How many are keeping the're XJ for ever?

I love everything about the XJ, and it was a big mistake to stop it.:eek:
But at least the older ones can be had for little$$$:hehehe:

well for me, i love the xj, i'd like to keep mine and get a little newer one. i know i'll keep mine cuz of all the money i sank repairing it. now i have it where i want it almost. another reason i'll keep it is since the trade-in value would be too low anyways. i have a '89 btw.

I have recently bought a 97/98 Cherokee. Have all the normal problems; running hot, horrific fuel consumption in the city but I love it!! Will start some modifications soon, 3-4" lift, 31" tyres, overhaul of cooling system. Then I want to keep it for ever.

I bought a 94 XJ used in 96 with 38k miles in upstate New York. The underside is held together by the rust from the salt used in that part of the country. I moved it to SoCal this year and the guy at the shop asked if I had stored it under water :loser: Well It now has 133k miles, a strong engine, and as of today a new colling system (water pump, radiator, thermostat, fan clutch, and hoses) and it runs greeeaaatttt! My wife wants me to get rid of it and I never want to let it go! It has been a dependable ride! Got my butt home through at least three upstate New York Blizzards when the roads were officially closed! For those of you that have never experienced that kind of weather, imagine getting about 2 inches of snow *per hour* for two straight days...yup 48 inches in two days! I saw lots of outbacks and other pretenders stuck in the snow...If I would have had a winch I would have pulled them out! :evillol:

I love my '91 XJ but Im gonna sell it for something more economical since school has me driving a lot and I drive my XJ like a nut so I only get about 15mpg. But whenever I buy another SUV it WILL be an XJ.

I will never get rid of mine!
1-it has too many miles to be of much value...
2-I don't want to build another one up! I finally have this one the way i like it!
3-It's paid off and it's MY JEEP!

My first car that I bought was an XJ and I'm not gonna get rid of it till the engine drops onto the highway. :D

I had the chance tonight to drive my mother's Kia for work, I'm a pizza driver, and I SO missed my Jeep. The power, the balance, the stability; this is everything that lacked on the Kia and had more than you could imagine on the XJ.

The only s***ty thing about the XJ is the gas milage... I need to refill every 2-3 days.

(Warning, Car bashing...
Kia=Cornering sucks, takes a LONG time to gain speed, acts like a top-heavy sedan (Jeep-wanabe). I didn't even feel safe when taking it over speed-bumps at 40mph; XJ takes them at 55+mph and doesn't feel too bad)

I have an '84 XJ I bought new. I have modified the whiz out of it. I will keep it forever because:
1. Its not worth anything.
2. It only has 60,000 miles because it breaks so often.
3. Its finally set up the way I like it.
4. I can't wait to see what breaks next.

I absolutely LOVE MY XJ. my jeep is sweet. so far i have got a sweet cd player. i have a JVC KD-LH1100 with the dot-matrix display. i also have a flowmaster muffler, cb with 4 foot whip antena on top euro clear headlights with running citylights and 4200k xenon bulbs, and the nicest thing is my front CHROME brushguard with the fogs. i love mine except that it is a 90 and has had a few minor problems every once in a while. luckily, my dad keeps it running. i think if it is at all possible i will keep it the rest of my life, or at least through college.

I just pick up a 1991 and a 1987 XJ I paid $100.00 for the pair both in good running order.
The 87 has a fair amount side impact damage so it will get a new body soon.
The 91 has 275000+ miles on it and the 87 has 160000+ miles on it so yes I am going to keep them forever the 91 will be driven to California from TN. and back this year.

My '88 runs well, is relatively easy to fix and is paid for. I intend to keep it a long time.

Just like the majority of these guys, Im stuck with mine for life.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time and money to even THINK about getting rid of it. If for some crazy act of God, I decide to pitch it, I'll likely just sell the body. I'll pull the dana 60 and 14 bolt, Swampers, hi steer, coilovers, longarms, and all the other crap and slap it under a different platform. Preferably somethin with a fricken' FRAME for Pete's sake.

I have an 89 XJ Laredo, 2dr, 4.0, Automatic. I bought it used from the original owner about 2 yrs ago with about 150K miles on it. It now has about 170K on it (I drive it part time and switch with my BMW 325 with 206K on it) and I have put approx. $300 in repairs (not maintenance and mods)into it. I drive mostly on trips of 300 miles or more and asside from the gas milage and a small oil leak, it is great. I will probably keep it 'til the wheels and motor fall off, but that will happen after I will it to my grandkids. I don't have any grandkids yet, but I know I will some day and the XJ will be there for them to remember me by when I have gone to that big junkyard in the sky (or in my case in the ground).

I can't wait to get rid of our 88 XJ (Alcoholics Making Cars).

By far the worst vehicle I've ever had to work on. You can't get to anything easily and it breaks often. If I could go back 5 years and give myself some advice it would be to not ever buy a Cherokee...specifically the one we have (88 limited)

At least it gets horrific fuel mileage...

Rene

I can't wait to get rid of our 88 XJ (Alcoholics Making Cars).

By far the worst vehicle I've ever had to work on. You can't get to anything easily and it breaks often. If I could go back 5 years and give myself some advice it would be to not ever buy a Cherokee...specifically the one we have (88 limited)

At least it gets horrific fuel mileage...

Rene

Man, sucks for you. The XJ is the easiest vehicle to work on I've ever had. Well aside from the completely idiotic mix-and-matching of metric and standard bolts everyfrickenwhere.

And I did have a 79 K5 too, probably similar to your rig.

Well lets compare replacing an alternator or rad on an XJ versus a 73-87 CK truck then...

Alt on our XJ can even be seen from above and isn't exactly easy to get to from underneath either. Alt on my Jimmy is a 3 minute job.

Our XJ runs a serp belt, however to get it off you need to be double jointed and have X-ray vision to get to the adjuster. My Jimmy doesn't have a serp belt, but the GM's I've worked on with a serp belt all have a simple tensioner. I'm not a big fan of the closed cooling system either.

On our 88 you can even pull trouble codes.

Power window motors are riveted in...which is fine until you need to replace one (as opposed to just unbolting it)

Our XJ is a glorified grocery getter, and it's going to the crusher soon.

Rene

I ordered my 94 XJ new because I wanted a 2 door with a 5 speed manual trans. It now has 172,XXX miles on it and has been very dependable with few problems. It gets way better mileage than my Blazers and is quicker too. That's what less weight (with the same HP) will do for you though. Yes, I'm a keepin'.

weird, i got my serpertine belt off and a new one on in about 5 minutes, which was mostly spent finding my right tools, very easy to take off.

Alcoholics working on cars... :jump3:

I purchased my 4x4 1988 for $400.00 and, so far, have invested about $2000.00 total. It runs good (with the exception of loss of power on up ill roads) and feel that it was a great investment.

I am enjoying my Jeep daily and in the California Deserts.

Update I went out this weekend looking for a radiator for my son's van and picked up another Cherokee this an 1986 never did find that radiator but my son now has a 86 Cherokee and I need to junk a van. LOL

73's KG4BET

Had/Have what's left of my 96 XJ, loved it in every way. My son rolled it a few times, so now it's mostly rubble (lots of undamaged parts in running gear). I had lots of mods, so I bought it back from the insurance company. Fully intend to replace with another. Will most likely go with something 96 or newer. As for the mileage issues...open up the intake, the exhaust, and drive it like a grandpa (if you can restrain yourself) and it'll do just fine. I had mine up in the 17 mpg city/dirt to 22 mpg hwy range @ no more than 55mph. I found the XJ very easy to work on in every way.

Somehow we ended up with a Grand Cherokee after the wreck...that'll be the wife's rig, I'm getting another XJ!

Got a '87 XJ w/ 4.0l I6 for way cheap. Custom exhaust, tune up, new cooling parts, etc and I get 20mpg!!! It has 225000 on it, and runs awesome! Just repainted it myself, and looking forward to keeping it going forever. XJs go forever!

I can't wait to get rid of our 88 XJ (Alcoholics Making Cars).

By far the worst vehicle I've ever had to work on. You can't get to anything easily and it breaks often. If I could go back 5 years and give myself some advice it would be to not ever buy a Cherokee...specifically the one we have (88 limited)

At least it gets horrific fuel mileage...

Rene

Sorry...I had an 84 XJ that was weak and leaked oil but it went 134K..I then bought a new 97 2dr 4X4 that has 124K on it now. We just bought the daughter a 2001 2WD with 50K on it. These truck break, but the fixes are know and parts are cheap and easy to get. The 4.0L engine and the AW4 transmission will go to 300k in a lot of cases.
I was a dealer technician but if I was not a mechanic I would get Toyota truck or something that just needs oil changes. Jeeps are more for hobbyists and off road afficianados. Wife has an 03 Camry...just change the oil and tires. I also have an 01 Mazda Tribute 4x4 for backup (not as good as the Toyota, but the Toyotas cost more).

I think the xj is easy to work on like Artic4lo said the mixing or standard and metric bolts does suck... I love my 95 xj but its time to trade it in... for another xj or course... 98 2 door xj sport... I can't wait till I can drive it home and make it my own... What does suck is I finally got mine just the way I wanted it and it died... now I have to start all over

I bought my 96 XJ Sport new. I payed $18000 out the door. I couldnt come close to any other 4X4 6 cyl. SUV for that. It now has 121000 relatively problem free miles. Ive kept up on maintenance and whenever something needed it, I replaced or upgraded it. Every so often I'll threaten to trade it off, I'll go out and clean it up real good, realize that its in terrific shape and I cant replace it for what its worth and end up keeping it.
Theres no doubt the XJ has weaknesses but no more than any other vehicle. The nice thing is that the ample aftermarket and simple design make it possible to upgrade easily and inexpensively. Thats really been the strength of the Jeep line through history, not that they are built any better than anything else but that they are so easily upgraded and adapted. The XJ, with its proven suspension and simple drivetrain follows that M.O.

tRustyK5,
As far as comparing a K5 to an XJ. Apples and oranges. An XJ is a midsized SUV not fullsized. Theres alot crammed into a small space, not much can be done about that. The XJ was designed back in the 80s as a lightweight, entry level, 4X4 SUV, not a fullsized truck. It does what it was designed to do, the proof is that it remained relatively unchanged for 17 years and was AMCs best selling vehicle and Chryslers best selling SUV every year. I'll tell ya what, lets compare the XJ to a true grocery getter, an 88 Chevette, and see how the XJ does. Wouldnt be fair because they are two different classes of vehicle, same thing with the XJ and K5. Try comparing your 88 XJ to an 88 S10 instead and see how it turns out.