98 grand cherokee laredo 4.0l

[behr]

morning everyone. embarking on a project to revitalize my first ride ever, my 98 jeep grand cherokee laredo. dad let me use it when i turned 16 and gave it to me when i graduated. his name is alejandro. i love him dearly.

was hoping i could get some pointers on a couple things.

1. shocks/coils - are these items i can replace from a junkyard? i dont think theyve ever been replaced, and hes up to 120k. $$ is a factor, i dont really WANT to pay 50 a shock and 40 a coil (or whatever the prices were i researched), but id be more than happy to if i HAVE to.

2. alignment - (happened because of wreck)i was in a wreck 10.07. most of him is fixed now (right rear panel is a lil messed up and hatch wont open because of...something. i dont know, ill ask about that soon enough.) but steering wheel is WAY off. going straight down the road the wheel is oriented 90 degrees to the right. im planning on a five year alignment package from tire kingdom and just wanted to make sure that this would fix it. upon inspection, several mechanics mentioned nothing in the steering was bent, so im hoping its just the alignment.

3. lift gate - (happened because of wreck)it wont open. when i hit the right rear panel, it mustve jarred his lift gate to the left and smashed the latch or something. trying to open the lift gate yields no results, not even resistance on the latch. just feels like its not connected to anything. i need you guys to tell me if theres any way to replace this without just swapping the whole tailgate. i was hoping the latch assembly can be undone and replaced once its open but i cant remember what it looks like. and the only way i can think to get it open is to dremel off the bolts that are holding the metal latch clasp to the bottom of the jeep.

4. transmission - (was occurring before wreck)he has problem shifting into (what i think is) 4th. sometimes i can trick him to shift by throwing him in neutral at 45mph and 2.5k rpm and then switching to drive again. sometimes i cant. sometimes he doesnt have any problem at all. just wondering if anyone had any similar experiences

5. cruise control - (was occurring before wreck)his poor cruise control has been messed up for a while now, ill set it and about every 30 seconds he will jump up a couple hundred rpm. extremely unsettling and i never use cruise control anymore.

thanks so much for your help guys. sorry if anything is not well explained, ill try better but just wanted to get everything out on a post

brad

 

[TerryMason]

Welcome Brad. That's a long list of stuff, and sounds like a good project.

1. First - are you sure they need replacing? If you go over a bump, does your car bounce 2 or 3 times? If so, you can replace the shocks and see if that fixes it. This is not a necessity, but makes for a nicer ride. Don't use junk yard shocks, they are probably worn out. Just go to your local parts store and get a quote on shocks, or try www.quadratec.com. If replacing this stuff, you may choose to lift your Jeep now (if you'd like).

2. Is your alignment off, or is the steering wheel just rotated? It sounds like you just need to pop the steering wheel off, turn it the right way, and put it back on. It's not very hard (although I've never done it on a Grand Cherokee). Normally steering wheels are held on by a large nut. Loosen the nut, pop off wheel, and replace the wheel.

3. Is this an electric release, or handle?

4. Have you tried changing the transmission fluid? Not really a fix, but sometimes it helps.

5. Is this related to number 4? Is cruise control trying to shive into 4th?

 

[behr]

thanks for the response!

1. whenever i go over a speed bump at 4-5 mph theres a HUGE back and forth swaying. i also went offroad (unpaved land, not mudding or moab type stuff) recently and its almost like little cases of whiplash sometimes, so does that mean the shocks or the coils need replaced? shocks i take it since thats what your mentioned. and do coils need to be replaced at all/ever(if im not trying to put a lift kit on)? also, since hes not my daily driver, i dont want to put the best stuff on him, since i dont have the extra funds to either, but the cheaper shocks i saw were bright yellow. is that normal? why wouldnt they just be black like the stock? oh well.

2. im not sure, but i know that when i put my right turn signal on, i can turn the wheel about a quarter of a turn before it clicks off. when its left turn signal i have to make MORE than a normal turn on the steering wheel before it shuts off. also it feels like it stops turning on one side sooner than the other, so i just assumed it was alignment.

3. it has an electric lock, but to open it you have to use a latch.

4. no, though i have a gasket scraper and new gasket stuff, i just never got around to it. i will have to schedule that soon

5. no, im in top gear and interstate speeds when i used the cruise (65mph at 2krpm)