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Morning!


Vernon

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Hi to all.

Bought a Cherokee XJ 1996 a few days back and pick it up Wednesday.

Always loved the square boxy shape and have wanted one for years.

Am I allowed to say I have had Land Rovers in the past? 😁

Classic RR, Disco 200, Disco 3.9 V8 and a Freelander - and did a fair bit of off-roading in all bar the Freelander.

Really looking forward to getting to know the XJ and Jeeps in general.

It has the usual floor rot issue but that is about it apart from a few cosmetic bits.  
It looks like replacement floor panels are difficult to come by at the moment - despite US websites showing good availability.  If anyone has any info on this/suggestions it would be most welcome as repairs will be done “properly”.

Looking forward to Wednesday and coming to a few Club meets.

Clive

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Welcome aboard!

Sorry can't help this time but you need not fear about having been a Landy owner. There are lots of us here who have seen the light!

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spookie the aardvark
9 hours ago, Vernon said:

Hi to all.

Bought a Cherokee XJ 1996 a few days back and pick it up Wednesday.

Always loved the square boxy shape and have wanted one for years.

Am I allowed to say I have had Land Rovers in the past? 😁

Classic RR, Disco 200, Disco 3.9 V8 and a Freelander - and did a fair bit of off-roading in all bar the Freelander.

Really looking forward to getting to know the XJ and Jeeps in general.

It has the usual floor rot issue but that is about it apart from a few cosmetic bits.  
It looks like replacement floor panels are difficult to come by at the moment - despite US websites showing good availability.  If anyone has any info on this/suggestions it would be most welcome as repairs will be done “properly”.

Looking forward to Wednesday and coming to a few Club meets.

Clive

Hi and a very warm welcome to the club 👍👋

Another convert from the "Darkside" 🤣 or is just the comfort and the reliablity?????????? 🤣

Sorry I can't help you with the replacement floor panels issue but we do have a lot mechanical "Big Brains" on here who can help. I believe @Fourpot has been rebuilding his XJ so maybe of more help 👍

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I have not replaced any of my XJ floor pans yet, but I made the floor pans for my son's Corsa from sheet steel. I made formers from scraps of plywood and softwood and I used a hammer and a press to form the panel into the shape I needed. If the floor pan is too complex to make in one piece, just divide it up into smaller easy to manufacture subsections and weld them together after forming.

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Welcome to the club! XJ is proper classic Jeep.

 

Good luck with the refurb/build I am sure you will find a lot of good resources on here.

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Many thanks guys!  Much appreciated.  
TBH - after a good inspection the floor rot is not that bad.  The passenger side has been patched quite well - So a similar patch job on the drivers side would be an option.

Ultimately I would like to replace the whole floor if it needs it - I’ve seen the front sections for $90 and rears for about $65 on US Quadratec website.  But given the current world supply issues I may have to wait a bit.

Now I’m just looking forward to Wednesday! 😄👍

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Hope Wednesday goes well, get some pics up when you have a minute.

 

What spec is it? 4.0L, 2.5TD...

 

(Usually when I ask this it's because I dream of the day when someone casually replies "oh, it's a 4.0L manual" - a complete unicorn, and very cool.)

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Hi Alex - it’s a 1996 “Limited” 2.5 diesel manual.  I drove a RR regularly back in the days with this engine and quite liked it.

I would have bought either engine option to be honest.  
I think it’s the earlier model as it has a lovely wooden dash.

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Welcome to the club 

6 hours ago, Vernon said:

I think it’s the earlier model as it has a lovely wooden dash.

And yes it is the earlier XJ that you have. I think that the facelift came in with the 1998 model year.
And forgive me father as I have sinned as I too have owned a 109' Safari and 3.5 RR

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Learnt to drive in an 86” Series1 and still own an 80” Series1. A project that is waiting for me to retire 🙈

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4 hours ago, JimC said:

think that the facelift came in with the 1998 model year

 

Close, 1997 model year, although I can’t remember exactly when it arrived in the UK.

 

Pretty good going to have a 13 year run before even a facelift. Even when they finally discontinued the XJ in 2001, it was still Jeep’s second-best selling model.

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25 minutes ago, AlexK said:

Close, 1997 model year, although I can’t remember exactly when it arrived in the UK.

 

Pretty good going to have a 13 year run before even a facelift. Even when they finally discontinued the XJ in 2001, it was still Jeep’s second-best selling model.

Doh! The earliest facelifts I have seen have been on a R plate and my old XJ was on an S plate, registered in 1998.
And does a Willys count as a best selling model?

Now where did I leave my anorak? Lol

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I should perhaps clarify that: of the Jeeps on sale in 2001, it was the second biggest seller, despite being the oldest model in the range. In fact, if memory serves, sales were going up. Not bad for a model on run-out. And one that had outlived the model intended to replace it.

 

The Willys MB you could argue was a mere blip at just 360,000 or so. By comparison, they built nearly 3 million XJs.

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On 10/10/2021 at 17:19, V said:

I have not replaced any of my XJ floor pans yet, but I made the floor pans for my son's Corsa from sheet steel. I made formers from scraps of plywood and softwood and I used a hammer and a press to form the panel into the shape I needed. If the floor pan is too complex to make in one piece, just divide it up into smaller easy to manufacture subsections and weld them together after forming.


Hi V 

thanks for that.  Looks like what you recommend is what is the most sensible option for now.

The chap I use the do such repairs has said the same for now - and then hope replacement panels get easier to come by.

 

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Got her home on Wednesday and been busy checking her out.  Really pleased in that it is all totally honest and untouched.   A few issues - the rubber gear lever gater has no retaining ring and seemed too small anyway.  Realised today that the one on there is for a Facelift and I need the up to ‘96.  So have ordered the correct one with retaining ring.  They say it will be here end of the month.

Time will tell.

The really good news is that it has a spare tyre that has never been used - it has the three coloured lines on the tread and the molding bits are still there.  It is also on a beautiful unmarked alloy that has clearly never been on the road.

At that point I started to get concerned and checked the DOT code for age.

096

 

First week of 1996.

 

The ruddy thing is original.

 

Sadly, it will of course, have to go.  I’m not driving on a 25 year old tyre.

 

Why it wasn’t rotated I have no idea.

 

Will try to add some pics

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One other fact - she did have a LSD as evidenced by the receipts listing the additives for the dif.

However at about 100k miles a second hand rear axle was fitted in Scotland (I assume the owner was on holiday and had an issue). The receipt quotes “replace diff with good s/h item as original badly worn”.

After that there is no dif additive listed on the service invoices.

I’ve not noticed any clicking or whatever but to be honest I haven’t as yet put any real strain on anything.

Is there anyway of checking without going inside to have a look?

There is no indicator tag that I can see.

 

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On 18/10/2021 at 18:08, JimC said:

That is one lovely XJ you have.


Many thanks Jim - have to say I am very pleased with it.  The previous (one family) owner was meticulous about servicing and keeping receipts.  I have a file of service receipts going back to new that is over an inch thick.

I shall carry out the repairs needed - mainly cosmetic apart from floor repair - and try to keep her as standard as possible.

 

For once, I was lucky.

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Hi PDB - yes I’m replacing the rear dif oil with Millers LSD 90 today hopefully.  Better safe than sorry.  Just have to pick up another 1L of the stuff from our local car spares place as he only had one in stock.

I’ll do the front with ordinary EP90.

she has a slight oil leek after a run and I’m pretty certain it’s from the back of the sump.  It’s all pretty clean and dry above the gasket line.  So a good clean up and sump off to check is on the list.

It might be me but I’m not finding it easy to source a sump gasket for the VM.  I assume it has one? Or is it sealed with sealant?

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Oh the joys of having a vehicle that has been stood for too long.

MOT history says she has only done 624 miles since last December.  And I have driven just over 300 of those miles since picking her up a few weeks ago.

Had a coolant leak ten days ago - excellent dash warning “CHECK GUAGES” flashed up and a quick check confirmed the temp gauge climbing towards the red.

Pulled over and coolant leaking from water pump side of engine.  Bu99er I thought.

Towed home by my 8 months pregnant daughter in law 😳 - who is an awesome driver being a Paramedic on the ambulances.  There Navara made an easy job of it but dark evenings and Dorset country roads made for a squeaky bottom journey…..

Once home despite checking I could find no leak source.  No hose split, no rusted connector pipes - I was a a loss.

So refilled and started up - nothing.   Very odd.

So a flush and thermostat check.  Three of the socket screws on the thermostat housing came out good as gold - but the fourth, the one at 7 o’clock as you look at it, the head just fell off as I pushed the allenkey socket into it.  Bu99er I thought again.

The thermostat totally jammed and when gently running the engine without a thermostat when it finally got a bit of heat water squirted out the thermostat housing at the 7 o’clock position.  

So the good news is I found the leak.  Further good news is that the leak was a relatively slow one.

I have tried removing the stud but there is not enough for my extractor to bite onto.  My cruder wheel type one could get up flat to it but the stud is about 6mm and so is the gap.  So I don’t have the tools.  Tried molegrips but no luck - just smeared the stud metal.

So my mate who runs a workshop will be doing it on Wednesday this week.

And now - just to add a further bit of joy to my life - whilst running the engine checking out the above - I suddenly heard an ominous “chirp,chirp” noise.

A quick line of sight view down the pulleys showed the idler pulley off line by a good few degrees.  Bu99er I thought for a third time.

So that’s two jobs on the list for Wednesday.  A new belt will be a good thing as well.
The tensioner may need replacing - and I am tempted to replace the water pump - but to be honest it seems to be working fine so probably “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” would be the best option.

 

Apologies for the “rant” - I talk to SWMBO about it and she just gives me that look that says “Well if you must go out and buy a 25 year old car!”

 

Yep! - I must 😁

 

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Hope the issues are resolved quickly.  Sounds to me like you will be a very good owner for this super condition XJ!

 

As a TJ owner I also regularly visit a US TJ (and LJ) specific forum.  There is a guy on there who is on his second recent 'new to him' Jeep, but abot his 12 in total I believe.  However well looked after the Jeeps are he says he always goes through them and replaces a bjnch of stuff, including much of the coolant system, so maybe your issue is not a bad thing in the long run.

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Hi , welcome aboard Vernon.

You can check whether you have LSD by jacking up the back of the car so both wheels are off the ground. Turn one by hand. If both wheels go in the same direction you have LSD. The standard one is a trac lok . There is no clicking etc because it is a plated (like clutch) system. They are not the best but a lot better than nothing especially if they are working properly and not worn out. If it is , you can buy a  new plate pack quite  easily. Sometimes if the car has not been driven hard enough or no additive in it, the plates can stick together, in which case you can fix it by putting in the additive/fresh oil   and driving it on a hard surface in a 'figure of eight half a dozen or so times in one direction ,then in the other. I have used an industrial estate car park at the weekend for this technique!

Hope this helps.

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