OK, folks, the XJ I just picked up for my wife from a state of Michigan vehicle auction may not be the great vehicle I thought it was. It’s a 97, 4 liter, auto (OD), select-trac (2H, 4H, N, 4L), 24,000 miles, air, cruise, clean, etc. Only information I have was it was owned by the university of Michigan regents, which qualified it to be sold a as a state of Michigan vehicle.
After I changed the oil and filter my wife ran it to our regular mechanic. The garage owner (2-man garage), and our mechanic are insistent that it had a plow attached. The lower plastic spoiler that runs directly under the bumper has two obviously cut outs approximately 6 to 8 inches. I assumed some had installed fog lights and then removed them. They claim the front springs and shocks were replaced due to front end sag when the plow was removed. The front springs still have the original factory finish on them, the front shocks have speckles of rust all over them. The exhaust system is rusty enough to be replaced, driveshafts are also rusty, along with axels housing, driveshafts, etc. But this is Michigan, and we use a LOTS of salt here. But the underside of the body is clean. Also, there are no obvious signs of where a plow was attached to the frame, though I did see holes on both the left and right front axle trailing arms, and possible attachment points to the frame rails. But I would have thought if they attached it to the frame rails, it would be very obvious, paint scraped off, telltale bolt marks, etc..
My wife wanted a mild lift on it so I already purchased a 2 inch budget lift from Rocky Road. The garage owner claimed this would cause the u-joints to bust, because he said, the driveshafts angles aren’t that great from the factory, along with putting way too much stress on the transmission, differentials and transfer case. His position is the plow put a lot of wear and tear on them, and lift kit would only make them go out faster.
So basically what I thought was a solid vehicle may not be a candidate for a lift kit. We’re at a crossroad, do we follow our original game plan (lift-kit, 15X7 wheels, 30/31 inch tires) or heed our mechanics advice to keep it stock, and sell it if we have to start pouring money into it. Also, this will not be used for 4 wheeling, this is her daily driver, and we hope to have it for many years. She just wanted a nice looking Cherokee that stood out from all the other mommy mobiles. Thanks in advance for any guidance. Any 4 wheel shops in mid-Michigan would be appreciate too.
After I changed the oil and filter my wife ran it to our regular mechanic. The garage owner (2-man garage), and our mechanic are insistent that it had a plow attached. The lower plastic spoiler that runs directly under the bumper has two obviously cut outs approximately 6 to 8 inches. I assumed some had installed fog lights and then removed them. They claim the front springs and shocks were replaced due to front end sag when the plow was removed. The front springs still have the original factory finish on them, the front shocks have speckles of rust all over them. The exhaust system is rusty enough to be replaced, driveshafts are also rusty, along with axels housing, driveshafts, etc. But this is Michigan, and we use a LOTS of salt here. But the underside of the body is clean. Also, there are no obvious signs of where a plow was attached to the frame, though I did see holes on both the left and right front axle trailing arms, and possible attachment points to the frame rails. But I would have thought if they attached it to the frame rails, it would be very obvious, paint scraped off, telltale bolt marks, etc..
My wife wanted a mild lift on it so I already purchased a 2 inch budget lift from Rocky Road. The garage owner claimed this would cause the u-joints to bust, because he said, the driveshafts angles aren’t that great from the factory, along with putting way too much stress on the transmission, differentials and transfer case. His position is the plow put a lot of wear and tear on them, and lift kit would only make them go out faster.
So basically what I thought was a solid vehicle may not be a candidate for a lift kit. We’re at a crossroad, do we follow our original game plan (lift-kit, 15X7 wheels, 30/31 inch tires) or heed our mechanics advice to keep it stock, and sell it if we have to start pouring money into it. Also, this will not be used for 4 wheeling, this is her daily driver, and we hope to have it for many years. She just wanted a nice looking Cherokee that stood out from all the other mommy mobiles. Thanks in advance for any guidance. Any 4 wheel shops in mid-Michigan would be appreciate too.
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