The car is not running and I'm a novice, but hopefully I will be able to get it running well enough to soon pass inspection. It spent most of its life in the north east, so there is some rust on it.

I was told it needed a new starter, shift knob, the speedometer didnt work as well as the odomoeter.
I've already replaced the battery and I'm also planning on replacing the tires, doing something with the kicker panels, and putting new wheels/tires on it.
I'm sure there will be more once I get into it.
Feel free to make suggestions/give input. If anyone needs a photo of a specific area let me know.







.

I'm assuming that the rust on the belt means the car has been sitting longer than the few weeks that the person had told me. Am I right?

3/2/2006 2:36:00 AM

I thought that year came with rocker panels

3/2/2006 9:25:37 AM

Hmm, is it just me or is the P in Jeep a bit crooked on the front?

And yeah, I'm no expert myself but I'd say that rust and crusty crap on the belt are a fair indication that the thing hasn't been running for a pretty long while.

3/2/2006 10:34:17 AM

i would suggest not putting any money into wheels, tires, metal work, or anything really until you are sure the engine is running and reliable.

otherwise you will have one great looking driveway ornament and an empty pocket.

3/2/2006 11:16:59 AM

1st goal is definately getting it running
2nd goal is to get it to pass inspection, so that is why i'll need to get the speedometer and odometer. the tires are somewhere around 4-5 years old, so its probably for the best that i also replace them before i try and get it inspected.

once its legal to drive i'll worry about the rust and wheels

3/2/2006 11:27:19 AM

you NEED to get something here


thats a load bearing memeber in the unibody cars.... i say rocker skids or something to ge the rigidity back up.

[Edited on March 2, 2006 at 12:02 PM. Reason : .]

3/2/2006 12:00:59 PM

after its running, i'm thinking something along the lines of the replacement rockers on this site
http://www.formattfab.com/ could be fabricated up pretty easy by someone who knows how to weld

3/2/2006 12:18:34 PM

Someone suggest a body lift.

3/2/2006 12:19:56 PM

I dont believe you need a speedometer/odometer to pass inspection.

3/2/2006 12:24:04 PM

ive never seen anyone check the speedo/odometer for an inspection.

3/2/2006 12:55:11 PM

hahah they'd need a dyno to do it.
(check speedo)

3/2/2006 1:05:09 PM

awesome
one less thing i have to worry about for now

3/2/2006 1:51:20 PM

what a pos

3/2/2006 2:58:07 PM

Quote :

"thats a load bearing memeber in the unibody cars"

not really... the outer rocker panel as pictured doesn't really provide much if any structural integrity. the main area of concern is the pinch weld, which lies just above and further in.

that said, i mentioned the replacement rockers to him the other night. for ~200 bucks, you'll be hard pressed to get any made for that by the time you pay for steel+labor to fab them.

Quote :

"I'm assuming that the rust on the belt means the car has been sitting longer than the few weeks that the person had told me. Am I right?"

not neccessarily, light surface rust on an untreated bare metal surface such as that pulley, brake rotors, etc. can occur quickly. sometime as fast as overnight depending on the weather. there were other telltale signs it's been driven or at least started fairly recently.

i went and looked at this thing with him the other night, and it's pretty solid overall for the price. obviously some rust from spending most if its life up north, but all the "critical" parts (floor pans, suspension mounts, etc.) are solid. brake/fuel hard lines will need attention/replacement eventually but should be okay for a while. inspection should be a breeze since it won't require emissions.

3/2/2006 3:00:19 PM

you should put a bubble bath in the back there, that would be tite

3/2/2006 3:28:52 PM

how much for the truck.

3/2/2006 4:17:31 PM

brian, what have you gotten yourself into????

3/2/2006 4:27:14 PM

^^ $600

^ hopefully a good learning experience
you know about as well as anyone in the garage that my knowledge of how do fix items is limited

3/2/2006 4:37:47 PM

replaced the battery the other day
replaced the air filter today - found oil on it
removed the starter - have a rebuilt one that should go on tomorrow
planning on replacing the spark plugs tomorrow as well

3/3/2006 7:17:16 PM

Oil on these air filters is common, if not typical.

The crankcase ventillation system on these engines has always been problematic. I've replaced I don't know how many breather line assemblies.

3/3/2006 7:22:28 PM

^thats good to know
I was a bit worried when I saw it.

(the other side was much cleaner)

I may not know a whole lot, but it looks like this thing has been leaking oil for a while.

3/3/2006 7:32:17 PM

Looks fairly typical. I've seen much worse.

One of my favorite things to do is to get a can or two of Gunk Engine Brite (or the Advance Auto Parts generic equivalent; they are damn near the same thing) and soak the underside of your engine and transmission (cold, I might add). Then hose the fuck out of it. Makes working on stuff so much more pleasant.

3/3/2006 7:47:49 PM

yeah he's right... sethncsu2k had mad problems with his crankcase vent system... when he regeared to 4.56 it looked like his air box had its own oil line.

3/3/2006 11:12:32 PM

my celica's under belly is "oilier" than that

3/4/2006 3:59:43 AM

If you replace the starter and have good spark and fuel but it still does not crank, replace the crankshaft position sensor. Mine has failed 2x on a 89 and it's a common problem. It's on the topside of the transmission bellhousing with 2 wires running to a connector under the hood. My oil filter looks the same way, not a problem.

3/4/2006 9:34:06 AM

i almost certain that it'll need a tune up, so do it

and bigblue is right about the rockers, they don't hold much weight but the problem is if the rust has extended into the pinch seams underneath..........the only way (well, the only proper way) to fix that rust it gonna involve new panels and a welder, if the rust has gone into the pinch seams it'll just make this job harder. I don't think they make replacement rockers, but i can't remember, so it might involve fabbing some sheet metal to fit

i'm pretty sure you're gonna want to pull the rear carpet as well and inspect for rust and fix accordingly, earlier XJ's rust through the cargo area floor like they were designed to do it

as for the oil leaks, common oil leaks on XJ's are the rear main seal, valve cover gasket (especially the rear next to the firewall), and the oil filter adapter

sign up at http://www.naxja.org and start searching, you'll find all the answers

[Edited on March 4, 2006 at 10:11 AM. Reason : ]

3/4/2006 10:08:50 AM

just got finished putting the starter in. it took it a second but it startered up fine. sounded like it was running pretty smooth as well. didn't really get on it though.

i'll check out the rear later today hopefully when i go back out to change the spark plugs.

I've already signed up for that website. read up quite a bit on the starter issues other folks had.

3/4/2006 12:44:59 PM

anyone know of where i can pick up a used battery tie-down? (the universal ones from autozone won't work)
anyone having one laying around?
a local junkyard perhaps?

3/4/2006 2:16:02 PM

bungee cord

as many xj's as they made, shouldn't be hard to find one in a junkyard, or from someone parting one out on a message board. probably ebay also.

what's wrong w/ the one on there?

3/4/2006 3:11:14 PM

All my shit's held down with a bungee cord. Either that or a tiedown strap.

3/4/2006 4:57:32 PM

the metal inside the tiedown became corroded and split apart the plastic it had covering it.
so it came off, but won't go back on.

where is the closest junkyard i can pull parts from?

3/4/2006 7:57:02 PM

Most of the time batterys and the holddown are removed before the cars go to the yard. Might think about making one. Looks like some 3/8 coldroll steel,a torch and some plastic coat would do the trick. Or scrape away the corroded plastic/metal/crusty stuff and put it back on.

[Edited on March 4, 2006 at 8:53 PM. Reason : .]

3/4/2006 8:51:45 PM

i'd probably go with a bungie cord as suggested before i go through all that trouble
but thats for the suggestion

3/4/2006 11:46:01 PM

well that's cool to hear that it runs good for 600

3/5/2006 12:42:33 AM

new spark plugs are in

So far the entire project has ran me $1,010 and that is including EVERYTHING. I mean everything. A maglite (& batteries) to keep in the jeep, a repair manual, an 80pc socket set, title/registration + some smaller items.

3/5/2006 12:53:23 PM

anyone know what would cause the jeep to loose power while slowing down?
it didn't stall, but felt as though it lost all power. this happened twice on my way to work this morning and once on the way home.

3/8/2006 6:25:34 PM

this when it's slowing down in gear, or when you push the clutch in (rapid drop in rpm)? by all power, do you mean just engine power or ALL electrical power (lights, radio, etc.)?

3/8/2006 6:44:27 PM

i would suggest a metal valve cover and retrofitting a pcv valve into the line going to the air cleaner to help with the oil problems, also unless the water pump looks fairly new, you might as well go ahead and put one on there, it will fail soon after you start driving it. also those things are noorious for losing radiators, so a new thermostat and cooling system flush is cheap insurance.

[Edited on March 8, 2006 at 7:05 PM. Reason : and the power problem is probably an a sticking idle motor due to all the oil in the intake]

3/8/2006 7:04:10 PM

2 of the times was when i slowed down and had downshifted but not released the clutch yet. the thrid i honestly don't remember. when it happened, i was unable to turn, so i assume the power steering lost power. I didn't have head lights on any of the times, so i am not sure about everything else.

i'll take a peak at the water pump if i get some free time between now and the weekend.

[Edited on March 8, 2006 at 8:50 PM. Reason : 0]

3/8/2006 8:49:27 PM

sounds sensor related probably. likely tps or iac motor. like 69 said, iac could be sticky... i'd say from not being driven much lately rather than oil. if it keeps up, may want to look into cleaning them. i'd see how it acts over the next couple hundred miles though.

3/8/2006 8:58:41 PM

many thanks
i'd ask these questions over on the naxja.com board, but i don't know who's advice to trust over there

3/8/2006 9:01:02 PM

anyone have a steering wheel puller or a OTC-SPX pivot pin tool that I could possibly borrow over the weekend?
The steering column is loose, and apparently these tools are required to take the column apart to right the situation.

3/8/2006 10:47:21 PM

is it a tilt column? in my experience, with jeeps and older gm's you are better off to find a good one in a junk yard than trying to fix yours

3/9/2006 12:05:05 AM

check your joints from the firewall to the steering box first.

3/9/2006 2:00:47 AM

^ good point, is it wobbling around loose or rotational play loose?

3/9/2006 7:36:46 AM

the steering isn't as responsive as i would hope. it may just seem this way to me b/c i'm not used to driving it yet.
while going straight, it took me turning the wheel about an inch, in either direction, before the car started to respond.

the steering column itself has quite a bit of play vertically as well.

after some searching, i came across this link.
http://elcaminocentral.com/article95.html
(the internals are the same according to the person who originally posted the link)
it looks like something i hopefully can tackle.

3/9/2006 8:36:41 AM

have you checked the tie rod ends and balljoints yet?

3/9/2006 12:41:16 PM

^^cmon for 600 u cant expect a cadillac

3/9/2006 1:46:49 PM

what are your plans for it?

[Edited on March 9, 2006 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

3/9/2006 2:06:47 PM

-----------------> 2

3/9/2006 4:13:28 PM