Welcome. Looks like KJ is in decent shape. What is making it fail inspection?
I think it's great that your son has a gifted KJ to work on ! Dad & son time is about to be fun & rewarding !
Looks can be deceiving
Our friends have owned it since new. The heater core has a (probably pin-hole) leak, the driver's seat belt buckle was jacked up, and it had an exhaust leak, so it wasn't going to pass the safety inspection. The moonroof also leaked, the 4WD shifter was jacked up, both rear window regulators were broken (again), neither of the back doors opened from the inside, the A/C doesn't blow cold, and the back glass doesn't stay open. When they got a $2,500 quote for the heater core job, that was their threshold of pain and they parked it. Adding insult to injury, the money light was also on, so it wouldn't pass emissions either. And just for good measure, the oil light was on solid, and it's a coin flip if the ABS, T/C and ESP lights are on or off at any given moment. The logic was simple: Either my son and I could fix the old girl up enough to pass inspection, cost-effectively, or she was going on a ride to the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
A week in, we caulked the moonroof shut, bypassed the heater core, fixed the O2 sensor from hell, and got her patched up to where she'll pass safety and emissions. The rest will get fixed later, possibly by doing nothing. Driving a crap-box builds character in a high school kid
