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So, a friend of mine that lives halfway across the country can't find any Wranglers worth a drat that aren't either terrible or sold before they can get to them. She's asked me to look at some out here in AZ, in particular this one (a 2001 It looks clean enough in photos, and supposedly the restored title is due to being stolen and having the interior ripped out. Any trouble points in particular with the TJ that I should be looking for if/when I go inspect and test drive this thing? IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 20:26
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rally posted:That is actually a TJ. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that it probably has the 0331 head casting which is prone to cracking. You can check for the TUPY stamp under the oil fill cap and if it's there, you have the updated version which has the better casting. I'm almost certain that a 2001 model has the bad head, though. Milky residue under the oil fill cap is a sure sign of a cracked head. Thank you, wouldn't have ever known about that little bit...the two Jeep owners I know in real life either have considerably newer or older Jeeps that weren't impacted by this. Hell, I never even came across that info when I was looking at '98+ Cherokees for a while.
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Jul 12, 2012 23:56
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IOwnCalculus posted:So, a friend of mine that lives halfway across the country can't find any Wranglers worth a drat that aren't either terrible or sold before they can get to them. She's asked me to look at some out here in AZ, in particular this one (a 2001 Quoting myself because holy crap, no way would I pay even half asking price for it. Totally never noticed that it was a 4cyl until I got there. The thing felt about twice as slow as my 4cyl Ranger does. On top of that, the A/C was aftermarket with no apparent way to disable the compressor, and most disturbing of all, the suspension felt barely cobbled together. Every bump in the road made the thing feel like it wanted to hunt, and crossing train tracks I was afraid it was going to spin out in a straight line. Now, this is only the third Wrangler I've ever been in, but all three have been more or less crapbuckets. Does a good Wrangler actually want to track in a straight line, or do they ALL feel like they're trying to hunt all over the road?
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Jul 13, 2012 03:21
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Godholio posted:Death wobble? That can come up in any solid front axle vehicle, and I think the Wrangler has been the only one in the US for years. It's not uncommon at all, but I'd stay away. My 93 YJ didn't have it, and so far my JK is good. In the JK it's apparently caused by some insufficiently torqued bolts in the front suspension most of the time. It causes other failures after a while though. Nah, the front end felt decently planted (aside from the wheel "centering" at about 30 degrees to the right) but the rear end felt like it was barely hanging on to the rest of the truck. It only just now dawned on me that I should probably ask my coworker with his TJ if I can take it for a spin and make sure I'm just not expecting too much out of a tiny wheelbase, solid axle front-and-rear vehicle.
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Jul 13, 2012 04:49
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ethanol posted:I'd bet every wrangler owner will encounter alignment/suspension problems. You just need to figure out what is out of shape and repair it. Wranglers need a lot of love and a steady cash flow. I don't think my friends will have any problems with the first part of this - her husband has built a handful of full-on project cars and motorcycles. I think he's well up to the task of keeping a Wrangler on the road, but I don't want to tell him to buy something where he's going to be absolutely hating life on the drive back to KC. I'd rather help him find something where they can at least drive it a while before that steady stream of cash starts. Also, to be perfectly honest it's very likely the Jeep will never see any actual offroading out there, just some dirt roads and that thing called "snow". And yeah, there are shitloads of them out here. No rust, and no inspection (other than emissions in two counties) so it's all just a matter of how long someone is willing to keep it rolling. I think there's more Jeeps on the East Valley CL alone than there are in all of KC.
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Jul 13, 2012 05:24
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More likely your ignition switch just plain failed. I had one fail like that in my GMC once; cranked, fired, and kept right on cranking (no clutch interlock switch - I suppose it would have stopped trying to crank if I had taken it out of park). It wasn't an 'over rotation' thing, it was just a switch that failed and arced across the starter contacts. If Jeep wires their starter switches like GM does (did?), that switch is carrying a lot more current than it really should be.
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Nov 12, 2013 20:38
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In anything I've worked on the switch on (again, GM only here so take it with a grain of salt), yes the switch and cylinder are separate parts. I've replaced one without the other on at least three occasions (once to get my truck on common keys, once for previously mentioned switch failure, and once on a '94 Camaro where the PassKey contacts failed). If you want to head this off in the future, check out your starter circuit on a wiring diagram and see if the solenoid itself is drawing its power directly through the ignition switch. If so, consider adding a 30A relay such that the ignition switch energizes the relay, which then energizes the solenoid. It's basically a smaller-scale version of what Chevy guys have been doing for years to work around the 'hot solenoid' problem, except that you don't need to dick around with the positive battery cable and add another full solenoid to the system.
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Nov 12, 2013 21:52
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This thing is seriously messing with my head.
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Jan 31, 2014 00:16
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Krakkles posted:In my case, a flat spot on the tire caused by a hub failure and subsequent wheel lockup induced a vibration at about 55mph which caused the vehicle to death wobble so bad that the front end was bouncing off the road. It was bad enough that the semi in the next lane blocked traffic so I could safely slow and exit the freeway. A flat spot like that seems like it would be a good bit worse than just out of balance - aside from the vibrations caused by wearing a chunk of the tire unevenly, you now have an inconsistent contact patch.
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Jun 11, 2014 14:37
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Farking Bastage posted:The Transmission is bulletproof and didn't have so much as a shaving in it last time the pan was dropped. Seriously, a TH400 behind a ~5L truck V8 should last approximately forever. That's an awesome looking truck, congrats on keeping it where it belongs.
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Jun 26, 2014 18:10
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kastein posted:I found the short wheelbase and quick steering ratio very disconcerting, since I was used to XJs and MJs steering ratio and longer wheelbase. Every Wrangler I've ever ridden in / driven has felt like it was trying to swap ends just going down the road on normal dry pavement. However, knowing the owners of the two I rode in and taking into account the overall (terrible) condition of the one I drove, I have no way of saying whether that was due to the short wheelbase or because all three of them had lovely worn-out suspension components.
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Aug 18, 2014 20:36
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So I've been getting the itch to get something that is not entirely useless on anything rougher than a maintained dirt road to replace my Ranger. It'll still be used the vast majority of the time on the highway, so it seems like the best choice would be a WJ Grand Cherokee. XJs are tempting too but I think the overly-basic interior on even the later ones might still be a step down from the godawful Ranger, and the majority of the XJs for sale have already been modified considerably. WJs seem to be more often owned by people who never took them offroad. I already came across this, and while it's helpful, it's a few years old; I suspect that the majority of used WJs didn't already have 150k+ on them by then. A lot of what I'm coming across are in the 160-220k mile range. Anything I should be looking out for / avoiding on a WJ with that kind of usage?
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Aug 25, 2014 00:37
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I'm not planning on any sort of wheeling that would require those kinds of mods, at least not initially. I thoroughly expect that my abilities / willingness to continue as a driver will run out before a stock Jeep will. Point taken on the V8, I just don't have the towing caveat that you do. Towing would probably be a once a year thing at most if I have to move anything that won't fit inside it.
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Aug 25, 2014 02:50
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Put a deposit down on an 03 WJ Limited. 4.7HO, towing package, QuadraDrive, and as far as I can tell drat near every box checked on the order list. 114k miles, stupidly clean, one owner, and a stack of mostly-dealership service records an inch thick going back to the original brochure and window sticker. Pictures on Friday when I get my hands on it for good.
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Aug 27, 2014 05:33
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Solid and bone dry. It spent about a year in Washington State before they moved to AZ and has been here (and garaged) ever since. The only drop of any fluid on the whole thing is what looks to be oil splashed on one of the tie rod ends from a very recent oil change. Transmission, engine, transfer case, and axle backing plates all look dry.
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Aug 27, 2014 05:56
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Not anytime soon. Aside from cleaning up any minor issues I find, I might pull the side step bars and brush guard since I think they might not be particularly structural. That and adding Bluetooth to it somehow.
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Aug 27, 2014 10:58
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Blue with a tan interior. And yeah, no way I could even dream of finding anything that nice here at $4k - at that price they're all kinda ratty and drat near 200k (or past it). I got it for $6k, KBB claims it would be worth just shy of $7k.
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Aug 28, 2014 03:57
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Finally sat down and went through all of the maintenance records on the WJ. Photos will have to come later when I'm not raging about getting my stupid drat Ranger backed into. This thing was seriously maintained - in the last 15k miles alone they had all of the following done: Crankshaft sensor Camshaft sensor Radiator Radiator hoses Coolant (correct red stuff) Thermostat Front axle gear oil Power steering pump Transfer case oil Rear brake pads Oil change x4 Plugs (correct Champion platinums) Valvecover gaskets Water pump The only thing I have any concern about is the invoice doesn't clarify what oil was used in the transfer case, just 'gear oil' from an independent. More annoyingly, the last time the dealer did it (about 60k before), the receipt says they used ATF+4  The only thing that seems to have never been touched is the suspension / steering, so I suspect tie rod ends and maybe some ball joints are in my future, along with at least a check in the transfer case to make sure it's not ATF+4 in there.
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Aug 30, 2014 07:13
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The majority of that work was done a tick after 100k, so whatever happened to it was 15k miles ago. It runs fine and pulls strong. The underhood is messy enough that I'd wager it was leak repair more than anything. There's enough "CUST STATES MIRROR MOVED POSITION, COULD NOT DUPLICATE" type poo poo and oil changes / spark plugs at ridiculously short intervals that I think the previous owners were just that anal about doing the whole job instead of part of it. I will say that the stereo is a bit of a mess - adding any bass in at all makes it muddy unless you crank the treble to the max.
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Aug 30, 2014 08:13
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BoostCreep posted:Make sure they put the proper friction modifier fluid in those vari-lok diffs. I think all of the references I saw on the fluid mentioned synthetic, I don't think I saw modifier called out specifically. Oddly the rear hasn't been done in a while so I'll plan on doing those fluids too. Also, I think it's never had the belt done, even with all of that accessory drive work, so add one of those to the list.
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Aug 30, 2014 17:31
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kastein posted:AFAIK all NVG/NP transfer cases use some variety of ATF except the ones with viscous clutches in them. Those occasionally specify a Mopar special fluid designed for them. Well, it should be a NV247 unless something very weird has happened. I'll see if I can pull a plug and figure out what fluid is in it.
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Sep 1, 2014 01:52
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drat, that could be a good deal - or there's something else wrong with it. There was one like that locally that seemed too cheap for the one in the photos, and yet got cheaper every 12-24 hours. Finally took a couple pics of mine just for the sake of doing it.  Front bar is a Westin (Westin Safari bar, apparently?), side bars are Luverne. I haven't crawled under and looked closely enough at where they're mounted, but does anyone know if those pieces are worth keeping? I'm thinking back to all of the mousetrap 'style bars' for Miatas that are more dangerous than no bar at all.  Like I said, dirty like it had a water leak - but overall it's fairly clean. I made the mistake of ordering an air filter element before I popped the filter box open - it already has a K&N, ha. Not something I expected to see. At least there's no MAF to foul with filter oil. I took it for a drive in the hills today and while I still think it could benefit from tie rod ends to tighten up the steering, it really does handle about as well as can be expected for such a heavy truck. Stayed right at 210 degrees in 102+ temperatures, climbing up slow second-gear hills around Apache Lake. Once I get the Ranger sold I think I'm going to snag a set of five 17" JK stock wheels. There's no shortage of them on CL for <$200, I don't like the polished chrome ones, and the spare is a non-matching generic alloy with a different / brand new tire, whereas the four on the ground are 2011 date codes and showing some signs of aging.
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Sep 2, 2014 05:20
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InterceptorV8 posted:How the gently caress do you fit into that thing without beating yourself retarded on the doorjam with your head? I haven't had any problems there, and I'm 6'4". The more annoying thing is that relative to the door, the steering wheel sits drat far back in the opening - I managed to bump it while wearing an old pair of jeans with a bent up rivet, and snagged the leather gileadexile: Most low-priced 2-ton jackstands are all pretty similar in design and use. Just make sure it takes at least some minimal effort to release the pawl that holds it at your set height. I bought (and returned) a set of Craftsman stands that you could release even with a (small) load on the stand itself.
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Sep 2, 2014 20:26
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EightBit posted:What the gently caress are you smoking It was the joke about how nobody on Craigslist understands the difference between an I6 and a V6 
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Sep 7, 2014 03:57
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? TJ's had a 4-banger or the I6, which isn't rare in any sense.
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Kastivich posted:Careful, your heavy steal bumper is FRAGILE. Must be Italian.
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Sep 11, 2014 04:39
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EightBit posted:Just stack two pattern adapters It's converting from 5x5" to 5x127mm! 
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Sep 13, 2014 23:54
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Anyone got a good source on replacement drain / fill plugs for the NV247? Thanks to the dealership that did most of the work on my WJ, the internal hex on one of them is in rough shape and next time I do the fluid I'd rather swap them out.
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Sep 15, 2014 18:36
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Pretty sure my WJ needs a u-joint or two. Hard on or hard off the throttle, it now sounds like going over rumble strips. Having never done one myself, anyone got tips on identifying which one is dead / replacing it, or should I just do both at once?
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Sep 17, 2014 18:09
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Yeah I'm thinking rear driveshaft, this is happening on clean dry pavement so the front half of the drive train shouldn't be seeing much of a difference in load relative to throttle position. Given how stock everything is on it I'm sure the front axle still has CVs at the ends. Front driveshaft seems to be a double joint at the transfer case side, I haven't spent enough time under it to confirm.
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Sep 17, 2014 18:31
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Ordered a pair of 5-153X joints and one of those strap kits. Gonna try that Thor method to change them out since I really don't want to go find a press or other way to fix it. The transfercase side is a slip yoke, right? Am I going to lose some of that precious NV247 fluid when I pull it?
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Sep 18, 2014 06:03
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gileadexile posted:When you say rumble strip, do you mean sound or sensation? A bit of both the sound and sensation. Haven't noticed anything unusual about turning as of yet. It nearly completely goes away at very light throttle, and is most noticeable when leaning on the gas or light braking.
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Sep 18, 2014 15:48
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How is it not throwing any OBD2 codes? Sounds like it's running super rich to me.
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Sep 19, 2014 00:16
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Does it not have an IAT sensor? A hosed ECT sensor should set a code if on a cold start the IAT and ECT are way out of whack.
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Sep 20, 2014 17:48
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kastein posted:They aren't magical, I've just hosed up a ujoint install every way possible and know the signs of each Welp, I can definitely say I know what it feels like when some needle bearings fall over  Zero problems getting the driveshaft out, only needed a bit of penetrating oil to hammer the old joints out. They weren't worn to the point of clacking yet but they were both dry and sticky so they were definitely done for. I cannot get them in straight for the life of me, and ruined both of them in the process. Oh well, it was only a $26 lesson learned. I'll have one of the shops nearby press them in tomorrow and be done with it.
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Sep 22, 2014 03:02
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Yeah, I watched that video a few times. I can get the first cap in no problem, but the second cap is where it falls apart. I've got them greased up to half depth to try and hold everything still, and I'm doing my best to balance the cross to keep a little load on both, but inevitably either the first cap or the second tosses a needle and it's hosed. I'd take another stab at it myself but I won't have much time this week for that, and my HOA will not be happy with the WJ up on stands in the driveway for a moment longer than needed. If I get the driveshaft fixed up tomorrow, I can have the driveshaft installed again in maybe ten minutes.
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Sep 22, 2014 03:12
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:IOC I suppose it's a moot point if you raped the joints, but did you clean the yoke ears out real well and tap nicely with a smaller hammer? That's what finally worked for me with regards to popping out pins... I suspect that's where I went wrong, yeah. Everything was nice and clean (I do love working on AZ cars!) and I lubed it up with ATF, but I couldn't seem to get them to move at all without some more forceful taps. If for some reason I can't get it set up at a shop today I might just try using the balljoint press method. I can't believe I never came across that option beforehand 
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Sep 22, 2014 17:09
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Astonishing Wang posted:I agree with this, as someone that has also bent an ear using the ball joint press. It's just too easy to crank it too far and mess it up. Sockets and a vice is the best way I've found so far after replacing at least 10 joints, and it was the first thing Kastein recommended. My wife reminded me that one of our friends works at a local shop and it's the method he ended up using. I'm not sure if my bench vise opens wide enough to get this mess in there. Oh well, got the joints in for the low low price of taking them out to dinner.
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Sep 23, 2014 13:06
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Yep, I ran into that when buying the second set of U-joints for my WJ. For some reason most of the parts houses list either a 1330 or 1350 U-joint as the rear joint on it, when every WJ uses 1310s anywhere they use a U-joint (and CVs / Rezeppas / other poo poo when they don't use a 1310).
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Sep 24, 2014 17:24
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Well bought. Anything I could find here at that price point had a lot more sun damage and a lot more miles on it. Also, $500 JK wheels? I'm probably going to buy some as soon as I sell my Ranger, and there's five-wheel sets on CL all day long for $100-$150. Unless you're including the tires too. I think the stock 17" and 18" JK tire sizes won't fit on a WJ even with a 2" lift unless you want to do some trimming. I'm going to go for some A/Ts in the stock size whenever I get mine.
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Sep 29, 2014 04:58
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Glass struts are cake, especially if they don't send you a defective part! I went with the Sachs branded ones from Rockauto, the whole process was basically: *Have brother-in-law hold glass up *Use small flat-head to pry retainer off of glass-side mount (it's a clip that pops in - once you remove it, the strut comes off easily) *Use a Torx screwdriver to remove the lower mount (T27 I think) *Thread in a new ballstud for the lower mount *Snap new strut onto upper and lower mounts At that point your helper can head back on to whatever it was they were doing before since one fresh strut will hold the glass up fine. Repeat for the other side. I forgot to mention the most unusual thing I've found so far on my WJ - the washer fluid reservoir leaks, albeit slowly, and from relatively high up. I didn't notice it at first so I filled it up... and then watched (and heard) it drain back down out of sight. If it ends up that my usable capacity in it is too low (doubtful) then I'll crawl under and epoxy up whatever hole it has.
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Sep 29, 2014 07:26
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