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New to me 1993 xj sport

1K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  bman602 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, did a ton of reading on this site and it was so helpful. Helped me track down a 1993 xj sport with a 5sp and 115000 miles for $1500.00! Very clean, no leaks (yet!), with new plugs, wires, and cap installed. This will be used as dd with a lot of gravel and fsr roads for fishing, mtn biking, and camping. Me and the girlfriend dirt bike, so not much in the way of hardcore wheeling. Planned mods are 2" ome full lift kit (a bunch of $$, but it sounds like its the best out there), 30x9.5 bfg at/ko's (have them on our silverado 2500 and love how they drive), cold air intake and new cat back exhaust, roof basket carrier, and either top or swing away rear spare carrier. Possibly down the road get some leather seats to swap in. Will drive it stock for a bit to get used to it, then probably start with the lift and work my way down the list. Street manners and mpg are a high priority (the chev costs a bit to run) so I think this is a good compromise. Will have pics on monday. Let me know if I am missing anything and what you think.
thanks
 
#4 ·
Welcome to the forum and congrats on the jeep! x2 on the fluid changes change oil etc...
 
#5 ·
Many members have testified the CAI and cat back are not going to do anything for you that you can feel. Save a little money and buy something else for it. Welcome aboard. We love pics.
 
#6 ·
Finally some pics

Well here is a link to some pics: http://s1056.photobucket.com/albums/t371/bman602/?start=all (can't post attachments here yet). So today was the first time I got to see the jeep (trusted friend picked it up for me, as I was out of town). Sorry about the crappy pics, but it was -20f here today before windchill! The Good: - Started up right away without being plugged in - interior is in great shape - 183000 kilometers - tranny and clutch feel great and 4 hi and lo work with no problems -
The not so Good: Rust - a bit on the rear quarters, a bit on the rockers, and of most concern: on the floor pan - Oil leaking from what I think is the valve cover, oil pan or rear main, and rear diff - Passenger side rear has been roughed up a bit and the door changed out -

So forget intake and exhaust, lifts and tires - time to prep for rust repair, and fix any drive train issues first. Till it warms up a wee bit there won't be much work done, but I would appreciate any and all suggestions from those in the know. Time to get working on my welding skills I guess
 
#7 ·
So think I will start with the valve cover gasket first, clean up the engine, see what happens and proceed from there. If it works - great, if not then proceed to the rear main seal. After that, time to change out the front and rear diffs fluid and reseal. Then move on to the rust. As I don't have access to a garage at the moment, have to wait till it gets warmer to pull the carpet and check the floor. Hoping it is not too nasty under there. After a bunch of searching I think I will replace the rockers with the 2x6 rocker fix, as I don't really see any down side to it (eliminate notorious rust area, and give needed protection). Still weighing the options on the rear 1/4s.
 
#9 ·
Gotta agree with rsurran about the CAI for the price. However, since you seem to have a little bit of time on your hands, maybe check out putting in your own cowl intake. Relatively cheap, do-it-yourself upgrade.

Sea Foam it! Not in the crankcase though, since you already have oil leak issues.

Congrats on the purchase.
 
#10 ·
Congrats on the purchase. I just joined and have the same plans you have, a DD for all-weather commuting and hitting the mountain bike/hiking spots.

Maybe someone can clarify how much a roof carrier hurts MPG. I think they look cool, but tossed that idea when I heard it hurt the mileage.

Anyway, following the build!!
 
#11 ·
Well we have two dogs with us almost always and one of them weighs a 120lbs, so a bit more carrying ability is a good thing for our camping gear! Will attack the valve cover gasket this Monday, clean the engine and see what happens leak wise. Also start pulling carpet to what kind of battle with rust I am going to face. On the search for a used mig setup to help with the repairs. I hope I am surprised in a good way, but am preparing for the worst.
 
#12 ·
So changed the valve cover gasket today, and was I ever glad I did. Getting the bolts off the cover was not too bad, just got to be creative with back two. Oil was all around the cover and was it defiantly leaking. Getting the cover up and out was fun, as the foolish PO had just used a massive amount of rtv sealer and no gasket at all. That made it stupid hard to to get the cover off and required strategic cuts in the silicon to break the glue like grip. I really could not believe how much this dude had slathered everywhere (I apologize, I left the camera at home, so no pics), and it took a good while to clean it all up. Well out with the old nasty useless rtv, and in with the clean, effective, and expensive fel-pro. Everything went back together with no problems, and I now have eliminated the biggest leak. With out having to deal with the rtv, job time would around 45min at an easy pace. Next round will be checking on the rest of the "work" that got done on it. Just goes to show it pays to do your own work in more ways then one- saves you money, and you know it got done right!
 
#14 ·
So was getting ready to pull the trigger on a ome 2.5 lift and some new wheels and rubber, then one of the dogs eats a pinecone. Said pinecone gets lodged in her intestine, dog almost dies, needs surgery to take it out, and costs almost $2000.00! Upgrade budget is gone for awhile. Soon gonna start looking at the local yards to see if I can spot any cheap treasure. Love the dog and don't regret spending the dough, but damn the timing could have been better. On a better note, no leaks since fixing the valve cover gasket :2thumbsup:.
 
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