To Keep the Jeep or Not to Keep the Jeep? HELP!

[Metalmorphoses]

Hey, all!

I've got a 1987 Jeep Cherokee that's at my parents' place in Southern California.
I moved about two and a half years ago to Portland, Oregon.
It was my first car, got her when I was 17. Got a straight 6 in it, and other than a mysterious electrical problem, it's a solid vehicle.
My dad can't seem to figure out what the issue is, which is rare. He's pretty much a car guru, so we're at a loss.
It can't pass smog, so it can't get registered, and according to the city of Buena Park, he's got until the 21st to make it disappear as it can't be on the street, nor anywhere else on his own property, :x so it has to go into storage for no, which is expensive ($100/mo.+)

Since I got it, I've wanted to turn it into an adventure vehicle.

To ship it up here would be $650 at the least (it's not driveable on freeways, I'll get to that in a minute), if it was driveable I'd have to fly down there and drive it up here, which would cost about the same.

The issue it's having (bear with me, I'm not as of yet mechanically inclined, so all of this makes little sense to me):
- running too lean, backfires and the engine temp skyrockets. Not enough fuel to keep it running.
- my dad's been through all the sensors and they're working fine
- seems to be a high-impedance problem
- he pinned the 5v input sensor to the output, and that seems to have helped? Don't know what this means.
- he put a new '89/'90 computer system in it, didn't seem to help
- he can't find any main wiring harnesses for that year of jeep
- I asked him if running a code check on it would help, he said it takes a special code reader that wasn't released to the public, so he can't find a code reader that works for that year of jeep

So... I'm asking you gurus what you'd do.
1.) Is it worth the money to get it up here? Or would it be more worth it to rehome it?
I want it up here, for sentimental reasons, and because other that this stupid issue, it's a perfectly good jeep (aside from being high in miles), but if it's just not practical/doesn't make sense to keep it... </3
2.) Anyone have any idea what the hell this issue might be?

Thanks for any tips, advice, opinions, etc. you guys can offer. I bow to your superior Jeepy knowledge.


~ Stephanie

 

[Jeepergeo]

Hey, all!

I've got a 1987 Jeep Cherokee that's at my parents' place in Southern California.
I moved about two and a half years ago to Portland, Oregon.
It was my first car, got her when I was 17. Got a straight 6 in it, and other than a mysterious electrical problem, it's a solid vehicle.
My dad can't seem to figure out what the issue is, which is rare. He's pretty much a car guru, so we're at a loss.
It can't pass smog, so it can't get registered, and according to the city of Buena Park, he's got until the 21st to make it disappear as it can't be on the street, nor anywhere else on his own property, :x so it has to go into storage for no, which is expensive ($100/mo.+)

Since I got it, I've wanted to turn it into an adventure vehicle.

To ship it up here would be $650 at the least (it's not driveable on freeways, I'll get to that in a minute), if it was driveable I'd have to fly down there and drive it up here, which would cost about the same.

The issue it's having (bear with me, I'm not as of yet mechanically inclined, so all of this makes little sense to me):
- running too lean, backfires and the engine temp skyrockets. Not enough fuel to keep it running.
- my dad's been through all the sensors and they're working fine
- seems to be a high-impedance problem
- he pinned the 5v input sensor to the output, and that seems to have helped? Don't know what this means.
- he put a new '89/'90 computer system in it, didn't seem to help
- he can't find any main wiring harnesses for that year of jeep
- I asked him if running a code check on it would help, he said it takes a special code reader that wasn't released to the public, so he can't find a code reader that works for that year of jeep

So... I'm asking you gurus what you'd do.
1.) Is it worth the money to get it up here? Or would it be more worth it to rehome it?
I want it up here, for sentimental reasons, and because other that this stupid issue, it's a perfectly good jeep (aside from being high in miles), but if it's just not practical/doesn't make sense to keep it... </3
2.) Anyone have any idea what the hell this issue might be?

Thanks for any tips, advice, opinions, etc. you guys can offer. I bow to your superior Jeepy knowledge.


~ Stephanie

I would not sink $650 in to ship it to Oregon for what still may be an expensive problem to diagnose. I'd suggest selling it down here as someone might need it for parts. Use the cash from the sale to put some down on a Jeep up in Oregon.

 

[mark sr]

A lot depends on how much sentimental value it holds. Financially it's probably smarter to get rid of it.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

A good shop can scan the system through the OBD port under the hood on the passenger fender.

This one was translated wrong from when it was told to you lol.
"he pinned the 5v input sensor to the output, and that seems to have helped? Don't know what this means."

 

[Metalmorphoses]

Translated wrong?

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