Newbie considering 4 local XJs,pointers and advice welcome

[spoo76]

Well I needed something reliable enough to be a daily driver, and tow a car to and from tracks that are farther than local
So i decided on the XJ, cheap, reliable, easy and cheap to repair

ive done a little research and it seems that i want a 95 and up
but will settle on the 91+ because of the HO ( or was that 92 ?)
from what ive found online other than the OBD1 VS OBDII
the cooling system is the only real diffrence, up to 97 that is.. correct?
how hard is it to upgrade to the newer open system if im going to get an aluminum radiator with the cap anyway?

My price range is rather low, im looking for something no more than 1500-2000 tops
it needs to be able to Tow a max of 4000 LBS which i doubt will be a problem
be comphy enough for daily driving, and rust needs to be limited to surface rust only or panels that can be unbolted easily
though im sure if it has rust through a panel that unbolts it can be hidden elsewhere as well

Im located in South FL so AC would be a big Plus, but if its something cheap and easy i can repair it,

i decided i want an automatic, all my other cars are manual, and i love it, but for ease of towing and incase i get hurt at work (im a mover) decided on an Auto

So for my needs, daily driving, and towing, which of these 4 seem to be the best buy? what should i be aware of? or what do i want to look for?
even though i dont plan on a lift for quite a while i think i want a 4X4
Just seems that at the race track parked in the grass... a trailer with a car on the end would just dig a 2wd in the mud and wet grass more..

all of the following are automatic 4x4's
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1995 sport $1500

miles unlisted
AC works
anti lock brakes
claims power windows and locks.. but on the interior pic it looks like a window crank is missing?

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1992 limited $1800
141,000 miles
sony CD
power windows ,locks, and power leather seats
leather interior
No ac listed... not working?

4 wheel drive works great. Aluminum wheels, red paint, some rust but easily fixed. New windshield, New front shocks, will give away new rear shocks to install yourself. Newer plugs, wires, etc. GREAT project car or basic transportation!!! A MUST look car, call in with an offer!!

This car looks good, has low miles, nice features.. but doesnt say ANYTHING about AC, so untill i hear from the owner i will asume it doesnt work
that and the fact there is oil soaked carboard under it.. and he claims its a great "project"

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1996
$2350 ( would definetly talk him down to under $2000 )
power windows and locks
cruise controll
and ABS

I contacted the seller about the specifics and this was the reply

The forward right panel is dented, there is a dent on the roof, the front panels are cracked, and there are a lot of little rust spots on the top of the hood. The tires are worn down and the interior has stains on the seats. The a/c doesn't work, but I have never taken it to the shop to find out what the problem is. The mileage is 161,089. These are the things that are wrong with the Jeep, this is why I am selling it so cheap.

im not sure what he means by forward right panel and front panel
if the rust is just surface rust... its not a big deal
the non working AC sucks.. i would have to ask him to knock the price down if i get it..

ps, pb, pdl, p/windows, cc, tilt, am/fm, air bags, abs, tint, the body is in rough condition, but she still runs good, $2350 obo,

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1992 $1950
Miles unlisted
description makes it seem like all is in order but its a 2door....and i kinda wanted a 4door but its not a deal breaker

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I will of course be going in person to look at all of these before i make my desicion
but id like some pointers on what else to look for in general and based on what you know..
and posibly on advice on which whould be on the top of your list

No matter which i choose, i will be doing a basic tune up, and tranny cooler right away because i have a 5 hour towing trip (each way) april 27th
if money allows i will upgrade to an aluminum 3 core radiator (CSF?)
( how hard is it to upgrade closed to open if i plan to get the cap'd rad?
I couldnt find any info


Thanks for your advice.. sorry for the long first post!!

 

[goodburbon]

the ones with ABS have the weaker d-35 axle, and if you're gonna be towing 4000# a lot you should probably avoid that.

 

[kleake]

Maybe I'm wrong, but don't all XJ's newer than about 87-88 have the Dana 35 in them? and the only difference is the ABS ring on them, but as far as strength, I thought they were the same? Sorry,, brain wasn't thinking fast enough..... If they don't have ABS they might have the 8.25 in them.....

 

[Boatwrench]

It's not difficult to convert to an open system. Did last month for under $80.

 

[Boatwrench]

It's not difficult to convert to an open system. Did last month for under $80.

Stay away from anti lock brakes, i have heard bad things on them from the dealership mechanic.

The 1st 95 looks like it has an airbag in the steering horn bar, might search, I am not sure they had them that early.

$2K gets you up to a 93 in this area with well over 150K miles.

Good Luck,
Tom

 

[Kejtar]

Maybe I'm wrong, but don't all XJ's newer than about 87-88 have the Dana 35 in them? and the only difference is the ABS ring on them, but as far as strength, I thought they were the same? Sorry,, brain wasn't thinking fast enough..... If they don't have ABS they might have the 8.25 in them.....

Nope, they also had Chrysler 8.25 27 spline through sometime in 96 and 29 from sometime in 96 on up. There is no clear line when in 96 they stopped building them with 27 spline as it seems that it was a supply on hand issue: they used them till they had 'em and then they found some more towards the end (I remember someone posted having an XJ that was built towards the end of the 96 build year that had 27 splines).

 

[spoo76]

Hmm well it looks like i'll have to put more thought into the rear end
to bad i had to get rid of my 1988 grandwagoneer, it had dana 44's front and rear but... it was a gas hog and NOT an ideal daily driver

also to be honest my car is gutted and only weighs 2300 LBS, and for now ill only be towing on a tow dolly
but once i find a good and cheap full trailer ill be towing with that, between the extra tools and what not and the weight of a full trailer i would imagine the weight should be 3300-3500 LBS

On another thought... was i wrong in thinking the open cooling system was from 95+? the posts ive seen on this site seem to say its from 91+ on all the H.O motors.

again thanks for the coments and info, keep em comin!


here was the old rust bucket... none of the creature features worked, and the interior was TRASHED but she had the AMC 360 and dana 44's and ran strong... but that 9-10 MPG was horrible, and it didnt like to start, none of the locks or rear gate worked lol... but i only paid $650 for it.... shes off to a better home now

 

[spoo76]

Well I made some calls to the owners, and im going to check them out tomorow

the red 92 with leather has Some surface rust, and 2 rust holes on the lower passenger rear rocker, and the area above the winsheild leaks due to rust...and the AC is Non working.... so thats more than likely out unless he wants to drop the price alot

However the Green one was droped from the $1950 to $1500
has New water pump, hoses,belts,brakes, and the AC was just serviced, so it seems like thats the one to get , i REALLY wanted a 4 door,
but the red 92 isnt worth it considering there is no AC and a fair amount of rust

the white 96 would be well worth it if the price came down
2 extra doors, and full power options would be great, but not for another $850, especialy when it doesnt have AC

The red 95 is still an option if its in good condition, but its another hour south, and at a dealership, so... who knows

again, thanks for any input given or soon to be,
ill post pix when i get one in my driveway

 

[bacelaw]

hey - my advice: dont rush to judgment.

i have a 96, also red, very similar to the 95 youre looking at (mine was made in july of '95)...very happy with it at 115k miles...and i bought mine with 80k for 4400 bucks - so your prices seem like steals...

im in the northeast, the most expensive place in the world though.

rust: i'm tackling getting mine under control - from what i've read/heard, rust is manageable- you can't beat it forever, but you can maintain it over the life of your jeep.

replacing floor pans, patching, using rust converter, painting with rustoleum, undercoating, etc....all tactics to keep rust under control - so no matter which one you get, plan on rust management - esp. in the salt belt like me.

 

[spoo76]

hey - my advice: dont rush to judgment.

i have a 96, also red, very similar to the 95 youre looking at (mine was made in july of '95)...very happy with it at 115k miles...and i bought mine with 80k for 4400 bucks - so your prices seem like steals...

im in the northeast, the most expensive place in the world though.

rust: i'm tackling getting mine under control - from what i've read/heard, rust is manageable- you can't beat it forever, but you can maintain it over the life of your jeep.

replacing floor pans, patching, using rust converter, painting with rustoleum, undercoating, etc....all tactics to keep rust under control - so no matter which one you get, plan on rust management - esp. in the salt belt like me.

True, rust isnt as much an issue for most cars here in south FL but the red car that has rust ( the 1992 with leather ) is from detroit michican, he just moved to FL, so even if i got him down to $1500 id still have to deal with the rust,leaky window, and no AC,

The White one has no AC, and "suposidly just small dents and surface rust
if i can get him down to $1500 or so it wont be to bad, it has small dents but those i can fix down the road, AC and a running car is more important off the bat, but im not sure i can get him from $2300 down to $1500 lol

the other red one (96) is an hour and 45 mins from me so im not sure ill get a chance to look at it.. the other cars are only 30-45 min away

 

[lilredwagn]

Well on both red ones, from the sound of it the seller is not terribly forthright. Instinctively I like the green '92 best, but rust would turn me off, and I would want to haggle the price down.
At any rate, what I was posting to say is - whichever you decide on, don't sign anything or give anyone any money until you've run a carfax and made sure it's never lived anywhere near Louisiana ..

 

[spoo76]

Well on both red ones, from the sound of it the seller is not terribly forthright. Instinctively I like the green '92 best, but rust would turn me off, and I would want to haggle the price down.
At any rate, what I was posting to say is - whichever you decide on, don't sign anything or give anyone any money until you've run a carfax and made sure it's never lived anywhere near Louisiana ..

hah.. you know I didnt even think about the posibility of that ill probly run the VIN tonight its up on the page
as far as the green one, it only has surface rust and "seems" to be in the best shape

But if i can get the price of the white one down, it may be worth fixing the AC to have a 4door, also the white one has full power so thats kinda nice