96 XJ New Born

[Zerkalo]

Just got the beast on Sunday. Officially part of the gang.


- 96 Cherokee Country, 200,000K. got it for $1000 cash... guess it's pointless now, but was that a fair price?
Everything works wonders, except in need of rear end brake shoe, which I already ordered.


A minute ago, I locked down a Daystar Four Real Bumper for $150. Does that sound right for a used one?


Apart from that, I did nothing but removed the back seats. I'm gonna use the space to do some conversion for camping..


I wanna spray paint it. like some of the folks here. But I wonder if I need to take out the body parts to sand it? or just sand it directly?

 

[Maverick]

Welcome aboard. Seems like a good price. Should be a lot of fun. What are your plans for it?

 

[smartass_kid]

looks like a good deal since XJ are popular but honestly any car for a grand might have a few issues. do a bunch of basic car check-ups before buying anything else to make sure you find things before they become an issue. and if you're not already, search for a few cherokee specific forums and join.RME is a great forum but there is a lot of information out there.


good luck!

 

[mesha]

Congrats on the purchase!

 

[Zerkalo]

Welcome aboard. Seems like a good price. Should be a lot of fun. What are your plans for it?

I'm gonna remove the passenger seat too. and use the space to make out a bed, or semi-futon thing.
so when I'm out camping, no more sleeping on the rocky ground.

Hopefully, I'll get the bumper today.

my future plan in order of spending:

- Rattle Can it Commando Green or Camouflage

- bushwacker xj flares

- KC lights + Roof rack

- Sway bar, lockers

- 2-4 inch Rubicon express or maybe Rough Country

- If i still got money to burn, maybe a Dana 44..

How's that?

My ideal look will be this:

 

[Zerkalo]

thanks.. I got it check up at big O, the dude was surprised by the good shape it is in.
everything works wonders, except rear brake shoes are out, which I already ordered new ones for less than $30.

well, i wonder can this (stock) one handle rattlersnake or little moab? if not what are the easy trails for beginner around SLC?

I'm a total rookie, though.

 

[Zerkalo]

Congrats on the purchase!

thanks, is that your buggy? saweet.

 

[mesha]

yep, that was a fun roll.

 

[Zerkalo]

Ok, got the bumper.. it looks saweet!!!
and I took off the passenger seat.


pictures later, it was late, iphone took crap photos under low light.
Meanwhile, I discovered this:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f177/my-xj-camper-build-1444041/


now I need some wood planks...:batman:

 

[hoosier]

You can definitely run most of rattle snake stock. Just be nice

 

[Zerkalo]

You can definitely run most of rattle snake stock. Just be nice

good to know.. meanwhile, here are the pics, seat-less, and new bumper.

 

[Seven]

I learned a lot over on NAXJA website when I had my cherokee. I think that 150 for that bumper was a good deal. My suggestions would be to get armor first and then work on the other stuff. Things like skidplates and rocker panel guards can save you while you are learning your jeep. Nothing wrong with finding out what your jeep can do stock before moving on to things like lifts and lockers. I actually think it makes you better in the long run if you start wheeling with stock equiptment. You have to learn how to read terrain and pick lines more with stock equiptment. Unless your really tall I think I would put passenger seat back in. I was able to sleep in my 99 fine with rear seat folded up. I just had to lay diagnal in back. You never know when you are going to run across that hot chick that ran out of gas and needs a ride to somewhere. Other wise it looks great.

 

[Ram-on-Rocks!]

Paint

Don't rattle can it! It will look terrible and you'll spend more over a period of a few years repainting. Here's what I did. Go to this site: https://www.armyjeepparts.net/t-GCI_paint.aspx This site has all the shades of Olive Drab used in every generation/war. It doesn't fade in uv like rattle can does and is tough against scratches/tree art. Bought my paint from them for $150 or so shipped to my door. Mix 50/50 with Mineral Spirits. You can roll it or spray it. I rolled mine on and it came out WAY better than expected! The paint leveled itself out extremely well. Put two coats on my full size Dodge with a foam roller. You don't have to take the body panels off. Just sand em down. Good thing about rolling it on is that you don't have to mask EVERYTHING, just the edges of stuff like windows, and you can save yourself paint. 1/3 of the paint that gets sprayed onto cars never even touches the car. I only used a half of the 1 gallon I bought. Touch ups are easy too. Text me if you want to know more, 801-792-2192 Johnny.

 

[Zerkalo]

I learned a lot over on NAXJA website when I had my cherokee. I think that 150 for that bumper was a good deal. My suggestions would be to get armor first and then work on the other stuff. Things like skidplates and rocker panel guards can save you while you are learning your jeep. Nothing wrong with finding out what your jeep can do stock before moving on to things like lifts and lockers. I actually think it makes you better in the long run if you start wheeling with stock equiptment. You have to learn how to read terrain and pick lines more with stock equiptment. Unless your really tall I think I would put passenger seat back in. I was able to sleep in my 99 fine with rear seat folded up. I just had to lay diagnal in back. You never know when you are going to run across that hot chick that ran out of gas and needs a ride to somewhere. Other wise it looks great.

Yeah. My head is on the passenger seat even sleeping in diagonal. If I saw that hot chick, I'm gonna stop and tell her to spend the cozy night in my car, on a cozy bed... Hahah.

 

[Zerkalo]

Don't rattle can it! It will look terrible and you'll spend more over a period of a few years repainting. Here's what I did. Go to this site: https://www.armyjeepparts.net/t-GCI_paint.aspx This site has all the shades of Olive Drab used in every generation/war. It doesn't fade in uv like rattle can does and is tough against scratches/tree art. Bought my paint from them for $150 or so shipped to my door. Mix 50/50 with Mineral Spirits. You can roll it or spray it. I rolled mine on and it came out WAY better than expected! The paint leveled itself out extremely well. Put two coats on my full size Dodge with a foam roller. You don't have to take the body panels off. Just sand em down. Good thing about rolling it on is that you don't have to mask EVERYTHING, just the edges of stuff like windows, and you can save yourself paint. 1/3 of the paint that gets sprayed onto cars never even touches the car. I only used a half of the 1 gallon I bought. Touch ups are easy too. Text me if you want to know more, 801-792-2192 Johnny.

This is very good to know. Does the paint bond well that way too?
Either wy to paint, the sanding part really deter me... But thanks bro, I'll txt you or more later.

Oh, and now I've got transmission brown fluid + leak problem to deal with. Some say flush it to go clean, some say don't touch it and let it leak, or I'm at risk if a premature tranny failure.
I've posted it in a another thread.

 

[Ram-on-Rocks!]

Sanding is easy. Don't be afraid to tackle it. And yes the paint bonds very well! As far as the Trans goes, I've been a professional Technician for 11 years now, the myth of flushing your trans and it will go bad is WAY WRONG! Pull the pan, replace the filter, clean the pan out and the magnet, and replace fluid. Drive until it starts slipping. When you do pull the pan let us know what you see. That is going to tell you a lot about the condition of the trans. i.e. shiny in the bottom, large metal flakes, etc.

 

[smartass_kid]

^^^^^^^ good advice. i replaced the tranny fluid in my grand wagoneer i used to have and it drove better. i sold it about a year later and it was still good.

another thought is how often will you be driving? i bought my XJ last year around xmas, only put 4500 miles on it this year, since you're in grad school you might not drive alot. so trans issue could be; swap fluid, don't drive a lot and asee where it is in 6 months.

 

[Zerkalo]

so You think flush is better or drop the pan?
I'm confused, which one is the "good advice"..

I called up the shop, they quote me $500 for a dropping pan, filter + rear main seal fix..
How can i afford that...
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.ph...y-Need-a-Hand-on-fixing-the-transmission-leak

still looking for somebody to give me a hand on this.

 

[Ram-on-Rocks!]

The leak could be the pan gasket so in doing the filter change you'd be changing the gasket anyway. Flushes don't change the trans filter. The pan drop and filter change is seriously really easy. You can do it yourself and it'll cost you around $50 bucks. Orrielly's will even tell you how much trans fluid you will need. As long as you have basic hand tools and 2 hours of your day there is really nothing special about it. If it's your first time you WILL make a mess but it's part of the fun! Rear main is easy too. But depending on your axle you may need a new crush sleeve. I would suggest getting help with that if you have never done it before. Mess that one up and you could eat a ring and pinion or torch your pinion bearings and housing.

 

[Zerkalo]

After a long hiatus on the forum, I'm here to update what I'd done to my baby.

FYI, here is what I had to do to fix problems of a $1000 XJ.

Done:
Crankshaft Position Sensor
Rear Brakes
Thermostat
Air filter
Alternator

Need to be done:
Neutral Safety switch
Coolant Temperature sensor (later I realized they put a 2001 engine valve, which blocked one of the temp sensors, older XJ comes with 2.)

I guess the biggest difference is that I rattled canned it into desert yellow.
2 coats of white primer
3 coats of desert gold
2 coats of matt finish

and paint the fenders, grille and bumper in black.
$60 in total, and I absolutely loved it !!

Finally here are some pictures from my christmas trip around Nevada and Utah, what a blast!!