Bought a 5 speed Classic XJ Jeep

[2000Silverbullet]

I cannot believe how much this simple mod has woken up this vehicle. Wow! A very noticeable improvement in go power with a deeper sound to enhance the butt meter feel. I really have to hold back now to save any more wear and tear than is absolutely necessary.

The last thing I have to do now is the tie-rod joints. Soon.

[Chris D.]

looks like a fun drivable project as you go.

[2000Silverbullet]

Just found out the delay wiper control is $250.
Worse yet, a Throttle Position Sensor is $300. for the manual transmission, whereas the automatic is only $150.

I won't be touching those!


The roads are finally wet now. Wheel hop is definitely an issue with this beast and the sticky big Yoko tires.

[Jrs3800]

Can we say.... 4.0 I6 Torque Monster

[2000Silverbullet]

LOL, not quite the torque that I'm used to in a V8 but it'll do.
It really does get squirrley on wet roads in first and second gear in 2WD. That's why I like the 88's Jeep 4WD full time option. This 5 Speed shouldn't need it if I'm careful when downshifting or upshifting. It is fun playing with the clutch in 3rd gear sweeping turns. The right rear tire lights up easily at city speeds even in the dry. But I'm trying to save wear and tear so I only did it once or twice. Now I know why that was the baldest tire when I first bought it.

[00Beast]

Paul, make sure to rotate the tires often.

[2000Silverbullet]

Ya, don't worry. The idiot who owned it before didn't do any of his own work. He was a 75 year old history teacher with no children and his wife taught home economics. There were three disconnected hoses in the engine bay just dangling about. I had to replace just about every light bulb besides the main head/tail lights.....all burned out and never changed.

[2000Silverbullet]

Removed all the rods this afternoon just before the heavens opened up and it deluged with rain. Two seized ball joints need to be unthreaded and then the re-assembly will begin. Two of five ball joints are really bad and the other three are worse.

This will be a total of 16 steering tie-rod ball Joints I've changed in the last week on three of my vehicles. I'm pretty good at knocking them off now. A total of 74 years of cumulative driving wear and tear.

[2000Silverbullet]

It's done!

Steers like a new Jeep now.
I'm pretty good at setting the alignment using the "board" method, lol.

Drove it to A&W for a Teenburger. It steers straight and the steering wheel is centered, boo..ya!

I'm expecting a fat Credit card bill tomorrow.

Now I hope the vibration I feel at highway speed is not too serious. :sad5:
The rear tires are new and all tires have been balanced. New rear driveshaft u-joints. I might suspect bad front hub bearings. They seem tight but so did the 94 Bonne's

[2000Silverbullet]

Had to replace the driver side lower ball joint today. The axle u-joint was bad and also had to be replaced. $400.
While doing the job it was apparant that the wheel bearing is hooped. ....another $200

My cheap method of using boards to align the wheels proved to require a full alignment. The toe-in was waaaaay off. Go figure.

Now I just HAVE to replace the other two junk yard tires........$400

It drives pretty darn good now. It should!

I notice that it will pull up hills in 4th gear at 1500 rpm whereas the other automatic Jeep needs to downshift and slip its torque converter to 2500 rpm. It's no wonder the 5 speed is getting much better mileage.

Ya....ya.....I know....I know......I spent too darn much on this winter beater....

But the weather man says it's going to be the worst winter in 50 years this year......

I'm READY.

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

As long as it works...

FWIW, I'm expecting a nasty winter here too. Well, "nasty" as in "back to the old days when I was a kid and could go XC skiing down the streets".

[dpcookson]

According to your sig, the 89 has a lot taller gears in the rear too. That will attribute to your fuel economy differences as well.

[PRD2BDF]

I'm hoping for a nasty winter in Ohio but I'm not sure yet. The weather pattern looks odd to me.

[2000Silverbullet]

According to your sig, the 89 has a lot taller gears in the rear too. That will attribute to your fuel economy differences as well.

Very true, and the rpm differences too. Still it's much easier to break traction with the 89 than with the 88.

[2000Silverbullet]

Ahhhh! the frikken cheap fog lights are loose and one fell off when I tried to adjust it! Crap plastic!
So I went and bought a pair of new chrome steel ones with glass lens. 1,000,000 W
j/k on the watts but now I can properly adjust them and they won't fall off......only 10 bucks more than the old ones. ..not that the old ones were old. I only used them twice, lol.

I was soooo pissed driving back to Canadian (Crappy) Tire for the new ones, I got wheel spin in three gears. Holy axle wrapping wheel hop. It's amazing the difference one leaf makes in a leaf spring.

[2000Silverbullet]

Couple more minor repairs but now there is nothing at all wrong with it.(oh ya, except the wiper delay but it's not worth $300 to fix it) Everything works great!
Window regulator just needed lube.
Found a fusible link that was burned out.
All 4 brand new tires now.
Cranked the tunes today.......love AC/DC.

It's amazing the difference a limited slip rear end makes. My 88 XJ has one but this 89 doesn't. Much better traction with the 88.
Driving up a hill this morning in third gear that one tire started to spin and just wouldn't stop and I was doing 50 mph. Ya, the roads were wet.
If I can find a used clutch pack I might pop it in.

Hey Bill, I temporarily installed the PCV filter and it's collected a tablespoon of oil in just a few days......and ya I can feel the difference in torque believe it or not. More blow-by due to the mileage. I put the other PCV filter on the 88 to gauge the difference.

$5,000 but let me tell you it's worth every penny and will last for many more years. I've been visiting the Jeep forum and it's not uncommon for these drivetrains to run to 500,000 Kms.
A new Cherokee runs $50,000 here.

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

You guys get ripped. That'll be us in a few years.

LSD FTW! It'll make a nice difference.

[2000Silverbullet]

I cleaned out the oily PCV filter by blowing it out with compressed air. I'll have to invest in a better "removeable bowl" filter for ease of cleaning.

Either that or rebuild the head.........but if I do that I might as well pull the engine and rebuild the whole frikken thing!





When I got the two new Yoko's for the front, I temporarily installed the original wheels and tires on the rear. Do you think it's a noticeable difference. Not too many people have commented favourably on my choice of converting to the gold lace wheels and tire combo. Both are 15" wheel designs.

[00Beast]

I like the original wheels best. I think the offset on them actually places them wider, too. Little better handling from a wider track (Like a Pontiac!).

[haro1225]

Wow, that's a really nice ride. This thread makes me miss my old 92 Jeep. Really makes me want another one.



This is the best pic I could find, I wish it looked as good as yours does.