Jim D.
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Alexandria, Virginia
See lots of JeepFreaks with older XJs. Good for you; I love them. But: I just want to say something. I had an 87 XJ Pioneer, used 4WD-extremely in Ecuador. Name the problem: I had it. Towed 3 times (twice clogged fuel filter, once because - honest - the clutch pedal broke off!!); radiator hoses rubbed through (in the boonies - ever have the out of body experience of smelling antifreeze when you're miles from civilization?? "That can't be me; I'm dreaming." Thank goodness for racer tape.); all suspension bolts loose after a tough off road weekend; hood latch catch broken; rear aux. light personally installed by me, ripped out of the fiberglass rear door by a thief the first night I parked the car in the street; exhaust manifold bolts cracked; I could go on, but why? The point: when Chrysler bought out AMC I personally witnessed the engineering transition during the late 1980s, early 1990s. Every little glitch that AMC couldn't afford to, or didn't, deal with - Chrysler reengineered and fixed. Improvements were impressive, to say the least. Big ones, or little ones: as simple as a metal clip for the hood rod in place of a plastic one. There is NO comparison between the AMC legacy 1980s and the later models. Now I have a 97: steel rear door, all new electrical system, etc. A milestone evolution for the XJ. Mine is perfect, with only 88,000 miles - yet only market valued at maybe 6 grand in the USA. So, what I'm saying is that the later the year of the "old" model XJ you can get, the better. And they're not that expensive, all things considered. Before you drop that precious repair or upgrade $ into your late 1980s XJ - think twice. Maybe you can find an early/late 90s Chrysler-improved XJ, and for sure, your money will be better spent (at least in my opinion).