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Would you or wouldn't you consider this MJ?


nikwashere
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Local seller with a 1990 Eliminator 4x4 manual.

very clean, no rust, Colorado owned.

2nd owner bought 2k ago from original owner. Was his 2nd MJ after original was totaled. 

Original owner lived in CO, worked on east coast and drove it back and forth with camper. Mostly highway miles. Underneath does not looked abused.

It currently has 335,800miles

Has an oil leak, likely rear main.

The wipers aren't working properly and when the brights go on, the wipers go on. 

Blinkers seem slow, if blinking at all. 

Noticed wetness on the rear diff when looking from the back. He wasn't aware of any leaks. 

Did a small neighborhood test drive, nothing above 30mph, didn't notice anything bad. 

Owner recently replaced some vacuum pump hoses and something behind the grill at the bottom, drivers side, can't remember what he said. 

Willing to go to $3k with original wheels.

 

At this mileage, is it worth considering, or a catastrophe waiting to happen? 

IMG_3800.JPG

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I'd be weary of the fuse box at the firewall - the clutch master cylinder may be/have been leaking on it causing damage to the plastic and allowing for the electrical gremlins you described about the blinkers, wipers and headlights........  Or it could be the turn signal switch/high beam switch assembly in the steering column going bad.

 

With that many miles, I'd definitely road test it on the highway and look for some uphill areas...... that engine could be pretty tired and a 30mph around the block drive isn't gonna reveal much.  Also at highway speeds, you may find other things like bump steer/death wobble, whining from the trans or rear end, lifter clatter, lack of power to maintain speed uphill or to pass..... 

 

These things are holding value when they're not rusty and are straight..... even with mechanical wear, a good straight bodied MJ will fetch that $3k asking price.  

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Would. Three things make an MJ valuable to me - solid, straight, stock. Worn out parts can be fixed. I've replaced a fusebox on a manual truck with less than half the miles. It's not that bad of a job - just "liberate" a fusebox out of an automatic XJ. Unless it's been meticulously cared for I would expect some fusebox damage.

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It depends how mechanical you are and what you expect from the truck.

 

It has over 300000 miles.  The engine might just spin a bearing tomorrow, or the tranny might grenade a gear, or the D35 rear end might blow itself into 50000000 pieces.

 

And yes, the electrical oddities might lead to needing a fusebox.  Or just cleaning some contacts/chasing grounds/etc.  I wouldn't be worried personally, but I've wired vehicles from scratch.

 

Also, there's no vacuum pump on that truck.  He probably replaced some vacuum hoses and the reservoir though.  Most likely the heat wasn't working anymore...

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Definitely agree with the above, buy it.  None of the "problems" mentioned are scary.  Even if things go bad, parts are fairly cheap and easy to replace on these.  Like said before, if it's clean and straight, it's worth every penny. 

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11 minutes ago, Dzimm said:

Definitely agree with the above, buy it.  None of the "problems" mentioned are scary.  Even if things go bad, parts are fairly cheap and easy to replace on these.  Like said before, if it's clean and straight, it's worth every penny. 

 

Yep, this.

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Do you feel up to fixing the things you cited as a concern? I bought an MJ in similar condition for less $ and far fewer miles, but I was patient and stalked CL and FB for a long time. Are you in a hurry? I would consider the replacement costs of all of the items you're concerned about along with the purchase price and if you're OK with that number go for it. If you find one for a bit more that has fewer issues consider that too.

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1 hour ago, Skorpyo said:

Do you feel up to fixing the things you cited as a concern? I bought an MJ in similar condition for less $ and far fewer miles, but I was patient and stalked CL and FB for a long time. Are you in a hurry? I would consider the replacement costs of all of the items you're concerned about along with the purchase price and if you're OK with that number go for it. If you find one for a bit more that has fewer issues consider that too.

This is definitely a good thing to do but make sure you do research on what kind of condition these trucks are in in your area.  For me in Central Iowa, if it has a straight and clean body, you pick it up or you'll be buying from out of state. 

 

In general these aren't usually found with a good clean body anymore and when you come across one, you have the money, and are willing to do some work, it's a good idea to pick it up.  

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I have an MJ with roughly that many miles. If I can get my $#!& together in the next month or so I'm about to drop $2000 to put new steel into the rockers and cab corners. Sure things are worn out... But try replacing it for that money? Ain't gonna happen. Yeah some stuff happened after I bought it with high miles, but you sort out what's worn out and keep going. After working through my issues the only thing I'm afraid to do is body work. I'd just as soon so it right the first time (it's been done once by a previous owner and that worked out so well...). I wouldn't say I'd kill for a rust-free MJ... But at that price...

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It’s the fuel system that makes the HO’s power. The first few years at least of HO cam is just the Renix one with the timing retarded 7 degrees IIRC. That pushed the torque band high in RPM and cut the VE% (volumetric efficiency) to reduce ping so they could get rid of the EGR valve.

Result? A little less oomph off the line but that was counteracted by a larger bore throttle body and bigger injectors with reduced timing advance in the ECU (except high altitude rigs).

The injectors are sized to waste up to 20% of it’s fuel to run the catalytic converter to get clean numbers low on NOx numbers.

 

Want more power from a Renix rig? HO injectors do a lot, but you won’t pass as many gas stations!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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