Preventive Mantinance

(first off im a bad speller)


Got my XJ aligned at Firestone to day and this is what they told me I need:
"
fuel system tune up
ek-10t ever-wear 3-step fuel system
cleaner ---------------------------- $89.99

: transmission fluid flush :
transmission fluid (up to 15 quarts)
trans cleaner & condidining
ea-64p ever wear power trans flush and treatment --------$109.99

wiper blades (front both)
40718a wiper blade 18" --------------------------------- $29.98

cooling system flush with new antifreeze
tlf-108 ever wear radiator flush & stop leak
anti-freez gallon ---------------------------------------$79.99

bearing & seals (front-both)
513158 front hub assembly
femove & replace wheel hub, front, both ------------------$518.66

total recomended parts -----------------------------------$515.21
labor ---------------------------------------------------- $313.40
shop supplies--------------------------------------------- $18.80
tax (9.15%)---------------------------------------------- $78.37
total------------------------------------------------------$925.28
"


my jeep has 53970miles on it. its an '01 with 3" of lift and 31x10.50 tires.
just about every thing on the list i can do my self except the bearings and seals. i talked to a friend of mine and he said there is no way my hubs need to be replaced with only 53970miles on it. the other stuff is just preventive mantinance that needs to be done any ways. do you all think the hubs need to be replaced? if so, where should i get them, how much would they cost, how hard are they to install? and what do i do for the fuel system tune up? how hard is it to flush the tranny fluid and re-fill it? along with the cooling system. wiper blades dont need to be changed. i have basic mechanical skills so please be spefic on replys on how to fix these problems. i think the price quote from firestone is a bunch of b/s and im not going to pay it. i think there just trying to get some $ back cuz i have life time alignments and get it aligned every time i get back from a trip.

It is a unit hub and bearing assembly. Jack up the heep and try to move the tire with hands at 12 and 6 o' clock if there is no play then they are good.

While you've got the front end up in the air, SLOWLY turn the tyre around and listen for a "clicking" sound - which indicates worn bearing rollers. This can happen, and you still might not have any "play" in the wheel assembly. I've got 247K on original hubs on my 88, and I'm not having any trouble. Considering that a replacement is about $150 (part) and 2-3 hours each (self-labour,) that's a job I won't do until I need to.

$30 for wiper blades? Yeah - right! I pay $3 a pair for refills, and keep using the same frames!

Fuel injection cleaning? Use 2 ounces to ten gallons acetone (about four ounces, for you) every other month. Acetone is a fuel additive that is already used for fuel system cleaning, and you'll just be increasing the concentration. Running "premium" fuel isn't worth the cash - you won't get any benefit out of it anyhow, and your mileage will probably go down slightly as a result.

The AW4 automatic is one of the most solid slushboxes I've ever worked on (anything better probably comes with an Alison nameplate on it,) and changing the fluid regularly is enough. If that worries you, get a can of Berryman's B-12, and follow the directions on the back.

Radiator flush you can do yourself, and don't add stop leak unless you actually need it. It can cause problems if it just sits in the system for a while (and I've always considered stop leak a temporary fix for pretty much ANY leak - it either gets me home, or gets me to payday, and I'll fix it right.)

Hope this helps.

5-90

i do get a bad grinding sound coming from my engine bay sometimes. but i dont think its from my hubs.

Check your harmonic damper (bottom pully.) The ring and hub should be flush at the front - if the ring's walking, it can walk backwards into the front cover and start grinding off metal.

Also, check the idler pullys - the bearings in them can also go bad. If you can see the bearing, it's fairly simple to replace - all you need is a vice and a socket.

Last, you might want to check the A/C compressor (the bearings in there can grind,) and the alternator (same thing.)

5-90

just replaced the s-belt and the idler pully is ok. ill check the rest

little red cheroke said:

1)tax (9.15%)---------------------------------------------- $78.37
2)total------------------------------------------------------$925.28

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1)OUCH. and i thought the 8% they charge around here was bad.(maybe just because i live close to indiana where i think its 6-7%).

2)shit thats a little less than i payed for my xj. :wierd:

91Limited said:

1)OUCH. and i thought the 8% they charge around here was bad.(maybe just because i live close to indiana where i think its 6-7%).

2)shit thats a little less than i payed for my xj. :wierd:

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Here in Tennessee they charge 9 3/4% because we don't have an income tax.

Hey Little Red Cherokee...welcome to . I'm just down the road from you in Franklin.

Now that you paid someone to tell you what has to be done, get started. I always like to do what I can. I try to make sure nothing is leaking and change all the fluids.

partsxj said:

Now that you paid someone to tell you what has to be done, get started. I always like to do what I can. I try to make sure nothing is leaking and change all the fluids.

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i was just getting an alignment and i get those for free for life and they just told me what i needed i think just to make some money

Cottontail said:

Here in Tennessee they charge 9 3/4% because we don't have an income tax.

Hey Little Red Cherokee...welcome to . I'm just down the road from you in Franklin.

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yea TN sales tax sucks. hey send me a PM maybe we can go wheelin' some time if you want. on the edge of the williamson/davidson county line right off edmondson. i have a few guys i go wheelin here with local with a TJ and a YJ id be cool to have a friend with a XJ to go wheelin with us.

As far as I'm concerned, just about everything on that list is a ripoff.

1. Fuel system cleaner. Forget it. If it's running well it's running well. Throw a bottle of Techron in it every few months if you want to keep it clean. At your current mileage you probably don't need anything done at all.

2. Transmission flush. Don't. Tranny experts I trust say it's a bad idea and may shorten the life of your transmission, unless you're trying a last ditch effort to salvage a cooked one. XJ transmissions are just about the best automatics on earth, and regularly go for over 200 thousand miles with nothing but the occasional drain and refill. If it's running well and the fluid is pink, save your money. You can drain and top up yourself to freshen up the fluid. But at that mileage I seriously doubt you need to do anything at all.

3. Wiper blades. You should know whether or not they're bad. If they are, go to this or that Mart or an auto parts store, get a pair (get good brand like Anco, not the cheapest crap, and they'll still cost something like 6 bucks apiece), put them on. Thirty bucks for wiper blades is madness.

4. Cooling system flush is a good idea, but for crying out loud, you don't need stop leak unless it's leaking! This you can do yourself for the cost of a gallon or two of antifreeze. If you're not ready to do this job yourself go to another garage and have them do it. 80 bucks is nonsense, and anyone who puts stop leak in a system that does not leak is ripping you off. I realize I'm a slouch where cooling system service is concerned, but I rarely flush my cooling system more frequently than the mileage you have on your rig now. It's probably about due but almost certainly not urgent.

5. BEarings and seals. Seals? As others have said, this is a unit bearing with built in seals. If it's good it's good, and if bad, it's bad. Follow others' advice above on checking. This is not a routine maintenance item. On my Xj, I had to replace one hub at over 200 thousand miles, and the other is still fine at 256K. Wait until they fail.

If I were you I would walk, and I would also not take any vehicle to that shop again. I really think they're taking advantage (that's the polite way of saying they're ****ing thieves).

By the way, if my tone sounds harsh it's not directed at you but at those ****s at the shop. There's enough work for honest mechanics to make a living. They don't have to do it this way.

the only reason i go there is to get free alignments. most everything on that list i can do myself. i just didnt know if these were regular things to do at 50k. i have only been to a few shops that didnt try to offer me anything more than i asked for. when i first got my lift i had to get an alignment and they said my s-belt was bad and were trying to charge me $90+ to change it. i picked up a new belt at pepboys for less than $20 and did it my self in less than 15min. $90 is a little out there for a belt. its always something when i have to take it to the shop. and my cooling system is not leaking so i was very confused when they wanted to put stop leak in my radiator. as far as my bearings and seals im going to check those when i get home. is there any way to check my other pulleys with out taking of the s-belt??

The lifetime alignment deal sounds good, but the reason they offer this is job development. I haven't been to a Firestone service center since back in the day. I took the car in for something simple, forget what. As I'm checking out they presented me with a list of IMMEDIATE maintenance items. The kicker was they wanted to replace my new fan belts. The labor charge to replace each fan belt was the same, forget the fact that to replace the belt closest to the engine they had to R&R the other belt. What was even worse, they quoted me replacement costs for three belts and the car only had two. This experience convinced me to learn to do most things myself or find a local HONEST mechanic for things that I cannot do.

As others pointed out, their prices are excessive as is their list of PM items. DIY is the way to go for PM items. Your owner's manual has a list of PM needs by mileage. I try to keep to that schedule.

little red cheroke said:

the only reason i go there is to get free alignments. most everything on that list i can do myself. i just didnt know if these were regular things to do at 50k. i have only been to a few shops that didnt try to offer me anything more than i asked for. when i first got my lift i had to get an alignment and they said my s-belt was bad and were trying to charge me $90+ to change it. i picked up a new belt at pepboys for less than $20 and did it my self in less than 15min. $90 is a little out there for a belt. its always something when i have to take it to the shop. and my cooling system is not leaking so i was very confused when they wanted to put stop leak in my radiator. as far as my bearings and seals im going to check those when i get home. is there any way to check my other pulleys with out taking of the s-belt??

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You can't really check the other pulleys thoroughly without taking off the S-belt, but at your mileage I think listening and looking are probably sufficient. Mileage on the harmonic damper seems to vary widely, but in my own experience I've never had to replace one yet. The one on my 95 looks a little wobbly at 256K, but is not loose or visibly falling apart. If you look at the pulley, you'll see that the outer sheave is joined to the innner hub by a thin section of rubber. It's just bonded, metal to rubber to metal, and it's this rubber part that goes bad. Make sure that the outer pulley is not out of line with the inner, and that you don't see strangely squeezed-out bits of rotten rubber anywhere. If the belt doesn't squeak and doesn't wobble (much), you're probably fine. Remember that this is a rubber mounted pulley, made to damp vibration, so you can expect to see a little wiggle in motion as it does its job. Other idler pulleys and the water pump can be wiggled with the belt in place. You don't want to see any play.