Recently decided to step up my daily driver to something more "mature" and AWD to help with the Cleveland winters. Looked at a handful of YJ Jeeps and found a common theme; rusted through frames. Then, I happened upon this:

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/2557527143.html

At first, I was a bit skeptical, but decided to give it a look. It's legit. He has all the paperwork for the recent work done. He just drove it down from Vermont (like 700 miles from here). It drives *great* except for two problems I noticed.

1. Clunking in the front end on mild bumps.
Was thinking tie rod, or struts.
Front end feels tight though. Steering isn't loose, wheel is straight.

2. Clutch stuck to the floor once, luckily not while driving.
He has some really obtrusive floor mats that I was thinking might have contributed, but then I started lurking here. Seems that might be a problem with the slave cylinder.

Other than that and a minor exhaust leak, it's a bitchin' ride for the price.

So, what I'm asking for is, opinions. I think it's a great ride. I'm not big on the color, but at least the interior is black, not beige. The work that *might* need to be done too it doesn't look too major, so I'm not worried about that.

Also, I can't f'in believe that it only has *one* rust spot. Wow, Audi, just wow.

 

http://www.12v.org

its for CQ but worth to check it
http://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42220

 

I'll check this out as well. Thanks!

 

"Recently had timing belt, serpentine belt, and water pump replaced."

There's about $900 of your $1200 right there.

If this car were in Milwaukee, it would be in my driveway waiting for rainy days and winter... and my S70 would be missed.

The front end chatter when the ride feels tight... usually, that's about 2,000 miles after new pads get put on the front. The clip springs stay true to the factory tension, but German engineers just assume you get new rotors every time you get pads. So, the pads sit "down" into the rotors, the spring clips don't compensate, and you chatter when you go over light bumps.

The reason why you don't chatter over bigger bumps? Be cause you can see bigger bumps so your foot is on the brakes. Pull the front pads, bend a bit more tension into the spring clips, shim the pads if necessary, and put a healthy dollup of purple-fade silicone grease back there to "stick" it all together.

You won't hear any more chatter.

 

Bitchin' thanks

Well, it should be in my drive way this evening, waiting for rainy days and winter

Helluva tip, I'll get right on that. Thanks!

 

If that doesn't fix the front end noise you may need to replace the suspension components.

I purchased a 93 90q last year and have had to replace the struts, control arm bushings etc. it made a HUGE difference in the ride of the car.

 

Drove it again today. A bit disappointed this time around.

Got on the highway and once we got up to 60ish, the check engine light came on? It turned off once we slowed down.

The other thing I noticed is that the ABS light is on constantly. That could just be a sensor or something, I'm assuming.

Most importantly, I kept noticing a faint smell of burning oil, and a valve tick (even after warming up).

The temp gage didn't seem to work either, it never left C. Also, is the gas gauge a floater? It kept on fluctuating.

One last thing, it seems to have an exhaust, seems like a manifold leak/hole. Is that common/easily fixable?

Some opinions on the above would be great. He has to order a duplicate title, so I've got a week or so to mull it over.

 

Perhaps it would be helpful if you could decide whether the apparent issues are minor; or not.

My major concerns would be accident damage and evidence of proper care.

The CEL is translatable into actual trouble codes, see procedure at 12v.org. Sounds like you may have time to fetch it.

The ABS light could be as simple as a defective sensor. Read some at (old style) 20v.org.

Oil fumes in cabin can be the result of leaks, of which these engines have and are oft discussed on the forums and the sister forum here at "12v V6 Dicussion".

The valve tick <i>could be</i> the result of low oil level, lack of oil change frequency, or even wrong viscosity.

An exhaust leak might be a simple fix, but a good muffler shop would probably give you a free estimate as to what was involved , if you ask them nicely. It might also allow you a better look underneath the car.

The gauges could be just the gauges, their senders, the power sent to them, or they could be pointing to other issues. Which temp gauge?

Back to my first point, you need to decide if it is a keeper. You may read about all the items on your list by using the search function here. Perhaps you cold find someone to give you an independent assessment of the vehicle, (preferably someone with nothing else to sell you)?

At this price, for it to be a deal, you may have to do some serious research and wrenching to really capture the value of the vehicle and make it worthwhile. Many here have done exactly that. It can be very satisfying, do you enjoy driving the car? As a performance vehicle, it's abilities may forever surpass any of ours. It might be worth a call to the garage that did the work for the receipts you have, ask them about the car in general, and about your list. There are going to be things you won't uncover until you know the car better. An older vehicle needs a knowledgeable owner to best maintain it, could that be you?

At $1200.00, it may not get much cheaper before it's gone. Will it pass a safety check and emissions check (if applicable)? Are you a D-I-Y-er, or could you be? Do you have a place where you can do work? Certainly even for experienced owners, having forums like this to look back through old conversations to gather others experience is invaluable, and usually more than what we bought the car for.

 

Skip this car. The mileage is too high and has too many problems. Keep searching, take your time, for a little more money you can find a car on much lower mileage and without any of these problems. These cars are cheap, only a few hundred dollars separate a good one from a bad one.

 

Sounds like a $600 car to me...