DusterDaddy

Hello,

I just bought a 96 Cherokee Sport for one of my kids as a first car. I paid $2,500 for it
Foolishly at the urging of a relative I took it to a jeep dealer that relative has a buddy who is salesperson. This relative offered to have the jeep serviced and to get a baseline of what condition the vehicle is in as a gift to my son

I get a call 3 hours later from the relative that the car is not repairable and its not safe to drive.

The only outward issue that can be seen is some sloppyness in the steering. The said the steering knuckle is in bad condition.

They also said the floor is rooted through. After getting it home I got under it on a creeper and there are 2 small spots about the size of a quarter directly over the catalytic converter that are soft that's it.

The rest of the bottom has a flaky rust on fuel and trans lines etc.

I'm not a mechanic, but I've been doing a full restoration of a 74 Duster that was a basket case and it's coming out great. So I think I can say I know this jeep not only repairable but also in over all very good condition.

My first question is, can anyone give me guess of what would it cost to have professional replace the knuckle on the steering gear?

Second, is it common on these jeeps for the cat to bake the floor directly over it so it may weaken it and invite rust through?

It runs and drives really strong, and passed NJ inspection with flying colors.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

foreveryoung001

I just picked up a 96 xj a couple of weeks back myself. Can't say how much a steering knuckle would cost, to have someone do it, but would probably be pretty expensive. A new one from a parts store is probably going to run at least $150, add their markup, then their labor, and it could get kind of costly. If you've got the time, I would just grab one from the JY and replace it yourself. Sometimes the bolts can be a real pain, but its a pretty straight forward repair. Haven't done them on a jeep, but have had to remove them a few times from other vehicles to change up ball joints... and I'm not all that talented or knowledgeable when it comes to wrenching on vehicles.

As for the floor... hell... that's not rust! The floor in mine is missing in huge sections. There's been some patch work repairs, but as soon as it warms up, its getting new floor pans welded in from front to back. I would sand the cancer off yours, weld, or even pop rivet, a patch in there, and then give the whole thing a good clean and undercoat it to prevent any further rust damage.

MonacaYankee

If your actually doing the restoration all of those issues should be a walk in the park for you. There should be a heat shield above the cat, if it is not there that is why it rusted.

If you have to pay for someone to replace the steering knuckle, I don't see how you could be doing a restoration on any car.

Steering knuckles are cheap from a junkyard or buy one from a part out on this site.

DusterDaddy

Well, I am doing the restoration and I'm getting to be a pretty good welder.
I've always been good with tools, no formal training and the lack of time is my worst enemy.

Pelican

My '93 has had the soft spot over the cat. Some day I'll get a shield under there...

I just replaced a second knuckle a couple of months ago (did the first some time ago.) I don't have a JY source. Not cheap (OEM ~$178 because that was the only one I could find at the time) but not a difficult job and forces you to learn about the configuration and condition of the XJ wheel components,

The real question is exactly what is the problem with the knuckle. They tend to develop notches where the brake pads slide which can lead to brake lock up. These can be repaired easily if you weld by filling in the notch and grinding down smooth. There are threads on this. This was my problem but I am not a welder.

I don't have to state an opinion of your dealer but no Jeep dealer will ever touch my XJ -- Guaranteed!

Let us hear how things go.