Picking up a Jeep tonight

Osterkraut wrote: What are the Renix models? I've got a chubby for XJs and may seriously pick one up sooner rather than later.

anything that is called the HO I think is non renix. Like 91 up or so.

The Renix models aren't that bad. Once you fix all he vacuum crap nobody fixed in the last 20 years it's a good system. Not as good as modern EFI of course, but not to be terrified of.

Yeah I wouldn't shy away from any well maintained XJ from '87 all the way to '99. From what I've heard all over the place the '00 and '01 models are the only ones to avoid due to the coil on plug and new head casting that has a high rate of cracking. The pre '87s with the V6 are pretty terrible but there aren't many left so that's good :)

I've owned 4 from '88 all the way though the 90's and never had one give me much trouble. They have their draw backs but if you want to go off-road and go over anything on road there isn't a whole lot better for cheap :)

As i said, the thing that bothers me about the Renix's ive seen is that the harnesses are falling apart. Doesnt matter what else ISNT wrong with it if every wire is about to crack in half. To me thats just poor materials.

As for the code reader, i am not sure what it takes to read the Renix system, but i am pretty sure the HO system will spit codes out the check engine light just like most fuel injected chrysler products. I do that on all my cars and its a real help.

Some days I miss my old CJ5. 304, 4spd, manual locking hubs. Then I look at the price of gas and remember 180 miles per tank and the bloody thing died. I had to carry around a jerry can just in case. But, it was great going up the Rockies over Independance Pass.

While rated the same numbers, I've heard that the 00 and '01 actually have a noticeable increase in power.

My '98 has been great. Only 133k so far but I've only ever replaced one part and that was the water pump. I didn't HAVE to do that when I did, I just got tired of it leaking.

Next project is to re-gear. 3.07s and a 5 speed with '30s make for a bit of a dog at the stoplight

miatame wrote: Yeah I wouldn't shy away from any well maintained XJ from '87 all the way to '99. From what I've heard all over the place the '00 and '01 models are the only ones to avoid due to the coil on plug and new head casting that has a high rate of cracking. The pre '87s with the V6 are pretty terrible but there aren't many left so that's good :) I've owned 4 from '88 all the way though the 90's and never had one give me much trouble. They have their draw backs but if you want to go off-road and go over anything on road there isn't a whole lot better for cheap :)

Yesterday my '93 turned 100,000 miles. Not bad given it's age. And these engines go well into 300K miles from What I have seen.

While rated the same numbers, I've heard that the 00 and '01 actually have a noticeable increase in power.

From what i remember, the newer water pump design sucks less power, and the newer intake manifold design makes a lot more higher-rpm power. Swapping those onto an older HO motor is a power boost. Im sure the newer motor 'feels' faster because of the wider powerband and high-rpm power, but the only reason those parts were redesigned at all was to compensate for the power lost in emissions tuning to retain the same hp rating, not make even more.. Thats my understanding of it, anyway.

I guess this has turned into a build thread. Well that's OK. I have done some more stuff.

First I Wired it to be towed behind the RV and added these lights. All the parts came out of my father's "scrap pile" at the barn. well, except for the lights themselves, they were at Farm and Fleet for $8 (for the pair). You can see the long run of wires heading to the front of the jeep. I added wiring nub connectors so the wires can stay on the Jeep if I need to take the rack off for any reason.

Then we added the towing brackets. Here it is not so much what you see, but what you don't see. The brackets look like they are just bolted to the bumper, but behind the bumper we added a chunk of steel to reinforce it.

And here is the bumper reinforcement;

And then we put the Air Dam back on:

That took us about all weekend last weekend to do. Well the air dam I just put back on here in the driveway and it took about 10 minutes. I took pics only this weekend as It was dark and I was tired last weekend, oh and I didn't have my camera ;)

EricM wrote: There should be a law about High School kids and stereos.

Hey!

Tommy Suddard wrote:

EricM wrote: There should be a law about High School kids and stereos.

Hey!

not YOU, the high school kids near where I live....

Last night I cut and fit some plywood inside the basket. I don't expect it to last longer than the trip to an from Alaska. So, it is not permanent.

I did this so I can Bolt the Second spare tire in place, rather than using straps.

Here you can see the bolts from underneath the basket.

And here you can see the bolts from inside the tire, I double nutted it so that it doesn't back out on it's own.

And here is what the tire looks like all mounted up.

Could you use a u-bolt and get the tire mounted to the cross bar?
It would hold stronger but it might be overkill.
Cool rig and sounds like a cool trip in the planning.

jrw1621 wrote: Could you use a u-bolt and get the tire mounted to the cross bar? It would hold stronger but it might be overkill. Cool rig and sounds like a cool trip in the planning.

good idea :)

My wife drove the Jeep the other night and complained about the wobbly brakes. So I went to Autozone and got new rotors and pads.

Do you think it was time to change them?

I even used the Brake cleaner on the new rotors to get all the shipping greas off of them before installation.

I thought I had a brake bleeder, but I guess I don;t cuz it didn't turn up aafter tearing the garage apart. So, I still need to bleed them.

By brake bleeder do you mean a small wrench to open the bleeder?

EricM wrote: Yesterday my '93 turned 100,000 miles. Not bad given it's age. And these engines go well into 300K miles from What I have seen.

Took my 230K '93 on a 700 mile trip over the weekend. Got over 20mpg without even trying. Maybe I'll be the only one impressed, but I am impressed.

EricM wrote: I even used the Brake cleaner on the new rotors to get all the shipping greas off of them before installation.

haha, I hope you were being sarcastic. You'd have a heck of a time stopping if you didn't clean the rotors before installing them! This is mandatory not "recommended".

I'm not crazy about your tow brackets. XJ's aren't known for their heavy duty bumpers. You'll probably be ok flat towing it but I would feel A LOT better if you tied those brackets into the "frame rails". Look at any good tow hooks or aftermarket bumper. They use a flat piece of metal to tie it into existing bolt holes to distribute the weight. I think you're taking chances with your current setup.

http://images.solidcactus.com/autobarn/11236-05.jpg

miatame wrote:

EricM wrote: I even used the Brake cleaner on the new rotors to get all the shipping greas off of them before installation.

haha, I hope you were being sarcastic. You'd have a heck of a time stopping if you didn't clean the rotors before installing them! This is mandatory not "recommended".

Yes, yes I was.

miatame wrote: I'm not crazy about your tow brackets. XJ's aren't known for their heavy duty bumpers. You'll probably be ok flat towing it but I would feel A LOT better if you tied those brackets into the "frame rails". Look at any good tow hooks or aftermarket bumper. They use a flat piece of metal to tie it into existing bolt holes to distribute the weight. I think you're taking chances with your current setup. http://images.solidcactus.com/autobarn/11236-05.jpg

yup, I have been thinking of that. I might do some welding when I get up to my Father's barn on the 20th. (of May)

Vigo wrote: By brake bleeder do you mean a small wrench to open the bleeder?

I was looking for a small tube and a bucket. I had a bucket, I guess I could have just gone with that...