Advise on used 89 MJ

alldz · Sep 10, 2003

I'm looking at getting an 89 MJ. I'm trading in my car since I need more room to haul stuff since we bought a house.

It's only 2wd and a 5 speed. It has about 240 000km (150k miles for you Americans). It has been repainted but I couldn't really check out the quality since it was getting dark outside.

It has bucket seats (leather), the guy says it's a limited which would make me think that it's more "luxurious" but it doesn't have a sunroof or A/C ... does that make sense?

Anyhow, it appears to be in decent shape. It did pass our local emissions test last summer so that is a big bonus for me compared to other trucks that I've looked at. It also has various new parts on it. The guy says that he's spent $4000 on it in the 2 years that he's owned it.

He's asking $1850 for it.

Good, bad or ugly?

Thanks,
Aldo

Lawn Cher' · Sep 10, 2003

I wasn't aware that there was even a Limited trim level available for MJ's... he could've swapped in seats from a XJ Limited. I say hold out for a 4wd, they pop up on ebay all the time. You'll be hard pressed to find AC, though.

95steel · Sep 10, 2003

All of the pioneers and eliminators came with A/C and the 4.0. They are harder to find, but hold out for the 91-92 model years as they have the HO engine. The engines live a long life if proper maintenance was done. If there is oil in the air cleaner the pvc is clogged, fairly easy fix. the unit bearings on the 4x4's go bad but are relatively inexpensive.

Lawn Cher' · Sep 11, 2003

Actually, I have a '87 Pioneer and a '89 Eliminator and neither have AC. And the unit bearings are the same between the 2wd and 4wd front axles, so that doesn't really matter.

alldz · Sep 11, 2003

I'm located in southern Ontario (not far from Buffalo, NY). 4x4 Comanches seem to be rarer than hen's teeth in these parts. Cherokee's are all over but I'm more in the need for a pickup.

This will be my daily driver so hopefully I'll happen along one soon because my car will be going to sleep for the winter (unless someone buys it).

The 89 started and ran fine. He doesn't have plates on it so he won't let me test drive it. I have to see if I can get it to a shop for a checkup and then go from there.

This guy has a long commute so I won't be able to see this thing in the daylight now until the weekend ...

Thanks for the replies.
Aldo

95steel · Sep 11, 2003

That is weird about owning an eliminator with out AC. It was part of the eliminator package. Maybe they did one of those regional things? My comanche was bought new just north of Columbus OH so I am not sure. I have only seen a few in the region I am in now with out AC. Go figure!

95steel · Sep 11, 2003

Lawn Cher' said:
Actually, I have a '87 Pioneer and a '89 Eliminator and neither have AC. And the unit bearings are the same between the 2wd and 4wd front axles, so that doesn't really matter.

Not sure we are talking about the same thing. Had two 2wd's and neither one had unit bearings on the front spindle. Had the typical bearings found in 2wd chebies and fords. The 4wd's I have played with all had the unit bearing that attaches to the knuckle with three bolts.

Goatman · Sep 12, 2003

alldz said:
I'm located in southern Ontario (not far from Buffalo, NY). 4x4 Comanches seem to be rarer than hen's teeth in these parts. Cherokee's are all over but I'm more in the need for a pickup.

This will be my daily driver so hopefully I'll happen along one soon because my car will be going to sleep for the winter (unless someone buys it).

The 89 started and ran fine. He doesn't have plates on it so he won't let me test drive it. I have to see if I can get it to a shop for a checkup and then go from there.

This guy has a long commute so I won't be able to see this thing in the daylight now until the weekend ...

Thanks for the replies.
Aldo

If you want it......buy it, the price doesn't sound bad to me unless it's all rusted out. Offer him a little less if you want to. It's very easy to swap in the 4x4 stuff if you want it, out of an XJ.

alldz · Sep 12, 2003

This 89 has been repainted and had the body restored. We'll see tomorrow with the magnet whether it was done right or with lotsa cheese! :twak:

I found another guy in the paper yesterday not far from here who is parting an 89 4x4 MJ! He's asking $400 for the 5 speed and transfer case and $200 for the front axle parts.

Aldo

CheapXJ · Sep 12, 2003

if ya do that, get both driveshafts too

you'll need some miscellaneous bracketry as well.

don't hold out for the HO either. It's not that big of a difference. just get one with a 4.0L already. It's much easier than swapping one in

Eagle · Sep 13, 2003

95steel said:
All of the pioneers and eliminators came with A/C and the 4.0. They are harder to find, but hold out for the 91-92 model years as they have the HO engine. The engines live a long life if proper maintenance was done. If there is oil in the air cleaner the pvc is clogged, fairly easy fix. the unit bearings on the 4x4's go bad but are relatively inexpensive.

Not all Eliminators had a/c. I have a friend here in CT (not Lawn Cher') who had one that came without. He sold it specifically because he wanted a/c and didn't want to go to the trouble of converting it.

alldz · Sep 15, 2003

Well ... I had a closer look at the truck. He doesn't want to go for a test ride because it's not plated or insured anymore so I'm SOL on that front.

The paintjob appears OK (definitely not the best) and not very bondo appears to have been used.

I'm going to see if he will certify it for me at a local garage. If he wont', then I'm going to offer him $1200 and see where that goes.

I also found another guy who's wants to trade my car straight up for his 89 Ford F150. This will kill 2 birds with one stone but I haven't seen this truck yet since it's a hour or so away from home.

alldz · Sep 16, 2003

Well ... the MJ guy isn't sure about what to do so I'm waiting to hear back ... The Ford isn't what I'm really after.

Since there are lots more XJs than MJs around, I might start looking at some. I could always throw stuff in the back and line the inside with plastic ...

Can you fit a couch in the back of an XJ? Anyone have any pics of one full o'stuff?

Eagle · Sep 16, 2003

Although the guy isn't being honest about model (or doesn't know what he has), since there was no Limited model MJ and the MJ was never, to the best of my knowledge, sold with leather seats. Nonetheless, it sounds like a nice truck. The conversion to 4WD is easy to do. If you have access to an MJ for parts you'll have everything. You can also use an XJ for donor parts, but you'll have to have the rear drive shaft modified for length because of the MJ's longer wheelbase.

The very early 2WD XJs used spindles and bearings on the front. I'll have to look at my '87 and '88 2WD MJs but fairly early on the 2WD models were changed over to use the same unit bearings used on the 4WD version. I don't know when that took place, but if this truck is a 4.0L it may not have the original front axle in it.

alldz · Sep 17, 2003

Thanks Eagle!

I will keep plugging away at this guy and see what happens. I did find a couple of 4x4 MJs in Ontario but they are a good 5-6 hours away from home -- I don't really have the time to make a trip to check them out.

I am going to look at an 87 Cherokee Limited this aft. It needs a windshield and some rust work. THAT is probably the most important part that I'm be looking at. It has just over 110k miles and he's asking $900.

Aldo

Advise on used 89 MJ

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