What exactly is proper maintenance...
10-13-2021, 04:53 PM
#16
Senior Member
My concern is that you now live in a place that puts salt on the roads while you're XJ may not have undercoating applied. Coat the inside of your frame rails with an "internal frame paint" (avoid Eastwood like the plague), then apply a wax product like Fluid Film. 3M undercoating on the underside after cleaning up and rust spots you may find, you should be good to go... All that can easily be done on the side of the road.
Ripping up the carpet and taking a look is a "little" more involved in that you need a place to put the seats for a couple hours, but if you have a parking garage or something you can work in for a few hours, it should be no big deal. The rear seat bottom has a release on the passengers side. 4x 15mm bolts on each seat and they're out. Phillips screw driver removes the lower trim pieces well enough to lift up the carpet and have a look with a flashlight. Push the carpet back down, reinstall the trim pieces, seats and you're done.
Since you're not reasonably able to do major work yourself, I suggest you start looking for an honest mechanic that does good work for a reasonable price. Not sure how easy that will be to find, so you might as well start now...
Regarding suspension and what not, lay under the front and have someone turn the wheels back and forth (with the engine running). Everything should move in unison at the attachment points, or not move, depending on the component. That is always the way to find a front end issue, watch as someone moves steering back and forth, look for something that's not right. I don't know if they have inspections in NYC, but if they don't, a once over by a good mechanic may be worthwhile in your situation. The other thing is how it drives; if it doesn't drive great, you have an issue. If it's different today than it was yesterday, you have an issue... I may be in the minority, but I removed the Steering Stabilizer from both my XJs. It's not required and it just masks problems. Also helps with the "watch while someone cycles steering" troubleshooting, but generally not required. One thing to keep in mind, if you already need an alignment, the cost of the "other parts" generally isn't much on an XJ and it often times makes sense to replace other things "while you're there"... Brake Lines for example; if you need a caliper, might as well replace the Soft Line while you're there...
It's always a good idea to refresh your grounds per Cruiser's website. Add one from your dash framework down to the kick-panel area.
Check the voltage of your coolant. Positive probe in coolant itself after removing the Radiator Cap (with the engine COLD), negative probe on something metal that's "grounded". If it's up around .75V, IIRC, you need to replace your coolant. Not a bad idea to do it regardless. Around here you're allowed to simply dump coolant down the drain, not sure in NYC, but its easy enough to change. At least check the color. If it's not green like Mountain Dew or Orange like watered down Hi-C, it likely needs changed.
You should at minimum check the condition of the Front and Rear Differential Oil, Transmission Oil, Power Steering Fluid and Engine Oil. If they're not semi-clear, like dirt honey, now's a good a time to start your oil change intervals as any. You can probably change them all yourself if you're so inclined to do so and have a place to properly dispose of it. Around here, the auto parts place takes it free-of-charge, but with such a small apt, you probably don't want to make room for an oil pan... Be careful with "transmission flushes". Often times just draining what's in the pan and refilling it a number of times is good enough, but only 50% (for conversation purposes) is replaced each time, so it takes a few times... A non-powered, normal direction flush using the transmissions pump works best but I'll leave that description for another post...
Other than that, the "best" maintenance you can probably do it is drive it. Short drives that don't allow everything to get up to temperature are not good; condensed water doesn't evaporate out of the misc. fluids, grease doesn't turn to liquid, and flow where its needed, etc...
Ripping up the carpet and taking a look is a "little" more involved in that you need a place to put the seats for a couple hours, but if you have a parking garage or something you can work in for a few hours, it should be no big deal. The rear seat bottom has a release on the passengers side. 4x 15mm bolts on each seat and they're out. Phillips screw driver removes the lower trim pieces well enough to lift up the carpet and have a look with a flashlight. Push the carpet back down, reinstall the trim pieces, seats and you're done.
Since you're not reasonably able to do major work yourself, I suggest you start looking for an honest mechanic that does good work for a reasonable price. Not sure how easy that will be to find, so you might as well start now...
Regarding suspension and what not, lay under the front and have someone turn the wheels back and forth (with the engine running). Everything should move in unison at the attachment points, or not move, depending on the component. That is always the way to find a front end issue, watch as someone moves steering back and forth, look for something that's not right. I don't know if they have inspections in NYC, but if they don't, a once over by a good mechanic may be worthwhile in your situation. The other thing is how it drives; if it doesn't drive great, you have an issue. If it's different today than it was yesterday, you have an issue... I may be in the minority, but I removed the Steering Stabilizer from both my XJs. It's not required and it just masks problems. Also helps with the "watch while someone cycles steering" troubleshooting, but generally not required. One thing to keep in mind, if you already need an alignment, the cost of the "other parts" generally isn't much on an XJ and it often times makes sense to replace other things "while you're there"... Brake Lines for example; if you need a caliper, might as well replace the Soft Line while you're there...
It's always a good idea to refresh your grounds per Cruiser's website. Add one from your dash framework down to the kick-panel area.
Check the voltage of your coolant. Positive probe in coolant itself after removing the Radiator Cap (with the engine COLD), negative probe on something metal that's "grounded". If it's up around .75V, IIRC, you need to replace your coolant. Not a bad idea to do it regardless. Around here you're allowed to simply dump coolant down the drain, not sure in NYC, but its easy enough to change. At least check the color. If it's not green like Mountain Dew or Orange like watered down Hi-C, it likely needs changed.
You should at minimum check the condition of the Front and Rear Differential Oil, Transmission Oil, Power Steering Fluid and Engine Oil. If they're not semi-clear, like dirt honey, now's a good a time to start your oil change intervals as any. You can probably change them all yourself if you're so inclined to do so and have a place to properly dispose of it. Around here, the auto parts place takes it free-of-charge, but with such a small apt, you probably don't want to make room for an oil pan... Be careful with "transmission flushes". Often times just draining what's in the pan and refilling it a number of times is good enough, but only 50% (for conversation purposes) is replaced each time, so it takes a few times... A non-powered, normal direction flush using the transmissions pump works best but I'll leave that description for another post...
Other than that, the "best" maintenance you can probably do it is drive it. Short drives that don't allow everything to get up to temperature are not good; condensed water doesn't evaporate out of the misc. fluids, grease doesn't turn to liquid, and flow where its needed, etc...
10-13-2021, 05:26 PM
#17
Member
Thread Starter
My concern is that you now live in a place that puts salt on the roads while you're XJ may not have undercoating applied. Coat the inside of your frame rails with an "internal frame paint" (avoid Eastwood like the plague), then apply a wax product like Fluid Film. 3M undercoating on the underside after cleaning up and rust spots you may find, you should be good to go... All that can easily be done on the side of the road.
Ripping up the carpet and taking a look is a "little" more involved in that you need a place to put the seats for a couple hours, but if you have a parking garage or something you can work in for a few hours, it should be no big deal. The rear seat bottom has a release on the passengers side. 4x 15mm bolts on each seat and they're out. Phillips screw driver removes the lower trim pieces well enough to lift up the carpet and have a look with a flashlight. Push the carpet back down, reinstall the trim pieces, seats and you're done.
Since you're not reasonably able to do major work yourself, I suggest you start looking for an honest mechanic that does good work for a reasonable price. Not sure how easy that will be to find, so you might as well start now...
Regarding suspension and what not, lay under the front and have someone turn the wheels back and forth (with the engine running). Everything should move in unison at the attachment points, or not move, depending on the component. That is always the way to find a front end issue, watch as someone moves steering back and forth, look for something that's not right. I don't know if they have inspections in NYC, but if they don't, a once over by a good mechanic may be worthwhile in your situation. The other thing is how it drives; if it doesn't drive great, you have an issue. If it's different today than it was yesterday, you have an issue... I may be in the minority, but I removed the Steering Stabilizer from both my XJs. It's not required and it just masks problems. Also helps with the "watch while someone cycles steering" troubleshooting, but generally not required. One thing to keep in mind, if you already need an alignment, the cost of the "other parts" generally isn't much on an XJ and it often times makes sense to replace other things "while you're there"... Brake Lines for example; if you need a caliper, might as well replace the Soft Line while you're there...
It's always a good idea to refresh your grounds per Cruiser's website. Add one from your dash framework down to the kick-panel area.
Check the voltage of your coolant. Positive probe in coolant itself after removing the Radiator Cap (with the engine COLD), negative probe on something metal that's "grounded". If it's up around .75V, IIRC, you need to replace your coolant. Not a bad idea to do it regardless. Around here you're allowed to simply dump coolant down the drain, not sure in NYC, but its easy enough to change. At least check the color. If it's not green like Mountain Dew or Orange like watered down Hi-C, it likely needs changed.
You should at minimum check the condition of the Front and Rear Differential Oil, Transmission Oil, Power Steering Fluid and Engine Oil. If they're not semi-clear, like dirt honey, now's a good a time to start your oil change intervals as any. You can probably change them all yourself if you're so inclined to do so and have a place to properly dispose of it. Around here, the auto parts place takes it free-of-charge, but with such a small apt, you probably don't want to make room for an oil pan... Be careful with "transmission flushes". Often times just draining what's in the pan and refilling it a number of times is good enough, but only 50% (for conversation purposes) is replaced each time, so it takes a few times... A non-powered, normal direction flush using the transmissions pump works best but I'll leave that description for another post...
Other than that, the "best" maintenance you can probably do it is drive it. Short drives that don't allow everything to get up to temperature are not good; condensed water doesn't evaporate out of the misc. fluids, grease doesn't turn to liquid, and flow where its needed, etc...
Ripping up the carpet and taking a look is a "little" more involved in that you need a place to put the seats for a couple hours, but if you have a parking garage or something you can work in for a few hours, it should be no big deal. The rear seat bottom has a release on the passengers side. 4x 15mm bolts on each seat and they're out. Phillips screw driver removes the lower trim pieces well enough to lift up the carpet and have a look with a flashlight. Push the carpet back down, reinstall the trim pieces, seats and you're done.
Since you're not reasonably able to do major work yourself, I suggest you start looking for an honest mechanic that does good work for a reasonable price. Not sure how easy that will be to find, so you might as well start now...
Regarding suspension and what not, lay under the front and have someone turn the wheels back and forth (with the engine running). Everything should move in unison at the attachment points, or not move, depending on the component. That is always the way to find a front end issue, watch as someone moves steering back and forth, look for something that's not right. I don't know if they have inspections in NYC, but if they don't, a once over by a good mechanic may be worthwhile in your situation. The other thing is how it drives; if it doesn't drive great, you have an issue. If it's different today than it was yesterday, you have an issue... I may be in the minority, but I removed the Steering Stabilizer from both my XJs. It's not required and it just masks problems. Also helps with the "watch while someone cycles steering" troubleshooting, but generally not required. One thing to keep in mind, if you already need an alignment, the cost of the "other parts" generally isn't much on an XJ and it often times makes sense to replace other things "while you're there"... Brake Lines for example; if you need a caliper, might as well replace the Soft Line while you're there...
It's always a good idea to refresh your grounds per Cruiser's website. Add one from your dash framework down to the kick-panel area.
Check the voltage of your coolant. Positive probe in coolant itself after removing the Radiator Cap (with the engine COLD), negative probe on something metal that's "grounded". If it's up around .75V, IIRC, you need to replace your coolant. Not a bad idea to do it regardless. Around here you're allowed to simply dump coolant down the drain, not sure in NYC, but its easy enough to change. At least check the color. If it's not green like Mountain Dew or Orange like watered down Hi-C, it likely needs changed.
You should at minimum check the condition of the Front and Rear Differential Oil, Transmission Oil, Power Steering Fluid and Engine Oil. If they're not semi-clear, like dirt honey, now's a good a time to start your oil change intervals as any. You can probably change them all yourself if you're so inclined to do so and have a place to properly dispose of it. Around here, the auto parts place takes it free-of-charge, but with such a small apt, you probably don't want to make room for an oil pan... Be careful with "transmission flushes". Often times just draining what's in the pan and refilling it a number of times is good enough, but only 50% (for conversation purposes) is replaced each time, so it takes a few times... A non-powered, normal direction flush using the transmissions pump works best but I'll leave that description for another post...
Other than that, the "best" maintenance you can probably do it is drive it. Short drives that don't allow everything to get up to temperature are not good; condensed water doesn't evaporate out of the misc. fluids, grease doesn't turn to liquid, and flow where its needed, etc...
This post of yours Jim Malcolm is far denser than the few paragraphs here. I am committed to spending the time to figure out what you are saying as it rings true! I really appreciate the time you spent sharing this, I wont squander it. The undercoating seems most prescient as winter is coming!
I will update this post as I follow your advice for others to see...
Thanks again, happy riding.
10-13-2021, 05:31 PM
#18
Member
Thread Starter
10-14-2021, 06:06 AM
#20
Senior Member
I'm going to add another thing to the list of proper maintenance on a 91 XJ: 95-96 Booster swap Technically an upgrade, but it's a must have. Very similar to WJ booster swap, only easier... Lots of info out there, search is your friend.
10-14-2021, 06:12 AM
#21
Member
Thread Starter
Im gonna have the booster replaced today actually, it's almost undriveable. thanks for this tip, ill make sure they use the newer one from the 95-96xj...
10-14-2021, 06:34 AM
#22
Senior Member
The only caveat is a 1/4" spacer that goes between the booster and the firewall. Have yet to see a replacement for the OEM part, but one can be made from plastic or metal, preferably not aluminum since it causes steel to rust. Some people just stack washers but it leaves a hole into the vehicle if no sealed. The issue for most people would be creating the big hole in the middle, but a torch would work...
I've read from a knowledgeable source that the MC does not need to be changed but I do not know that for sure. I used the 95-96 MC to keep things simple, which requires custom hard lines down to the "proportioning valve" down below it. No big deal but something you'll pay for the mechanic to research if you don't go in there prepared... They are more than happy to get paid to sit in the office and research custom work...
I've read from a knowledgeable source that the MC does not need to be changed but I do not know that for sure. I used the 95-96 MC to keep things simple, which requires custom hard lines down to the "proportioning valve" down below it. No big deal but something you'll pay for the mechanic to research if you don't go in there prepared... They are more than happy to get paid to sit in the office and research custom work...
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