Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Jeeper's help needed - buying a ZJ - what haven't I checked?

1K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  JrMechanic 
#1 ·
Dear Jeepers,

Saturday this week I plan on finalizing the deal with the current owner of a stock 96 ZJ 5.2L Ltd. Unless one of you can bring something deal-breakingly negative to my attention before Saturday I am the lucky owner of an almost mint condition ZJ with 112k miles on the odo.

I have already seen the car and test driven it. Everything electronic works. Even the volume control buttons on the back of the steering wheel and the sunroof. I also did an ignition diagnostics test and the only codes that showed up where 12 and 55. As far as I know 12 = the battery has been changed within last 50 ignitions and 55 = end of diagnostics. Please correct me if I’m wrong. The engine sounds clean and hits the rev limiter with no trouble or weird noises. The transmission felt firm during test drive and there is no significant wobble in the suspension, even in hard turns.

The car originates from Switzerland – notorious for their high maintenance requirement of their vehicles and the former owner was a neat freak. Inside the car looks like it just came off the assembly line and outside it only has a small crack in the right side mirror and on the far back of the right side panel inside the rear right wheel hub. As said – almost mint.

All in all one should think this is a fine example of a ZJ. So my question is. What haven’t I checked? Is there something that you Jeep experts can help me find that I haven’t yet myself thought of? I urge anyone with an opinion to reply. It is little boys dream come true for me to own a real Jeep and I would hate to start the journey with something bad breaking because I didn’t check it properly. So anything that comes up in this thread I will check before making my final decision Saturday.

Hit me with all your best suggestions.

Soren :wave:
 
See less See more
#3 ·
With the engine off, remove the air tubing from the TB, open the blades and look into the intake. If you see puddled oil, plenum gasket went bad. Not expensive but takes like 4hrs to replace and it'll burn a qt of oil per 1k miles or more if its bad.

Is it a 249 transfercase (all time 4wd-N-4LO on the shifter). If so, do some figure 8's in a parking lot and look for dragging/binding in the front tires. The 249 has a Viscous Coupler thats know for going bad and is about $350 to replace (or just swap to another transfer case for cheaper)

I'm sure other people will chime in with other major stuff
 
#4 · (Edited)
Engine oil looks very clean. Forgot to check the transmission oil but will do that Saturday. Any others I can/should visibly inspect?

It's a 249 alright and thanks for the heads up on the coupler, will check with some figure 8's.

Just to be sure - since I'm a rookie - you mean the tubing on the top of the engine to the throttle body?
 
#5 ·
Its the tube that goes from the air cleaner box to the top of the engine (throttle body). Its 1 nut in the center to remove it.
 
#7 ·
Any last suggestions before I potentially seal the deal tomorrow?
 
#8 ·
Check the trans fluid for sure, does the rear wiper work?

Other than sounds good
 
#9 ·
All wipers works and both front and rear washer fluid flows without problems. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for all your comments. No Jeep this time though as the seller decided to sell to another buyer while I was on my way to him. Needless trip could've been avoided.

The search continues!
 
#13 ·
Thanks Candymancan.

I've been following your thread on the 5.9L because I have that in mind as well. What mileage did you get on your trip home from buying it? The trips I will make in my future Jeep will be long highway trips combined with short spurts of Offroad - so I'm not completely unaware of the fuel economy.

I know it takes time to find the right one. Been looking since July. In Europe there's a much smaller market for Jeeps which makes the price somewhat higher than the US. Also, the lack of junkyards with parts readily available makes it ever so more important to make sure the vehicle is in immaculate mechanical condition before buying it.

What made you want the 5.9L over the 5.2L?
 
#14 ·
If you want something that gets good gas mileage then you don't want a jeep. Jeeps have never gotten good mpg. I got a 93 grand cherokee with 5.2 and get 10mpg but I also got a 4.5 inch lift with 33 inch tires and still got the stock gears.
The difference between the 5.2 and the 5.9 is horsepower. The 5.2 v8 came off the floor with 220 horsepower and the 5.9 v8 was 245
 
#15 ·
Good mileage is not needed. 10-12MPG at least. Hopefully 15. I've read that the 5.9L had updated engine software that allowed it the same fuel economy as the 5.2L. So I was trying to figure out whether that is actually the case when the engine is 12 years old.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top