The Cherokee Affair

My brother was having little buyer interest trying to sell his son's 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport.  He says he will just donate it to charity.  It's a shame, since this Jeep is relatively low mileage and in overall good shape.

I text him and ask for his "Rock bottom, It's going to charity, Family Discount...." , which was more than fair.

The goal is to fix it up for my college-aged son.  A reliable car he can have at school (so I don't have to go pick him up too)......  but it has to be a  LIV......."Low Investment Vehicle"

He's studying out of state and into the outdoors (Backpacking, Climbing, Skiing, etc), so this Jeep fits my son's activities.

My brother's Craigslist Ad  - 

nice Jeep Cherokee 2000 with low miles (123,000). Recently replaced tires, stainless steel brake lines, front brakes, alternator, battery, Bilstein shocks absorbers, water pump and hoses, muffler

remaining issues: no AC (new compressor installed but has leak in system), headliner sagging, some rust on door sills, left fender crumpled due to collision with deer, dent in back bumper

(Clearly, he's not that good of a salesman and I knows there's more to this story.....)

My brother lives 9 hours away.  So I bought a cheap ($90) one way flight to go pick it up in a few weeks.  Hopefully, the trip will go smoothly.  I won't have a lot of tools with me.

I'll work on it for a few months, bringing up to "code", and then turn it over to my son.

So begins a new project. "The Cherokee Affair".

Sounded like a good name for a spy novel, but after working for different car company for 30 years, working on another brand feels a lot like cheating.....

I flew Pittsburgh to Tampa, FL to drive home in a 1995 Cherokee with 125,000 miles on the ODO for my daughter.  It ran 75 mph for two days straight and never skipped a beat. I put some time and effort into it (chronicled here) to make it safe and convenient.  The headliner is sagging and that's next on my list, but it is off at college with her so we shall see if it ever happens.  

Nice score. Even though XJs are common, nice ones are starting to go up in value a little, and that looks like it could be a nice one with some work. My experience so far with my ZJ is that it will always be broken in some minor way but will also always more or less run and get you where you need to go as long as you can afford to keep gas in it. 

Good luck with bringing it home, looking forward to the story.

XJs will live on as a cult classic. People will covet them like the Eagle wagons. 

I don't own it yet, but I'm already collecting parts for it.  Is that GRM or what?

My brother has a second XJ.  He's says he's selling this one, even though it's in better shape, because it doesn't have cruise control.....Hmmmm.

So a visit to a couple of Junkyards in my area last week, yielded this setup plus fasteners from a pair of 2000 XJ cadavers.... 

Clock spring                     $9.99

Cruise Control Servo     $12.99

Wheel Switches               $6.99

(9 hour drive home is a long way without cruise you know).   I hope to install it before I leave his driveway.  :)

I was also able to find a 2000 XJ in the same Sienna Pearl Red color.  The driver's fender was in acceptable shape, definitely not perfect.  The lower flange is mangled, but I can straighten it.  From the stickers inside, I think it's an dealer part from a accident repair.  With a little polish, it will look good. 

Fender             $29.99

Inner Fender   $9.99  ( I don't know if I need it, but this one was in great shape and probably lower miles)

XJ's are pretty easy to find in the junkyards.  Worn out, but easy to find.

I love my 96 XJ. Having driven it across the country in october and may I can say I wish it had cruise but I've yet to worry about it. I'm driving it back across this november and cruise is still absent. The craziest thing to me has been my fuel economy. On the highway I averaged 21 and got one tank at 23! One tank I even burned some weird 85 octane fuel in Iowa and still got 20mpg.

Last week, I flew to Maryland and picked up the XJ.    I was picked up at the airport with it.  

My first impression, as the truck came to stop at the curb.....a big clunk underneath the truck.  While riding in it, it sounds like the trans mount is trashed, but I'll look into it.

The headliner sags over your head like a cheap sombrero.

Speakers are shot.  

Literally half of the carpet is missing.   Had a leak and it got moldy, so they cut out the passenger side of the carpet.....  Put in a house carpet remnant, but couldn't find the source of the leak......Hmmmm.   It's ugly carpet too, cut with a utility knife and ziptied to the original carpet. Nice.

In the morning, I got to see it in daylight. It's about what I saw in the photos.  Dented fender, bent bumpers, some rust repair required, etc.

The door lock spins in it's hole.... Someone tried to steal it a few year ago and jammed a screw driver in it.

Overall, a lot of little projects.  It could be A LOT worse for 18 years and 123K miles.

I quickly installed $30 of cruise control junkyard parts.  They all worked great.   I used it a lot on the ride home.

The 10 hour drive home was uneventful, thank goodness.  The headlights suck, really.  The truck tracks straight at 80 mph - good.  Mileage was 17 mpg. Idle is rough - needs a tune up.   

Even had a chance to use the 4WD on a dirt road - no surprises.  Climbs hills like a goat.

It will be a nice college-kid SUV when it's fixed up.......a LIV....."Low Investment Vehicle"

Once home, I found the passenger side foot well wet under the "carpet"....  gotta look into that.

I've already pulled the mangled fender off and test fit the junkyard fender.  Looks better already.  The grille header is cracked, but I'll try to epoxy it back together.

I've already put in my first order of many from the A-ZON for a handful of projects.  

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My brother told me "It's aggressive....Don't show him any fear....", like it was a horse.

I answered...."I'm not worried.   I saved him from the glue factory and he knows it.  He loves me already...."

If I ever owned a race horse, I've always said I would name it "Glue Factory" or "Tastes like Beef".   A reminder to get full effort in the race...

"tastes like beef" gave my nostrils a mild coffee burn.   i spent a lot of time in a '96 XJ Limited when it was new, and i could never find a comfortable position for my right leg.  but yeah, climb like a goat and will run poorly longer than most vehicles will run.  good score!

My sister owned the last year in a deep blue color.  I always told her to let me know when she wants to sell.  She shows up in a new Kia SUV and I ask where is the Jeep?

Traded it in.  

I don't know if te XJs are the same, but on the ZJ the AC drain runs though the psg firewall into the frame rail where it's inaccessible. After many years the foam seal degrades and any condensate runs bck inside - straight into the floorboard. Drives people nuts because they think it's a window leak (which is also not uncommon.)  Maybe one of the XJ guys will chime in and verify if they're built that way too.

Broken grill header is common. If you can't fix yours, spring for the Omix ADA one. I went through 2 of the lesser brand ones and both arrived broken. The part is the same, but Omix's packaging is worth the price. Still only $100 or so.

On XJs the usual cause of wet carpet is the front window seal. Well documented on XJ forums. Mine did it as well. 

All Xjs leak and water accumulates on the passenger floorboard.

Lots of leakpaths.....AC drain, door seals, windshield seal

Well, i can see why noone would buy it for any decent kind of money but i can also see how it wouldn't be too bad for the mechanically-inclined person to fix it up again. Having owned 4 XJs this looks like a cool project to me! 

On my craigslist that would probably sell for about a grand and its a good deal for it

I pulled off the crumpled fender and replaced it with the junkyard part.   Looks better already.    

I pulled off the front header to install a H4 headlamp upgraded relay harness ($20).   Waiting for new H4 headlamps($52) from ebay.  This should make the night driving alot safer.

I found a GM Gentex dimming mirror with Temp/Compass on a Tahoe in the junkyard ($9.99)   I'm reusing the Jeep's existing unused wiring for the outside air temp.  Cheap and neat upgrade.

I also found a Cherokee with the factory skid plate option in the junkyard.   I grabbed all three skid plates and fasteners (front, transfer, fuel tank) for $10 each.  I'm cleaning and repainting them now.   No lift kit planned, so these might be useful for the young adventurer....

Found a new Drawtite hitch with hardware for $50 on fbk too....to mount a mountain bike rack.

Ordered a new front bumper ($41) and will paint it with Satin Black Rustoleum.    

I am also recovering the headliner and visors, but bought factory like light grey foam material for $48.

I hope to get it back to together shortly and DD it for awhile, to figure what else needs some TLC.

Sounds like you've got a good thing going!

I really want to scare up a set of factory skids for my ZJ but haven't had time to crawl the JYs yet. Plus it's almost past snake-and-bee season, so that's a plus.

The “new” Fender is on. Had to tack weld in new flare retainer studs and reused the original warped flare. The junkyard maroon car is already gone to the crusher…no more color matching parts.....

Not perfect but the Paint matched!

Installed some new headlights from India…..plus RETINA BURNING 100/80w Hella H4 bulbs and a separate headlamp wire harness that draws headlamp 12v power directly from the battery. The losses in the old wiring and switch probably yielded only 10v.   Cheap LED lamps aren't great in snow (not enough heat to melt snow) so these Halogens should work better in Michigan.

The $50 new Hitch and a HUGE $10 HUGE tank skid plate installed…

Need it to stop raining so I can paint the bumpers and front skid plate.

The old bumpers put up a fight. But I prevailed. Needed to window the rear bumper to get a tool in there...

Disappointingly, I found cancer under the rear bumper ends…..

I could trim and fold the fender, but this isn’t really a rock crawler.

The repair and my crappy welding will be hidden, so I will attempt to weld in new metal. It will be my first major welding car repair. The repair will need to be structural enough to hold the bumper end cover and a mudflap, but not pretty. I figure I’ll never get good at welding if I keep avoiding it.

Great work.  Great project.  Lucky kid!  

Your profile says Michigan.  Even with the rust you are showing, this still qualifies as Rust Free in Michigan since it is concealed by the bumper.  

Hi , is there a good forum for old Jeep Cherokees ?

There is a 2004 Grand. Cherokee across the street and all the side windows are stuck in the down position !

It might rain here someday and the owner would like to get the windows to go up,  he checked all the fuses and they are good. 

any idea where to look for answers to a fix ?

Thanks

Since you don't have experience welding on cars previously I'll recommend you think safety. Disconnect battery, look for fuel and vapor return lines, check what's inside the area that could catch fire, etc. etc. etc.   Have a large size fire extinguisher nearby, wet rags etc.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

There are several forums.   Just google it.....

https://www.nagca.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4

https://jeepgarage.org/f18/

Search and you'll probably find someone with the same issue....

In reply to NOT A TA :

I've welded on cars before, but the welds just weren't pretty.  I welded new floor pans into our old Bronco.  It's functional.  I need more practice....

In reply to bOttOmfeeder :

 its always hard to find stuff on google , its so overwelhming !

Nice to have a couple of known websites to look at.

Thanks for the direction :)

More progress....

Went to the JY and picked up two bumper ends, since mine were damaged.   $5 each.   

I splurged after I found a set a heated door mirrors on a XJ cadaver, $18 each.   A really easy upgrade and hadn't seen them before in a JY.

I painted the new bumpers, the used bumper ends, and the  skid plates with spray bed liner. They turned out nice and got the whole front installed.

I need some new fasteners for the rear and waiting for a patch panel.

Repainted front skid plate is in too.....

I grabbed a few Jeep door locks at the JY.  From three $1 JY door lock sets, I was able to rebuild two rebuilt door locks keyed to match the jeep key.   A lot cheaper than aftermarket sets.  I need some new covers, but it was easy to match the damaged lock.

My younger son and I installed new front door speakers and pulled the headliner for recovering.  New rear speakers are coming too.

Today, I ordered new engine pan gasket, main oil seal, OFA gasket, and a valve cover gasket.  Trying to clean up the leaks...

Update.....

Welded in new sheet metal into the lower rear quarters.  Sealed and painted.  

The bumper ends cover the ugliness of my welding.   I'll keep my day job.

Added some cheap mud flaps, since it will never get washed by this College kid.

All reassembled and drove it work today.   Not bad for truck designed in the late 70's.

installed the junkyard Chevy Tahoe Gentex auto-dimming mirror with compass and temperature.....   

New headliner, new speakers, and a aftermarket door remote wired in.

Replaced the leaky valve cover gaskets and the notorious oil filter adapter o-rings.

Left to do:   

- Leaky Oil Pan and Rear Main Seal, Rusty Rocker panels (this winter) 

- installed some "used" carpeting, AC recharge/Heater core replace, fix water leaks (next summer)

- Maybe pull off the door bumpers and paint to match the bumpers.

- The leaf springs are sagging, maybe we'll replace those with a small lift.

Old and rough, but for the price it's a cool ride. 

GLUE FACTORY....

The college kid is back on Friday for the Holidays - I made the deadline.....