Picked myself up another jeep grand cherokee project!!!

[69wannabe]

Well I am a jeep fan as well as a mopar fan, the thing about the old grand cherokee's is that they are fairly cheap to come up with versus coming up with a good cheap late 60's to early 70's muscle car to tinker with. And I am no body man so if I can find a good looking grand cherokee with a bad engine or bad transmission and I have nothing else to work on or piddle with I usually grab one up if it's cheap enough and get it running and find it a new home. I rebuilt the engine in a 97 grand last year and sold it to my sister since she was needing a good vehicle. Hard to beat the little 4.0 liter engines and they are very simple to rebuild and usually run really good. I have became so familiar with the grand cherokee's from 03 to 04 that it doesn't seem to be alot of effort for me to get one up and going. All of my crew drive jeeps with me having three grand cherokee's one being a 93 then a 98 and a 2000 model. The wife has an 04 grand and my daughter drives a 2000 model and my son drives a 93 cherokee sport. My sister has a 97 grand and her daughter has a 2001 cherokee and an 02 grand cherokee. my niece has a 2002 grand cherokee too. I like them needless to say and when I run across one really cheap with a bad engine I usually grab it up. Picked one up last friday with a bad engine and got it half way apart already, #6 piston came apart and I will have to have that cylinder sleeved most likely but it shoud make a good jeep once it's up and running again......

[b5blue]

I hear ya. My 89 XJ 2dr Sport has earned it's keep.  Grands are much nicer inside and ride better so I see why you like them!

[sunfire69]

I've been seriously thinking about a Cherokee...for all the reasons you mentioned...around here it has to be the most affordable 4 wheel drive around I'd like one just to have a 4 wheel drive around for those random snow storms ....but I've been shying away from the Grand Cherokee because of the added weight....but I had some questions and you seem like the person to ask...
what kind of gas mileage can a person expect from one...
what are the major issues to watch out for...
is 200K high mileage for a Cherokee
is any one year better than others....I've been thinking about a 98-2000 Cherokee or Cherokee sport...

[crj1968]

 

I just bought a 2001 XJ- I've owned a few Grands and XJ's throughout the years. There is some difference with the 97-2001's XJ's- maybe it's the injection system or something. I can't remember.

the 4.0 engine is as reliable as they get- and the tranny is also.  I can't really think of things to look for that are specific to it. They do get common oil leaks. Rear Main, valve cover gasket and the oil filter adapter (dealing with that one now)  Fun rigs for sure gas mileage.  Maybe 18 on a good day.   

I think 200K is high mileage for any car- I think you could fin one with 130K or less if you are patient.

[sunfire69]

Thanks, I've seen reference to the valve cover gasket problem.....not wild about the rear main problem though but 15-18mpg sounds doable...and yes I have seen them in the 130K range....
Is there any difference in how they handle in the snow....or is that just me making erroneous assumptions ....

[crj1968]

difference in handling between early or later models?  I wouldn't think so, the suspension stuff seems relatively unchanged since the beginning.

They do really good in the snow (depending on tires of course) and are very maneuverable rigs.

There are some XJ's out there with posi rear ends. Although, I've only found out this by mistake.

IMHO they are the best cheap 4x4 SUV you can get. 

[69wannabe]

I've been seriously thinking about a Cherokee...for all the reasons you mentioned...around here it has to be the most affordable 4 wheel drive around I'd like one just to have a 4 wheel drive around for those random snow storms ....but I've been shying away from the Grand Cherokee because of the added weight....but I had some questions and you seem like the person to ask...
what kind of gas mileage can a person expect from one...
what are the major issues to watch out for...
is 200K high mileage for a Cherokee
is any one year better than others....I've been thinking about a 98-2000 Cherokee or Cherokee sport...

Mileage is around 17 to 20 with the regular cherokee's. I like them from 96 up to 2001 since they are all OBD 2 system's. Nothing wrong with the earlier one's but the OBD 1 is a little more effort when it has problem's. My son's 93 cherokee has had minimal issues thank goodness. It was using oil and had about 230,000 miles on it so I rebuilt the engine and he has around 240,000 on it now and it has been doing fine since the rebuild. I have seen some 4.0's go 300,000 without a rebuild but you can tell they are wearing down after the 200,000 mark.

It's kind of hard to find a nice regular cherokee 4x4 since people are rough on them and raise them up and somewhat abuse them and for the cherokee 2001 was the last year of them. The 4.0 is my engine of choice for any of the cherokee's and grand cherokee's. Peppy, long lasting, and dependable.

[b5blue]

My XJ has Asin 5 speed and posi but it's 2wd. NAXJA is a very good forum to keep XJ's running.

[sunfire69]

Someone mentioned it earlier ..but my assumption was if it's 4 wheel drive then that meant you had limited slip differentials front and rear...but it sounds like that's not the case do some come equipped that way or is it an option...I just looking for a inexpensive winter 4x4 probably limited use ( unless it turns out to be better to drive than I think) no off road....I find some nice looking jeeps in the 2-3K range 150K miles...and a few in the $800 range needing various amounts of work....
And thanks to everybody for the input... 

[crj1968]

Well one XJ I owned had a posi rear- I think it was a 97.   

No way I know of to tell actually if it was an option or added.  Personally I wouldn't want one with a posi rear again as a daily driver.
That thing spun around more than once on me on the ice. 

[sunfire69]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking....the pro to that is with a posi on both ends getting stuck in the snow is pretty hard to do...the con is just that it will come around on you in a heart beat... and I probably won't be the only one driving it so that just confirmed my suspicion on that option....

[69wannabe]

May be an option on them, most of the one's I have seen wasn't posi traction. I only have one four wheel drive and it's a grand cherokee which I think both the cherokee's and grand cherokee's used the same rear end's but I am not sure. Dana 35 was normal rear's in the XJ's and ZJ's i'm pretty sure.......

[FY1 Charger]

I have a 98 2 door XJ, it is a very good SUV, if you are thinking of getting one I would suggest 1997-1999. Those are considered the best years, the 2000-01 had a head cracking issue. Mine has 166K and is still going strong, only things I'm having to do is replace suspension parts.

[69wannabe]

Yeah, I have heard that too about the 2000 and the 01's. The 331 head castings were bad to crack and let water get into the oil very gradually. I have rebuilt several of the 2000 4.0 with the 331 casting head but haven't had any cracked on me yet!!! (knock on wood)