Chili Palmer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Idaho
Looking for some advice here...
I recently picked up a completely gutted (interior - pics can be found here -http://www.4wdevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125) '84 XJ that I wanted to possibly make street legal but it was missing headlights, grill, wipers, etc. So I found an '88 MJ (for $80) for parts (grill parts, windshield, misc.) with a "blown" 2.5L motor - however, the MJ is actually in very good shape, the body is almost perfrectly straight (just two little creases tucked under the bumper like they bumped into something - pun intended - you can't even notice them) and since I live in the desert there is no rust at all. All it would need is a new motor and a cheap paint job and my son could drive it.
Now to the question - how hard (or expensive) is it to fix the "small" stuff on these little 2.5L's? My dilema is I don't know anything about the history of the Jeep and I don't want to spend the money on a new motor and then have to spend $2000 on the little crap to get it running. What kind of sensors am I dealing with here? Is '88 some kind of "crap" year for MJ's or was it just another production year?
One thing that would really help is to be able to test the electrical system prior to doing anything else, if I knew it was working properly then I wouldn't hesitate putting a little money into it, but if it's going to be a big 'ol head ache then I'm parting it out so I can get it out of my garage.
Any help would be greatly appreciated...
P.s. I already have the FSM and the Chilton manual for the MJ so throw all the tech stuff at me that you can - I'm looking for first hand knowledge here and any tips or tricks.
Thanks...
I recently picked up a completely gutted (interior - pics can be found here -http://www.4wdevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125) '84 XJ that I wanted to possibly make street legal but it was missing headlights, grill, wipers, etc. So I found an '88 MJ (for $80) for parts (grill parts, windshield, misc.) with a "blown" 2.5L motor - however, the MJ is actually in very good shape, the body is almost perfrectly straight (just two little creases tucked under the bumper like they bumped into something - pun intended - you can't even notice them) and since I live in the desert there is no rust at all. All it would need is a new motor and a cheap paint job and my son could drive it.
Now to the question - how hard (or expensive) is it to fix the "small" stuff on these little 2.5L's? My dilema is I don't know anything about the history of the Jeep and I don't want to spend the money on a new motor and then have to spend $2000 on the little crap to get it running. What kind of sensors am I dealing with here? Is '88 some kind of "crap" year for MJ's or was it just another production year?
One thing that would really help is to be able to test the electrical system prior to doing anything else, if I knew it was working properly then I wouldn't hesitate putting a little money into it, but if it's going to be a big 'ol head ache then I'm parting it out so I can get it out of my garage.
Any help would be greatly appreciated...
P.s. I already have the FSM and the Chilton manual for the MJ so throw all the tech stuff at me that you can - I'm looking for first hand knowledge here and any tips or tricks.
Thanks...