What he said.

 

With an old jeep like that. IMO drive it like it is and do a "complete" tune up. Especially if your paying for the work and not doing it yourself. Make sure its safe and drive it
But if your paying that close of attention to it eventually you will go insane from just knowing the name of the part that is potentially wrong with your jeep. At least buy a manual at the autostore. Believe it or not I sat down and read the owners manual cover to cover when I got my first car. I learned so much " how to drive on steep grades, how to effectively engaged in four wheel drive, and what the difference in the gears do...point is if you do you will know a lot more than you did and it comes in handy.

 

Not sure if you solved the seat problem but mine tilt back and forward. There is a plastic lever you pull up on and the seat reclines. Mine is a 92 so I'm not sure which ones they came in but I know its the first xj I've had with those type of seats

 

Learning how cars operate will only benefit you in the end even if you don't do the work yourself. The mechanic who's actually doing the work will not be more honest but more understanding if you know what I mean. If you see a doctor for the first time, the doctor may prescribe medication and give a general reason for it. But if you have a chronic problem which you've researched and understand, the doctor is going to be more specific and listen more. Same with a mechanic.

If you diagnose a specific problem with your car and know generally the parts needed then the mechanic can concentrate of the problem instead of trying to reproduce it. An example would be if a certain error code (check engine light) came up because you had a part changed. The mechanic can then reaffirm the problem and concentrate on it resulting in less time the car is in the shop and less cost of repair.

Understanding cars is very universal when it comes to parts. A throttle position sensor will look differently between Ford and Chevy but will serve the same purpose. Learning about cars can be as simple 5 minute video for a 4 stroke internal combustion engine. You can go into specifics if needed depending upon how much you want to learn.

I would start with something like this (for a Cherokee 6 cylinder engine extend to 6 cylinders instead of 4):


then you may want to go here (ignore the diesel videos unless you want to learn about diesel vehicles):

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAutoPartsShop

parts catalog for your jeep is here:

http://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html

 

I'm 17 and in high school and it is not easy to fix up an old XJ. Mine is an '89. I was wondering if you are near Los Angeles because my mechanic is a jeep expert. And a million times more reliable than a corporate company (pep boys etc) and isn't just amazing with jeeps. And he's better bang for your buck as you might say.