2WD XJ Adventures

[XwalkerX]

so while im new to the OB forums i have had an ongoing thread regarding the XJ on a cherokee forum so i can just include the previous info from those threads here...

anyway my GF turned in her mini cooper a month ago and we were looking for suitable replacements that she would be interested in and shockingly she suggested an older cherokee. so i searched and searched within the local 200 mile range and was astonished at the price these 4WD jeeps command. (typically 175-200k miles and kinda beat up for $6-8k)

i managed to track down a pretty clean example that wasnt used in much of an off road capacity. it wasnt an ideal choice since we were looking for 4WD but for half the price and the fact it would be used as a daily driver/commuter 90% of the time we decided to give it a go.

99 XJ sport 2WD
149k miles

this one did need a bit of TLC but had a really great list of recent work including:

new radiator & electric fan
head gasket
oil pan gasket
rear main seal
valve cover gasket
transmission output seal
front and rear brakes
3 new tires (2 rears are mounted and i have 1 loose new tire but someone stole the 4th tire the PO bought before he could get them installed)

bright side:
power windows and locks work
all doors open and shut smooth (no body twist)
ac works
really clean interior
cruise control works

pics from the initial FS post

 

[XwalkerX]

So we ended up picking it up and of course the AC wasn't working and it was throwing a CEL but a quick search and found it was literally just changing a fuse

So no more CEL.
AC is ice cold.

Replaced a headlight ballast
Replaced the buggered up battery terminals
Threw on a cheapo light bar with windshield mount ($89 via Amazon)
Wired the light bar to the factory fog switch
eBay roof rack ($112)
Installed some low milage take off XJ Rubicon shocks ($25)
Raised the rear to highest setting on the shackles. (the leafs are clearly tired and will need to be addressed at some point)

 

[XwalkerX]

then we decided to take our first camping trip in it that weekend.
went to Joshua Tree National Park and it performed great.

found an abandoned truck on a trail in the park

sunset at barker dam on Sat

waking up Sunday on BLM land north of the park

Jumbo Rocks

Desert Queen Mine

found a couple of mines we could get into...didnt go very far since its 100 years old and creepy AF

Sunset at Keys View on Sunday

and of course...

 

[XwalkerX]

the following weekend for New Years we took a trip to Red Rock Canyon State Park area.

Ditched the 32" mud terrain setup for some 31" all terrain tires on some American Racing wheels
Did some reading about the Burro Schmidt Tunnel and Walt Bickel Mining Camp on BLM land a bit north of the park.
It was roughly 10 miles of very light 4WD trails with no problems at all. Mostly just light rocky climbs and loose sand in the wash areas., either way the 2WD XJ did great


set up camp Sat near the Schmidt cabin
Burro Schmidt campsite by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Schmidt Cabin (Schmidt spent 38 years digging a 1/2 mile long tunnel through solid granite with only hand tools and dynamite)
Burro Schmidt's cabin by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Red Rock Canyon State Park
Red Rock canyon State Park by XwalkerX, on Flickr


stopped to explore a few ghost towns nearby.
this is whats left of Garlock, CA
Garlock by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Garlock by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Garlock by XwalkerX, on Flickr



then went to go check out Randsburg, CA
this town isnt as deserted as the ruins in Garlock. i would say there are about 20 "homes" around the area and a general store and a saloon.
Randsburg by XwalkerX, on Flickr

Randsburg jail museum
Randsburg jail by XwalkerX, on Flickr



Sunday we decided to switch it up and climb in elevation. turned off rt395 and headed up to the Inyo/Sequoia national forest.
found a great campsite near Kennedy Meadows.
Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr


Kennedy Meadows by XwalkerX, on Flickr




overall we had a great new years holiday weekend. couldnt be more smitten with the XJ purchase. :wave::thumbup::heart:

 

[XwalkerX]

bought some maintenance goodies last week so we can just establish a baseline for some stuff...

trans service kit with shift solenoids and filter

rear wheel bearings

and the one im most excited about :D

spartan

oh and some misc camping stuff too

 

[XwalkerX]

so kinda bummed cause the locker didnt come in Sat when it was supposed to...once again USPS only delivering false expectations on time

we made due with what we had so i helped the gf as i walked her through how to change the transmission filter and shift solenoids.


got the trans pan off easier than expected
(was reading about how the 2 piece dip stick tube can be a pain to get off)

walking her through what we would be doing

old solenoids

new solenoids on

random RTV pic

the job was really simple and took maybe an hour from start to finish.
truck certainly shifts much smoother and now we know it will be set for quite some time.
:)

 

[XwalkerX]

Mondays project was changing out the old u joints for some new spicer ones

old ones out

new ones in

buttoning everything back up

pretty quick job. walked the gf through the whole thing and done in about an hour.*

 

[roaminglost]

yeeeee you made it over to the forums.

 

[Ryan Ewbank]

Very awsome...!
Member 7092

Sent from my SM-N920V using OB Talk mobile app

 

[XwalkerX]

hope you guys are ready for a huge photo dump from this past weekend

thursday before we left for Death Valley we did some service work to the jeep...and of course i made sure the GF got her hands dirty

-rear wheel bearings/seals
-spartan locker
-pick up coil/cam position sensor
-distributor cap and rotor

 

[XwalkerX]

anyway now on to the fun stuff

we left long beach thursday nite and rolled into Ballarat.
this time we went with another couple and their brand new GC


waking up friday morning in Ballarat

planning the route for the day

from what i read i believe this was one of the two power wagons the manson family used to get back to Barker Ranch

heading down to Goler Wash

Goler Wash pics (locker certainly came in handy in a few parts)

stopped at what looked to be an old mining camp

finally made it to the ranch

where they found a certain someone hiding under a bathroom sink

found the other power wagon...

and the junkyard!

stopped to plink off a few rounds with the winchester

 

[XwalkerX]

entering DVNP

Dantes View at sunset

Badwater Basin

notice the sea level sign...

Ubehebe Crater

and after hiking up from the bottom we needed a bit of a break

heading to the racetrack we of course had to get a pic at teakettle junction

looking out from the grandstand at the racetrack

set up camp that nite a few miles south at a backcountry dry camp

morning view

made it back to the racetrack for sunrise

a few drone shots on the long "road" back to pavement

 

[XwalkerX]

so havent updated this in a while...

found a deal on spark plugs and wires so pulled out the plugs that were in the jeep and saw that they were all gapped around .060 (YIKES!)
so went with the spec'd Champion plugs and proper gap of .035

before the Death Valley trip we experienced a strange no start and a code for pick up coil/crank position but before that trip nobody had a crank sensor in stock so i just changed the pick up coil and its been fine....
HOWEVER im OCD so i also picked up a new crank position sensor but have yet to install because in addition to being OCD i am also LAZY

so thats the ignition side...

on to the fun stuff.(SARCASM)
we kept getting this strange vibration under lockup around 45mph.
i was exploring the possibility of it being anything but transmission issues.
because of course that just sucks the wind out of anyone's sails.
Of course after a trip to a transmission shop...and to another for a second opinion it was confirmed that it was the torque converter lock up causing a shuddering and in addition to that every shop wanted to do a full rebuild of the AW4 ...PASS on that idea
so after calling a billion local shops i found one that would change out the converter for a reasonable labor price ($350)
new converter and new front pump seal and the truck has been driving fabulous since.

well kinda...
when we picked it up from the shop we noticed a strange rattle at idle in D when at a stop light/sign
after hunting it down i saw the drivers side motor mount broken...prob just a casualty of not properly bracing the engine when dropping the trans but whatever it was a $15 part so i order up 2 new mounts and a new trans mount

trans mount went in really quick with no issues...then on to tackle the broken drivers side
after about an hour of cursing, trying to get the bolts back in and getting mud & 20 years of road grime on my face (somehow all of it ends up behind my glasses falling into my eyes or in my mount/nose) the mount is done, blah.

ask me if i have done the passenger side mount yet? ...

see told ya LAZY!

 

[XwalkerX]

went on a quick trip to Los Padres National Forest area last thursday and friday (the GF just started a new job and those are her days off...kind of a bummer but we are making it work)

first stop was Chumash Painted Cave State Park

looking out at the Pacific just past San Marcos (you can see the Channel Island NP in the distance)

Next stop was Knapps Castle which is just an abandoned Castle in the LPNF

after that we headed over to the Davy Brown Campground in LPNF where we would be spending the night.
thankfully it was pretty much deserted and we had a nice choice of sites available to us.

the next morning we took Figueroa Mountain Rd out of the park and headed into Solvang for lunch (didnt take any pictures but its certainly a tourist trap. google it if you arent familiar)

our final stop was Nojoqui Falls State Park
pretty neat little waterfall but nothing more than a little tickle right now but i bet after a decent rain it gets flowing pretty good
lots of weird hollow trees leading up to the falls...big enough for a tiny korean

overall it was a nice relaxing trip...until the drive home on the 101.
ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

this weekend i may actually do the other motor mount and crank position sensor i have been neglecting.
i also have to order a new radiator since ours cracked slightly at the overflow junction and JB weld isnt sealing it.
Autozone has a lifetime warranty radiator for $106 and once they come back with the save $25 on $100 coupon ill prob order that up.

also i know i know the rear leafs are sagging HARD but i think this stuff is more important than the rear susp at the moment.

 

[Derek50]

Looks great man! Just goes to show you overlanding isn't about the vehicle, but how you use the one you've got.

What size tires did you have on it in the first post? Any lift or trimming? Sorry if you posted something about it and I missed it.

 

[Tim N Michele Davis]

Great Jeep, beautiful Girlfriend, and fantastic adventures, You, my friend are a blessed man!

 

[dirtnsmores]

Awesome adventures. Hope you are still having some good ones with this XJ