When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Cruiser 54, congrats on your classic Alfas ! Duetto and Alfetta right ?
Parts for those cars are getting hard to find even here, but if you need anything I can try and see what I find.
And since I ship stuff frequently to US I have good fares on the shipment and know ways to keep the custom fees low (or nothing)
MaskedMallard, thank for the link. I will do all I can to retain the original heater because I dont like the idea to take apart a 33 years old dash...
The heater job is planned for tomorrow morning. I discussed it with the mechanic who rebuilt the engine and he agrees that placing the heater before the tank makes sense. He insisted on the fact the heater valve is required not to overheat the cabin during the summer, but from what I read on the internet it should be no big deal. Even more so since I live in an area where the weather is cool also during summer.
Looking forward to get some heating in the jeep and a clear windshield on rainy days. Hope the thing wont start leaking once its all hooked up !
If you guys are interested and it is not offtopic I will post pics of the jeep restoration.
Something about the vacuum control for the heater shut off valve in a friends vehicle stopped working. He's not a car guy, so he took out the vacuum controlled valve and replaced it with a cable operated valve that works like the old manual choke push/pull units. Works fine. He managed it in less than an hour without taking apart a lot of dash stuff.
I'd rather do it right, but I'm a car guy and I can recognize that not everyone wants to put in extra hours of work to have essentially the same result.
Heater control valve is absolutely unnecessary in the XJ. The heat is controlled by a blend air door via the sliding switch of the heater control panel in the dash.
On first try it was "placed" on the line going from the tank to the water pump and it didnt work, because the tank apparently functions in similar fashion as an expansion tank in an open system, suppling coolant to the system when necessary, and relieving excessive pressure from the radiator cap neck. This circulation is not enough to grant a steady/full flow of coolant to the heater and furthermore the coolant takes a lot of time to get nice and hot into the tank (and from there into the heater). Epic Fail !
On second try the heater was placed on the return line from the head to the water pump and bingo ! Hot air blowing into the cabin even before the thermostat opened.
I confirm the heater valve is not necessary even without air conditioning ( I was a little worried about this because all the heater valve deletes I read about online where all done on jeeps with AC).
Anyway, setting the air to cold on the dash, the air blown into the cab is as cold as outside.
After about two hours of idling in the yard and driving around for testing, not a single drop onto the carpet, and no fog on the windshield or coolant smell.
Now the reason why the heater core was disconnected is a question which is destined to remain unanswered, since it was neither dirty/plugged when I flushed it, nor it's leaking.
Possible reasons are:
1) previous owner must have thought that removing the heater from the circuit would improve the cooling rate. Obviously the notion of "radiating surface" must be ignored to him, as much as the notion of "air flow" since in order to improve the cooling he removed the fan shroud. He proudly commented on this wise idea as he described the "improvements" to the jeep, and I wondered how much a new fan shroud would cost me...
2) the heater valve broke and he removed not only the valve but the whole heating system for good measure. The previous owner is from southern italy where the climate is very mild all year round, so this might make some sense.
I cannot think of any other reason why a perfectly working heater core would be bypassed.
Anyway what matters in the end is that with your help the heating system was restored at almost zero cost (a few quarts of antifreeze spilled during the experiments and one hour labour).
I would agree with #2. At least, on a 4.0, the heater core and expansion tank are connected in parallel. The heater valve also serves as a "T" of sorts. There is also a T in the return side. The inlet to the expansion tank is much smaller than the core so the flow favors the core (unless the valve is closed). When the valve broke (the vacuum actuator is plastic) you have nothing left to connect the hose. So it's makes sense he simply removed the extra plumbing and connected directly to the tank given the warmer climate.
I need help about the inner fenders for my XJ.
Currently they are completely missing, so I have no way to check what the replacement parts look like.
I have found two different styles on ebay. When I select the model year in the dropdown boxes, both items return a message saying they are compatible with the selected vehicle.
How can they both fit the 88 model year if the design of the two parts is completely different ? There must be some mistake.
Can anyone tell me which one of the two is the right part for my 88 XJ ?
2) https://www.ebay.it/itm/121817486068.
This second one is marked as 97-2001 but if I select the model year in the dropdown boxes a message is displayed confirming compatibility of the parts with selected vehicle.
Jeep | Cherokee | 1988 | XJ | 2.1TD
In the meantime I have fixed a few holes that caused the car to get all flooded on rainy days, some of them rust holes on the driver side floor. Guess the lack of the inner fenders didn't help much, but the holes sure required being fixed. As a temporary fix I did not remove the carpet to access the holes from the inside because it is not the right time of the year to do that. In spring/summer I am planning to remove all the seeats, tunnel and carpet/lining and finish the job. I don't expect anything good but I also dont 't expect to find anything which can't be fixed with rust converter and fiberglass patches.
I also siliconed around the plug of the wires going to the fuse box, an unused (and gaping) grommet near the fuse box plug, and a big hole under the passenger side kicker panel for the antenna cables.
Hope this will help stop the leaks.
I used closed cell foam to rebuild the missing grommets/gaskets and black silicone to seal them.
Here's some pics. Hope they are useful to someone who has same problem.
Vent holes for previous owner's stinky feet After rust converter and fiberglass patches Two coats of Polyurethan underbody. Good as new ! Damn stink bug chose wrong place to spend the winter. Sure did chose a warm place though. I didnt fry her on purpose (I usually crush them outside). Just saw some smoke coming out of the heat gun. I learned they don't smell bad when roasted...LOL Grommet for the antenna cables. Hole was big enough for a mouse to go thru. Grommet siliconed in place Fuse box plug with rebuilt gasket all sliliconed and rebuilt foam plug (also siliconed) near the greenish rear wiper washer tube. Unfortunately I dont have hands small enough to reach in there and make the silicon seal nice and smooth...
Well, the original part numbers for the fender liners are : 55001890 and 55001891.
I ordered mine from Rockauto here in the US but they show a different part number (probably superseded) but applicable to 84-96 Cherokees. While they don't list the Turbo Diesel, the parts are the same for the 4.0 and 2.5 they do list.
How is driving an XJ in Italy? Do you have any emission laws to worry about? Any concerns with driving an XJ? How about a lifted XJ? What about Cataltic Converter theft?
How is driving an XJ in Italy? Do you have any emission laws to worry about? Any concerns with driving an XJ? How about a lifted XJ? What about Cataltic Converter theft?
Well the XJ was very common in Italy back in the days. It sold BIG numbers distributed by Renault, it was basically the first widely spread 4WD, along with the early Japs (Mitsubishy Pajero, Toyota Land cruiser LJ, and Hi Lux and Nissan King Can pickup. But I remember the XJ came first, the japs were more on the late 80's.
The XJ came with the 2.1TD Renault motor and later with the 2.5TD VM. Which of the two was worse and more unreliable is hard to tell. Owners of the VM motor swear the Renault was better while owners of the Renault swear by the VM. Enough said LOL.
A few 4.0 as well but it was aimed at the high-end market as in those day car taxes were based on engine displacement (and still today are based on HP).
Today XJ's are increasingly rare and those in good conditions do not come cheap at all (10k and up). I bought mine in June 2020 for 1500 (1200 + 350 registration) and it blew the head gasket 20 miles later on the way home + 400 Euro towing = 2000
2000 For a piece of junk with a blown motor, no paint left on the body, etc. etc. Good thing was the body was not much damaged (no signs of collisions dings/dents), FILTHY but not ripped interiors and most important a certificate of historical relevance which means zero taxes on ownership and much reduced insurance.
Owning the truck costs me just 150 insurance instead of about 1000 per year (taxes+insurance).
I bought it because prices were starting to increase and I wanted one before it became too expensive. The timing was good because today you won't find anything for less than 5000 no matter how beaten they are. They are a rare find even at junkyards. Fortunately spare parts are still not that hard to find and there's a few 4WD shops who buy them for scraps, dismantle and sell them for parts.
Emission laws, yes we have this problem. Mainly in big cities though. I live in rural area and even in the nearby towns I believe there are no emission laws (or if there are they are not enforced). Vehicles of historical relevance generally bypass these rules also in the cities, although I recently heard voices that now you are allowed to drive them in cities only if you are going to shows etc. Not my problem anyway.
Lift laws...basically you can't modify ANYTHING in Italy and obviously you cant install larger tires. Lift kits,the regulation is not clear because the heights are not written on the title so they can't check that when they pull you over. But tires are on the title so they are easy to check. And if the truck is not OK it's a 400 Euro ticket and they keep the title and send you to the Department of Motor Vehicles for inspection to get it back, which is the worst thing that can happen to a lifted truck's owner.
So, many people (including me) chose to "forget" the title home and pay the 40 Euro ticket for not carrying the title when they pull you over. You never know what the officer's wife's been up to the night before and the mood of the guy, so better not risk the title...
Alternatives are:
1) exporting the truck to Germany (where they can be modified) and reimport them with what you want registered onto the title (aftermarket bumpers, snorkels, lifts, big tires etc.. Cost 3000-4000 Euro just for the papers.
2) buying what we call "smart tires" which are rebuilt tires that display a size smaller than what they really are. I have 94 chevy silverado (with 35's on the title) and 10" of lift (7+3) and 38's "relabelled" 35x12.50x15. Obviously tire rebuilders won't label 38's as 31's. They hardly cheat more than a couple inches.
My XJ max size on the title is 215x75x15, and I am planning to install a home made 3" lift and relabelled 235's or maybe 30's when I am done restoring it.
Also I want to keep it as a daily driver and not make it as big as the silverado. Fuel costs here are crazy (about 4$ per gallon for gasoline and a little less for diesel) and trucks with big lifts/tires seldom get good fuel mileage.
Moving the silverado takes a loan here.
Catalitic converter theft, I never heard of. I live in a rural area and still leave the door unlocked when I go out, but if it was a problem I would have heard of it on the news. I heard of migrants from post communists countries and africa stealing power lines to resell copper (sometimes one gets incinerated in the process and makes the news), but nothing about catalitic converters theft. Perhaps because they don't get incinerated.
Sad picture of the XJ after blowing the head gasket on the highway... Good buy eh !!! Notice the paint on the hood. Worn down to the beige basecoat.
_________________________
edit:
Mistaken calculation for fuel prices. It's 8-9$ per gallon here, not 4.
About 2 Euro per liter.
1 Euro = 1.15 USD = 2.30USD per liter
1 gallon about 4 liters...
Well, the original part numbers for the fender liners are : 55001890 and 55001891.
I ordered mine from Rockauto here in the US but they show a different part number (probably superseded) but applicable to 84-96 Cherokees. While they don't list the Turbo Diesel, the parts are the same for the 4.0 and 2.5 they do list.
Since they are aftermarket, they didn't fit exactly and needed some holes relocated (just off a bit) and some trimming.
Thanks for the rockauto link. The part number is different than both I found, but the pictures on RA are useful. I think I better enquire the seller and check which one is rights for my model. They both look the same from the rockauto pics, who knows why one is listed as 97-01...
Maybe salvage laws there don't allow an obvious meth addict to show up with 25 catalytic converts and walk out with cash so they don't bother to try. It is getting to be a huge problem all around the USA.
10-10-2021, 08:49 PM
