How long can we continue to run XJ's and find parts?

[Orson_Yancey]

Hello fellow XJ enthusiasts,
I first XJ is 22 years old.
I would like to purchase a second XJ. I have found a nice looking '87 that the seller is
asking $2,000, but I have a feeling he would accept $1,000. But I am concerned that I will have trouble
finding parts for a 23 year old vehicle. I like to keep my used vehicles for 20 years or so. I like the Renix series, but parts have started to become rare. Am I crazy to be purchasing such as old XJ to begin with?

It is only a matter of time that even the HO's will become 25 to 30 years old and parts will be rare.
How long do you plan to run XJ's?
I do not see anything in the Jeep Chrysler line-up that interests me beyond an XJ.
I can not think of anything else right now I would like to own other than an XJ. I do not like the Liberties and I hate the 3.7L V-6's. I do not see any new Jeep Chrysler enignes that are better than the 4.0L I-6. Except maybe some diesels, but they are so rare.

I would really like to run XJ's for another 20 years, but I am concerned about parts availibility. Given that the last XJ rolled off the assembly line 10 years ago? How much longer can we find parts and run XJ's? It seems that Jeep Chrysler offers parts for only about 15 years after the model year. What do you think?
Orson

 

[smccollamjr]

Jeep/Chrysler isn't the only company that makes XJ parts. It's a simple case of supply and demand. As long as there is a demand for the parts, the aftermarket will make them. Therefore, the longer we keep our XJs on the road and keep buying parts to fix them, the longer the parts will be available.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Think about CJ's and FSJ's they have been around for YEARS, and you can still find parts.

 

[TomMcD]

If you keep in mind that a car payment is $300 a month, you break even pretty quick by driving an older car.

Also that almost all the parts than can wear out are use across many years of the XJ's production run And that there were almost 3 million of them built. Not to mention all the parts that are used across the range of Jeep vehicles. And of course there's the parts that can be substituted like Ford axles for example.

Think about the original Ford Bronco, those haven't been made in 35 years and find most parts for them isn't difficult and there were no where near as many built.

I expect to be still running an XJ or MJ in 10 years, quite probably longer.

 

[heyhar]

And don't forget that the 4.0 was made up until 2006, for Wranglers. Think about all the GM V8 engines-Pontiac, Olds, Buick- they haven't been made for thirty years, but speed merchants like Summit and Jegs sell parts for them from mild to wild. I guess that readily available, cheap junkyard parts may eventually dry up, but at 26 years old and counting, there's still a better variety of XJ parts in our local yard than any other vehicle I can think of.

 

[xcm]

what engine parts have become 'hard to find' for you?

 

[kastein]

what engine parts have become 'hard to find' for you?

anything touched by engine oil :gonnablow can thank cash for clunkers for that!

Should go back to normal in a few months when the remaining C4C junkers are flushed out of the junkyard system.

 

[xcm]

you buy junkyard engine parts? i thought you were OCD? i try to buy new stuff when possible.

 

[kastein]

I don't need them, just saying they'd be rare if I did. I think there are only one or two non-C4C XJs in the lineup at my local pick-n-pull right now.

 

[AJTorris]

this is why i have 5 xjs on my property LMAO. All are renix except 1

 

[FoMoCo]

I don't have any trouble finding parts for my 65 galaxie or 71 f-250, I don't foresee cherokee parts becoming rare in the lifetime of anyone on this forum, especially considering how popular XJs are and how many were build, not to mention you can find anything on the dang ol' internet and what not

www.rockauto.com

 

[ehall]

The huge production run is a big benefit alright, but it's no guarantee. Engine parts will be simple since the XJ was basically built from spare parts so you can find something somewhere. It's the small stuff that gets impossible to find first, things like trim pieces that are out of stock at the dealership and only exist in junkyards--I've been working a part-time track on replacing the chrome parts with clean ones whenever I find them, since those are already in that category. We're already past the tipping point on that stuff.

 

[MrSimon]

Just drive down the road and count how many XJs are still out and about. TONS! All those Jeeps will keep trickling into the JYs for years to come.

I don't think parts will be a problem until we stop seeing them on the roads. My guess, 7-10 more years of readily available parts.

After that, we'll all switch over to Wranglers :rof:

 

[kastein]

Just drive down the road and count how many XJs are still out and about. TONS! All those Jeeps will keep trickling into the JYs for years to come.

I don't think parts will be a problem until we stop seeing them on the roads. My guess, 7-10 more years of readily available parts.

After that, we'll all switch over to Wranglers :rof:

Great point, I see half a dozen XJs a day at the very least, usually a dozen or more. There are five or six mildly built ones parked around the college I graduated from and live 3 blocks from, plus a few stockers.

ehall also has a great point... ever try finding the roof drip edge trim in a specific color, and in good shape? Good luck! You'll need it. How about the rear wiper motor bezel with the washer sprayer hose barb? Good luck finding one with that intact, though you can get aftermarket repro ones from ZMJeeps for pretty cheap.

 

[Orson_Yancey]

what engine parts have become 'hard to find' for you?

Hi XCM,
Most recently the dealership told me the A/C delete bracket, part # 5300 2904, was of status NS1, meaning non-serviceable and no longer sold by Chrysler. About year and half ago, the tow hitch wiring harness was no longer available, with the special connector (7-cavity Pack-Con II) to plug into wires into the left rear panel.

About three years ago, the dealer no longer had available the some of the metal strips that line the frame rails in the back and just above the suspension. The metal strips rust out early.

About a year and 1/2 ago, I could not find any high quality headers for the Renix engine. The quality name manufacturers had stopped.

 

[searchingforXJ]

Hi XCM,
Most recently the dealership told me the A/C delete bracket, part # 5300 2904, was of status NS1, meaning non-serviceable and no longer sold by Chrysler. About year and half ago, the tow hitch wiring harness was no longer available, with the special connector (7-cavity Pack-Con II) to plug into wires into the left rear panel.

About three years ago, the dealer no longer had available the some of the metal strips that line the frame rails in the back and just above the suspension. The metal strips rust out early.

About a year and 1/2 ago, I could not find any high quality headers for the Renix engine. The quality name manufacturers had stopped.

Stop buying parts from the dealer! You pay twice as much and they don't stock anything. People have already said that the internet is the best place to look for anything you need. Just because Chrysler doesn't make the part, doesn't mean you can't get it from another source.

 

[JrTxJ]

Orson_Yancey, you live about 35 minutes from the worlds leading aftermarket replacement parts for Jeeps company.

The good, and bad, thing about Jeeps is that there is a HUGE aftermarket for them and almost everything on them can be replaced and found. I'd say keep on buying them!

 

[sjx40250]

I have the first XJ I bought, 1990. The only problems I have had are 3 water pumps, 2 alternators, 1 TPS, 1 CPS and the need to do a head job. The later ended up driving new rings and fixed my overheating problem. 3 Radiator Res. Installed Borla header and pipes to the tail so one exhaust replacement, 1 set of engine mounts. Very reliable! Typical consumables.
195K miles.

 

[SuzysJ]

As I understand it, both the parts chains and dealerships start clearing the shelves at Year Fifteen. No longer enough volume to dedicate space.

Sure, you can get parts, but they've moved to another level of retailing. I've had cars that were twenty years and older so I've had some familiarity, and they were daily drivers that needed work.

My rule of thumb for a gasser is 200k/15-yrs, cause after that the wiring is ancient and parts cost have actually risen depending on what is being sought. No longer reasonable, in other words. Time and miles have had their opportunity. For a toy, its irrelevant. For a car to be cross-country reliable it's time for another.