Sherman134
Observer
A little back story on this build:
After working for a lawn company for two summers I finally saved up enough money in order to purchase my first vehicle. Having grown up riding in my fathers 1995 Jeep Wrangler I knew I wanted a Jeep. There is no better feeling than knowing you can go anywhere at anytime. My budget of $2000, along with my parents worries regarding their overall safety (ie no airbags) ruled out a Wrangler. I scoured craigslist all summer, after driving test driving two beaters, one of which had the front drive shaft removed so the owner wouldn't be "tempted" (yeah right). I had almost given up on trying to find a good 4x4 Cherokee and was ready to admit defeat and buy a 2x4 cherokee. I entered my first day of school without a car, while all of my friends talked about their new rides. That same day my parents surprised me with this:
Here she is after a good cleaning
Stats when purchased
-1995 2 door XJ
-4.0
-AW4
-NP231
-High pinion Dana 30
-Dana 35 Trak-lok
-Upcountry suspension group
-225/70r15 Kuhmo Solus
-Front tow hooks, Front skid, Transfer case skid, Gas tank skid, Class III hitch
The previous owner was meticulous with the mechanical repairs, and spared no expense in maintenance on the Jeep. This was verified by my mechanic who remembers working on my Jeep when the previous owner still owned it. However, he was not the best in maintaining much outside of the mechanical portions. He lived on the beach resulting in random rust spots, and a good bit of rot on the passenger floorboard. luckily there was no rust on the structural components. The Jeep was purchased for towing, and had obviously been used in its intended role. The rear springs, despite their extra strength had sagged slightly; however, it still sat half an inch over the factory height of an XJ without the upcountry package.
The next problem to be addressed was a serious case of death wobble, and the out of adjustment brakes. $150 later and she could now cruise 75 mph down the highway and stop without the pedal being pressed to the floor.
She stayed this way for about a year while I replaced nearly every seal and gasket on that 4.0 (valve cover, oil filter adapter etc.) in search of a phantom oil leak. I also had to replace the coolant temperature sensor during this time.
I hate rust...
Over winter break of my junior year I repaired some rust behind the wind shield. During this process I had to move her from my home to my mechanics garage... without a windshield. This was the most fun i have ever had driving my Jeep by far and it felt like one massive go-kart. Not to mention all the waves and thumbs up from the other drivers (I have yet to get that many Jeep waves in one trip).
Who says you need a Wrangler to get that open air feel
By the end of winter break she had developed a quite prominent ticking accompanied by worse than normal fuel economy. I drove her like this for approximately three months, including on her first camping trip.
The grey truck is my buddy's 94 Ranger 4x4 which was our transportation in and around our campsite, as well as firewood storage. The Jeep was the gear hauler... I still cannot figure out how that configuration was decided upon.
A month or two after i got back from this trip the distributor died. I limped her home holding the pedal almost to the floor to make 45. The engine sounded like a lawnmower and was shaking like mad. However, she still started up and i was able to drive her from my home to my mechanics. He said he would give it a tune up and call me when it was done, well after 5 hours of waiting he calls my father(not a good sign)... Cylinder 5 had almost no compression and was acting like the valve spring was broken. Upon further inspection the engine had dropped a valve, which burnt the head gasket.(yet the engine still ran). The head was in other wise good condition, but instead of fixing only one valve I had him go ahead and rebuild the top end since he would already have the cylinder head taken off.
I continued to drive her without any visible modifications until the end of my Junior year while my bank account recovered from the shock of paying for major repairs.
Coming up next, The repairs turn into upgrades! :wings:
After working for a lawn company for two summers I finally saved up enough money in order to purchase my first vehicle. Having grown up riding in my fathers 1995 Jeep Wrangler I knew I wanted a Jeep. There is no better feeling than knowing you can go anywhere at anytime. My budget of $2000, along with my parents worries regarding their overall safety (ie no airbags) ruled out a Wrangler. I scoured craigslist all summer, after driving test driving two beaters, one of which had the front drive shaft removed so the owner wouldn't be "tempted" (yeah right). I had almost given up on trying to find a good 4x4 Cherokee and was ready to admit defeat and buy a 2x4 cherokee. I entered my first day of school without a car, while all of my friends talked about their new rides. That same day my parents surprised me with this:
Here she is after a good cleaning
Stats when purchased
-1995 2 door XJ
-4.0
-AW4
-NP231
-High pinion Dana 30
-Dana 35 Trak-lok
-Upcountry suspension group
-225/70r15 Kuhmo Solus
-Front tow hooks, Front skid, Transfer case skid, Gas tank skid, Class III hitch
The previous owner was meticulous with the mechanical repairs, and spared no expense in maintenance on the Jeep. This was verified by my mechanic who remembers working on my Jeep when the previous owner still owned it. However, he was not the best in maintaining much outside of the mechanical portions. He lived on the beach resulting in random rust spots, and a good bit of rot on the passenger floorboard. luckily there was no rust on the structural components. The Jeep was purchased for towing, and had obviously been used in its intended role. The rear springs, despite their extra strength had sagged slightly; however, it still sat half an inch over the factory height of an XJ without the upcountry package.
The next problem to be addressed was a serious case of death wobble, and the out of adjustment brakes. $150 later and she could now cruise 75 mph down the highway and stop without the pedal being pressed to the floor.
She stayed this way for about a year while I replaced nearly every seal and gasket on that 4.0 (valve cover, oil filter adapter etc.) in search of a phantom oil leak. I also had to replace the coolant temperature sensor during this time.
I hate rust...
Over winter break of my junior year I repaired some rust behind the wind shield. During this process I had to move her from my home to my mechanics garage... without a windshield. This was the most fun i have ever had driving my Jeep by far and it felt like one massive go-kart. Not to mention all the waves and thumbs up from the other drivers (I have yet to get that many Jeep waves in one trip).
Who says you need a Wrangler to get that open air feel
By the end of winter break she had developed a quite prominent ticking accompanied by worse than normal fuel economy. I drove her like this for approximately three months, including on her first camping trip.
The grey truck is my buddy's 94 Ranger 4x4 which was our transportation in and around our campsite, as well as firewood storage. The Jeep was the gear hauler... I still cannot figure out how that configuration was decided upon.
A month or two after i got back from this trip the distributor died. I limped her home holding the pedal almost to the floor to make 45. The engine sounded like a lawnmower and was shaking like mad. However, she still started up and i was able to drive her from my home to my mechanics. He said he would give it a tune up and call me when it was done, well after 5 hours of waiting he calls my father(not a good sign)... Cylinder 5 had almost no compression and was acting like the valve spring was broken. Upon further inspection the engine had dropped a valve, which burnt the head gasket.(yet the engine still ran). The head was in other wise good condition, but instead of fixing only one valve I had him go ahead and rebuild the top end since he would already have the cylinder head taken off.
I continued to drive her without any visible modifications until the end of my Junior year while my bank account recovered from the shock of paying for major repairs.
Coming up next, The repairs turn into upgrades! :wings:
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