REPAIRS AND MODS
For my black 2001 XJ Classic , I did spend money on bushings , bearings and sensors straight away to keep it trouble-free , but it was cheap for most parts and very simple to work on .
About $ 2500 in parts later ( mostly bought direct from the US ), the cooling system was renewed , the troublesome ( after a certain age ) engine sensors replaced , most suspension bushes were replaced and a new exhaust system and cold-air intake were fitted . The biggest cost was the rear Dana D35 rear diff .
Known for having problems , mine was getting noisy . So $ 1500 for a new axle ( the bearing chewed though the hardening of the old one ) and a re-built centre ( the spider gears had all but self-destructed ) and the noise went away .
With lots of long-distance towing planned , a Long Range Automotive 125L replacement fuel tank and ECB bull bar were fitted . That tank was great – it was ruggedly built ( I ’ d grounded it on offroad tracks a few times ) and it didn ’ t splash back fuel like the standard 76L tank did . Of course fuel range was much better , up to nearly 1000km when driving unladen , or 550km when towing .
I owned the Jeep for about two years and did about 20,000km , most of that long-distance towing . It was stable , had pretty good towing performance and I actually found it comfortable . The interior was a practical shape for loading gear , too .
Even better was when I ’ d arrive at a location , dropped off the van and went adventuring , all the compact offroad goodness came to the fore . Not only could it be parked almost anywhere , even in bigger towns , it would cope easily on narrow bush tracks .
RUSTY ROOF
Travelling up to Airlie Beach , Qld , one winter , I noticed that the engine did get on the warm side and while it never overheated , its cooling system never seemed a totally well-engineered design .
Ultimately , the rusty roof was the let down , even though I had cleaned up the rust and filled with body filler . The body filler cracked ,
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