Soon to be XJ owner questions

I am currently looking for an XJ in the 5000-6000 dollar range. What are the major problem areas that start at 80,000 miles up to 150,000 miles? Can anyone give me advice on what specifically to look for (specific years, mods, etc.)? Thanks, appreciate it

The oxygen sersor is intended to be replaced every 80,000 miles.

By 150,000 expect to need a catalytic converter, unless it has already been replaced. Also, somewhere around 150,000 is probably when the rear main seal will start allowing the vehicle to "mark its territory."

Depending on use/abuse, by 150,000 miles the rear springs may sag 1/2" to 3/4". There are some fairly easy and inexpensive fixes for this, but a lot of folks freak out and think they have to dump big $$$ into all new rear springs when that happens.

One that I am looking at is a 93 4.0 5-speed with a recent (2-3yrs) Trailmaster lift. Any cooling/oil problems other than seal? Transmission or t-case? I plan to drive it daily as well as medium duty snow and light mud. ANY advice and info is appreciated. POOR college student here

Not sure what year xj you can get around there for that price range, but I it were me I'd look for a clean lower mileage pre '96 model. This is just due to there being much more used parts availability for these models as many body/interior parts will interchange from 84-96, 97-up look very similar but actually use very few of the same parts aside from the drivetrain.
Aside from what Eagle already said you'll want to look carefully at the exhaust manifold, they are extremely prone to cracking. Take along a flashlight when you look at any prospective purchases. The manifold is really hard to see but if you look down between the intake runners you may be able to see some tell-tale carbon deposits on the manifold. I'm not saying not to buy one with a crack as my '91 has had a small crack in it since I bought it 7 years ago and has never gotten any worse, our '89 had a small crack when we bought it last year and now it's almost completely broke in half. Honestly from my experience you might have a hard time finding one that isn't cracked, so be aware and make sure the seller takes into account that this expensive part will need replacing.
Good luck with your search but be aware that XJ ownership is a disease. I bought my first one in '97 and now have 3 xj's and 2 mj's in the driveway.

It depends on what ur gonna use ur rig for. If u want good gas mileage I would go with one that doesn't have a real beefy engine, the Flat 4, 2.5L gets an average of bout 16 mpg. If you want power I would go with a XJ Sport with a 4.0 High Output V6. It depends on ur personal preference. If you get that tingling sensation when you sit behind the wheel, and rev the engine and hear it purr. Knowing that it can take u pretty much anywhere u want to go. Then u've found the right one.

If u want or need any advice on fixing parts on ur rig, don't hesitate to give me a holler.

Welcome to

Hope to seeya around.

Mike

thanks for the advice about the mileage and pre-96 models. I've heard lots of gremlin stories about the 97-01 models. Looking foward to ownership, cracked manifold or not. Thanks for the welcome, Redneck

By the way, how big of a deal is the rear main seal? I'm not too skilled of a mechanic so huge repairs I can't do.

The rear seal is not that big of a problem, like Eagle said it lets ur rig "mark its territory," it will leak a little bit, check it every once in a while, if it is gushing fluid then u'll want to replace it, but few little drops on the pavement never hurt anybody.

I've got an 86' Laredo, 149,896 miles, its had regular maintance on the rear seal, and it still leaks a bit, it's "a Jeep Thing."

senecka said:

thanks for the advice about the mileage and pre-96 models. I've heard lots of gremlin stories about the 97-01 models. Looking foward to ownership, cracked manifold or not.

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Don't write off the post-'96 models. I nearly made this mistake before I bought my '01, and am very relieved that I didn't. '97s and '98s (as well as some '99s) are starting to hit your price range, so keep looking around.

Advantages to post-'96 XJs: better rigidity, generally lower miles, slightly more power. They tend not to have the traditional XJ main seal oil leak.

Personally, I'd tend to stay away from '97s simply because they were the changeover year and have some peculiarities unique unto themselves - but I usually apply this logic to any vehicle. Having said that, there are plenty of people here who are running them and loving it.

Bottom line is, do the research and get the best one you can for the money. Just don't be put off of the later ones because someone tells you that they have problems. Yeah, there're bad post-'97 cars out there, but there're at least as many (if not more) '96-and-earlier models with problems. Go with what seems right.

XJRedneck said:

If you want power I would go with a XJ Sport with a 4.0 High Output V6.

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Damn... I guess that old Pontiac engine can really be bored out

Adding to XJRedneck's point: the 2.5 will definitely get better highway mileage, but the 4.0 definitely has the power edge with comparatively little drop in mileage. Again, it all comes down to what you want to do with it.

senecka said:

Transmission or t-case?

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If you are going to go wheeling with it get a auto tranny , the 5spd is a pain to wheel with + Jeep used a Peugeot (french brand) tranny for it's 5spd model and is not as heavy duty as the auto tranny.

senecka said:

Transmission or t-case?

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The XJ you said you are looking at with the 5-speed is new enough that it has the AX-15 transmission instead of the Peugeot BA 10/5. The AX-15 is a much stronger transmission and is often used as an upgrade for an XJ running a Peugeot.

XJRedneck said:

It depends on what ur gonna use ur rig for. If u want good gas mileage I would go with one that doesn't have a real beefy engine, the Flat 4, 2.5L gets an average of bout 16 mpg. If you want power I would go with a XJ Sport with a 4.0 High Output V6. It depends on ur personal preference. If you get that tingling sensation when you sit behind the wheel, and rev the engine and hear it purr. Knowing that it can take u pretty much anywhere u want to go. Then u've found the right one.

If u want or need any advice on fixing parts on ur rig, don't hesitate to give me a holler.

Welcome to

Hope to seeya around.

Mike

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Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6...

Welcome, this is one of the best sites for XJ info IMO. They are all good vehicles, although most prefer the early 90's models with the AX-15 manual, and the 8.25 rear end (non abs). I have an 87 RENIX 4.0 and a 96 CRYCO 4.0HO, and the difference in power is noticable. I think the 87 is geared lower in 1st though. The only rmajor issues with either have been the front brake's on the 96. This may have been a fluke (or due to driving in Atlanta), but the rotors were trashed at about 80K miles. We now have about 180K on it and it is going strong.

Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6...

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The factory v6 XJ's were the early 2.8 litre Jeeps. Someone will probably correct me, but I believe that the motors available in the XJ were:
2.5 litre 4cyl (full production run)
2.8 litre v6 (1984-86?)
4.0 litre Straight-6 Renix (1987-90?)
4.0 litre Straight-6 HO (91-end of production)


Copperhead

JaysXJ said:

Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6...

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And the 2.5L I4 engine in the XJ should be delivering 25 to 28 MPG, not 16.

JaysXJ: "Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6..."

OK I'll admit I screwed up when I said that Jeep put V6 H.O's in some of their rigs. But growin up, I learned that a Flat 4 is the same thing as an Inline 4.
So if I'm sayin it wrong then I'll try to remember to go with I4.


Eagle: "the 2.5L I4 engine in the XJ should be delivering 25 to 28 MPG, not 16."

Eagle are u sure its suppose to be 25-28 MPG?

Cause if it is I'm really getting screwed on my mileage....

2000 model year xj's SEEM to be cursed. there are a high number of them reported to have the mystery #3 cylinder problems, and catch on fire once in awhile (of course i've heard of the older models doing that to, but when you think about how many there are on the road it seems inevitable that you'll hear these things). in doing some research myself (with my 2000 and the #3 mystery problem) i have found that (staistically) the 99's have the least problems of the newer body style. good luck and welcome to naxja.
N

any problems with auto trannys ('98, '99, '00)? also, what should i expect to pay to replace rotors and calipers?

senecka said:

any problems with auto trannys ('98, '99, '00)? also, what should i expect to pay to replace rotors and calipers?

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2000 auto. the tranny is fine and i've put about 15,000 miles on in this year. off road and on it seems to be a very durable unit. going down the freeway my girl and i were kinda roughin around and somehow she hit the stick and pushed it into reverse. i know this isnt supposed to happen but it did, and the rear wheels just locked up and the engine died. no damage to the tranny. i think thats the best info i can give on trannies. i did slam it into 12 from D once to see if it would shift itself into 2 instead of 1...it didn't and again the wheels locked for a bit (wet surface) and then just whined around 4000 rpm til i slowed down...so i gues you could say the trannie is one of the more durable parts on the XJ. IMHO...