Project Cheap Xj

[Pinkyman]

I picked up this Xj in September of 2015, but i thought i should get my build up on here. Most of this is copied from my other build thread, and i will try my best to keep it updated with any future changes :thumbup:

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Hey guys! I'm new to the forum, but have been around vehicles all my life. I'm normally a VW guy (so im used to fixing cars...lol), but have owned a few jeeps in the past, most recently a 2010 WK that we decided it was time to get rid of it.

So I'm picking up a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Classic from a friend of mine for $200 later this week. She's been driving it for a year with no issues, but is picking up a new car this week, and she just wants it gone. The 4 wheel drive works, and it's got 260k on the 4.0 in line 6cyl. It needs some love, but it's cheap and will be a good hunting and ice fishing rig. 2 of the windows don't work, and the AC doesn't work, and the heat only comes out of the defrost no matter what setting it's on. I'm sure I'll find 100 other things as I tear into it too. It does have an aftermarket cd player and speakers from what I can see, and it has almost new snow tires on it.

First order of business will be to check the heat and AC, along with fixing the blend door problem. Then I will work on sourcing a fender and everything I will need to repair the front end and make it look decent, along with checking and changing all of the fluids, and finding some new wheels and tires.

I'm sure I'll be posting up looking for parts soon, if anyone has some of what I need laying around. Im really looking forward to digging into this thing and making the ultimate ice fishing/hunting/camping rig

 

[Pinkyman]

Just picked up all this stuff for the gnarly sum of $130! I should have possession of the Xj later today!

Boom!

 

[Pinkyman]

Well, she's home! Delivered to my house even with a full tank lol. The disassembly has started, after I got the hood open because the release cable is broke.

It's rusty underneath, and leaks a little bit. But I DID find that the blower motor works perfectly, it just doesn't switch with the blendoor yet. The freon is also low, but it holding a charge, so I'll probably fill that up tonight too. I haven't looked into the windows yet, but the hammer and I have been busy straightening everything out. Here's the progress so far. I needed a break lol.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well she's in 1 piece again!

Issues so far:
AC needs to be charged
Blower still only works on defrost
Windows still don't work
Passenger headlight doesn't work on low beam, even with a new bulb and pigtail

But here she is

 

[Pinkyman]

I got both headlights working this morning, and I realized that the hood probably hasn't been opened in 1.5 years.... Needless to say, the oil was a couple quarts low

Next up is figuring out the windows. None of them work from any of the switches, and the little green lights on the switches don't light up on any of them.

 

[Pinkyman]

The passenger low beam fuse was out... Go figure lol.

I finally got all the windows to work (the RR needs a regulator, it barely goes up and down). The ground wire was broke off in the drivers door, then just the drivers side worked. I then chased it to the passenger side switch, took it apart, cleaned the connections, reinstalled and voila!



I also got the blower to come out of whatever setting I put it on. A vacuum line was completely melted off, so that has been repaired and now works!

The AC worked for a few minutes and blew ice cold, then stopped. I tried the "shim" fix but I'm afraid I'm just going to have to replace the AC clutch.

Next up, take it out and wash it!

 

[Pinkyman]

It's pretty well sorted and all back together now. I even washed it and it cleans up alright. I may do a coat of wax just because, but I'm not sure I have that much motivation haha.

The next step will be spray the grill and fender black, and get some undercoating on those tube rail things.

 

[Pinkyman]

I did take another look underneath, and its not as bad as i originally thought. Its rusty, but not like falling apart rusty. I need to get some penetrant on those shock bolts and leaf spring bolts so that i can get some new shocks and shackles in there. And i need to do something about that exhaust too. I may be picking up a new AC compressor and clutch tonight, so hopefully my AC will work. Then i can get to steam cleaning that engine bay.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well i took her on her maiden voyage this morning. 36 miles into the office downtown, and so far so good (knock on wood).

The AC still seems to kind of work when it wants to. It was working for a minute, then shut off, and if i left it off for a bit, it would work again for a few minutes. Ill have to look into that further when i get back from vacation on Sunday :sad0147:

 

[Pinkyman]

Well I got ambitious tonight. It may not look great, and there's a run right where the fender meets the hood, but it only cost me $35, and it's not white anymore lol.

I'll get it all cleaned up and back together tomorrow

 

[Pinkyman]

And she's all together! It doesn't look great, but it'll do lol.

 

[Pinkyman]

I took it for a ride today to go shoot some trap, and brought the wife for her 1st ride in it.... Of course the passenger window got stuck halfway down and doesn't have power anymore. At least it was nice out.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well I took some measurements tonight, and it's going to be close, but it looks like the ice house is going to fit with the rear set bottom removed






I cleaned up the interior too, and I still can't believe how nice she cleans up!






Then I crawled under it to look at the exhaust. I think I found out why it's so loud.... It looks like I'll be replacing everything including the cat (or just take it out) and everything behind it.








And I found this jackass. I don't think I'm going to worry about it.

 

[Pinkyman]

Well it's not pretty, but it will do until I make it more permanent. That and it's not quite done yet..

If I measured correctly, my box will sit exactly as it does in the picture, and be sealed all the way around at .51 cubic feet. I haven't decided yet, but I may move the sub to the inside and carpet the outside so that you can't see it at all, since my jeep sleeps outside and I worry about theft.

 

[Pinkyman]

I thought I'd work on it again tonight. I have to take it apart and seal it up, and install my amp, but for the price of some scrap I had laying around the garage, I'm happy with it.

Hopefully I can find out how it sounds this weekend.

 

[Pinkyman]

Took the dog for his first Jeep ride tonight. I also noticed that you cant even hear my subwoofer unless you're in the garage.... I need a bigger amp asap.

 

[Pinkyman]

Not much for progress as we added a mini jeeper to the family last Wednesday! This is our first, and momma and the little man are both doing as well as could be!

 

[Pinkyman]

I'm hoping that this will be in my possession tomorrow..... Then with any luck, the install can start on Sunday. I know it's the cheap way out, but I refuse to put that much into this thing lol

 

[Pinkyman]

Boom! The guy said it was installed for a week, then the motor blew. It was supposedly parked for a year and then the kit was removed. I guess we will see how she goes tomorrow!

 

[Pinkyman]

Well after like 6 hours, the rear is finally done. I was going to start on the front, but I can't get the dang lower control arm bolts loose