1994 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 - "cheap jeep"

[Avensis Verso]

Nice to see one of these i had one when i was in Canada from 2007 to 2013  never had any issues with it always started, even in  -35  winter weather,  Only thing to watch for are the front hubs they can go without warning, but usually start clicking, some reason these jeeps like to eat radiators, mine destroyed 2 i have no idea why because i replaced all hoses thermostat, but otherwise they are good reliable transport id have another any day.

[Zelandeth]

LED headlights will be illegal.  I believe that the same rules apply to them as to HID based ones - so they require active height correction and have specific requirements for cleaning.

The ones there which are rated 300W will require serious upgrading of the supply cables and need relays fitting...if you just plug them in place of the original ones you'll cook the wiring and/or switch in no time.

I'd suggest getting a new standard set of lights and invest in a decent set of lamps (Osram Nightbreaker used to be my go to but they can be a bit awkward to find these days - beware of fakes on eBay/Amazon), they should do a decent enough job.

Worth checking what voltage you're seeing at the lamp though...poor performance can often be down to the manufacturer having skimped on the wiring and switch, so the bulbs end up seeing a couple of volts less than the battery voltage...a common mod among Xantia owners is fitting relays behind the headlights as the wiring to the lights is pants and it's not unknown for the headlights to wind up running on 9V rather than 12...

[skattrd]

I'm not sure about the legality of the LEDs, but I wouldn't assume they're illegal.
I'm only considering lights that are E-marked and I'm unsure what the wattage rating on them refers to, as a 300w LED would be ridiculous, I think it is a comparison to the output of a std bulb and not the actual power draw. I've emailed a couple of sellers about this, but I'm not holding my breath.
I think I'm going to order these LEDs and have a play with them at the garage where I can check power draw and beam pattern.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fit-For-Chevrolet-Jeep-Cherokee-XJ-Brightest-105W-7X6-5X7-LED-Headlight-DRL/133186456162 

 

[Fabergé Greggs]

I had a dream I drove one of these last night- I was using it to do reverse donuts with a caravan in the mud. It was surprisingly refined and not at all plasticky. Very vague steering though. 

[omegod]

One of these on LPG is on my list at some point 

[skattrd]

Cheap jeep went to the garage today as I had done a little shopping.

3xUJ for the front prop shaft:

 

I also ordered some lights, LED ones:

Shortly after ordering those I spotted some used crystal lights on a FB group, they were £25 so I bought them as well, just in case I didn't like the LED ones.

Whilst I was at it, I also thought I should spend £10 on an H4 relay loom job to make sure the lights get good voltage, and also to protect the recently installed (after the old one burnt out) light switch.

No pics of the UJ and prop shaft as I left that to the person who knew what he was doing. There was much swearing but eventually all new UJs were installed and the prop shaft was refitted.

I did the simple thing of pliugging in the relay loom and swapping the headlights over.
That was all straightforward, the loom was plug and play, live to battery terminal and one earth connected to the body at each side, simples.

:

Sidelights:

Dip:

FULL:

They are e-marked, so legal,  totally horizontal beam (as expected) so no raised light out to the side..
However when we put it on the beam tester I wasn't massively happy with the beam pattern There is a thick band in the middle, which we used to align them, but the definition wasn't brilliant.

I'm planning to take it for a little drive later to see how good/bad the lights are.

[somewhatfoolish]

I keep vacillating about putting LED headlights on my defender as the reflectors are getting tired; pros (hopefully) MOAR light, cons looks like hipster wank. I'll no doubt vacillate for a long time to come, although the prices are dropping.

[skattrd]

Minor update, I've been buying things:

Roof rack/tray because OLLI, I'm hoping this doesn't ruin the aerodynamics and fuel economy. 

I had the serpentine belt replaced when I first got the jeep, but it's looking  a bit worn, so I'm guessing there is a rough tensioner/pulley causing premature wear. There is also a noise from that area, so something the belt goes round has a knackered bearing in it.
Solution … 

Ordered Monday, delivered Thursday from USA, I'm impressed.

Water pump, clutch for viscous fan, 250cm reinforced belt and some pulleys/tensioners.

I asked on an XJ facebook group how many of the tensioners/pulleys could be replaced, but I didn't get an answer. They were about £5 each from Rockauto, so I thought I'd order a few, I can flog any left over on FB (or keep in random spares box) I guessed at 2x ribbed and 3x smooth.
I need to check my order though as I have 4x smooth pulleys and one ribbed … I was sure I ordered 3 and 2.

The jeep is booked in at the garage for the pulley/belt/waterpump etc session in  a fortnights time.

[Skizzer]

I don’t know about the pulleys and tensioners, but the serpentine belt on these is so easy to change even I managed not to fuck it up.

Now feeling some want for another 4.0 Jeep, and it’s all your fault.

[skattrd]

 

1 hour ago, Skizzer said:

Now feeling some want for another 4.0 Jeep, and it’s all your fault.

Sorry …

I've surprised myself at how much, even after 9000 miles, I'm still enjoying this.
This has definitely got under my skin a little.
I'm now wanting a Jeep Wrangler (TJ) to complement it, despite your scare stories of terminal chassis rot.

[dome]

I've been asked to look at this for a friend.

4l on lpg with an injector issue possibly? He may be getting fed up with it. Luckily* I've got no space for it just now so won't make a derisory offer. Yet

[skattrd]

@dome if somehow that does become available, please give me a shout, I wouldn't say no to another one running lpg.

[Skizzer]

33 minutes ago, skattrd said:

I'm now wanting a Jeep Wrangler (TJ) to complement it, despite your scare stories of terminal chassis rot.

Don’t let me put you off, they’re great fun - just run away if everything is slathered in twelve coats of aftermarket underseal...

[RobT]

The Cherokee want is simmering for me too.

Looks a good 'un!

[dome]

I've now got custody of the Jeep pictured above. The issue is random cutting out, apparently on LPG and petrol. I'll update my thread as and when I get around to looking at it and will let everyone know if it becomes available for sale.

[Zelandeth]

17 minutes ago, dome said:

I've now got custody of the Jeep pictured above. The issue is random cutting out, apparently on LPG and petrol. I'll update my thread as and when I get around to looking at it and will let everyone know if it becomes available for sale.

First thing I'd suspect if it's behaving exactly the same on petrol and gas would be the crankshaft position sensor.  Pretty much everything in terms of fuel injection and ignition is slaved to the timing pulse from that sensor...so it playing up will cause the whole lot to shut down.

[dome]

20 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

First thing I'd suspect if it's behaving exactly the same on petrol and gas would be the crankshaft position sensor.  Pretty much everything in terms of fuel injection and ignition is slaved to the timing pulse from that sensor...so it playing up will cause the whole lot to shut down.

My thoughts exactly, although it's been changed previously. Here's the conversation I've had with the owner. Andrew is his brother, he's had a look at it but not got to the bottom of it. I'll stick the battery on it (it was flat as a pancake) and take it for a drive

 

[skattrd]

Today was the day for another new serpentine belt and new water pump etc, so off to the garage we went with our box of bits.
Just jumping in the cheap jeep make me gin, it really is a joy to drive. It's comfy, the engine is smooth and responsive, it's got it quirks, but it's a cracking drive.. 

All the bits I ordered appeared correct (which was nice) and things went sort of to plan. 
The viscous fan shroud was tricky to remove as there isn't much space. … Have a pic of the scary viscous fan:

Only 1x ribbed pulley and 1x smooth pulley were needed.
For reference both pulleys 76mm and 2500mm 6 rib belt. I got a "fleet" spec belt which are supposed to be heavy duty and have a green outer.

The  pulley/guides we weren't changing were a bit rusty so a flap wheel was used to clean these up so hopefully the new belt will last longer than 10k.

A little damage to the PAS pulley was spotted so this will need replacing to stop it damaging the new belt. The new fan clutch is a slightly different design to the old one, so will be a bit tricky to fit. 

With this in mind we decided to put the old fan clutch back in for now without the shroud. We can struggle with the new one and fan shroud when the new PAS pulley goes on …. There's no need to fight to get it on now if it'll be coming off again in a couple of weeks.

to be continued … after I get a new PAS pulley.

[dollywobbler]

How are you getting on with the headlights?

[stephenD57]

On 11/30/2019 at 10:50 PM, skattrd said:

Minor update, I've been buying things:

Roof rack/tray because OLLI, I'm hoping this doesn't ruin the aerodynamics and fuel economy. 

 

Neat looking Cherokee. My uncle is looking at one that needs some TLC but seems in good condition overall. We'll take a look at it soon right after we finished installing the brake kit and 4 wheeler accessories on his TRX project. I 'm gonna show your set up here, that rack could be a great help for hauling stuff.

[skattrd]

Ok, so PAS pulley ... 

A new PAS pulley was ordered from rockauto.

A few weeks later:
Deja vu:

The PAS pulley comes off with a pulley puller, it was a good job I was in a well equipped garage with 2 different pulley pullers.
However the 25 year old pulley wouldn't move .... so other methods were involved:

 

 

Eventually

After putting the PAS pump back on all that was needed was to refit the fan with new clutch, and the shroud ... simples

Old clutch on the right, new one on the left

Well, the new fan clutch is a bit bigger than the old one meaning it is very tight fitting it, especially if there is a shroud around it to make access even harder.
On the plus side, it might mean better heat transfer as cheap jeep does run a bit warm ... all 4.0 XJ run warm, around 100C.

The fan shroud might* have suffered a little damage during the process of wrestling the new fan/clutch in, it's ok I've got the missing piece and will glue it back in later.

All done, the jeep still runs gr9 and I'm a little happier knowing it has a new water pump, pulleys and belt. It never overheated last summer, and it should hopefully continue to not overheat.

[skattrd]

On 12/15/2019 at 7:29 AM, dollywobbler said:

How are you getting on with the headlights?

Overall I'm not happy with the LED lights, they will most likely be getting removed and standard H4s replaced.