'91 XJ: Thoughts and opinions please

I've been longing for another XJ since trading my '00 on my current '03 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4. Love the truck, but it's not exactly good (or fair for that matter) on gas. Since my wife and I just moved and I now have a 40+ mile commute (one way) to work, I was given the OK to look for a beater to trek back and forth to work in.

So, today I took a look at a '91 XJ equipped as follows:

4.0 liter, AW4, Command-trac, factory tow package, factory skids, 8.25 rear and just under 192K miles. The body is straight and in good condition with the exception of a dent in the hood and missing clear coat....no big deal. She started right up and ran very smooth and strong. There was some knocking but my recent research deems this as normal as it didn't seem loud enough to be a bearing issue and the noise disappeared with increased throttle. The trans shifts were smooth and precise. She drove very well for a high mileage rig. Ride was good and brakes were pretty firm. The present owner (original owner at that) seems to have done a good job with maintenance on it. The oil was supposedly changed every 3000 miles and the tranny fluid was supposedly changed every 25000, however the filter was not changed/washed each time. I believe the filter has been flushed twice. The trans fluid was nice and clean. Unfortunately, he had no record of the service preformed so I could not verify his maintenance. :tear: Interior was pretty dirty but that can be cleaned rather easily. I forgot to test 4x4 but afterward he said the t-case makes a bit of noise.

Now for the problems/issues/concerns:

1. I pulled the engine oil dipstick after driving her and there appeared to be a small amount of rusty colored sludge on the bottom 1/8 to 1/4 of the stick. I have never seen anything like this before. The oil was clean as he admitted to have changed it, the oil filter and the air filter yesterday. His story is he will keep the XJ if it doesn't sell and this was part of his scheduled maintenance. Again, the stick was pulled after driving the vehicle approx 5 miles (some backroads, some moderate highway). I would think if there was a head gasket problem, it would show up in the oil within those 5 miles. It has the idiot lights and not gauges so I could not judge oil pressure levels. Coolant levels seems a bit low in the overflow tank but remained above the "ADD" mark when cold. I will be performing a compression test if I decide to pursue it. Could he be trying to hide something?

2. On the underside, I noticed rust along the floor pan seams just inside the frame rails. In some areas, I could push on the floor pan and see it flex at the rusted areas. Some small spots looked to be completely rusted through. This rust was only at the seams and the majority of the underside was rust free. I banged on the floor on the inside and it appeared nice and solid. Again, an issue I was aware is common to these vehicles and is not overly difficult to repair.

3. Exhaust is toasted from the converter back and I think I saw evidence of a very small crack in the exhaust manifold. I noticed no noises that would indicate a leak there when running it with the hood up though.

So, what do you guys think? My main concern in point no. 1.

He said he would take $600 for it.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Brian

Seems odd he just changed the oil the day befor you came? Did he know you were comming?

Seems like a pretty good hunk of iron for 600 if it works. Definitely do the compression test, and if possible perhaps a pressure test of the radiator. The exhaust manifold might be a problem, but maybe not a big one if it doesn't make a noise. I'd count the floor rust as trivial. An easy fix with sheet metal and self-tapping screws. Exhaust is pretty cheap to do, and counts as routine maintenance. My 95 and my stepson's 93 both settle to a very low coolant level in the overflow tank and always have. If the cap is holding pressure I wouldn't worry. Do check the radiator from the inside*for fin rot though. It's old enough, and if the fins are going it will tend to run hot even if everything else is good. A little rot around the edges is tolerable, but when it gets really bad you'll overheat under load, and the only cure is a new radiator.

Try to calculate how much service life is worth 600 bucks these days. What is that, about 2 months of payments on a new car? About 15 years ago a car dealer told me the standard (at least in Vermont) was about a year or 10 thousand miles for a thousand bucks. Get a thousand dollar car, and if you get a year out of it without major repairs, you win. Considering inflation etc., how much can you lose on a 600 dollar Cherokee that runs well?

edit * I meant from the inside of the engine compartment, not the inside of the radiator. Just because you can't see the radiator well through the A/C condenser.

He knew I was going to come by either Tues. or Wed. evening so I thought the very current oil change was a little suspicious myself. Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid though.

But you're right Matt, for $600, what have I got to lose? If the compression tests out OK and the radiator doesn't look completely toasted, I'm gonna go for it. If it dies, in a month, I can always part it out and probably recoop. my money.

Anyone else, care to comment?

Thanks.

One more thought I had....

I know every state's inspection rules are somewhat different, but would the floor pan rust generally cause it to fail?

Just trying to get an idea of everything I will need to fix prior to the inspection.

Thanks.