Oh great NAXJA masses.. HELP me decide!

I

IronSmiles

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego, CA
Situation:

I've found a relatively pretty good condition 1998 black XJ Sport with roughly 182,000 miles that I want to recondition and build up. The guy is the second owner and bought it used certified from a dealership. It's auto trans, 4x4, some visible rust on the underbody but no rust damage, no frame warping or damage that I know of and he has reciepts for regular maintaince done on it every 3-4000 miles.

I haven't gotten to see it in person yet, only a butt load of pictures.. and here is what the ad says verbatum, "1998 Black Jeep Cherokee Sport, 4.0 Liter, 6-cylinder, Air-Conditioning, Power Windows/Doors/Steering, Keyless Entry, Dual-Front Airbags, ABS, Sun/Moon Roof, Grey cloth interior in great condition, tinted windows, towing package, upgraded wheels, Yakima Ski rack, upgraded Sony CD/speakers/amp, wired for sub-woofer, newer tires, lifetime allignment at Goodyear. 182K miles, mostly freeway (work required travel all over Southern California and Nevada). Regular maintenance and services (every 3-4,000 miles). Beautiful car that I don't want to part with, but family is growing!"

HERE is my question.. (And I ask this because I want to keep the axles and just beef them up with shafts, gears, etc. and run 33"s) Based on that information, what are my chances of it having the 8.25 in the rear? I know the ones with ABS supposedly have the D35 (booo) but it being the sport with the towing package, does that mean it might have it? And IF it does, What do you think it's worth? What would you pay for it? He want's 4700 but the most im thinking im going to be willing to pay for it at the moment is 4000.

ALSO.. Even though I'm sure it's in good condition I plan on putting some money into this thing and having it not only as a trail rig, but a DD and want to really take care of it and keep it for a LONG time.. I'm thinking about either having the engine rebuilt, or another one put in. IF I wanted to go that route, what would you all suggest having done? I'd like a good amount of power, and have a good budget, but don't want to go too overboard.

And along those same lines.. Should I have the transmission rebuilt/replaced? And is there anything I'm forgetting?

If I buy this vehicle I will have follow up posts with the transformation pics from start to finish posted for you guys as I already have the majority of parts and mods picked out, just need to get them on. =) Thanks!
 
If you have a pic of the axle Dana 35s are round on bottom and DC 8.25 are flat. Other than that they look the same.

DC 8.25
axle_825.jpg


Dana 35

cover_dana35c.jpg
 
my 2 cents,
Sounds like your counting eggs before they come out of the chicken!! LOL
182K may still be a long runner if it has been well taken care of. Same goes for the trans. I wouldn't really plan on spending the cash till you have it in your hands and can do some testing to see what the true condition is. Something as simple as a compression test will tell you alot.
 
u can run 33's on a dana 35 and unless your doing heavy offroading u might just want to carry a spare set of shafts on u its not as bad as everyone makes it sound or they wouldnt of used them for so many years
 
zachxj01 said:
u can run 33's on a dana 35 and unless your doing heavy offroading u might just want to carry a spare set of shafts on u its not as bad as everyone makes it sound or they wouldnt of used them for so many years
Click to expand...


I broke my dana 35 doing a u-turn on loose dirt, with stock gears and an open diff on 32's. One tire started to spin and then hooked up (Wasn't spinning all that fast). Grenaded the spider gears.
 
If it has ABS then its going to be a D35!
 
Thanks for the pics guys, yeah I'm good on being able to figure out if its the 8.25 or not, I'm gonna be taking a look at it when he brings it by tonight.. BUT

What about the price? And what about the engine upgrade? On a hypothetical that you WOULD rebuild/upgrade it, whats a good way to go? (Refer to the questions in my original post)
 
i would say the price isnt bad i have seen them go for more then that. and if ur goign to upgrade axles and drivetrain i would not be too worried and depneding if thouse miles are highway or not its a jeep they last for ever and if not a whole new engine is like 1500. and they are easy to rebuild.
 
IronSmiles said:
Anybody else have input for the engine swap/upgrades? Ideas?
Click to expand...


I agree with this...

Onkover said:
my 2 cents,
Sounds like your counting eggs before they come out of the chicken!! LOL
182K may still be a long runner if it has been well taken care of. Same goes for the trans. I wouldn't really plan on spending the cash till you have it in your hands and can do some testing to see what the true condition is. Something as simple as a compression test will tell you alot.
Click to expand...


I had a well cared for XJ come into the shop once that had 380K on the clock with the original drivetrain! I'd get the Jeep first, then worry about going through it and "reconditioning" it where it is needed.
 
Alllright.. Maybe I'm not asking clearly enough, lol.. I completely understand that if it's been well maintained that it CAN last that long.. HOWEVER.. for the price I'm picking it up for I can afford to do an engine rebuild/swap.. so on a hypothetical that you had money and WANTED to do something like that, what woukl you do?
 
bharrison13us said:
i wouldn't. If it's not broken, break it so you can fix it better.
Click to expand...

Thank you for wasting the .5 seconds it took me to read that. Obviously you either can't read or like posting to be an idiot. That hypothetical question applied to a situation where the engine NEEDED a swap or rebuild. I was looking for an answer from someone who had half a brain on the subject matter, thanks for being so useless and step aside so somebody else can say something that I'm sure will be much smarter. :mad:
 
Go for Golens 4.6L stroker.

http://golenengineservice.com/html/jeep_off-road.html

You might have to get a new transmission to go along with the engine and it is a little pricey, but you will have this engine long after the jeep is not drivable. The engine will give you 260 hp and 295 lb/ft of torque just out of the box but with a few add on like a high flow intake and performance exhaust you can get more. Hope answers your question.

Here is a good write up on it. http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/engine/154_0508_golen_4_6l_stroker_engine/
 
Last edited:
Before I respond, let me make sure I understand the question.

In your hypothetical example you have an XJ with 182K miles that has been well cared for and assuming that it continues to be well cared for may last another 150K or 200K miles.

Based on this info your question is, would I rebuild/swap the engine simply because I can afford to and may want to and not because it needs it or for any other logical reason?:sure:

If this a correct summary of your question then I would say no, I wouldn't touch an engine that doesn't need it. With no goal in mind such as more hp, torque, mpg I don't see the point.

I would spend the money on other upgrades and save the rest for a time when I will surely need it.
 
IronSmiles said:
Thank you for wasting the .5 seconds it took me to read that. Obviously you either can't read or like posting to be an idiot. That hypothetical question applied to a situation where the engine NEEDED a swap or rebuild. I was looking for an answer from someone who had half a brain on the subject matter, thanks for being so useless and step aside so somebody else can say something that I'm sure will be much smarter. :mad:
Click to expand...

Geez, no one is going to want to answer you with that attitude! I know your a noob, and maybe your exact questions weren't answered the way you want, but all we are trying to do is save you money for other mods, etc... Lighten up, no one has posted any negative comments, we are just trying to help and give you our opinions on your situation!

This site is full of info if you take your time to search instead of complaining about someones harmless post!

-end rant

Now...if you want to rebuild or replace your motor anyway, it is up to your budget how far you want to take it.

I agree with this...

uoidxj said:
I wouldn't touch an engine that doesn't need it. With no goal in mind such as more hp, torque, mpg I don't see the point.
Click to expand...

If your going to pull what may be a perfectly good motor, at least make it worth the effort!

Sooooo...

If you want a NEW motor, look into a pre-built stroker such as Golen or Hesco.

If you want to rebuild it, search here for building a stroker.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
ABS D35 to Chrysler 8.25
Replies
2
Views
177
Unclewolverine
U
B
New to xjs help
Replies
19
Views
395
braddaman7788
B
rang-a-stang
4.0 Head is cracked. Any other upgrades I should do when I am in there?
Replies
4
Views
253
Ol Blue
Ol Blue
T
Anyone experience this issue with a Detroit Truetrac?
Replies
10
Views
441
Evan03
E
C
Headlight harness is smokin' relays
Replies
6
Views
365
chewie14
C
Back
Top