Looking for advice/tips before buying and XJ

My wife and I are looking to buy her son an XJ when he turns 16 in the next few months and was hoping I could get a few tips from you all on what we should be looking for. I'm a JK owner and know a decent amount about the JK but don't know much at all about the XJ's. This will be his daily driver that will see some trail time for sure but will most importantly need to get him from point A to B reliably.

What year(s) should we avoid (if any)? How many miles are too many on the 4.0L motor? Anything else we should know or consider? At this point we're thinking $5k is close to as much as we'd want to spend. The prices are all over the board on these depending on how built up they are.

I'm pretty pumped he wants to go with a Jeep for his first car. He's been watching me build up my current and previous JK's and will be fun helping him build up his XJ.

Thanks in advance -

For 5k you can get a very nice xj, if you buy stock you could get one with under 150-180k and be fine. Ive seen people beat the shit out of them and they run past 250k. The nicer ones are the 1997 and newer, I know some of the later years had heads that would crack, so do some research on that before you buy.

kyle521 said:

For 5k you can get a very nice xj, if you buy stock you could get one with under 150-180k and be fine. Ive seen people beat the shit out of them and they run past 250k. The nicer ones are the 1997 and newer, I know some of the later years had heads that would crack, so do some research on that before you buy.

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I had heard something about bad heads but hadn't heard what years.

The 2000-01 models have the problematic cylinder heads and low pinion front axles. The 1999 model year seems to be the best year for the XJ. It has the better intake manifold, high pinion Dana 30, and could be found with the 8.25 rear axle. Rust is biggest problem with the XJ. If you see rot in the rocker panels, chances are pretty good the floors are junk too.
Avoid the 84-86 XJ. It has a GM 2.8 V6 that makes a better boat anchor than an engine. The 87-90 models have the RENIX engine management system that can be tricky to diagnose since it doesn't store trouble codes. It also has an EGR valve and some finicky sensors, but pretty reliable for what it is. The 91-96 are pretty good years, but there are a few quirks to be aware of. The 91-92 models had the Bendix 9 ABS system. It's a junk system that has a lifetime recall on it, but parts are scarce. The 1996 model year is kind of a bastard year that has some one year only parts. 1997 was the first year for the second gen body style that lasted until 2001.


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Hello, CJ's are awesome first vehicle and off-roaders. Rust? Don't buy it! Unibody construction and not worth the hassle. Stick with '94-96 old body style I-6. New body stick with '97-99, as mentioned 99 is considered best. The tranny is Aisin Warner and considered one of the best automatics offered in a Jeep. Also auto is good great for new off-readers. Don't go over 2-3" lift. Can of worms after that. If want bigger lift long arms or drop brackets for the front are mandatory IMOP. Death wobble if you don't know what that is look it up. Not something a new driver needs to deal with.

I'll send some pics and info later, headed to volleyball games. Just wanted to get this out of you are out looking.

Oh, buy it in stock condition unless you find one that is set up correctly.


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Not CJ, XJ


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Awesome choice. Like others have said they are great. I've owned 3 and miss them all. 1999 would be what I was looking for if I was in your shoes.


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I've been around xj's for awhile now the main rule of thumb is to avoid any with major rust. Also unless you are good with older computer systems just flat out avoid all renix xj's and the OBD1's while better can be a little picky it's honestly best to buy anything 98 and newer if you can. 97 was a bad year because the wiring is a mess and 96 just had an insane mix match of parts.


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Thanks all for for the info. Good stuff, exactly what I was looking for.

I have been looking for an XJ for my twin daughters. Found a 2000 with 190,000 miles. Starts right up and drives nice. Totally stock suspension and bushings look good. Cleaner inside than almost any used car I've looked at. Guy said I can have it for $2,000 out the door (dealer) cause he thinks the head gasket is gone. I checked the oil and antifreeze and they both look clean. I also have a budget of under $5k. Figure the longest drive the girls will be driving is back and forth to school and around town. Drive it til it brakes then fix. Even then I figure I'll be way under my budget.
Any thoughts? Am I way off and should move on?
Thanks

The 2000-01 model years are known for cracking the cylinder head.


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I would go with the 99 year just like everyone else is saying. $5k can get you a nice stock jeep with lower miles.
Unless you find something exactly how you would build it up don't spend the money because you never know what they JimmyRigged up to get their idea to work. (I say this because I am guilty of doing it! haha) I had a 98 before my 99 and I thought the little rust underneath was alright. little did I know...
The only problem I keep having with my 99 is the rear main keeps going out. Not hard to replace just a pain in the A$$ having to pull the entire pan out everytime when I replace it.
The 4.0 will run forever! I have seen some XJs with 300k on the dash and still purring like a kitten. I have also seen some around 150k blowing gaskets and marking their territory all over the driveway. Just depends on how well it was taken care of. Like my 98, My young and dumb self didn't take into account that the previous owner didn't even remember that last time the oil was changed out.... I had to take the whole pan off to change the oil and clean it out then run some seafoam through with the oil and clean it out again just to clean out all of the goopy oil. (The oil clogged up the drain hole)

Just give it a good walk around and test drive before you buy.

Nothing better than an XJ in my opinion!

Good luck hunting for your kids first XJ.