2000 Jeep Cherokee. It wasn't supposed to be a project.

You may have read elsewhere that I acquired a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. I really didn't plan to do much, if any work to it, but we all know how that goes. I just can't resist those little projects. This isn't to replace the Samurai. It will be a beater, long range camping transport, and sometime driver for my 17 yo son. The Samurai will be staying around as a TOAD behind SanFord.

So far, it has been a rocky start. First trip, it overheated in traffic, locked up a front caliper, and developed a transmission leak. So much for not being a project. Maybe I should have actually test drove it.

The engine is tight and runs great, the transmission shifts perfectly, the 4WD works and it actually has a new front driveshaft. It also has almost new tires and zero rust. That said, I probably almost overpaid for it.

What it needs.

Front brakes, as cheap as the parts are, it's getting both calipers and rotors replaced as well as the entire system flushed.

Cooling system flush, the cooling system is pretty gross. I'm going to flush it and install a 3 core, all aluminum radiator.

Transmission pan gasket and filter, it's leaking so I might as well service the transmission while it's apart.

Headliner, I had planned to pay someone to replace it. See below.

Lastly it need a drivers door panel to replace the broken one. Ebay had them, they were cheap, it's already here.

Today's project was a fairly easy one. I stopped by LKQ to see what they had in the way of Cherokees. They had a 8 on the lot. One of them had a nearly perfect headliner in the right color. My son and I pulled it in less than 20 minutes.

When I got home, I swapped them out.

Old and truly nasty.

New hotness.

And installed.

Next up was the spare. The wheel mounts in the back with the inside of the wheel exposed and it was nasty with grease, brake dust and mud. It cleaned up better than I expected.

That's it so far. Most of the parts are here so that will be happening soon.

More to come.

You may want to have a peek at the water pump and thermostat before you waste a gallon of new antifreeze. Here's what they looked on an 81k mile TJ that I bought, though I suppose it's possible that the previous owner of mine topped off the radiator with sea water.

In reply to Woody:

I already bought the thermostat. Looking at the water pump prices, I should probably replace it while I have the radiator out.

Good idea.

You have a really good hole into the water jacket of a 4.0 with the pump off, so do your flushing at that stage.

How do the headliners on XJs get so gross? I don't know if I've ever seen a used example for sale with even a "beater nice" one.

In reply to Woody:

Yep, I picked up a TJ with 115k on the odometer this summer. It promptly blew the top off the radiator. The coolant was like liquid rust. The trash in the system had blocked the overflow tube so the cap could not vent properly.

The bottom of the overflow bottle looked like they topped off the coolant with muddy swap water.

I have never really had to replace everything in a cooling system all at once and certainly not under 150k miles. Of course, I don't own any BMWs and this is my first Jeep.

ssswitch wrote: How do the headliners on XJs get so gross? I don't know if I've ever seen a used example for sale with even a "beater nice" one.

The foam on the old one had turned to mush and all the cloth had been removed. The one I picked up at LKQ looks like it had been replaced at some point. It's not perfect, but it is a 1000% improvement over the original.

Spent most of the day going to a SCCA picnic. We rolled back into town about 4, and the rotors for the Cherokee were sitting on the porch.

A few more shiny bits.

No more stuck front calipers.

I got a early start today.

Transmission serviced and no long pouring oil.

Radiator, water pump, thermostat, and hoses replaced. Temps are holding rock solid at 195-200.

The only thing left to do is the drivers door panel and it's going to wait for another day. I'm tired.

8 bolts drops the entire front clip off this thing. Makes it pretty easy to work on.

The factory radiator is a single core. The replacement is a all aluminum, 3 core. That should solve a lot of the weak cooling system problems. I hate babysitting a temperature gauge.

You got more accomplished in one morning than I do in a week!

Just got back from putting about 70 miles on it. Temps are rock solid, transmission doesn't leak, and the brakes are very good.

I did find one other thing it needs. This is someone's version of a exhaust hanger. Needless to say, it's a little noisy. It will be getting replaced.

It looks better here than it does in the driveway.

Nice job!

Also...while they are "too small" for the off road guys, those were my favorite factory Jeep wheels of that era.

In reply to Woody:

The wheels and tires will be staying until they prove themselves too small.

I put another 80 miles on it today after I fixed the exhaust mount. It received a new hanger and a exhaust tip.

The good news is it runs like a champ. The 4WD works as it should. Cold A/C.

The bad news is it's still leaking oil at a higher rate than is acceptable to me. I guess this weekends project will be a thorough cleaning so we can see exactly where it is coming from. It still looks like transmission fluid to me, but it isn't concentrated to one place. It's just everywhere.

I've had bad luck with the parts store brand transmission pan gaskets on the aw4's, had a couple that I couldn't keep from seeping. Put a Felpro gasket on and no more issues.

Check the valve cover gasket and the rear main seal and oil pan, those are common areas for leaks.

I think a 2000 would have a 42RE But yeah the aftermarket transmission pan gasket sucks unless you use RTV. You aren't supposed to do that because the MOPAR gasket is plastic with rubber. Straighten out the pan and use the OEM gasket. The shift selector shaft will also sometimes leak. For oil it could be the oil pressure sensor on the passenger's side of the block, the valve cover gasket, or if you have the oil filter adapter it could be the o-rings in that.

I straightened the pan and used a thin layer of black RTV on both sides of the gasket. I wouldn't think that would leak, but I've seen it happen before.

It was raining pretty good when I got home so I didn't climb under it and study too much. I'll do that tomorrow.

after you clean it up, you can spray a bunch of spray deodorant around on stuff, making a little white film that will instantly show a leak.

looking great though!

In reply to bluesideup:

The 4.0l XJ used the AW4 from '87 to '01, 42RE wound up in Grand Cherokee (ZJ I think) and the RLE in late model TJs.

The included gasket with the Wix filter has worked great for me. Previous owner used an entire tube of red RTV the last time the transmission was serviced, not a fun job to clean up.

Spend a little extra on the Fel-Pro steel and rubber valve cover gasket if/when you need it, it comes with the valve cover bolt washers. The cork gaskets are just a pain in the rump, the updated gasket is so much better.

I did this this afternoon.

Before:

The next problem is the transmission. It's leaking out of the front seal, torque converter, or pump housing. I talked to the transmission shop, he says it's a Toyota transmission and a lot of times, when they are leaking out of the front, it's a internal problem and just replacing the seal isn't a long term solution.

I've decided I'm getting too old and lazy to pull a transmission if I don't have to. I'm dropping it off on Tuesday and letting him take care of it. He's going to put a master kit and a torque converter in it. I'm not willing to drive it, if it's spewing oil everywhere. The body and interior are in good enough condition, to make it worth putting the money into getting it fixed right.

More to come.

Now I'm baffled. The last time I took it out, it used over a pint of transmission fluid in 100 miles. The bottom of the transmission was dripping when I got back.

I took it out this morning. 100 miles. Total transmission fluid used? Zero. The bottom of the transmission is damp, but not dripping fluid. ?

Now I don't know if I should take it in, or let it ride and see what happens.

Problem being, I have a 800 mile camping trip, to the mountains, planned in two weeks.

It's my understanding they leak from there because the pump bushing wears out and the seal sees more pressure than it can handle. I wouldn't trust it, I have this scenario in my head of cold mountain air thickening the ATF, then you start it and the increased line pressure blows the seal out and you have a undriveable bad leak, on a mountain.

I picked it up from the transmission shop this afternoon. All transmission leaks are fixed. Done. Well worth the $$$$.

I drove it home in bumper to bumper traffic. The temps never budged, so the radiator took care of that problem.

Tomorrow, I'm going to service both axles, and that's going to be about it for this one.

what did they say was the issue?

I wonder just how long the "That's about it" will last :)