Project 1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic

[V1GiLaNtE]

Sold the Passat a week ago. Went back and forth on what to buy.. oh what to buy.. Went on a complete ADD whim and ended up buying this 1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic.

Big thanks to Justin for the extra eye and ride up to get it. Found it on CL in Fredricksburg. Called the guy Wed talked it over and was able to make the trip yesterday. Guy was asking $3250. After test drive gave him $2900 cash and drove her home.

I was stunned at for it's age it was actually in really good condition. Owned by an older retired gentleman living in NY so his daughter and son-in-law were selling it for him.

Specs:
1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic auto
190k on the body and only 60k on a new engine installed last year(one of the cleanest engine bays I have seen)
Sport wheels(Justin is jealous) with full size spare.
FACTORY HEADUNIT w/ cassette & CD. (didn't know this was an option)
Transmission shifts smooth and 4wd works great.
Minimal underbody rust(none in typical Jeep areas)
Heat and AC work great( passat didn't have Heat)
Factory Tint
Factory Remote

The funniest thing about it is somebody painted little grateful dead bears on both driver and passenger side doors. I thought they were stickers but realized they are actually painted.. Am I JDM with "Adult Pedo-Bears"? :lol:

Overall I'm really happy with it. Complete 180 from what I'm used to with the Passat but it rides well, feels solid, and will definitely bring me some really good times..

Current Plans
Just drive until I figure out what maintenance it needs exactly. Removed all the stickers off of it and am going to Seafoam her when I get the chance.


Near Future Mods
-Hella 500 lights
-Upgrade headlight harness
-Mag light mount
-Find factory skid plates
-Find factory fog switch
-Find install Class III hitch
-Install CB and antenna
-Roof rack similar to Justin's
-Can't decide on a 2" budget boost lift or just say screw it and get 3"
-Beefier tires. Most likely 31x10.5

Anyways enough with the chatter on to the pics..(what you really care about)

First time I have ever named one of my cars(I dunno so don't ask)

Meet Keli





















PEDO FTW... :thumbup:

Now just waiting to make her official with an MM sticker... *cough *cough Mr. President

Stayed tuned for the next episode in this exciting documentary..

[Sully]

Now just waiting to make her official with an MM sticker... *cough *cough Mr. President

Stayed tuned for the next episode in this exciting documentary..

I have a purple and yellow one and some black and green ones in richmond if you want one but doubt you'll want those colors.

Nice find on the Jeep and I love how everyone in MM rocks Suby gear no matter what we drive. Half the M3's have the More G's tennis ball hanging from their rear-view. Some did in a older Suby wagon passed me on 95 with his on his mirror and looked at me like I was stupid becasue I had one.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Doh.. Hella 500's ordered..

[WRXtranceformed]

Such a better call than that POS legacy you were looking at! Nice find, that seems like a great price.

What is with the bears? Lol you might want to check the door panels for stashed pot and mushrooms. Damn hippies!!

[LC619FR]

To avoid getting to crazy dealing with driveline mods I would stick with the 2" bb. The problem you're going to run into is most 2" lifts will give you an add a leaf for the rear spring pack which is going to make your ride really suffer. If you're not going to wheel it hard you could probably get away with just a shackle lift for the rear but then you start losing ground clearance and departure angle in a vehicle that older has a low enough approach angle and breakover angle


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[Goodspeed]

Awesome find Cabell, that thing is super clean for the age/miles :thumbup: Old people PO's FTW. Welcome to having a dead-nuts reliable DD that will always be there for you.

The problem you're going to run into is most 2" lifts will give you an add a leaf for the rear spring pack which is going to make your ride really suffer.

Not to shit up this fine man's thread, but can you elaborate? I keep looking at those for kicks b/c they're so damn inexpensive, but I'd like to know more about the ride...

[Jake]

Looks great for the miles! Cody doesn't have the MM Box of Awesome yet, so I have stickers. Will you be at Hyperfest? I am handing the box off then so that'd be an ideal time. If not, tell me what color scheme you want and I can give Matt a sticker to hand you when he's back in Richmond.

[LC619FR]

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Just a few in that range. The problem with an add a leaf is, although cheap, it pretty much takes a much stiffer leaf and adds it to your stock spring pack and re-arches it, which gives it a much stiffer ride. You couple that with a light vehichle such as an XJ, and you'll be pissing blood.

[Jeff]

See my XJ thread if you want to do 3in+ on the cheap and still have a good ride. Add-a-leafs will also sag quickly...either a shackle or a new pack is the way to go on the rear.

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[V1GiLaNtE]

Looks great for the miles! Cody doesn't have the MM Box of Awesome yet, so I have stickers. Will you be at Hyperfest? I am handing the box off then so that'd be an ideal time. If not, tell me what color scheme you want and I can give Matt a sticker to hand you when he's back in Richmond.

Not sure on hyperfest yet.. depends on plans for fathers day.. If you want to get me a standard scheme sticker I would greatly appreciate it!

[V1GiLaNtE]

I think I'm going to head to a body shop to see what they might be able to recommend I could do to remove DA BEARS..I don't really notice it at all and not a huge issue but hey if it can be easily remedied I'll do it..

I think I'm going to shoot for the 2" BB lift.. I'm not going to wheel the piss out of this thing but want something a little more *capable* for when I go out camping, hunting, fishing, ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE :thumbup: But I would definitely like to hit a couple of trails.

This is the kit I was looking at from Rusty's Offroad
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So here's an interesting question for some of you jeep guys... I realized my AC only blows on setting 4 at full blast. 1,2,3 don't blow anything at all.. Anybody got an idea what this could be? Not like I really care AC works but might be something easy to fix

[LC619FR]

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I figured it was the fan speed switch as I knew the XJs had issues with them...Check out that link.

[Jake]

So here's an interesting question for some of you jeep guys... I realized my AC only blows on setting 4 at full blast. 1,2,3 don't blow anything at all.. Anybody got an idea what this could be? Not like I really care AC works but might be something easy to fix

It's a resistor issue of some sort on the back of the climate unit. My buddy Mike's 93 did the same thing. What happens (I believe) is the climate unit gets full power all the time, which is what you feel on fan speed 4. There are three resistors that step the power level down - thus fan speeds 1, 2 and 3. If the resistors go out/burn up/etc, then you get nothing until 4, because 4 has nothing in the way of the power.

I'll be seeing Mike this week and can ask him what he did to fix. His climate unit is the older one with the thumb dial thingy for fan speed, but fundamentally I believe they are the same.

[V1GiLaNtE]

^ Interesting.. Very interesting.

[Jeff]

The resistor is located inside the fan blower motor housing. If you have power only on full blast that is likely what is wrong. See pictures and info...
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[V1GiLaNtE]

Thanks Jeff! $18 Later should have a new blower motor resistor in the mail soon. Apparently this is a really common problem.

[Kaan]

I can check the local forums and all... but you might find aftermarket skids to be cheaper. unless pappa jeff has the hook up!

remember, its not your jeep until you drill your first hole.

[JustinG]

I just saw the front factory skid on craigslist for $50, thought about picking it up since i have the other factory skids already. But Kaan is right, you can get some aftermarket skids for not much more cash compared to a used OEM skid, which are hard enough to find as is.

[V1GiLaNtE]

^ Link if you're not gonna get it

[JustinG]

i honestly cant find it now....