New addition to the NAZJA family....

Well, I just picked up my first Cherokee on Sunday and I got a hell of a deal, but have a few questions b/c this is my first Jeep. It's a '91 4x4 4.0L auto w/ 165k on the clock ($610....no, it's not missing a 1 or 2 in front of the 6!!!!). The paint is shot (who cares), but it doesn't have rust (yah!) and the brake booster needs to be replaced (just bought one off Ebay for $10). Are there any good websites for picking up cheap replacement parts besides Ebay b/c the junk yards around here seem steep compared to what I've heard ppl on here talk about (they wanted $50 for the booster and $250 for a NP231 - just asked out of curiousity - no I'm not switching - they didn't have any 242's for me to check on though).

Anyway, I'm sure it has the NP242 b/c I have 2wd, PT, FT, N, 4LO as selections, but I didn't actually check for the stamping on the case. I'm curious as how do I know if I have the disconnecting front axle or not?? I do plan to run lockers in this and I heard that the disco front end is better for this. I also saw a lil bit of oil around the seal of the air filter, but the filter wasn't soaked - could the PCV valve still be bad or is this normal? I'm going to do a tune-up (plugs - is the coil, wires or anything else recommended?) w/ fresh fluids all the way around, but other than that, any words of advice or anything else I should consider doing? Thanks for any help and this forum is great - I've learned quite a bit already!!

Congrats... along with Welcome to .
If you were looking for NAZJA thats really NAGCA and it's here: http://www.nagca.com/home.php

As for OEM replacement parts lots of places carry different stuff. Check out http://www.omix-ada.com many places carry their products and I've had good luck with them. As for your front axle through 91 are vacuum disconnect, 92+ are non-disconnect I believe. Oil in the air filter... do a search for solving blow-by issues.

OOOOOHHHH.....sooo embarrassing!!! I accidentally hit 'Z' instead of 'X'. Not a good start...

Is there a mod that can fix that so that I don't get flamed to death....trust me, it's not a 'Grand'

RCman said:

Congrats... along with Welcome to .
If you were looking for NAZJA thats here: www.nazja.org

Click to expand...

I think you meant http://www.nagca.com/

North American Grand Cherokee Association

91 Jeep Project said:

I think you meant http://www.nagca.com/

Click to expand...

Yup, I did... went back and changed it, but you beat me too it... Oops!

Nice find, especially if no rust. Bad paint clearcoat is a common problem, especially for certain colors. 165K is just nicely broken in.

If you have an NP242 and full-time 4WD, you shouldn't have a disconnect axle. You can double check this by getting underneath the axle and looking at the right (passenger) side. The disco is a vacuum device attached to the back of the axle tube. If it's there you'll see it.

There is no PCV valve on this design. It depends on good vacuum and perhaps clean living and good karma. A little oil on the filter is expected, but yoiu can minimize this by making sure that the little vacuum tube at the rear of the valve cover is clean and has no cracked joints. After a long time they get arterial plaque and then the vapors come out the big tube in the front, which is supposed to be the inlet, and foul the filter.

Once you've done the usual fluids and tuneup you can probably live with it a while before figuring out what it needs next. There are lots of things to check, but it's hard to know what's wrong until you look. Some XJ's of your vintage are said to have had weak coils, but if yours is working all right I wouldn't replace it. After all, it might already have been done during the previous 165K miles. Some things, like bad universal joints, water pump, belts, etc. will announce themselves once you've had time to tune into the sound and feel of it.

I would suggest that you check the innards of the rear brakes. It's worth taking the drums off to make sure the adjusters are working, which they often do not. Shake rattle and roll all the driveshafts, etc., check the U-joints, and look at the shock mounts and motor mounts, yank on the steering linkages and the track rod, and just generally get underneath it and inside it and get acquainted.