Eagle

No, that's not normal. First, as Pete asked -- are you certain you were in 2WD? Second, are you certain you had the CAD slider fully engaged, and did you have it locked in place when you put the "new" cover back on? How did you lock the slider in position?

Bleed the clutch.

Related threads merged for continuity.

I don't think you have a synchro problem. I don't think your genius mechanic bled your clutch completely.

You have a '91. That part is for the 94 thru 96. It's a complete system, pre-filled and pre-bled, including the clutch master cylinder (the part on the left) and the EXTERNAL clutch slave cylinder (the part on the right). You have an internal slave cylinder. So' having sold you a clutch replacement that didn't solve your problem, this guy now wants to sell you parts that won't even fit your vehicle? Why are you even talking to this moron?

The place I go to for emissions testing is a respected 4x4 shop. They get around $600 for doing four ball joints on a Cherokee. Several years ago I paid $85 for two lower control arms from Crown. Used steering box cost me $40. Rebuilt will probably run $100 to $150, plus labor. A new steering box could go $350 plus labor. If you're looking at having a shop do all this, you're looking at a couple or three thousand dollars.

You can ask. My guess is that they won't be interested. Here's the deal. The bank is lending you money, but they aren't doing it because they're your friends. It's their business. They want to be certain that their money -- however much of it you're using -- is protected. The position they aim for is one that tries to assure (them) that, if you go belly up and default on the mortgage, they can sell the property for enough to get their money back. If it sells for more, you get the difference. But if the bank forecloses, their priority is to recoup their money. So they most likely won't be very interested in financing anything that looks like a long-term project. I don't know how handy you are with homeowner stuff such as carpentry, sheetrock, plumbing, and electrical. Even if you're pro-level at all those trades -- you're working long hours at a full-time job. Realistically, you probably don't have the time to take on major repairs. Sure, you can hire it out -- but contractors charge by the hour, so there's no money to be saved by buying a house you already know you need to pour money into just to bring it up to basic standards.

Well, you learned that a deal that sounds too good to be true probably is (too good to be true). You dodged a bullet on that particular house, but you have now started the process of educating yourself, and that's never a bad thing. IMHO, by all means talk to a bank about getting pre-approved. You need to know what your price range is -- there's no point in looking at houses that are out of your range, falling in love with one, and only then finding out that there's no way you can afford to buy it.

I just noticed that the listing stipulates "AS IS." That means the seller doesn't want to hear about problems, and isn't interested in fixing any that you may find or in negotiating the price to account for them. BUT ... some issues may be building code violations, and the state laws may have something to say about selling a house with known code violations. By that, I don't mean the building inspector knows about them ... but the owner does, or he will if they are pointed out by your home inspector. An issue that's a code violation may have to be fixed -- I doubt any mortgage company would make a loan on a house with code violations in it. Sometimes an "AS IS" purchase can be a genuine bargain. Other times, it can turn into a real nightmare.

Fuse panel is under the dash, above the driver's left foot. Check all the fuses.

Too true. Although a number of years ago I had a call from a NAXJA-NAC friend in New Jersey. He was looking for a Cherokee for his fiancee and he had spotted what he thought was a likely candidate in Connecticut, so he wanted to know if it was close enough that I could check it out. As it happened, it was at a used car lot about 10 minutes from where I was working, so I on the case. Drove over to the lot after work the next day. Found the XJ (about a '98, IIRC). Looked clean, but with a weird exterior decal package I had never seen. Looked inside -- idiot lights, so it was a Base, not a Sport as advertised. Sales drone came out, got the keys and opened it up, and I started looking around. Popped the hood ... uh, oh! Me: I thought this was a 6-cylinder? Drone: It is. Me: Why are there only four spark plugs? You would not believe what followed. It was a 2.5L 4-banger, no question. There were the four (count em -- 4) spark plugs. This guy spent probably ten minutes looking at that engine, from both sides and every conceivable angle, trying to find the other two cylinders. He looked on both sides of the block, too, so he obviously didn't know that not all engines are Vee configuration. I finally put him out of his misery and told him the vehicle was obviously not a Sport, as they had advertised, and it clearly wasn't a 6-cylinder as they had advertised, so it wasn't worth what they were asking. I asked what they would take for it. Are you sitting down? "It was a six-cylinder Sport when we bought it, so that's what our price has to be based on." Yeah, right. And the evil Jeep engine elves sneaked onto the lot one night and stole the 6-cylinder engine right out of it.

Jeep Driver is correct: you don't "need" your own realtor. I still advise using one. If you buy the house, the selling agent and your agent split the fee -- if you don't have a realtor, the selling agent gets the whole fee. It doesn't cost you anything, and not having your own realtor doesn't save you anything. What I said about lawyers also applies to realtors. They can't serve two masters. The selling agent's job is to sell, and it's to his/her advantage to sell for the highest price possible. He/she is legally required to submit to the owner any offer you submit, but he/she is not required to recommend that the owner accept your offer. He/she is certainly NOT going to tell you that the house would probably sell for $x,xxx less than the asking price. So you want someone else, who is also knowledgeable about the area, to work with you during the period when you're deciding to submit an offer and deciding how much to offer. Many years ago, in a somewhat normal market, the standard little dance around here was to offer 10% less than the asking price and to expect a counter-offer for 5% less. But, when I young couple I knew was buying their first house, they listened to the seller's realtor and made their first offer at full asking price. Yes, it as accepted -- but could they have saved 5% or more? They'll never know. You also want to be sure that your offer includes the clauses and provisions that will protect you -- such as what happens if you don't get approved for the mortgage. Based on your information, you almost certainly will get approved ... but the provisions should be in there "just in case."

Welcome. Nice of your wife's grandfather to keep it in the family. My best advice is to drive it somewhat regularly for awhile until you get a sense of how reliable it is -- or isn't. It's now 33 years old, so unless the grandfather did it recently, my suggestion would be to start with a good round of preventive maintenance: replace all hoses and belts, flush the brake system with new brake fluid, inspect the brakes, etc. Don't start driving it to work unless/until you see that it's reliable. Try to use it as much as possible each weekend. Are ALL the dash lights out? Maybe they're turned off. The headlight switch rotates, and rotating it acts as the dimmer. One end of the rotation (sorry, don't recall which way) is OFF. Try rotating the headlight knob.

One further thought: I strongly recommend that you hire your own attorney to represent you at the closing (and to review the documents beforehand). The bank will have an attorney there, doing the same thing, so this sounds like it's a redundant expense. But ... you're getting into something that will literally affect the rest of your life. It's a canon of ethics in the legal professional that an attorney cannot represent two parties. The bank's attorney, ultimately, represents the bank. You need to have someone there who is specifically interested in protecting your interests.

In this case, we need to know the year and model of the truck, plus the year and model of the donor swap, plus exactly what came from the original vehicle and what was swapped in with the donor motor. As you pulled the old motor, did you carefully mark each wire and connector to be sure everything went back together the same way it came apart?

Driver's door has two wires. IIRC, passenger door only has one.

Basics: Step one is the apply for mortgage approval. It can be argued that there's no point applying for a mortgage if you don't have a property in mind, but you need to know how much the bank will let you borrow. That's based on your income, your credit load, and your credit history. Pick a bank, and talk to a loan officer about pre-approval. Once you know a bank will lend you the money, you need to make an offer on the house. Go through a real estate agent -- YOUR real estate agent. The paperwork is complex, and you shouldn't expect to understand it without help. When you make your offer, you will almost certainly want to include some escape provisions: One is if you can't obtain a mortgage, but you should already have that covered. Second is that the house has to pass a home inspection by a licensed (if your state licenses them -- most states do) home inspector. If the seller already has a home inspection report -- pay your own inspector to perform your own inspection -- I'll almost guarantee the two reports won't match. Any issues then become areas where you negotiate -- either the owner has the issues repaired by licensed and insured contractors, or the sale price is reduced by some $$$ to recognize that you'll have to fix these issues when you move in. Go to the city, town, or county building department and ask to review the file for the property. Ask if there are any unresolved ("open") violations of the building codes or other codes. If you saw evidence of recent repairs or alterations, or if the owner claims ____ was done recently ... look for the appropriate building permits, inspection reports, and certificates of approval. Year s ago I looked at a house such as you describe. I knew before even getting out of the car it was a bad deal, but my realtor insisted we go through it. The seller was a single woman. The problem was that her uncle of cousin was "helping" her get it ready for sale by "fixing" things. No permits, so no inspections. Fortunately/unfortunately, I'm an architect, and I've done some building. EVERYTHING her helpful relative touched was done wrong. We're talking roof shingles paid in the wrong pattern, doors hung that weren't square or plumb ... the list goes downhill from there. Building inspectors aren't perfect, but if there are permits and inspections, and the work is done by licensed contractors, at least you have some comfort level that the work might have been done mostly correctly. Be certain the house has a valid certificate of occupancy (unless it's old enough that the construction pre-dated issuance of certificates of occupancy in the jurisdiction). If there's no certificate of occupancy, ask the building department why not. My house is a good example: my parents had it built in 1950. Certificates of occupancy weren't issued in this town until 1970, when the state adopted a new building code. So -- I have a house that I know the construction and maintenance history of intimately, but there is no certificate of occupancy. In this case, not a problem. Title search: The bank will insist on this anyway, so both your realtor and the bank's lending officer can walk you through it. Also discuss buying title insurance. This protects you if there is a flaw in the title that the title search company misses. Good luck!

Shifting problems? I haven't heard of any shifting problems with them, but I don't hang out on "Jeep" forums, only on Comanche Club. But I used to spend a LOT of time at the dealership, in the parts room and jawing with the shop foreman. Never heard a single bad word about the 3550. As I mentioned, I have XJs or MJs with all three: The BA 10/5, the AX-15, and the 3550. If I had the money to make them all 3550s tomorrow, I would do it without a nanosecond's hesitation. It shifts MUCH better than either the BA 10/5 or the AX-15.

Sounds more to me like the clutch is not DISengaging.

Why did he replace the clutch pedal assembly, and what did he replace it with?

I'm late to the party. Sorry -- I've been sick. (VERY sick. Strep throat is no fun at 74 years of age.) I'm happy to see that the issue has been resolved. I would like to mention, however, that for future reference it would be helpful to use the correct terminology. Cranking IS "turning over," and turning over IS "cranking." They both refer to the condition where the engine is being rotated under power from the starter motor..

Drill? Batteries? You kids never cease to surprise me. Batteries - to drill holes. What'll you come up with next?

The replacement mirror glass inserts I've bought from friends who run a glass shop are glass only. The plastic "frame" stays in the mirror and the new glass is installed with mastic.