj) said:
Thanks for all the tips!! The guy that owns it bought another XJ and swaped tire & rims. It had the nice alum. 5-stars.......He told me I could have it for $400........does that sound fair?
Click to expand...

400 is way too much!

Now...where did you say it was again.....
 
Anyone know what gears might be on this? My '95 Country with 31's is a dog.
 
for $400 you better buy it for the parts alone, although it should be a pretty easy fix with a few pulls on it. pull your bumper off, header panel, radiator etc etc and take a look at the damage. cut out the rad support, pull the rails back straight, weld in the new rad support then bolt up all the new parts, a good body guy could fix that thing in under 2 days man.

eric
 
mike(nj) said:
Anyone know what gears might be on this? My '95 Country with 31's is a dog.
Click to expand...
If it's a Clasic, it's a 4.0L automatic. Which means it has the same 3.55 gears that are in your Country.
 
Darn! I was hoping for 3:73's.......is it the same rear or a better/stronger one?

Thanks again guys!
 
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