10-31-2013, 11:15 AM
Goodspeed Wrote:Rust. Look around/under the doors, floorpans, the usual spots.
Front floor pans, specifically passenger side, Cargo floor, and rockers under rear doors near the rear wheel well. If the rockers are rusted, its a good time to cut em out and weld in some square tubing in their place for sliders.
Goodspeed Wrote:The AC - the system in the XJ is not the world's finest - check if its cold, if the Evaporator is dead, its an expensive PITA to fix.
Not that big of a PITA or expensive, I changed out my heater core ($65) and evaporator ($100) after buying mine. Could have had it done in a weekend if I wasnt fixing floor board rust. Remove front seats/console/dash. Sounds daunting, but it really wasnt. Can be done with a basic tool set.
Goodspeed Wrote:Check for oil leaks - the 4.0 has a multi-piece rear main seal that is notorious for leaking, as well as the usual gaskets and seals. Its an old-ass motor, each of which has likely spent its entire life on conventional dino, so if you or a PO put in synthetic the earl starts flowing...out.
VC gasket, Oil Filter gasket, Rear Main, and Diff seals. Keep in mind the Rear Main seal can be replaced without dropping the transmission.
I had an 01, bought with 135k. Loved it for the 3 years I had it, was a tank, and never left me stranded. Changed the oil twice in the 3 years. Only use Dino oil, cheapest stuff you can buy. Synthetic is a waste on these things. Highly recommend buying one. Junkyards will be your friend. Id stick to a 97+, the updated interior is worth it.