Me and my friend are looking at this 1999 jeep cherokee with a 3.5 inch lift for $600 only problem is that it doesn't run, the guy said that he changed the exhaust manifold and then it stopped running only has 137,00 miles on it. Any ideas what would cause it not to run.

 

Could be a number of things. And with the lack of info provided I'd be shooting in the dark if I named anything specific.

 

What kind of things do you need to know?

 

*facepalm*
It might help if you told us if it turns over or not? If it does, what does it sound like? If not, does it do anything? Have you double checked that everything was reconnected? Do you know the seller or is he some random honest fellow? How long has it been sitting? Does it have a battery?

Anything might help. "Was running, now it's not" tells us nothing. Rule of thumb is to check whatever was worked on last, in this case, supposedly an exhaust manifold. However some sellers are outright liars, so unless you know him personally, I'd use caution in believing him 100%.

 

There are probably a hundred things or more in play here. As mentioned, the devil is in the details.

*Does it turn over?
*If it turns over, Is there a strong blue spark?
*Have you verified fuel pressure at the fuel rail? Need 49 psi, plus or minus 5 psi for a 99 to fire up. Must be tested with a gauge.

Starting an engine requires spark + fuel + compression. You are missing one or more of those components. TEST your way to figure out which.

And whenever you are considering buying a vehicle that doesn't run, the advantage is to YOU, which means you better get it for a rock bottom price. If a seller is truly motivated, he'd fix it.

Without it running, you have no idea if it need an engine, a transmission, or whatever. Assume the worst and hope for the best.

 

With out seeing the jeep in person its a long guessing game whats wrong with it.If its rust free and has a nice body and interior i would buy it but budget in for a new motor worse case.

 

C'mon. A 99 with a lift and 137K for $600. How is the body, interior, and glass? I am thinking how can you not buy it?

 

Adding a lift don't add any value tho,With it not running whos to say what else is wrong with it.Worse cause it needs a engine and he pays a shop to replace it its not going to be cheap.

 

There is a lot of stuff on the manifold side that he could of messed up, or forgot to reconnect. I am sure you could just replace the exhaust manifold and not disturb anything, but the exhaust and intake manifolds are meant to be removed and installed together. Even the gasket is a one piece deal, so either he had everything off on that side or he didn't replace the gasket when he replaced the exhaust manifold.

Find out what scrap value for it is in your area. If the $600 is less that the scrap value pick it up and do a little investigating once you have it. If the scrap value is less than the $600 he is asking I would offer scrap value and if he doesn't take it, I would walk away. That way if it is something you can't or do not want to fix you can scrap it and only be out the cost of getting towed to where you would work on it.

I got my XJ for scrap value ($450 here) because it had a horrible knock. I was sure it was the flex plate, but the PO wouldn't let me crawl under and take a look. He was asking $1200 for it, and was holding strong till I started to walk away.

 

Now let's stop and think about this for just a second. Based on his first post, what are the chances that he's going to be able to answer anything beyond the first question, much less be able to check the fuel pressure?

Rmitsch7, do you have a friend or family member who is knowledgeable about cars who will be able to help you get this thing running? If not, you should not buy this vehicle. You will be in over your head. That's not a reflection on you personally. We all start with no knowledge and learn as we go, but we start small with minor repairs and build on that. Very, very few people can start with no knowledge with a dead vehicle and get it roadworthy.

I would say pass on this and look for something else. Otherwise it might just end up rusting away in your yard.

 

'99 is a good year. 137K is low mileage. Once they go to look at it they will be able to tell what kind of life she has had. I am not saying know what is wrong with her but other things. Was it a daily driver, otherwise stock and not hacked up, with a lift? Wheeled a lot? Are we talking a neglected not abused type situation? Are we talking a good body, paint, glass, and interior? Where I live used parts for that are a dime a dozen. As we all know even new parts are not overly expensive for XJ's. Assuming it was local enough I would go look at that in a heartbeat. Lets say the body, glass, etc are good. Even if you dropped a couple grand in there and can do your own work I think you will come out in the end. Some people are not to bright. Example. My friends friend just bought a not running '05 Ford extended cab 6.0 diesel shortbed. Original owner, pristine condition. The bed looks like nothing has ever been put in it. Not running. The owner to stupid to at least try to figure out what is wrong. He paid 7K. Turns out it was a $125 dollar part. A circuit board for the fuel injectors I think my friend said. Up and running. The 6.0's have a bad rap but with a little work you can bullet proof them. My buddy says this is easily worth 15K. Extreme example for sure. But were are talking $600 which could be even lower with a little haggling.

 

Hell, at that price I'd buy it and try to get it running, worst comes to worst, part it out...

 

Right. Never hurts to go look.

 

You're assuming he can do his own work. He's asking us what's wrong with it, people who have never seen it and don't have any information about it, and when asked for more information he didn't even know where to start. The truck is a black box to him. He doesn't have any idea what to look for, because he appears to lack the necessary experience.

He could buy the truck, start trying things and luck out.

What's far more likely is that he'll buy the truck, start throwing parts at it and have no success. So he'll take it to a place like Firestone, where they'll sucker him into thousands of dollars of unnecessary repairs. Or he'll buy it and have no idea where to start, and will continue to have no idea where to start, and will never get started. Then the thing will rust away in his yard. Worst case scenario is that he throws a lot of money at it and still can't get it running, and ends up scrapping it anyway with nothing to show for the time and effort.

When I got my first car at age 15, we looked at some non-running cars but decided against them. I finally got an old car that was running but needed work. My dad was careful not to get me into a car that was over my head. I drove it for a while, then something would go wrong, and I would fix it. Because it was running and could witness the change when something went out, I was actually able to diagnose it. I wouldn't have been able to do that with no knowledge and a car that was completely dead from the outset. Many of us on the board can do that now, because we have enough experience to know where to start. This guy doesn't.

OP, again I say let this one go.

 

If it were close to me and was clean I would buy it for a parts XJ if nothing else. But this young man has a lot to think about and what he can and can not do as far as repairs and to finding the problems.