terrawombat

This is humorous as this is basically what I'd much rather be doing. I'm 25, college grad with an ME degree and working for a small firm down the road from my house. I used to buy cars/trucks with engine/trans issues, fix them on the cheap and resell them for (sometimes) a nice little profit. I loved getting my hands dirty and I loved the satisfaction of bringing an otherwise dead vehicle back to life and being my own boss was the best part of it. Now I answer to a higher-up and have to deal with all kinds of BS from contractors, subcontractors, and clients on the various multi-million dollar projects I'm managing. It has gotten incredibly annoying and tedious, but I can't complain about the steady paycheck and the medical insurance.

What would you be buying this vehicle for?

No, we're just too lazy ;)

The title of this thread made me laugh out loud.

There's no need to Jerry-rig this thing yet. You still haven't confirmed that the plastic bulb sockets are bad. You have the exact same symptoms as others have had when their bulb sockets were bad. They're not hard to replace, either and the parts are readily available at most parts stores. You snip off the old sockets and crimp on the new ones. I don't remember the exact part number is needed, but I think the ones for the front turn signals were the same as the Ford replacement sockets. Buying new sockets would probably be cheaper and easier than this "hot rod" turn signal setup, anyway.

The amount of information you've provided is staggering. Please give me a moment to process it and I'll get back to you with an answer.

Anyone want to shed some info on the piece? Looks to be from a pre-1950's Willy's Wagon?

Glad to see they finally have a way of ordering their products online. Not so happy that they're charging more for their products online, though - perhaps has to do with the e-bay listing fees these days (which are ridiculous), but they could easily setup an online shopping cart on their website. I don't mind calling to order a product, but it's so much easier to do it online and then I'll at least have an electronic record of it.

I couldn't physically see that my plastic bulb sockets were bad. When I pulled the bulbs out and looked down the hole, all looked well, but my turn signals would not blink, they would just stay lit. I went ahead and replaced the front two bulb sockets anyway and that did the trick...I now have flashing turn signals! I never bothered to cut open the original sockets, but I bet if I did, I would have seen some nasty corrosion and poor connections.

You just don't have the right toolbox: http://www.lowes.com/pd_112374-55738-LW ... dentifier=

The spray gasket remover that I use is a clearish, nasty liquid. It'll burn if it touches your skin. To get rid of the sludge in the pan - use gasoline, kerosene, or diesel. I have a parts washer filled with kerosene that I've been using for the last three years to clean some of the nastiest, oiliest crud on the planet. I really need to drain it, clean it and refill but I can't complain about the price vs. effectiveness vs. longevity of the stuff.

What are these self-serve pumps you all speak of? You mean you guys have to pump your own GAS? I leave all my gas pumping to the professionals...I wouldn't want to screw that up and have something like this happen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXaYj33F0A

So that's what the adapter was for when I bought my radiator...I didn't need to use it on my '01XJ...probably still have it lying around somewhere. Can check for you when I get home if you can't find one.

I've had good luck with the 'gasket remover' spray you can get at most auto parts stores. On really old gaskets, it will soften them up enough where you can use a gasket scraper to get a layer of gasket off. I then will apply another coating of gasket remover and repeat the process. I've also used the paint stripper spray can that's call 'aircraft stripper' when I ran out of the other stuff. I think it's basically the same stuff.

Got a power, heated passenger mirror for a '99XJ from RockAuto. Ran about $50 and don't remember what shipping was, but I had a bunch of other odds and ends in that order. A bit on the expensive side, but I needed it ASAP.

I'd be weary about something that you dump into your oil that plugs up holes. What does it do when it enters oil galleys and passageways? Plug those up too? Would be interesting to watch your oil pressure skyrocket as all small passages get plugged up. Experiment on a Honda first ;)

What is it with green '00-'01XJs getting banged up in the front and sold on the cheap these days? viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24563

Only 178K? So it's just about broken in ;) This post got me to wanting to get another cheap 97+ XJ (I picked up my '01XJ with 154K miles on it for $400). I found an '01XJ Limited with 33K (That is NOT a typo) for $1500. It was apparently hit in the rear pretty good, but maybe now I'll have a use for the rear of my '98XJ donor for my MJ?

They don't use aluminum because it's better at dissipating heat, they use it because it's cheaper. And in the racing world, it's lighter and lighter=better.

I also have a Pioneer with painted flares and front air dam. Also doesn't have the "typical" Pioneer logo, but that's only because it's an Olympic edition and those got their own special decal, which I actually really like...much more than the hockey stick Pioneer emblem.

After a 20th revisit of the picture, I think you may be right. I also checked out some TJ Canyon's again as I thought their spokes were much wider than the ZJ Canyon's. In any event, we all know way too much about Jeep rims ;)

Looks easily reparable. How many miles are on it? I absolutely love my '01 XJ as a DD and will run it into the ground before I give it up.

Oh, I could go on and on about the arbitrary rejection of paperwork at Motor Vehicles. My most recent case was with my '91 Wrangler I picked up from a friend of a co-worker. The PO couldn't find the title and had to get one reissued to him. He told me things couldn't have gone smoother...he showed up with an old registration card, his license, $60 and he was out the door in 10 minutes with a brand new title ready to be signed over to me. I never felt so confident walking into a DMV knowing that I had all of my paperwork and everything was legit and signed in the proper place only to be rejected by an older, pig-nosed woman dressed in a racy outfit who held her chin up high like she was hot $#!&. Her reason? She didn't believe the mileage was correct and was altered by me because one of the numbers looked darker than the others. End result: Use vacation time from work to meet with the previous owner so that we could go to a bank and have a written odometer statement signed and notarized. I then had to leave work early the next day to make it to the DMV to finally get my new title.

I've done it on a car or two with no questions asked. The only thing that I was worried about was that the price on my 'hopscotched' title was real, real low and I knew they were going to send me a letter asking me to pay more tax on it according to the NADA book value. Someone once told me that they also send a letter to the previous owner of the car (and on a 'hopscotched' title, that's the previous previous owner) asking to verify that the price of the sale was correct. This document also lists the person whom the title is being transferred to, so if they remember who they sold it to and they see your name, it might be odd. However, I have received two such letters asking for more tax money on a couple of Jeeps I've purchased in the last year and neither PO of the vehicles got anything in the mail from the state...just me. I say go for it...you'll be fine. The only thing that will happen is that the state will be pissed they didn't collect tax from the previous owner, but I certainly wouldn't tell them you 'hopscotched' it because they'll likely ask you to get the PO to transfer the title just for the tax dollars they get.

They're definitely NOT Ravines. I'm also not convinced they are TJ Canyons, either. I'm with 88Pioneer on the ZJ Canyon-like rim.