Got a free XJ that i need part help with

Ok, thanks for looking.

So a little while ago a work buddy tells me his friend has a car that he doesn't want anymore and that I should go take a look at it. I figure, why not? Worst case scenario i get scrap metal or a smash up derby car. I show up and it's a 86XJ with the 2.8 v6 (which i got bad experience with thanks to a blazer) and it's automatic. Here is what I need help with.

It needs rear brakes and a new exhaust to pass the Maryland inspection.

Im going to replace the exhaust system from the headers down to the end, I don't need nothing fancy, just something that works. Where is the best pace to get that? I can try the local parts shop but I was just wondering if there was a lower priced place maybe online or something.

The car backfires like a bastard so I want to tune or replace the carb before i change the exhaust so I don't go blowing my cat up. The carb has a manual choke running into the cab which NEEDS to be pulled for the damn thing to start up, and unless the motor is real warmed up it will stall if I gas it hard. Sometimes it stalls when I put it in gear. When I leave it running for a bit it runs fine and doesnt stall or anything, but I need to leave it runnin for about 10 minutes for it to get running right. Should I just try cleaning and tunning my carb or just replace the thing, and if I replace it, OEM or aftermarket. I saw an edelbrock that is supposed to work with this motor for a couple hundred less that it would cost for me to get an oem carb for this car.

I am going to do a full tune up considering the fact that I dont know how long it sat for, pluss it's just the right thing to do. I drove it from the guys house to my home the day I got it and that was around 31 miles and it drove ok. I think it burns around 14 to the gallon and I don't know if that's normal or what. I think it should run better MPG with cleaner plugs and I'm replacing the fuel filter/air filter anyway, pluss once I do something with the carb it should get better fuel milage right? or are the powertrain combination i got just crappy on fuel no matter what?

The blinker is on crack. I swear. Sometimes the right blinker works normal and sometimes it will blink once wait a minute and blink again like if it forgot that it was supposed to blink. I havent checked the fuses cause its always dark when I get home, but should I be concerned about some kind of wiring/relay problem?

The car comes with an automatic trans and the command-trac. When I jam on the front differential it makes a small whirring noise, but it will still climb the hell out of my neighboors front hard which is steep as hell. I've been told that it's normal on that front axle but I was also told alot of dumb crap from that guy so I don't know if I should be worried or not? What do ya'll think?

The brakes are mushier than hell so I'm going to bleed em and everything when I go change the brakes up, front ones seem alright. I'm preety sure this thing ain't goin to have ABS so I was wondering if yall know how good or bad it stops on rain/snow?

one last question, how much money yall think im lookin at spending on this rig to make it road worthy? its got around 140k miles and like I said, i drove it from 30 miles away and it didnt give me no trouble minus what the inspection dweeb is crying about (brakes, exhaust.)

I by most of my parts from NAPA in Gaithersburg. Reasonable prices and quality products if you are on a budget. That's where I'd go to get my brake parts as well as exhaust if I were you. With respect to the backfiring and tuneup I can't help you but if you're looking for a good mechanic I'd try Mike's over on Schuykill Road in Rockville. He's helped me in some amazing ways in the past. Good luck.

No experience with the V6, but I'd do the tuneup first, and see how it behaves then. Especially if it's had a manual choke for a while, it could be pretty fouled up from forgetting to push it in. For driveability, you might try backing the choke in gradually as it warms up. Even if it takes a long warmup it might still be cheaper to do that than to replace the carb. This may be a situation where once you learn the technique it will be all right.

The rear brake parts are pretty cheap. Get all the springs and bits new, and replace or rebuild the wheel cylinders if there's any doubt about their health. It should stop adequately on rain and snow, but nothing special. Be careful that the rear adjusters are working, or get used to manual adjusting frequently. When the adjusters fail, the rears get very touchy and lock up prematurely. The tendency to lock up is a little less when in part time 4WD, because front and rear axles are bound together. But once the thing is on the road, you should play around a little on bad surfaces to get a feel for how it behaves.

For the crazy blinkers, check grounds at the lights themselves, and also make sure the sockets aren't corroded.

If you're talking about a little noise when it's in 4WD, I wouldn't worry much about that, but you should make sure all the fluids are good, and check things like U-joints anyway.

yardape said:

I by most of my parts from NAPA in Gaithersburg. Reasonable prices and quality products if you are on a budget.

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one of my friends at work gets discounts there so I already texted him a shopping list so he can get a price quote for everything. If it works out and i get the discount I can probably let u know and see if there is stuff u gotta buy too in the future or something.

fgonzalez355 said:

one of my friends at work gets discounts there so I already texted him a shopping list so he can get a price quote for everything. If it works out and i get the discount I can probably let u know and see if there is stuff u gotta buy too in the future or something.

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Thank you but its not necessary. I don't know your experienced level with this stuff but if you start taking things apart like the brakes, have a digital camera handy and snap some picks BEFORE you start so you can see how it goes back together. Good luck.

yardape said:

Thank you but its not necessary. I don't know your experienced level with this stuff but if you start taking things apart like the brakes, have a digital camera handy and snap some picks BEFORE you start so you can see how it goes back together. Good luck.

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Especially drum brakes!

I've found that a decent Polaroid camera makes a good addition to a toolkit, once you get going. Look for the cameras that have the battery as part of the film pack - saves trouble.

5-90 said:

Especially drum brakes!

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Precisely where I was going. I hate standing there scratching my head like a fool for not remembering which end of which spring hooks into which hole.

Or only do one brake at a time, so you have something to compare to.

I did my drums then took it to Midas and let them adjust and bleed them for 30 bucks, had already saved myself $400 doing (all)my brakes myself, and went with ceramic over the metallic(pads) they were going to give me. Figured I'd let a pro check my work for $30.