My First Jeep

[The Tonka Toy]

I don't even know if this is going to be worth doing a build thread for but I might as well..

Today I picked up a 96 jeep grand cherokee laredo from a friend who needed money bad, due to some bad choices. I will probably end up just fixing this thing up and selling it pretty cheap. It's got the v8, and it all time 4wd. It didn't run and has a little cosmetic damage to it. It needs new exhaust and a few sensors and a new belt and some minor things. It is all stock, I will probably put a small lift on it. I will post some pics later.

[The Tonka Toy]

pic

[Ben]

the only thing i do not like about those is the all time 4wd..does it have 4lo?? because i have seen em without it.

[The Tonka Toy]

This one had all time 4wd, or 4 low. Those are the only options i have.

[Gubni]

I think people for some reason don't like to awd version off road. I might be wrong, but I think the transfer case has a differential like the axles do to split the power equal front and rear. What that means is that if one whee is in the mud and three are on pavement then all the power goes to the one wheel in the mud and you are stuck unlike a normal transfer case.

[The Tonka Toy]

Yeah I agree, I am not a big fan of the all time 4wd. I know a guy who has a transfer case if I ever wanted to do a swap.

[dmoore714]

Nice ZJ. I wanted one of these sooo bad when I was in high school. They used to haunt me. I'd see them everywhere.

Isnt this the model you can do the rear-to-front spring swap lift on?

[The Tonka Toy]

I dont know anything about lifts for these. My friend has a 97 and he did something with f-250 springs but I would have to ask him more about it.

[ParadisePWoffrD]

in a ZJ you can put the front springs in the rear for ~3-4" of lift.

also, the transfercase has a differential in it for the awd, but it is fluid driven... when in 4lo it acts a little differently though... I previously had a v8 zj that i wheeled the snot out of with the factory tcase and never had an issue with one axle not spinning... their life is limited though, and the VC is $$$$$ to replace.

if you want to check its condition, here is an easy trick:

find a flat parking lot or area to drive around in. when you let off the brake with the trans in drive it should want to pull forward. if it does, drive in a figure-8 pattern. if the jeep comes to a stop when you start turning, its the VC starting to slip. This just means that it is starting to wear out, you may have 10mi left, you may have 10000mi left.

[The Tonka Toy]

So what can you do with the lift? I would like to lift it but I dont want to spend a lot of money on it. I think i can get big ford coils and put the old fronts in the rear. Wouldnt that work?

[ParadisePWoffrD]

the ford coils will be super stiff... theres really no cheap coils for a front of a v8, but you can buy lift coils new for not too much.

you haveto do something about brakelines, steering, shocks, panhard bars too, front & rear

[The Tonka Toy]

I know a guy at my school who has a 97 zj which is lifted, I will ask him how he did his.

[dmoore714]

Do a google search for "ZJ spring swap lift" and see what comes up. I stumbled across it when I was thinking about buying one (once upon a time).

It looked easy enough, and cheap enough... even for a non-mechanically-inclined person like myself

[The Tonka Toy]

Ill try that and see what I find, thanks.

[The Tonka Toy]

Ive been doing some research, and I read that a very common problem with these jeeps not running is the crankshaft position sensor. I jiggle on the wire on the sensor and then I started doing a spark plug test. When doing the test the jeep tried to crank up, so I put the plug wire back on and it started right up. While looking for the sensor, I found out why it has a salvage title. The front driver side had been wrecked and the quarter panel is barely on the body. Also there is some dented and bent up metal. Next step is a trip to the junk yard to buy some new parts.

[The Tonka Toy]

Got the exhaust all welded up and got some hangers on it. Took it off the trailer and drove it around some. There are some noises but I think it's from the rotors, the previous owner must have been too lazy to change the brakes. The rotors are grooved pretty deep. I think the linkage for my 4wd is broke or something. It doesn't seem to work like it's supposed to. I power braked it and it only spun the back right tire, I don't think it's supposed to just spin one tire on an all time 4wd?

Also I am considering making this my DD. It's killing me to put $35 in my toyota every 3-4 days. Even though this isn't the best looking thing, It'll sure be nice to get 15-20 mpg.

[The Tonka Toy]

Cleaned up pretty nice

[ParadisePWoffrD]

with the all time 4wd, there is a viscous coupler in the tcase (kinda like a diff). it sends power to the least resistance, even if that is just 1 wheel.

you should feel the front pulling when you turn sharp while moving forward, if not, youll want to check things out.

[The Tonka Toy]

Well before I mess with driving i and turning, I need to replace a cv joint thats bad. It pulls pretty hard, but im used to my 4 banger, so Im not too sure if the alltime 4wd is messed up or not.

[muddinmatt]

Dont know if you still have this or not.
Saw this today & thought about yours.
http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu240/mattman944/th_fortonkatoy.jpg

[The Tonka Toy]

I do have mine still, just been sittin in the yard. I need to go down to the pull-a-part and get a new hood and a front rotors then im going to sell it and put the money towards a paint job for my slammed s-10. Gonna ask $1500 and ill probably take $1300.

[yoder519]

Dont know if you still have this or not.
Saw this today & thought about yours.
http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu240/mattman944/th_fortonkatoy.jpg

if its the same Jeep, he works at that rental place in the shoping center where the old Food City was on Euclid Avenue. Its Aarons, or rent a center or something like that. Did it have a Tread Lightly sticker on it?

[muddinmatt]

I didnt get that close to it. I was driving by it and took a pic. It was in Johnson City at El Ranchitos.