What have I done now?

[Needabeer]

New here. I'm just another grumpy old man that needed a project that will keep me in the garage near the beer fridge. A friend of mine had a 94 YJ sitting in his yard. After asking about it, I offered to buy it. It had been sitting for years and looked pretty rough. We agreed on a price and now it's in my garage. I will be going through it and trying to restore it to its former glory.

Here's what I know about it so far:

129,000 miles
2.5 4 cylinder
I have it running, and it runs good
2wd works, 4 high and 4 low seem to be working
Have driven it around the property, and seems to do well
Temp gauge not working
Dash lights not working
Front fenders are chopped and rounded
Heater core leaks
No real rust on body or frame

That's about all I know about it right now.

As stated above, I intend to get it back to good condition and use it as a daily driver. It got great bones, and mostly cosmetic issues.

Wish me luck.
Time for a beer!

 

[zebraranger]

Welcome to the forum. another old guy here, but I'm always trying not to be grumpy. That's a good find, and it does look to have good bones. Us old guys need to stay busy and fixing up older vehicles is a good way to do it. I have two that I've been working on over the past four or five years. The YJ has been pretty much done for a while, only needed a few things when I originally bought it. So I went on the hunt for a new project.

The 2nd vehicle, a 30 year old F-150 had quite a few mechanical issues and appearance issues since it was a farm truck its whole life. I've already finished with the mechanicals and have been working on its appearance now for the last four months. I've removed most of the dents and dings without damaging the side and tailgate paint. I had the roof, cowl and hood repainted since it had clear coat damage from the hot Florida sun.

 

[Needabeer]

Welcome to the forum. another old guy here, but I'm always trying not to be grumpy. That's a good find, and it does look to have good bones. Us old guys need to stay busy and fixing up older vehicles is a good way to do it. I have two that I've been working on over the past four or five years. The YJ has been pretty much done for a while, only needed a few things when I originally bought it. So I went on the hunt for a new project.

The 2nd vehicle, a 30 year old F-150 had quite a few mechanical issues and appearance issues since it was a farm truck its whole life. I've already finished with the mechanicals and have been working on its appearance now for the last four months. I've removed most of the dents and dings without damaging the side and tailgate paint. I had the roof, cowl and hood repainted since it had clear coat damage from the hot Florida sun.

Yup. My two "new" vehicles are a 93 Chevy short bed step side and a 01 F250 with the 7.3. it's clear coat is shot too from the Texas sun. I don't even much look under the hood of the wife's 23 Hyundai. I like the older stuff. So much easier to work on. I'll try to work on my grumpiness........

 

[Needabeer]

Spent the afternoon and 3 beers digging into it. Front roll bars out, windshield folded down, passenger seat and center console out. Very happy to find no real rust in pan or underneath. A/C unit and dash out are next on the list. Radio replacement and padded dash are must haves. Hoping to find wiring behind dash in good condition.

 

[Gilaguy23]

Wiring behind the dash in good cond? LOL..its a jeep. It was iffy when it rolled off the assembly line. Cluster grounds, cheap gauges, dirty corroded and loose connections all will have their way. Good luck, looks like a good start.

 

[MwEgg]

New here. I'm just another grumpy old man that needed a project that will keep me in the garage near the beer fridge. A friend of mine had a 94 YJ sitting in his yard. After asking about it, I offered to buy it. It had been sitting for years and looked pretty rough. We agreed on a price and now it's in my garage. I will be going through it and trying to restore it to its former glory.

Here's what I know about it so far:

129,000 miles
2.5 4 cylinder
I have it running, and it runs good
2wd works, 4 high and 4 low seem to be working
Have driven it around the property, and seems to do well
Temp gauge not working
Dash lights not working
Front fenders are chopped and rounded
Heater core leaks
No real rust on body or frame

That's about all I know about it right now.

As stated above, I intend to get it back to good condition and use it as a daily driver. It got great bones, and mostly cosmetic issues.

Wish me luck.
Time for a beer!

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View attachment 124562

I did the same thing you did! Only older and grumpier and mine has fenders but no stickers on hood. Most fun you can have because you can pack wife and grandkids and get in the breeze. Motorcycles are solo now and I feel safer. Since it drives take it to ATM and fill back with max withdrawals every week. Jeeps get very hungry. I got it on rubber in date, went through brakes, did rears and some lines, changed all fluids, watched 1000 videos, scoured forums, hours on factory wiring diagram and factory manual these forums have. Wiring forever project, did wiper and turn switches, cleaned repaired fuse box, repaired heater issue on and on, wired stereo and ready for a beer. No wait I’m tearing into fuel filter and tank as snow falls and temps head to singles. Maybe a warm Guinness. Enjoy,Mike

 

[MwEgg]

I discarded my AC because we only get in nineties. You will find the dash wiring a breeze. All screwed in, pack of Amazon leds will probably fix lights. I had issue with couple dead fuses.

 

[Wrangee]

Hi folks, here's one from another continent, I bought it three months ago in Germany and now it's in Croatia I'm taking it easy with the details, which are many, although overall it looks very good. Does anyone know where to find parts for yj in Europe? Thank you.

 

[Flyer58]

I discarded my AC because we only get in nineties. You will find the dash wiring a breeze. All screwed in, pack of Amazon leds will probably fix lights. I had issue with couple dead fuses.

Be advised many of the Amazon/eBay LED bulbs only work when the electricity is flowing in one direction. If the bulb doesn't seem to work, take it out and turn it half way around, that should do it.

It's a 50/50 shot getting it right the first time. Reading the one star reviews and you'll see lots of complaints.

Also, if you have a check engine light you may see it dimly glow all the time. This is normal as that circuit always has a slight amount of power going through it. The regular light bulb won't glow with such low power.