Crunched XJ

[Sarge]

Loaned my XJ to my daughter and she managed to slide off the road, thru a white picket fence and then knock a tree down. The radiator I got thru the group buy here is toast I would guess. I haven't seen it yet, salvage yard it was towed to is closed on the weekends.

I may sell the remains depending on how damaged it is. One way or another I'll either be back asking for information on rebuilding it or offering it for sale.

Sarge
1993 2WD XJ Sport

[rixXJphx]

Hope she's ok.

Time to build another one... :D :D

[Sarge]

Thanks, she and the three other girls are all fine...seat belts did their job. Don't know about the building another one. For me anything with four wheels is a secondary vehicle. Also I live within a block of the cop shop. They don't cruise our area to stop crime (of which there is plenty) but to give out tickets and tow warnings for unregistered or wrecked vehicles. Their definition of wrecked included my work van with a slashed tire BTW. *grin* Yeppers, I live in a real good neighborhood. If I had access to garage spcae then I would gladly get to work on it......make it a 4 wheeler, slight lift, new paint, fix that dang drivers door, and so on!

Sarge

[Jump This]

Ya...we cruise just to harrasssss and neglect!!

[RichP]

Hope they are all OK. My sons driving habits changed radically after he flipped his sentra on a corner I had been slowing him down on DAILY, BOTH WAYS for 6 months. Gets his license and that car, flips it on that corner after 3 days.
Yes, I dread my daughter driving, get 2-3 other girl teenagers in the same vehicle and it's a problem. They spend more time switching radio stations and cd tracks than watching the road.
I'm considering getting my daugher a 2 door MJ with buckets so the number of distractions can be reduced to one passenger and a single channel radio pre set to a C&W station :D

[Sarge]

Originally posted by Jump This
Ya...we cruise just to harrasssss and neglect!!

Didn't make a blanket statement about all cops. But that opinion is derived from having lived here for 5 years, having given the cops the addresses, names, etc of the drug houses (4 within three blocks), informing them of the store selling booze and cigs to minors, of the odd timed deliveries of bike and car parts to the house kitty corner to this apartment, and so on and the only reaction from the cops was nothing. They drive thru this section of town to go to lunch or get to the other side.

I have several friends on the force and their comments are that our area is used as a punishment for those who have either screwed up or have shown a lack of comittment.

Sarge

[Sarge]

RichP, I've got 5 kids to go thru! Three girls and two boys. So far the two oldest girls have wrecked. One learned I think but I'd be willing to bet the one who just wrecked will do it again. I hope not but I think she'll keep me up nights for a bit.

Sarge

[Eagle]

Originally posted by RichP
I'm considering getting my daugher a 2 door MJ with buckets so the number of distractions can be reduced to one passenger and a single channel radio pre set to a C&W station :D

Good idea in principle, except the collector in me cringes when I think of an MJ used for sacrificial purposes. Get her an S-10 or a 'Yota PU until she proves herself worthy of an MJ :D

Just curious -- where does one buy one o' them one-channel radios yer talkin' about?

[Jump This]

If the kids are going to be driving your four wheeler much...stick with the XJ.The long wheelbase may be what saves them from a roll over. Roll cages for the XJ are available at resonable prices too!! I know the thing about worry. Although I have only one son, I coach High School Volleyball, and the thaught of loosing one of them to a stupid act of driving neglect (drinking mostly) has caused me to take the first day of practice, sit the kids down and talk about driving....drinking....drugs...peer pressure...etc.
I have a friend whos daughter has crashed (mostly fender bender suff) three times. Not sure I could have let her behind the wheel after the second wreck.
And on another note..don't let neglect from the police department stop you from taking care of you kids and neighborhood. Although we all wish every department could handle things better they are not your only means (or is that meens?) of taking control (or at least helping to regain control) City councils, congressmen and other community organizations (your church?)lift a heavy gavel too! Just don't give up....
By the way...I take no offence is anyone being dissapointed in the constabulary..

[rixXJphx]

Originally posted by RichP
...and a single channel radio pre set to a C&W station :D
There are laws against child abuse and cruel & unusual punishment. :D :D

[asatxj]

Originally posted by rixXJphx
There are laws against child abuse and cruel & unusual punishment. :D :D

The idea is they will get sick of "Orville and the Pigstickers" really fast and turn it off. Then all they will have to do is pay attention and drive:D My radio doesn't get CW when I'm in the Jeep, for some reason it does when Mrs. ASAT drives it. :dunno:

[Sarge]

OK damage report from a visual inspection:

Grill gone
radiators bent inward and leaking
right side bumper almost touches tire
top radiator support touches fan blades
vac bottom possibly broken
windshield broken
drivers door barely hangin on now
pass side fender 1/4 panel crumpled into door but door opens

Motor still runs with no funky noises. All in all not as bad as I thought. Anything else I should be looking for or at? What am I looking at for repairs here? I'll be the one doing the work and most parts will most likely be coming from a salvage yard of some sort.

Sarge

[RichP]

Maybe find a body in better shape and move the running gear over to it ???
Nose parts for XJ's are kind of hard to come by, most I seen in yards seem to have hit telephone poles or deer. I have only come across one that had an intact nose and that was a roll over.

[truckeejeeper]

Glad the kids are ok for sure. Please keep this discussion going. My XJ has received a lot of new parts (including a new-from-dealer engine+install 5 yrs ago) but my body is rusting away in the Coastal Fog up here. I love the truck- is a body swap hard/$$$?? How about cuttin' out rust? What years are compatible? I really have no idea- I'm readin this thread...

[Sarge]

Ouch, looking like the XJ may be down for a bit. Seems RichP is right. A quick call to a few salvage yards got me exactly nothing for the front end. Anyone make decent affordable fiberglass parts? There is a lot not too far away that "claims" to have major amount os Jeep stuff. We'll see.

Sarge

[Casper]

Sarge,
Try this site, it is not salvage but the prices are great on allot of the products.
http://www.car-body-parts.com/jeep-cherokee-1987-store---JP14R.html
What ever the year of your XJ, just enter it into the select box. Mine is a 1987 and that is why it is in the link. Just change it to your year when you get to the site. Hope this helps,

Casper

[Casper]

Sorry Sarge, Just hit the back button once you use the link. I forgot that I had been looking for a mirror and gave you that link. All you got to do is use the back button and then fill in your year.
Sorry for the confusion.

Casper

[Sarge]

Thanks, I'll check them out.

Sarge

[Ghost]

Aword of caution. I had a Ranger that I decided to rebuild that had front end dammage. Usually there is more damage as you pull parts off. If the radiator is leaking that tells me there is damage to the front crossmember which may in turn have damaged the frame. You might be better off finding an XJ with engine or tranny problems and swaping yor stuff over.

[Sarge]

Start pulling parts tomorrow. If it comes down to something that bad, she's gone. I've no garage and no time in which to do that much work. Not to mention the money.

Sarge

[four_shot]

I got lucky and had a parts truck when I hit my deer a while back.
and for any of you that remember that fiasco, I finally got Buster running again!!!!! check a bunch of those buy here pay here lots. they may turn up an entire truck cheaper than boneyard parts. plus you never know when a tow truck will come sliding into you from behind and youll need the extra parts. :(

[KarmirXJ]

Originally posted by Sarge
windshield broken

this indicates there is chance that the body may be tweaked.

I got into an accident myself, body shop told me when the windshild breaks there is a chance that body/frame flexed to the extent where windshield gave out.

[Sarge]

Suspect the windshield is broken this time cause she knocked a cedar tree down and it hit the windshield. ;)

[Sarge]

OK, just tore the front end apart. Actually fairly easy and fast. Faster actually to pull the rad that way then when I replaced it and pulled the fans.

Things I found from suspected worst down:

Pass side frame horn that the bumper bolts to is bent. "Appears" to only affect the small section which sticks out past the rest of the frame. Can this be cut off and replaced with a straight one? Can I just weld some steel there in its place? :confused:

Both radiator and A/C condensor are toast. Will run the rad by a shop to see if it can be fixed for giggles. One of the A/C hoses (both turned out to be extremely corroded) blew off while dropping the bumper causing me to ask 2 questions:

1. How did I get on top of my apartment building?
2. How do I get down??? :o

Fender is toast. Had to use my trusty come-along to get it out far enough to pull.

Windshield of course needs replaced. How hard is it to do yourself? How long should it take?

Tranny lines leak like crazy; appears to be the small click fasteners.

Fan shroud is in three pieces. Electric fan shroud is cracked but not broken in two.

Vac bottle has a hole the size of a fifty cent piece in it.

The fiberglass front piece (holds headlights, grill, etc.) is cracked and tweaked but could probably be reused. Evidently stronger than I thought.

Pass side marker light is toast. Turn signal lense broken (easy fix, glue a new piece on it).

Didn't remove the pass side 1/4 panel as it appears to require star head tools and I don't have any. Need the things to remove the door to get it fixed as well. But I crawled around underneath and the frame there appears fine; no cracks, bumps, bends, etc.

Whaccha think?

Sarge

[AlanH]

All of the body parts are easily replaceable. I did a similar repair recently and got all of my parts from http://www.autobodypartsonline.com/. The parts aren't OEM quality, but with 240K on the odometer, I didn't really care.

The bumper attachment points are replaceable brackets which cost about $15 each and attach with three bolts (Torx). I put some Rusty's tow hooks on while I had it apart.

The fiberglass front piece is called the header panel and mine only cost around $60. The replacement is plastic instead of fiberglass, but it gets the job done and looks fine once painted.

My vac bottle had a dime size hole in it and I repaired it with epoxy. It was a PITA, but I eventually got it sealed.

It'll cost you a few hundred dollars, but it's not very difficult and you'll save a ton of money doing it yourself.

[Sarge]

Originally posted by AlanH
The bumper attachment points are replaceable brackets which cost about $15 each and attach with three bolts (Torx). I put some Rusty's tow hooks on while I had it apart.

The bent part is what the brackets bolt to...the frame section sticking out the front of the XJ.

Sarge