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1994 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 - "cheap jeep"


skattrd

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After much bleeding, and removal of lots of manky brake fluid we had a good pedal.

It will now roll when idling in "drive" and you don't need to stab the throttle pedal to make it move. 

 

After a short test drive, the verdict (unsurprisingly) was that the brakes are much much improved. I think mpg could be improved now the brakes aren't dragging at all.

 
I also tried the green sticky pads to put the rear view mirror back .. they're crap. it fell off after 3 minutes. That was with a nice warm jeep and screen.

Suggestions for re-attaching the rear view mirror to the screen would be welcome

 

 

It's always so much more satisfying when the old fluid that squirts out looks like mixture of blood and ectoplasm though, isn't it?

 

You could try the sticky pads they use to hold number plates on? The ones I've used seem to grip with some determination.

 

 

Please don't improve the mpg. That you're getting over 20 is annoying enough as it is.

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I'd leave the mirror off & pretend I'm driving a van. I'm pretty sure you only need the RH mirror & one other to pass MOTs etc anyway.

 

Legally it doesn't  need a rear view mirror, I have two, which was is required for the MOT.

Personally I like mirrors, and like to use all 3, it's greedy I know.

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Suggestions for re-attaching the rear view mirror to the screen would be welcome

The Loctite glue and gauze kit worked well on my Audi and Granada: https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repair/adhesives/loctite-rear-view-mirror-adhesive-kit

 

Both surfaces need to be thoroughly clean though - white spirit or similar should do it. I think I raided the first aid kit for an alcohol wound wipe.

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And in case I haven’t already said, very well bought. I like these, I rolled around London in a borrowed one for a week once and felt pretty pleased with life.

 

+1 on getting a basically sound one cheaply that needs tidying over paying a lot for one that’s pretty on the surface but actually expensively fucked. You might end up spending as much as the price of the pretty one but you’ll know what’s been done and to what standard.

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  • 2 months later...

Back to the thread ...

After fitting the brakes I left the jeep at the garage and asked him to change the slightly frilly aux belt and to feel free to use it. It had a full tank of petrol and I'd be grateful if he could use it a bit to make sure there's nothing untoward.
 
I collected the jeep a couple of weeks later (when dropping off a slightly broken e36) and he'd clocked up a 100 miles or so in it, which I was happy to hear were trouble free. It had a fresh aux belt and my tame mechanic declared the jeep to be ok, if a bit wallowy, he's used to series Land Rovers, so soft suspension isn't his thing.
 
I now needed to make sure everything was ok for a little European trip.
I checked lots of Yankee Jeep forums and discovered the recommended oil by most people is 5w30, well I don't use 5w30, I substitute 5w40 instead, so oil change. Well the sump plung is in completely  solid. I didn't want to force it and break something so I'll leave that until I'm at the garage with time-serts available or I have a spare sump. Instead I used my sucky pump thing to get a few litres out of the dipstick tube and replaced it with 5w40.
I read up on checking gearbox oil level, there are marks on dipstick are for measuring it hot or cold. It didn't register on either mark (engine running in neutral) so I added a bit, checked again, then added a little more, then some more, 2 litres later the level seemed to be where it should be.
It's got H4 bulbs and I had some super-duper ones spare so I fitted some "GE Megalight Ultra H4 +130%" which I must say work well.
 
I did another 100 miles locally and everything seemed ok, the engine ran gr9, it shifted gears as it should (gearbox switch left in power mode). I re-checked the fluids which all looked fine so I prepped the jeep for travels: I put a GB sticker on the back, black electric tape in the glovebox (dip beam adjustment) and hi-vis vest in the door pocket.
 
I loaded up and headed to Dover ... nothing to report, except one wiper blade is a bit ropey and cruise worked nicely through the average speed roadworks. 3hrs later I was 180 miles from home in Dover, a quick fuel-up showed almost 24mpgs, a good result I think.
 
I then hoofed it across Belgium, again without issue, It did some traffic jams around Ghent, no temperature or other issues, it is surprisingly allowed in to the LEZ zone in Antwerp and last weekend we popped over to Venlo (in Holland, near the German border) where I stayed whilst visiting the Essen car show thingy.
 
I'm now home after covering over 1000 miles in the jeep and I still like it.
It's still averaging around 20mpg, It's quite sedate in traffic, manages even tight multi-storey car parks, with the bonus of being low enough to fit in all I've come across. There is quite a bit of wind/tyre noise on the motorway, but it can hustle along at 70-80mph no problem, the 80mph is obviously on the continent ;)
 
I still have a bit of a "to-do" list, which still includes the electric seats, but they're very comfy so I don't feel the need to adjust the position, something I can't say about a lot of more modern cars.
Changing the stereo is getting higher on the priority list, and I should probably re-check the fluids, maybe a diff oil change as well.
 
Apologies for the lack of pics, I'm a bit crap at that sort of thing, all I have with the jeep in from the trip is the above Calais ferry and the one below, taken in a Dutch hotel car park:
 
post-4715-0-98076500-1555756728_thumb.jpg
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  • 2 weeks later...

A few pics I've discovered*

Cheap jeep at the beach

IMG_20190426_171842.thumb.jpg.1c85663943695717bbe1bcdeb746d5bb.jpg

Cheap jeep watching kite boarders

IMG_20190426_171752.thumb.jpg.c36639292f7445261f5de3081491a681.jpg

Cheap jeep visits a wind farm

IMG_20190426_164427.thumb.jpg.7cebcdc2f0c1695463b78c98003c8b2f.jpg

 

Nothing to report, except more money spent on petrol, lowest mpg so far was 17mpg for one tank. 

Expenditure on petrol now exceeds the purchase price of the jeep :-)

 

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Stereo query, can anyone identify this connector?

This is what's attached to the car to connect to the stereo harness.

IMG_20190506_221319.thumb.jpg.4ec1c9ca46c4f7adc7adea200e146a27.jpg IMG_20190506_221442.thumb.jpg.6f82598e6fb62779c54df28fbfc8870f.jpg?

Is there something I can plug this in to convert to an ISO harness?

I've been lookcing at various Jeep ones and none look like this,

Below is what is butchered to the current Panasonic stereo  (lots of tape and mess not pictured)

IMG_20190506_221342.thumb.jpg.fe8ce11db3250cdf7a7338cbd47f9e73.jpg

I think I'm going to have get the crimps out, remove the current butchery and butcher in a new ISO harness to the above red connector. I've done similar before on other cars, but I'd much prefer a plug and go harness if I can find one.

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On 4/20/2019 at 11:50 AM, skattrd said:

I then hoofed it across Belgium, again without issue, It did some traffic jams around Ghent, no temperature or other issues, it is surprisingly allowed in to the LEZ zone in Antwerp and last weekend we popped over to Venlo (in Holland, near the German border) where I stayed whilst visiting the Essen car show thingy.

If driving through the Benelux it can be worth going via the Western Scheldt Tunnel which avoids Ghent and Antwerp congestion, even if it does add a 5 euro toll cost and a few extra miles.  Obviously if your destination is Antwerp then such advice is of no use whatsoever...

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A few days ago the oil pressure gauge started to fluctuate a bit, and would show high oil pressure for a while. This concerned me a little as I had been unable to remove the sump plug, so I couldn't check/drop the oil.
As usual I hit the forums looking for similar issues, and most people seemed to agree that if the oil gauge fluctuates more than expected the first thing to check/change is the sender. Fingers crossed for that, simple cheap fix.
£6 later I changed the oil pressure sender and the oil pressure gauge now sits nice and steady at 3-4 bar.

I had already booked a little time at the garage to drop the oil and check a few things out, so I went to try and get the sump plug undone in relative safety.
Once on the garage lift I managed to undo the sump plug using a small bar and 5/8" socket without rounding or breaking anything, which was nice.
The oil was dropped, which looked ok and not too dirty, so no issues there. I then did a quick oil and filter change - 6l of 5w40 was added along with a new Mann filter.

Whilst on the lift I thought I should check the diff oil.
Front diff (no lsd) fluid level was fine and also smelt like gearbox/diff oil.
Rear diff (with lsd)  fluid level was fine and looked/smelt like diff oil.

Whilst doing the above I realised that the Jeep is now approaching 60k miles, which is when a major service is due, I'm guessing in it's 25 years it's never had a 60k/major service and a full fluid change... Change diff oils and check for major service items now added to to do list.

 

Today I also changed the stereo:

New stereo … £21 amazon job with aux, USB and Bluetooth:

IMG_20190510_112125.thumb.jpg.73d77bb6264ef2ad31969cae399956fc.jpg

Not very deep, plenty room to hide cables.

IMG_20190510_112128.thumb.jpg.0875ce5b82654b2045c35a7a769c17fe.jpg

I formulated a plan,:

Print off factory wiring for '94 Jeep stereo.
Compare the factory wiring with the output of the multiplug.
Chop multiplug out of the radio loom.
Wire multi-plug to ISO cable using what I learnt above.
Connect stereo & cross fingers.

IMG_20190510_111400.thumb.jpg.973c3e19d94defef3314b2dd86ef14e8.jpg

And.... 

IMG_20190510_121525.thumb.jpg.726a2327ded9fbfaf85d7676e95a6e04.jpg

Success, I think everything is working, and it sounds pretty good.
I know some will hate how it looks, but I don't find it offensive and it should be better/easier to use than the previous one.

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Like it, especially the connector blocks :D who cares if someone doesn't like it, they will never see it unless you post a pic, if it works then all is good, tech is soooo cheap these days, there was a time when something with all the features it has would have cost £799 or something ridiculous.

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I have already had thoughts of selling it as I was tempted by Kiltox's x5, but I think I have talked myself out of that, so cheap jeep is here to stay for a while. 

I surprisingly had a few pms regarding its future sale, but you are definitely on the list MM5 if/when I decide to move it on. 

I'll do a dash at night pic when I remember, it's all white bulbs in there btw. 

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One of these or a Grand Cherokee was on my list before I got the Exploder.

There is something very pleasing about plodding about in a cheap 4x4, I can thoroughly recommend it. 

Remind me of this the next time it breaks though?

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I totally agree dome, and as I'm not doing huge mileage atm I can ignore the 20ish mpg to some extent. 

I remember driving my brothers Exploder, and it was massive, this is quite compact and easy to park in city centres. 

I need to find a new Bini and park next to it for comparison. I reckon this is smaller than one of the all4 cuntrywhatever version. 

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It goes quite well, and has a decent turn of speed when you need it. 

I'm not sure on the HP on these 4.0 high output , some say 170, others 180/184, whatever it is at 1.5 ton it's enough. 

I remember my old V8 RRC was 170hp and 2 ton, that went OK, this is definitely quicker. 

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