OT: Missed Out On A Jeep: F@CK! F@CK! F@CK!

[11Bravo]

I have an '89 Cherokee but have always wanted a Jeep Jeep.
CJ or Wrangler; whatever.
I haven't driven my Cherokee in almost 4 years since I got my car but have kept it because it has a good engine in it.
Body is shot, headliner hangs at about the headrests, tires and wheels are not so good, battery deader than John Allen Muhammad.
Engine is good; straight 6, 4 liter.
I hear that is supposed to be a good engine.
Kept it strictly to use the engine if I find a Jeep Jeep that needs an engine or that has a 4 cylinder.
So, talking to a kid at work that has/had a Jeep Jeep and is 20 and has his 16 year old GF knocked up.
He needs cash.
He needs cash bad!
I heard that he bought a car so, I asked him about his Jeep Jeep.
Says he blew the motor and sold it to a friend that is planning to rebuild it.
I ask how much he sold it for.

$350!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Sounds becoming hollow, short of breath, colors fading, tunnel vision setting in, heart racing, beginning to become dizzy...

AAARRRGGG!!!

1990 with little to no rust, hard top and doors, automatic tranny, trailer hitch, about 100K miles...

I nearly fouled my shorts.
I also nearly beat the boy.
Damn the luck.

[wargasm]

Why not trick-out the XJ? There's a ton of lift kits and accessories for the Cherokee. Build what you got and maybe someone with a Jeep Jeep might want to trade you!

[vodomagoo]

dont ever let anyone say your jeep is not a real jeep. I sold my 89 and its the only thing I have ever regretted
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/vodomagoo/jeep.jpg

[11Bravo]

I think the Cherokee is about beyond tricking out, bodywise anyway.
And I know it is a REAL Jeep; I painted the whole thing with black Herculiner 5 or 6 years ago and the only badges I left on it were the JEEP ones.
I have wanted since I was a young teen a jeep I could take the top and doors off, put a bikini top on and go riding around.
I was quite happy with the Cherokee except for the water pumps, rear brakes, and how the oil filter is mounted.
For some reason, it the time I drove it I went through 4 water pumps.
The oil filter is the most accessible I've ever changed, except that it is mounted upside down; there is no way to change it without a mess. ?????
And re drum brakes on the back, don't get me started on those.
Have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!

[d90king]

Here is one of the nicest I have seen! It was a friend of mines Jeep and he spent a fortune on it before I bought it from him for inventory.... Very cool check it out. It has what's called a Spyder package. Notice the fenders etc... They replace all the plastic and replace it with steel... It is a very cool rig.

http://images.ecarlist.com/cgi-bin/viewall.pl?dir=1026_454894

[Safetyhit]

Says he blew the motor and sold it to a friend that is planning to rebuild it. I ask how much he sold it for.

$350!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Sounds becoming hollow, short of breath, colors fading, tunnel vision setting in, heart racing, beginning to become dizzy...

AAARRRGGG!!!

1990 with little to no rust, hard top and doors, automatic tranny, trailer hitch, about 100K miles...

I nearly fouled my shorts.
I also nearly beat the boy.
Damn the luck.


I think you are being too hard on yourself. I mean really, how much more than $350 is a 20 year old jeep with 100,000 miles and a blown engine anyway?

It's no big deal. Enjoy your Turkey. :)

[spamsammich]

I went through 2 exhaust manifolds on my XJ before saying **** it and getting a borla header. Those rear drums were the friggin bane of my existence, I had them lock up on me a couple times after snowboarding. They were apparently adjusted wrong (had them worked on 2x by Jeep dealership) and condensation that formed between the pad and drum turned to ice as it sat parked all day. As I would pull out of the parking lot I'd get all sorts of people yelling at me to let the e-brake off :rolleyes: I never did get them set just right.

[d90king]

I think you are being too hard on yourself. I mean really, how much more than $350 is a 20 year old jeep with 100,000 miles and a blown engine anyway?

It's no big deal. Enjoy your Turkey. :)

Its probably worth 5k if you take the time to part it out. There is a big secondary market for Jeep parts because of how they are used off road. Guys tip them over a lot.:D Thats why they have the famous bumper sticker...

[Rider79]

I have a '91 Wrangler that I've fixed up but don't drive much. Vegas weather isn't really friendly to a vehicle with no top and doors, I always think about picking up a Cherokee but I never do. I use mine for going to shoot in the desert, but I found a spot that I don't need 4wd to get to, so now it sits. The fuel lines dried out and cracked, so I gotta replace those.

[68fan]

...The oil filter is the most accessible I've ever changed, except that it is mounted upside down; there is no way to change it without a mess. ?????...

My truck is like that. If you have an old 2-liter soda bottle, you can cut off the bottom and unscrew the filter into the bottle-- get the filter loosened as you normally would, then grab it with the bottle to finish. Or you can punch a hole in the bottom of the filter housing and let it drain for a bit before unscrewing. At least that way the oil coming out is easier to catch.

[b_w_hlls]

Find the guy he sold it to and offer him $1000 for it, he might would rather double his money than fix that jeep.

[tirod]

I bought my 90 Cherokee precisely because 1) I can do that all winter without watching snow blow around the floppy canvas doors 2) It can be built with many of the same parts as a Wrangler - but with a longer wheelbase, is superior off road.

The saggy headliner in mine got ripped out - the local Joann's sells the stuff, I just don't want to mess with it. Nonetheless, it's a lot cheaper to replace than an entire top on a Wrangler, something there is no choice about when they are in the same condition.

I was raised on drum brakes. They aren't that hard, and some day I'll replace the rear axle with an 8.8 from a Mountaineer with discs. Problem solved.

As for the engine, yes, the 4.0 is great, have 195K on mine. Sure pumps go, so do alternators, starters, injectors, gaskets, fuel pumps, etc. The Wrangler uses many of the same parts and would have the same longevity. It's not immune to it. Lately, I've seen a lot of 97 up with steering column issues that only buying a new/used replacement would seem to fix. All the plastic and pot metal parts from a passenger car column don't seem to age well in an exposed Wrangler.

Be careful what you ask for, the $350 Jeep could have been a rat's nest of wiring issues. It seems to come with the territory, Wrangler owners don't have a clue about 12VDC and just hack things up until it's all toggle switches spliced in everywhere. Not fun when they get upside down off road and the fuel pump won't shut off . . .

[11Bravo]

Here is one of the nicest I have seen! It was a friend of mines Jeep and he spent a fortune on it before I bought it from him for inventory.... Very cool check it out. It has what's called a Spyder package. Notice the fenders etc... They replace all the plastic and replace it with steel... It is a very cool rig.
http://images.ecarlist.com/cgi-bin/viewall.pl?dir=1026_454894
That is nice, but...
It's kind of a, um, fufu Jeep.
Little bit, um, not hard core or even medium core.
Thinking more like this-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160380263245
Not so worried about pretty.
If the top is off and it gets rained in or snowed in, no biggie.



I went through 2 exhaust manifolds on my XJ before saying **** it and getting a borla header. Those rear drums were the friggin bane of my existence, I had them lock up on me a couple times after snowboarding. They were apparently adjusted wrong (had them worked on 2x by Jeep dealership) and condensation that formed between the pad and drum turned to ice as it sat parked all day. As I would pull out of the parking lot I'd get all sorts of people yelling at me to let the e-brake off :rolleyes: I never did get them set just right.
That's what I'm talking about. Those things sucked. I had one set of shoes that had one of the pads come off and when I tapped the brake pedal the pad wedged in and locked up that wheel. Had to back up a foot or so to unseat it and go forward until time to hit the brake again. Only went a couple of blocks to a friends house and he helped me replace them. But that was a couple of stop signs. And I don't understand why the stopped putting radiator caps on.
Other big problem I had was the hydraulic clutch. Went through 3 from March to August one year. Problem was the line from the master cylinder down had chaffed where it got to the bottom of the firewall. When I'd press the clutch pedal, the hose would swell ever so slightly and not quite get the clutch thrown out. And of course, when working on it, and you press the pedal you can't see the hose swell, and when you're down where you could see it, you can't press the pedal. Third time it was in the shop the mechanic just decided to tear it all down and he found the chaffing; you couldn't see it with the line mounted. NO MORE hydraulic clutches for me.

If it was anything other than a Jeep I'd never buy from that manufacturer again, but it is so....


I think you are being too hard on yourself. I mean really, how much more than $350 is a 20 year old jeep with 100,000 miles and a blown engine anyway?
It's no big deal. Enjoy your Turkey. :)
It's a Jeep thing. :D


I have a '91 Wrangler that I've fixed up but don't drive much. Vegas weather isn't really friendly to a vehicle with no top and doors, I always think about picking up a Cherokee but I never do. I use mine for going to shoot in the desert, but I found a spot that I don't need 4wd to get to, so now it sits. The fuel lines dried out and cracked, so I gotta replace those.
Trade ya.

[Rider79]

That is nice, but...
It's kind of a, um, fufu Jeep.
Little bit, um, not hard core or even medium core.


Trade ya.

I like the poison spyder fenders on the first one, I'll get around to doing that someday.

A trade will work if its your Jeep plus $4000. :)

[d90king]

I like the poison spyder fenders on the first one, I'll get around to doing that someday.

A trade will work if its your Jeep plus $4000. :)

They did a nice job on it for sure. It had the fenders, front and rear, plus the rear and lower 3rd done also. I was surprised at how solid it was, I believe its at least 1/2" thick steel... Cool truck for sure... It was the first Poison Spyder package I had seen...