Welcome Saleh to uaeoffroaders, looking to c u soon

Ya Marhaba els3a Scavenger, welcome to the uaeoffroaders.
The season is just begining, you've come just as the party starts.
Welcome aboard.

Hey All,

My name is Majed Al Nasser, 23 years old, working and living in Dubai

my rides are:
2010 Tyota Prado 2010 VX_L (5 door)
2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35i

I hope to join you in one of the offroad trips you have near Dubai if the time allow for it.

Wellcome to UAE OFFROADERS Majed...

Do keep an eye on the trips pages ...we will soon be doing some trips in Dubai when the weather cools down a bit.

Welcome one and welcome all. This is a great time to join as we are now starting our "season" (even though the party never really stops) so there will be lots more opportunities to hone your skills and be kings (or queens ) of the desert in no time!

Hi there, this is my first post here, and I was asked to join by a member here. Some of you may know me from Evolve and Uaeboost, where I tend to ask a lot of questions, and just be generally indecisive with regards to purchasing what cars and why.

I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2001 Limited 2 weeks ago, and haven't had the opportunity to drive it offroad or on the rough trail yet, hell, I'm this close to selling it! US specs, accident free (I checked it out using Carfax), driven for approx. 71,000 miles. It's the Limited model, meaning a lot of options and some of them don't work (haha).

I'm getting it sorted at a garage in Sharjah Industrial Area which specializes in Jeep, as the previous owner was a muppet who never serviced it.


Pictures:

Front


Rear


Interior




Speedo


It needs a bit of work:

1) Slight squeak emanating from the rear when turning sharply

2) The brakes squeal - had the brake discs skimmed, and changed all 4 brake pads with AC Delcos as they're half the price of Mopars

3) When the engine is cold, the car rattles a bit when stopping.

4) CD player doesn't read any of my CDs, gives me the 'Err' message

5) I tried to shift to the 4Lo position, and it doesn't go that far sometimes

6) The 10 Disc CD changer at the back doesn't have the damn CD magazine!

Apart from that, it drives well, the interior is spotless, leather, heated front seats, full power front seats, excellent A/C, wheels.

But after getting the brake pads changed, rotors polished, throttle body cleaned, fuel injectors cleaned, and spark plugs replaced, I took the car for a manual car wash which included an engine and under-chassis wash.

Brought it home on Thursday night, and started the car on Saturday afternoon, and it refused to start, even the central lock wouldn't work. If the battery would've died, which it shouldn't because it's an AC Delco, and is less than 6 months old, it would at least go click-click-click when turning the ignition yeah?

Or could it be due to the manual wash?

I've been reading other Jeep forums and it could be mainly due to the manual wash, or the battery due to the heat these days, or the fuel pump, or fuel sensor, etc.

Can I take it offroad in its current condition, as the front shocks (as you can see from the picture) are lower than the rear and need to be replaced, so I figured I get a 2" lift kit online but my concern is whether I should replace the bushes first with OEM bushes and then go for the lift kit as my bushes need to be changed according to the garage!

Greetings to all UAE Offroaders - I've been living in Al Ain for the past eleven years and go off-road quite often, by myself, with friends, with family, even with my two dogs.

I like to modify older 4x4 vehicles, and my family car is a beautiful 1994 Land Cruiser, the famed LC-80... one of the best 4x4s ever made. I do most of the work on my cars by myself and I write motoring reviews and destinations, now for The National. I also ride a quad, a modified Yamaha Banshee, and my wife and daughter also ride (Honda 300 and Suzuki 250). Our dogs run only.

From extreme drives to long-distance expeditions; from a 3-minute drive up to sip tea and enjoy the sunset to all sorts of wadi, mountain, desert, beach camping.... I'm there! 8)

Look forward to meeting up with UAE Offroaders this season!

hello Ozimandus, and welcome to the club.
It is always a good idea to make sure everything works before you go to the desert. Not so much the silly things like cd changer and such, but it must at least start eh? ha ha!
Your fuel pump wouldn't just die like that, it would give a sign that it was on its way out like longer starts, or starts then cuts out then starts again.
It may be that the manual wash damaged something on the starter so it won't get any power to turn the engine over! If that is the case then the starter is a quick swap, you just need to know how to turn a spanner really. Also check the fuses and relays as something may have shorted and blown a fuse when it got wet.
If you get it to start, send it for a good service from a GOOD service center (not adnoc, their oil is not so great for 4x4's) and get ALL of the oils and filters changed.
Also get the bushings from the dealership or a well represented supplier such as quadratec or morris 4x4 center (both online) as some that are not OEM parts can fail very quick in this heat/sand/humidity mixture we all know and love out here.

As for the shocks, I cannot see the pic as my office network is too tight (British government for ya) but if it is sitting noticably lower that will most likely be due to either the front coils sagging due to age or the rears are new and slightly more firm than the fronts.
Either wya, if that is the case, you should get a coil spring lift and not a coil spacer lift as this won't accomplish anything other than a slightly higher off-center jeep. Also get a proper wheel alignment when you lift is as you will wear your tires quickly and may experience death wobble.

I own a ZJ so I am familiar with teh trials and tribulations of your recent purchase. Don't give up on it yet though, once they work they are amazing in the sand.

Good luck mate, and again, welcome!

Tony

the message was moved to the proper self introduction