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da_jokker

NAXJA Forum User
Location
N California
Hi everyone! If you had told me a month ago that I was going to buy a Jeep I would have laughed at you.

But today I brough home a 1993 Cherokee County with 53k miles on it for just under $5k. Having 2 other relatively new cars, I will say it was strange to drive something so Old tech ( or should I say no Tech :) )

It has a few things that I need to fix so I figured I would go ahead and sign up because I know I'm going to need help.

It belonged to a very nice old lady who bought it brand new when she was in her 70s and now she's in her 90s

It's extremely clean and I couldn't be more happy with its condition ( I know, I know, it's worthless without pics).

However on the drive home I discovered the following issues:

AC doesn't get cold

Original Jeep radio doesn't pick up any stations.

One or two of the power windows get a little stuck going up and down.

Brake lights are intermittent. E.g. like 1 out of every dozen pedal pushes they come on.

I get a slight wobble at around 60/65 miles per hour. Maybe it's the death wobble but it doesn't seem to be that severe.

Steering has some very slight play. A quick look seems to show the arm going down to the steering bar joint, lifts up a little when you turn the steering wheel back and forth.

Very exited to join the community. Soon as I fix any critical items I'm going to be piling the family in the XJ, and go find some trails!
 
Welcome to the poor house, uh...er, I mean NAXJA!
 
Lol thanks...Yeah I bought a jeep because it was relatively simple to work on...I didn't buy it to HAVE to work on it

Looking forward to fixing it...to a point :)
 
Welcome aboard. It sounds like you found a nice gem. It is getting harder and harder to find XJs that haven't been abused or poorly modified. Take care of what you have there.

Odds are the AC will need to be charged and checked for leaks, then dis-charged so the leaks can be repaired, then charged again. It will probably deserve a chemical flush and a new drier too.

The original radio probably isn't one you are going to want to keep. Try to avoid hacking up the dash though. My '96 is a fiasco when it comes to mounting the radio because previous owners have cut out all the correct supports.

You may be able to fix the power windows by cleaning up the drive assembly. Search around for some threads like this one: https://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=31470

I have never torn into the windows, and I don't have power windows, but apparently there are some sleeves that degrade over time and you may be able to do something about this.

Brake lights might just have a sticky switch. You could first try an electrical parts cleaner spray and see if that frees things up, or replace the switch.

There are many potential causes for wobble. First thing I would check is tires. How old are the current ones? Regardless of tread, check the dates. From the description of the vehicle and the source (old lady, low miles) you may need a new set of tires. If they are still less than ten years old I would at least take them and get them balanced just to eliminate that potential cause. From there start evaluating tie rod ends and track bar ends. The track bar is probably the most common culprit. The play in your steering wheel is another, likely culprit. Evaluate all those moving pieces, one at a time.

And again, welcome to NAXJA.
 
In my 93 the radio didn't pick up hardly anything, I did some digging and ended up finding out there is an antennae connection thing behind the passenger side "kick" panel down by the floor, take that off and the connector is a pin style thing that goes into another cable and has a spring for some reason that causes them to separate if it gets dislodged. I took the spring out stuck them together and electrical taped it all together so they wouldn't come apart again. Radio works great now, this was after checking grounds, swapping radios, and swapping antennas, but I would check it first if I were you.
 
Anak said:
Welcome aboard. It sounds like you found a nice gem. It is getting harder and harder to find XJs that haven't been abused or poorly modified. Take care of what you have there.

Odds are the AC will need to be charged and checked for leaks, then dis-charged so the leaks can be repaired, then charged again. It will probably deserve a chemical flush and a new drier too.

The original radio probably isn't one you are going to want to keep. Try to avoid hacking up the dash though. My '96 is a fiasco when it comes to mounting the radio because previous owners have cut out all the correct supports.

You may be able to fix the power windows by cleaning up the drive assembly. Search around for some threads like this one: https://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=31470

I have never torn into the windows, and I don't have power windows, but apparently there are some sleeves that degrade over time and you may be able to do something about this.

Brake lights might just have a sticky switch. You could first try an electrical parts cleaner spray and see if that frees things up, or replace the switch.

There are many potential causes for wobble. First thing I would check is tires. How old are the current ones? Regardless of tread, check the dates. From the description of the vehicle and the source (old lady, low miles) you may need a new set of tires. If they are still less than ten years old I would at least take them and get them balanced just to eliminate that potential cause. From there start evaluating tie rod ends and track bar ends. The track bar is probably the most common culprit. The play in your steering wheel is another, likely culprit. Evaluate all those moving pieces, one at a time.

And again, welcome to NAXJA.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that great info. The brake lights turned out to be the switch. $30 part and I'm back in business. The wobble and steering play is my main focus because although not to bad, I don't want to wife driving it like that. I noticed yesterday all the bushings are pretty rotten so I'm trying to see if there's a bushing rebuild kit. Nice tip on the track bar, and the wheels are total junk. Problem is I want to put on 30"s which means I have to lift it first :)
 
Kyle96 said:
In my 93 the radio didn't pick up hardly anything, I did some digging and ended up finding out there is an antennae connection thing behind the passenger side "kick" panel down by the floor, take that off and the connector is a pin style thing that goes into another cable and has a spring for some reason that causes them to separate if it gets dislodged. I took the spring out stuck them together and electrical taped it all together so they wouldn't come apart again. Radio works great now, this was after checking grounds, swapping radios, and swapping antennas, but I would check it first if I were you.
Click to expand...

It's the little things that drive you crazy huh! I have a new radio on the way (cassette tape? Don't think so) but I'm going to check that kick panel today! Thanks for the info.

Oh, and no hacking here. Got the factory adapter plug coming as well. I'm wiser than when I was young and no longer hack off the factory plugs :)
 
da_jokker said:
Thanks for all that great info. The brake lights turned out to be the switch. $30 part and I'm back in business. The wobble and steering play is my main focus because although not to bad, I don't want to wife driving it like that. I noticed yesterday all the bushings are pretty rotten so I'm trying to see if there's a bushing rebuild kit. Nice tip on the track bar, and the wheels are total junk. Problem is I want to put on 30"s which means I have to lift it first :)
Click to expand...


For the lift, look into Old Man Emu, commonly abbreviated OME. Just don't order anything from East Coast Jeeps (a sorry excuse for an Amazon vendor). If it is in the budget this would probably be the ticket to running 30s: http://dpgoffroad.com/products/22-5-inch-ultimate-xj-old-man-emu-hybrid-kit/

That is a fairly complete kit, including a new track bar and the new U-bolts you will need for the rear axle. The sway bar disconnects are good ones.

By the way, if you are planning to do a lift you maybe ought to start now with spraying the leaf spring bolts with a penetrating oil such as Kroil. Those bolts go into the frame rails and are notorious for being seized up. They seize up in the leaf spring bushings as well as in the factory captive nut. Major hassle if things go sideways with those bolts. The original bolts are still available, Mopar P/N 34202118.

The other thing to think about is the front control arms, and there is a wide range of options up there. At the budget end of improvements is to just get a pair of WJ ('99-'04 Grand Cherokee) lower control arms and replace bushings in those and in your stock uppers. And then there are all sorts of aftermarket options with all sorts of different bushings, rod ends and Johnny Joints in the ends. Lots of options. Ask questions and we can help spend more of your money. :roflmao:
 
da_jokker said:
It's the little things that drive you crazy huh! I have a new radio on the way (cassette tape? Don't think so) but I'm going to check that kick panel today! Thanks for the info.

Oh, and no hacking here. Got the factory adapter plug coming as well. I'm wiser than when I was young and no longer hack off the factory plugs :)
Click to expand...


Winner winner chicken dinner! The antenna was completely disconnected behind the kick panel. I use a small flat head screwdriver at to bend out the prongs to Reese nap it and then electrical tape just in case.

Still have a radio on a order of course cuz I don't even own a cassette, but at least now I know the new radio will get stations.

THANKS!
 
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