No More Walking...

[mudtoy67]

So I've been out of the wheeling side of things for about 5 years now. After hiking the trails the past three years at Clayton I'd had it with not wheeling. With the baby here I've had even less time to work on the FJ, so about a month ago I decided to start looking for a cheap rig I could actually have some fun with and not take away a bunch of money/time from the FJ. I've been impressed by Tommy's rig over the last few trips so I had been looking at Cherokees among the other usual suspects like toyota pickups.
So I picked this up for a pretty sweet deal:



Details:

97 XJ
4.0
5 spd
SYE
ARB up front (you'll read more about this later)
lift - 2" or 4" I'm not sure
ARB winch bumper
XD 9000 winch
some tire carrier

[mudtoy67]

It looks like this family bought the XJ about 5 years ago for their boy. He's been driving it since. Everything was already done to it when they bought it, so it appears they didn't really know what was in it, just it was a cool jeep. All in all the deal was very legit...I had to fill out title transfer paperwork and a bill of sale in duplicate.

So...this truck did have ARBs front and rear at some time. What I understood from their story was that somehow the boy blew up the rear axle and driveline about a year ago. They got another rear axle and driveshaft (my guess is the rear ARB went with the old one because I didn't see an air line on the new one) but the "new" driveshaft wouldn't fit because this has a SYE. So he then proceeded to drive around on the front axle until it finally blew up about 6-9 months ago, and it's been sitting since. The neighborhood association finally told them it needed to disappear, so here we are.

I believe the front ARB is still there...though in what condition I don't know. The front diff is making a very bad popping/knocking sound and locked up on me a couple times while unloading from the trailer. If I can get the garage somewhat in order this weekend I'll pop the cover and have a look.

Other than the front axle the Jeep appears to be in good condition. The transmission occasionaly seems like it doesn't go into gear easily. Maybe a bad shifter bushing. The engine starts and runs fine, I think they thought there would be a problem since it had been sitting for so long. The brakes are a little squishy and the brake light is on, I may try bleeding the brakes first because they may not have done it right when they swapped the axle. The ARB compressor is still there.

I'm excited.

[mudtoy67]

Plans? WHEEL IT!

Need to:
fix the front axle (see if the ARB can be salvaged)
lock the rear, probably weld
find some tires with tread
some general maintenance
pick up some spare parts before clayton (ujoints, axle shafts, etc)

[KrazyKarl02]

Excellent!

What gears are in it? It might be a candidate for 8.8 or 9" swap if the gearing works out. I know a guy, he has a 9" w/ 3.55's in it, it is just holding up some crappy blue jeep thing, he calls it an FJ.

What size tires are you thinking? 33's or 35's?

Does the A/C and Heater work?

[uglyota]

wow that thing is so straight...

[jerryg79]

wow that thing is so straight...

its a jeep, so that's kinda relative

good find bdr! What kind of resale you expecting?

[Sharpe]

Bet Tommy still has less cash in his

[bcolman]

i have some 35's for a 16 inch rim if you are interested let me know

[mudtoy67]

I'm not sure what gears it has yet. I may throw an 8.8 in it eventually if I find a good deal on one. I don't know what size tires probably 33" for now if they'll fit. It has 31s now. The A/C works but I didn't have it running long enough to see how cold it gets.

Cherokees really hold their value, this one is a rare two door. That's why I wanted one.

[mudtoy67]

i have some 35's for a 16 inch rim if you are interested let me know

Maybe. I'd have to get some rims too. Kopecki already tried to sell me a bunch of tires last night.

[mudtoy67]

So now that I have a Jeep does that mean I have to trade in my Miller High Life for mike's hard lemonade?

[bcolman]

i think robbie still has his old rims which i think are 16's for a jeep

[jerryg79]

Cherokees really hold their value, this one is a rare two door. That's why I wanted one.

Good call!

[jerryg79]

oh lu also told me that he saw on the news cherokee's were like the 3rd most traded-in car in kash for klunkers.

[mudtoy67]

Well there you go! I should trade it in, get 4 times what I paid for it, and by a Prius!