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Fluids/filters change check list

S

steventure

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Indiana
Just picked up a 97 the other day. Pulled the dipstick and noticed it was painfully low on oil, made me wince a bit. Who knows what the PO has done as far as maintenance, so I'm getting in there this weekend to begin changing and flushing everything. Anything else I should look at?
Oil/filter
Trans fluid/filter
Air filter
Coolant
Diffs

Brake fluid when I get to the brakes, still feels good.
PS fluid when I get around to having the gear rebuilt.

Am I missing anything, or anything else I should inspect considering it's around 260,000 miles?
Thanks.
 
Since you don't know the history, I would service everything.
 
ide change the order imo,

oil & air
coolant and hoses
brakes (dont go off feel, what does the fluid look like)
test the fuel pressure, pump/filter is one unit.
diffs
trans, its not much of a filter more of a screen for chunkys, ide say do drop the fluid in the pan though. Doing this with every other-ish oil change will be good to keep clean fluid in there.

ps fluid
 
RCP Phx said:
Since you don't know the history, I would service everything.
Click to expand...

This is going to be a full resto project so everything will. However I'm only an amateur when it comes to wrenching. Everything I've mentioned I've done before on my TJ aside from servicing an auto trans. So I'm trying to make a checklist. My uncle's a retired Pepsi mechanic he helps me when he can.
 
4x4JeePmaNthINg said:
ide change the order imo,

oil & air
coolant and hoses
brakes (dont go off feel, what does the fluid look like)
test the fuel pressure, pump/filter is one unit.
diffs
trans, its not much of a filter more of a screen for chunkys, ide say do drop the fluid in the pan though. Doing this with every other-ish oil change will be good to keep clean fluid in there.

ps fluid
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't know much about the fuel delivery system I'll have to research that. I'm sure there's a few good write ups here. Same goes for the tans.
I noticed dayco hoses when I was inspecting the radiator and coolant so I'm guessing its a "parts store special" rad. Just ordered a mopar HD radiator, water pump, tstat and housing, and new hoses. That'll all go in soon. Along with a trans cooler. I want her to be dependable for long road trips.
 
Give serious thought to motor mounts. Use a jack to try to move the motor. Particularly try lifting the drivers side of the motor. Do likewise for the trans mount.

Our XJ's have a wonderful feature that when the motor mounts go they will allow for enough movement to let the mechanical fan bolts reach the radiator and rearrange the metal. This is particularly frustrating when you have just upgraded from a thin radiator to the thicker (read closer to the fan) Mopar HD radiator. DAMHIKT.
 
Anak said:
Give serious thought to motor mounts. Use a jack to try to move the motor. Particularly try lifting the drivers side of the motor. Do likewise for the trans mount.

Our XJ's have a wonderful feature that when the motor mounts go they will allow for enough movement to let the mechanical fan bolts reach the radiator and rearrange the metal. This is particularly frustrating when you have just upgraded from a thin radiator to the thicker (read closer to the fan) Mopar HD radiator. DAMHIKT.
Click to expand...

Good to know! Yea that would be a bummer after dropping 450 on a new radiator. I might as well just change out the motor mounts too. Any in particular you would recommend? Thanks
 
steventure said:
Good to know! Yea that would be a bummer after dropping 450 on a new radiator. I might as well just change out the motor mounts too. Any in particular you would recommend? Thanks
Click to expand...


I'm particular to the OEM style mounts (Crown makes some), a big block of dense rubber. Fewer vibes in the cabin that a Brown Dog mount, which someone else will probably recommend. If you're wheeling and don't care about the NVH, I hear Brown Dog makes good ones.
 
asymptonic said:
I'm particular to the OEM style mounts (Crown makes some), a big block of dense rubber. Fewer vibes in the cabin that a Brown Dog mount, which someone else will probably recommend. If you're wheeling and don't care about the NVH, I hear Brown Dog makes good ones.
Click to expand...

I'm particular to OEM for many things. After Anak mentioned them, I read through several threads regarding motor mounts and ended up ordering a set of omix ones for the reasons you mentioned. This Jeep will see more pavement than hard trails, mostly logging roads and such for camping. Thank you.
 
Depending on how rough the logging roads/camping might be, it might still be more than the OEM motor mounts can handle.

The OEM mounts aren't that great a design in terms of the rubber shape - it's basically a triangle with the bolt going through out by one corner. Doesn't take much for that to give out.

Since you've already got the OMIX ones you may as well install those, but if they don't hold up definitely consider aftermarket. I have no experience wtih Brown Dog, but I am nothing but delighted with my MORE JM600 mounts (https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/cherokee-xj/products/bomb-proof-motor-mount-kit-yj-tj-lj-xj) - They take a little time (maybe a couple hundred miles) to "break in" when first installed, but then they're as smooth as OEM. I had a set of these installed nearly 15 years ago, and they're still holding the engine as tight as the day they went in, with no signs of degradation.

Moving on, your list looks pretty good, but it'd be worth looking over the vacuum system as well (just to make sure the HVAC sends the air to the right vents, and to support the cruise control if you have that).
 
A couple years ago on my new stroker, I tried some Brown Dog rubber mounts, they were only in for a couple of hours as I couldn't stand them. I put my 20yr old stockers back in. Wanting now to put some new mounts in I'm thinking about some factory mounts with the "window weld" treatment and see how that goes.
 
Hm. Brown Dog's bushings must be stiffer than MORE's Torsion Rubber...
 
I just don't find there is enough rubber in the Brown Dog etc style mounts. My stock mounts lasted 175k miles, with offroading (not wheeling) on rough 4x4 roads. I don't know how long the aftermarket clones will last but we'll see.
 
for both transmission and steering I use the Magnafine filters inline with the hoses for my coolers yes I also have a steering cooler. these little things are metal can construction, avoid the plastic ones! these can really help remove junk in the fluids.
these are made for the flows and pressures of automatics and power steering. easy to add if you already have coolers, just cut the hose and insert, use hose clamps, and secure the filter so it dont flop around on the hose.

https://magnefinefilters.com/


welcome to the xj experience!
 
asymptonic said:
I just don't find there is enough rubber in the Brown Dog etc style mounts. My stock mounts lasted 175k miles, with offroading (not wheeling) on rough 4x4 roads. I don't know how long the aftermarket clones will last but we'll see.
Click to expand...

Judging by the pictures of each (and having seen both at least once in person, I'm reasonably confident in saying that MORE's bushings looked bigger to me in overall diameter compared to Brown Dog. That being said, without an actual comparison of the rubber compounds and some physical testing I couldn't say for sure which gives the smoother feel. Seems like Brown Dog gets more play (perhaps being the more recent entrant), but never having run them I cannot comment. All I have is my very positive experience with MORE.

In any event, best of luck with the clones - for all we know, you might have found a "good" set of OEM-style ones..
 
Black1990jeep said:
for both transmission and steering I use the Magnafine filters inline with the hoses for my coolers yes I also have a steering cooler. these little things are metal can construction, avoid the plastic ones! these can really help remove junk in the fluids.
these are made for the flows and pressures of automatics and power steering. easy to add if you already have coolers, just cut the hose and insert, use hose clamps, and secure the filter so it dont flop around on the hose.

https://magnefinefilters.com/


welcome to the xj experience!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I love this XJ it's gonna be a fun build. Nice tip on the filters, never knew. I'm using a cooler on my TJ for the PSC steering, might have to add one since the setup itself was pretty darn pricey haha.
 
Regarding the motor mounts, I think the best solution at least for my application, is to simply keep an eye on them, and replace with OEM mounts when needed since they're so cheap. Thanks for the info though
 
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