Wow...what an amazing resource!

[Bitta]

I just got my baby back. I bought her in 1993 off the showroom floor as my Happy 25th Bday to me present. Didn't even know how to drive a stick at the time and had to get my Dad to teach me how to drive my brand new toy. I sold her to my Dad at trade-in when I had to get something bigger. After he passed away, my Mom said she wanted me to have the Jeep back. It took her 7 years to be ready to see his parking spot in the driveway empty and when she was, she called me to the courthouse out of the blue to do the transfer. My Dad's stuff was still in there and shockingly it still smelled a little like him. It hadn't even been started since he died until I came to pick it up. We put some gas in it and jumped it off and got it the 4 miles down the road to my place...leaking gas at the filler tube all the way. The rubber is totally cooked and I'm not even sure where to start, I just know I want to get her going. Whether I try to do the work myself, or have it done doesn't really matter. I've never tackled anything like it before, but the thing has to be pretty simple compared to what's on the road today.

I would appreciate pointers on what I should have done professionally and what I can reasonably do by myself. I know she was almost ready for a clutch job when Daddy was driving her and sometimes she was hesitant about shifting down into 1st, so she's gotta have that done. How would I know if I need an engine rebuild? I'm guessing everything is all gunked up in there so do I have the engine rebuilt to get it cleaned up? I have no idea what shape the suspension is in. I'm short, so any kind of big lift job is outta the question. I understand I need to address all the mechanical stuff before I worry about her looking pretty. Any suggestions on where to start or who in the Dallas/Fort Worth area I could take her to to get her safely on the road?

 

[machoheadgames]

What you can do reasonably yourself is virtually anything on a YJ with some learning. The hindrance comes down to having the tools to do each thing you want to do. Tools are not cheap and you need a lot of them to get around on a Jeep.

I would definitely suggest to start looking into learning how the whole Jeep works overall and how to fix things though because taking a YJ to a shop to fix every problem on it due to age/mileage is going to absolutely murder your wallet. It's one of the easiest vehicles to work on but shops will still upcharge as they do. For the leaky filler hose, you can just buy those at pretty much any parts store or jeep catalog website. Simple change that is just hose clamps holding it in place.

As for the engine, change the oil and drive it a bit. after the new oil is in there, drive it some more and rev it out a bit. Driving it hard will help clean the inside of the cylinders to get rid of the carbon buildup that may be in there. I would definitely not drive it on the current oil, change it first. Open the oil filler cap and look inside, see if there's any gunk in there on top of the engine.

Suspension is pretty obvious by looking at. If the leaf springs look like they're inverted, then they're sagging. Otherwise they're basically completely flat when stock. If the shocks are original, they are almost guaranteed not doing much to help the ride quality anymore.

Change the oil, drive it a bit, rev it out a few times and come back. You likely don't need an engine strictly because it's been sitting a while. Don't baby it. These engines can handle high rpm for long periods of time without breaking a sweat. I regularly push mine to 4500-5000 rpm. It's loud but doesn't hurt anything. Although definitely change the oil and check for gunk up top before you do that.

 

[Chris]

Well first and foremost, welcome to the forum! Secondly, be sure to post photos! It sounds like your YJ has been in the family all this time (which is rare), and I'd love to see photos.

In terms of what you should do yourself, I think it depends on how competent you are as a mechanic and the tools you have (and skills).

In terms of needing an engine rebuild a compression test and leak down test is where you'd want to start there. See what numbers you get on those tests and it will tell you quite a bit about the health of your engine.

A good place to start is replacing the spark plugs, O2 sensors, cooling system, u-joints, ball joints, and suspension.