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Helping 18y/o niece with '97XJ

C

Can'tSitStill

NAXJA Forum User
Location
NY
Greetings all- I'm a long time Jeep owner- CJ,YJ, XJ,WKII now...
My 18y/o niece has just started college and has a 1997 XJ with just over 100kmi- Not sure the exact sub model as it had a Maaco paint job and all lettering is missing. Has the honeycomb rims and lots of options... From the south so it has zero rocker rot. Bonus.

ANYWAY... I have had lots of garage time with other Jeeps and am looking to help her out with some gremlins. I'm giving the time, but need to keep the money part to a bare minimum. Already "repaired" the driver master window switch as no windows were working, and cleaned and reinstalled the neutral switch.

If the forum could help recommend the best way to go about a few items, I would greatly appreciate it.

Needs:

CAT back exhaust- Cheap and stock- Best bet?

Liftgate struts: Where is the best replacement deal from?

Stock suspension replacement. No lift necessary, but she's a saggy wagon.. Where is the best place to get stock suspension parts? Or, is anyone lifting one that has good, stock parts to get rid of?

Rear wiper is stopped. I moved it back to the "at rest" position so it wasn't in her rearview. Worth trying to fix, or just leave it??

Push to turn on overhead lights- If they go on, they won't go off... Replacements available?

Headliner is completely unglued- How difficult is it to remove the card? I would love to reglue it for her... I have some great headliner adhesive, but it looks like quite a job to remove it-- Probably a good time to work on overhead lights too.

I have a decent used head unit and speakers to put in for her to replace the factory tape deck. Anyone have a dash kit or parts that they would part with?

Body emblems / stickers. Would like to get some Jeep badging back on it. Best place to order stock looking badges?

Anything you all would recommend checking too?? Tires, battery, fluids, belt, have all been gone through and are in good shape...

Thanks in advance for any help--- My niece is super sweet, super smart and could use a little help from Uncle to get her Jeep up to par...
 
Last edited:
Can'tSitStill said:
Greetings all- I'm a long time Jeep owner- CJ,YJ, XJ,WKII now...
My 18y/o niece has just started college and has a 1997 XJ with just over 100kmi- Not sure the exact sub model as it had a Maaco paint job and all lettering is missing. Has the honeycomb rims and lots of options... From the south so it has zero rocker rot. Bonus.

ANYWAY... I have had lots of garage time with other Jeeps and am looking to help her out with some gremlins. I'm giving the time, but need to keep the money part to a bare minimum. Already "repaired" the driver master window switch as no windows were working, and cleaned and reinstalled the neutral switch.

If the forum could help recommend the best way to go about a few items, I would greatly appreciate it.

Needs:

CAT back exhaust- Cheap and stock- Best bet?
The Dynomax cat back is pretty cheap on Amazon and is supposed to add just a little power.
Liftgate struts: Where is the best replacement deal from?
Check the vendor section and PM them for a quote.
Stock suspension replacement. No lift necessary, but she's a saggy wagon.. Where is the best place to get stock suspension parts? Or, is anyone lifting one that has good, stock parts to get rid of?

Rear wiper is stopped. I moved it back to the "at rest" position so it wasn't in her rearview. Worth trying to fix, or just leave it??

Push to turn on overhead lights- If they go on, they won't go off... Replacements available?

Headliner is completely unglued- How difficult is it to remove the card? I would love to reglue it for her... I have some great headliner adhesive, but it looks like quite a job to remove it-- Probably a good time to work on overhead lights too.
To remove the headliner, just remove the trim pieces. It takes a little while but it isn't very difficult.
I have a decent used head unit and speakers to put in for her to replace the factory tape deck. Anyone have a dash kit or parts that they would part with?
A dash kit isn't very expensive. Maybe $20 max.
Body emblems / stickers. Would like to get some Jeep badging back on it. Best place to order stock looking badges?

Anything you all would recommend checking too?? Tires, battery, fluids, belt, have all been gone through and are in good shape...

Thanks in advance for any help--- My niece is super sweet, super smart and could use a little help from Uncle to get her Jeep up to par...
Click to expand...


Replies in red
 
Gate struts:
I've bought them off ebay and at NAPA. Ebay seems to have decent deals...and usually sells by the pair. Rockauto too.

Suspension parts:
I like Rockauto, a variety of stock options. Returning wrong items can be a bit problematic. Autozone sells Moog stuff, OEM.

Wiper:
Did you check the fuse? Otherwise a new or even used motor is fairly cheap and easy to replace. Make sure the wiring to the hatch isn't frayed or worn which is a common issue. The rear panel is not hard to remove, then you can check the condition of the wiring there and where it comes thru/into the hatch.

Lights:
Seems there is a switch/wiring problem with that...maybe look at it while you have the headliner out.

Headliner:
If you have the headliner out, just re-glueing is a waste of time. I'd buy new headliner material as the foam on thwe back of the fabric is probably degraded. Buy the headliner material at JoAnnes or some other fabric store and the glue/adhesive at ACE hardware or similar. Use the 3M adhesive. The headliner "kit" is just that, excwept you only get 1 (one) can of glue...and you'll need at least 2 at $20 a can.

Badges/emblems.
Ebay has several options for the sticker type badges/emblems. Othwerwise if you want the raised lettering chrome badges...the junkyard is your best bet. Go with a piece of thin wire with a handle on each end to peel the badges off without breaking them. I used adhesive RTV though some folks use 3M double sided tape (which is stock). The adhesive RTV has stuck on mine for several years without showing any signs of coming off.

...Oh, and make her part of the process, so she know what's up with her Jeep...and get a cheap code reader for her...for Christamas.

Good Luck
 
Well, dang. I had a whole post typed out and my computer logged me out before I posted and I lost it all...however, these two guys covered all my suggestions, almost exactly.

Good luck - and if your niece is as smart and sweet as you stay keep her far from here!
 
Cottontail said:
Good luck - and if your niece is as smart and sweet as you stay keep her far from here!
Click to expand...

There is that :roflmao:

But you could also impress upon her that taking the Jeep into a mechanic for every little thing will run into $$ fast. So the more she knows about it, the better.
 
Badges - forgot to mention - for the 3D style, you may want to just check the dealer. the E-Bay pricing for OEM badges are as much as at the dealer! The JEEP logo on the tailgate and nose haven't changed in years. The CHEROKEE was used with the Grands through at least 2004. If they don't have the CHEROKEE badges you can grab the GRAND CHEROKEE one and leave off the GRAND. The little 4.0L badge for the tailgate - not sure if it would be in stock.
 
NICE!!!!!! Thanks for all the super fast help... You all rock! Way to go, Jeep people! I think for the stereo, I'm gonna call Crutchfield. I bought it from there, and I was told they will provide you (no charge) with a fit kit to move it to another vehicle- but only once. Hopefully...
 
Can'tSitStill said:
Needs:

CAT back exhaust- Cheap and stock- Best bet?
if you are on a budget, I would just go with a cheap replacement cat and muffler. I have been using amazon for cats recerntly

Liftgate struts: Where is the best replacement deal from?
rockauto or the junkyard or google

Stock suspension replacement.
for the rear, get a second set of stock leaves. Cut the eyes off the main. throw that in the rear. If that doesn't bring it up enough, throw in the second leaf from the top in there too. for shocks, go with some bilstien stock replacements

Rear wiper is stopped. I moved it back to the "at rest" position so it wasn't in her rearview. Worth trying to fix, or just leave it??
motor could be dead, could be wiring, also check fuses. see if you have voltage coming into the thing. use a mutlitmeter to check voltage and resistance.

Push to turn on overhead lights-
replace the bulbs, pull off the thing and clean the connections, it also could just be the button sticking, perhaps grab a junkyard assembly. they are easy yo swap out.

Headliner is completely unglued- How difficult is it to remove the card? I would love to reglue it for her... I have some great headliner adhesive, but it looks like quite a job to remove it-- Probably a good time to work on overhead lights too.
its easy. pull the panels then the headliner, then glue it . super easy I've done this a ton.


Body emblems / stickers. Would like to get some Jeep badging back on it. Best place to order stock looking badges?
craigslist part out or junkyard or ebay
Click to expand...
 
Can'tSitStill said:
Needs:

CAT back exhaust- Cheap and stock- Best bet?
I got a tailpipe from Rustys and it was a perfect fit and was the best for the price I could find at the time. I don't have the exact prices but I paid $150 for a flowmaster muffler and the tailpipe back in 07 and they both are perfectly fine today.

Liftgate struts: Where is the best replacement deal from?
Hatch struts Strongarm #4291 x2 <$27> is what I put on back in 2011, get them from amazon usually has the best price. Those things are amazing, the hatch shoots up and is solid as the day I got them.


Stock suspension replacement.
I like quadratec for good stock or slightly more than stock replacements, good prices and great customer service. Rockauto would be my back up.

Anything you all would recommend checking too??
I would throw in an Eauto HD headlight harness(about 30 bucks) to get the headlights nice and bright and consider some new H4 housings, I went with IPF for 80 bucks and Phillips H4/9003 night guide bulbs for $25. Also consider high quality wiper blades, I use PIAA silicone blades and they are the only thing that have held up to the AZ sun(since 2010!). Something to pay more for up front but know they will last and not be something to worry about her maintaining as often.

Being the cool uncle is not cheap :cheers: .
Click to expand...
 
I will chime in on the rear wiper. If it was allowed to stall for long it may be toast, either burned out or its internal plastic gear stripped. Hope for a blown fuse, but if power returns, do not allow it to stop before it comes to the rest position with the ignition on. This wiper will keep the park circuit alive until ignition is off. If it stalls, the attempt to park will burn it out.

The core problem is usually corrosion on the main shaft going to the wiper blade. If it's just slow, you may be able to get some oil in, but it won't last long.

If miraculously it is not dead, make sure you walk it through its cycle, and unplug it before it is permanently killed, or if you can't get it parked, unplug it fast.

Late model motors are, unfortunately, riveted together. You must mill or drill off the rivets to open it up. You can do this, and once the pieces are apart, you can punch the main shaft out of the casting, relube it and put it all back together with little machine screws. A long shot, and more likely it will need to be replaced, but you can try.
 
More thanks to all. I had a suggestion also for the exhaust to go right to the local Cole Muffler. I'll get a price there. May be worth a few extra bucks to just pay and have them throw it on a lift and be done in an hour. Christmas is coming.
Rear motor must be toast... Blown fuse, change fuse, try wiper, blown fuse. Not a lot of time to check it out as she's home rarely now. Next trip!
 
Can'tSitStill said:
More thanks to all. I had a suggestion also for the exhaust to go right to the local Cole Muffler. I'll get a price there. May be worth a few extra bucks to just pay and have them throw it on a lift and be done in an hour. Christmas is coming.
Rear motor must be toast... Blown fuse, change fuse, try wiper, blown fuse. Not a lot of time to check it out as she's home rarely now. Next trip!
Click to expand...
There's still a faint (very faint) hope that the fuse is blowing before the motor burns out. It may still be worth taking apart if you have time and patience. Find a rubber plug for the hole while it's out and you can take some time at it.
 
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