I need you guys' opinion

[BIGSLVRXJ]

My brother is debating whether or not to sell or fix his 95 ZJ. It's got 2 major problems.

1.Major A/C problem, dunno for sure what but dealer says it would be $1000 to fix.(I strongly suspect the evaporator)
2. Trannys shot, its been running two years with very low fluid because he knows nothing about cars and never checks fluid. Its starting to get real bad, if you accelerate too quickly it will just slip. I believe its the A500 tranny if that makes a difference to anyone.

Do you think it would be worth him rebuilding the transmission and fixing the evaporator? The rest of the car looks and drives great. 130,000 miles. If not what would be a reasonable price to ask as-is. Welcome to anyone and everyones opinions.
Thanks,
Collin

 

[Yucca-Man]

Brother is local to you. or where? I'd find out what the AC problem is...is it the 'new' stuff or the old stuff (which is ridiculously more expensive to refill)?

 

[Ramsey]

of the 3 people i know that own zjs, a total of 4 of them. all of them have had major problems. total major replaced parts- 3 engines 1 t-case 2 transmissions and another one starting to slip. 94-96 year models i believe, around 130-160k on their clocks. check out the bad bets http://www.consumerreports.org/main...ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=333137&bmUID=1120979962617

based on these things i would never own one. not to mention the tons of small problems they seem to have. could just be these, you never know i guess. but thats just mho

 

[5-90]

Don't know what it would cost to rebuild the transmission vice replacing it, so I can't really say anything there.

However, after evacuating the AC, it's really going to be cheaper to do a refit than to go back to OEM. The compressor can be flushed, the hoses and accumulator or receiver/drier will need to be replaced anyhow, and the rest of the system will be flushed when the compressor is flushed (which probably isn't a bad idea anyhow - especially if the system has lost enough refrigerant that there's little to no pressure in it and it managed to pick up atmospheric air...)

Check the transmission - if it's the AW4, it's fairly easy to work on. I can't say much about anything else at the moment - the other boxes I've worked on are Powerglides, 727's, 904/999's, C4/C6, and THM350/400/375/125/700R4. Not much good there...

If it's too bad, you can bring it out here and I'll make it a project! :laugh3: I've got three XJ's currently slated for restomod, what's another Jeep?

5-90

 

[DrMoab]

of the 3 people i know that own zjs, a total of 4 of them. all of them have had major problems. total major replaced parts- 3 engines 1 t-case 2 transmissions and another one starting to slip. 94-96 year models i believe, around 130-160k on their clocks. check out the bad bets http://www.consumerreports.org/main...ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=333137&bmUID=1120979962617

based on these things i would never own one. not to mention the tons of small problems they seem to have. could just be these, you never know i guess. but thats just mho

I think they are either very good or very bad. I own a 97. 155,000 miles on the clock. Beat it to death and the only problem I have ever had is I had to replace the radiator. Other then that its worked perfectly.

Now if I could just sell the damn tire eating gas hog

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

My nextdoor neighbor had a 95 ZJ Laredo. Bought it used with roughly 100,000 miles on it. It was in great shape when she got it. Previous owner really took care of it. 1 year and 50,000 miles later she sold it for a Durango. I borrowed it to get something rather large that my mom had bought from the store and couldn't fit in her car. In this 1 year time frame she really beat the crap out of it. Never (and i mean NEVER) checked ANY of the fluids in it. Just got in it and drove, every day. Made several trips from here in NC to PA to fisit her family. Had a hard enough time remembering to change the oil. When I drove it that one day the front end was horribly out of alignment, tranny was slipping pretty good, and the oil pressure was sky high (around 80psi). But dammit the thing kept on tickin. I asked her how long the oil pressure had been that high and how long the tranny was slipping and she said "about a month or so". I checked the oil in it only to find it was barely even showing on the dip stick. Thats what made me want to find a Jeep with the 4.0 in it.

If it wasn't for the fact I like the XJ body style better, I definately would have got one of similar year. Just my experience with one.

 

[Atl XJ]

My brother is debating whether or not to sell or fix his 95 ZJ. It's got 2 major problems.

1.Major A/C problem, dunno for sure what but dealer says it would be $1000 to fix.(I strongly suspect the evaporator)
2. Trannys shot, its been running two years with very low fluid because he knows nothing about cars and never checks fluid. Its starting to get real bad, if you accelerate too quickly it will just slip. I believe its the A500 tranny if that makes a difference to anyone.

Do you think it would be worth him rebuilding the transmission and fixing the evaporator? The rest of the car looks and drives great. 130,000 miles. If not what would be a reasonable price to ask as-is. Welcome to anyone and everyones opinions.
Thanks,
Collin

If its the evaporator, its an all day job. You have to pull the whole dash out to get to it, but its not that expensive of a part. The good news is that the '95s are 134. The transmission they used in the ZJs, especially the older ones like that one are all crap and usually only last around 100K miles plus or minus.

What transfer case does it have? If its the 249 (the fulltime 4wd one) thats going to go soon if it hasnt been replaced already. Is it a 4.0l or a 5.2l? The 4.0ls last a lot longer. Basically what I'm saying is that if its a V8 fulltime 4wd model, its not worth putting that much money in it since it will have alot more problems down the road. Everyone I've ever know thats had a ZJ has had nothing but problems with them. I've had several friends had had them and even when they fairly were new, everyone had major problems with them. They are no where near as reliable as XJs.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Yucca-it is R-134(new stuff)
5-90-$1500 for tranny rebuild, and its not the AW4.
ATL XJ-It must be the 249 T-Case because it is optional full-time, and it has the 4.0.(The V8 in those were crap, I know that)

One thing I forgot to mention is it got very low on oil one time because the pressure sending unit was spraying it out(ended up being a fun fix for me) but the pressure stayed good and it runs fine as far as the 4.0 goes. Any more opinions welcome. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read.

 

[Atl XJ]

ATL XJ-It must be the 249 T-Case because it is optional full-time, and it has the 4.0.(The V8 in those were crap, I know that)

From your description it sounds like it might be the 242. Thats a pretty good transfer case. Does it have 2wd, 4hi, 4 low, and neutral, or it it always in 4wd with just 4wd hi, 4wd low, and neutral? The latter is the 249, its notorious for the viscious coupler going bad.

If its a 4.0l with the 242 I would think it would be worth putting some money in it since you say its in good shape. The only thing that concerns me is how you said it was ran way low on oil. Could you provide more details on that to see if damage was done or not.

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

From your description it sounds like it might be the 242. Thats a pretty good transfer case. Does it have 2wd, 4hi, 4 low, and neutral, or it it always in 4wd with just 4wd hi, 4wd low, and neutral? The latter is the 249, its notorious for the viscious coupler going bad.

If its a 4.0l with the 242 I would think it would be worth putting some money in it since you say its in good shape. The only thing that concerns me is how you said it was ran way low on oil. Could you provide more details on that to see if damage was done or not.

I'm pretty sure its a selec-trac. It's not always in 4wd and it has the option of full time. Same option as used on XJs with the NP242.

As far as the oil thing goes, the pressure sender was leaking and pushing the plug out the other side. I didn't realize it until I started seeing a lot of oil on the driveway. Anyway I'm honestly not sure how low it got because again, its not my car and he doesn't live with us anymore so I can't constanly monitor it. The 4.0 is very quiet(no tappets clicking or anything) and still has plenty of power. The low on oil thing seemed to have no effect on it. 'Preciate the help from everyone, and more opinions welcome.

 

[black89xj]

Whether to fix or not depends on what he wants to do with it, and if he has the money to replace it.

On kbb.com the trade-in, in good condition, is $2,800. The A/C is about a grand and the tranny is another grand. You could sell it outright for around $4,200.

With that said, they say the cheapest car is the one you are driving now. If he cant afford to replace it, meaning replace it with a new(er) car with the payments/interest/insurance, then fix it.

--Karl

 

[BIGSLVRXJ]

The funny thing is he's looking to buy a Cadillac CTS or Chrysler 300. I disagree with both but hes a "car guy." He has the money but hes just not sure what to do. I think he figures he might as well see if he can sell it for anything decent, but that's why I'm trying to get input also.