I got a 97' cherokee, now what lol

[Hoosierdady]

If you arent going to be getting offroad, stick to the Honda man. Youre going to spend alot of $$$ on insurance and gas. That Honda will probably get almost half again the MPG that the Jeep does. He's right.
J-ust
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P-ocket

[diggindeep]

Originally Posted by vltchkr

Stay away from the square headlights. We all know Real Jeeps Have Round Headlights



Yes my 5 minutes of fame when I made into JP MAGAZINE (actually the pic ran 3 separate issues)

I had their " no lift tj" come out to our wheeling property up north a couple times. Real nice guys.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by vltchkr

We all know Real Jeeps Have Round Headlights

I thought the same, until the JK came out and I saw that it had round headlights....then I realized that theory went out the window.

[Mt.Dew]

I have had 2 Jeeps with 4.0L engines no problems owned one for 8 yrs. Just to show how tuff they are, back during the cash for clunkers the dealership would have to disable tradein's by putting sodium silicate in the oil. It would seize them up. Afterward you would try to start them to see if they were seized, the only motor I ever seen start was a 4.0 Didn't run long but it ran.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdady

If you arent going to be getting offroad, stick to the Honda man. Youre going to spend alot of $$$ on insurance and gas. That Honda will probably get almost half again the MPG that the Jeep does. He's right.

Agreed. I would go with the Honda.

[demonoid369]

I would use it for the beach, mountain, light to medium off roading. That's why it's a toss up between the two. One gets way better gas mileage, but the other is off road capable and going to the beach(fourwheeling) or mountain(snowboardin) I can drive safely knowing I have 4wd.
Insurance isn't an issue because I have the basic liability, and I've asked them and the I'd be only pay maybe a few dollars more than what I'm paying now and I'm only paying $97.

[demonoid369]

As far as I know, the jeeps get 17 to20 mpg right? If so that's where I'm at now with the thunder bird lol, t bird get 17mpg and my olds was getting 20mpg

[Zeus.:God]

Ok.

Cherokees (XJ- not GRAND which would be ZJ and WJ) had the 4.0L inline 6, as well as a 2.5L 4 banger, both were equipped with manual transmissions and automatics. Stay away from the Peugeot BA-10 5 speed, which was available in both Cherokees and YJ Wranglers from 87-mid 89. What you want is the AX-15 which was available from mid 90 all the way to 99, in XJ's and Wranglers (YJ and TJ). The Grand Cherokee was not available with a manual. If at all possible, try to get 93 or newer on whatever you get, as to avoid the Renix fuel injection system. Technically, it is a better, more efficient system, but a maintenance nightmare as it is pre-OBD, and difficult to diagnose.

The vacuum disconnect shouldn't be a deal breaker for you. You can change it out to the posi-lock setup, but for light stuff like beach running and so on, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I've never had serious problems with mine. The deal with that is, there are two separate shafts on the passenger side of the axle. The shaft from the stub, with the U-joint, and an intermediate shaft between the diff and that outer shaft, and then there is a sleeve that is splined on the inside, to mate up with the splines on the outside of the shaft. The vacuum disconnect or posi-lock moves that sleeve to either connect the two together, or disconnect them, so as to decrease driveline resistance (the diff is unloading when the wheel turns, and isn't rotating the driveshaft), and hopefully better fuel economy. Obviously it doesn't really accomplish much in terms of mileage, but whatever. Its not that big a deal.

Fuel mileage... I wouldn't worry about it... You'll be able to deal. It's not that bad on a properly running Jeep, but it's not that great either. Anywhere between 12-20 depending on how you drive, and/or have a tail wind.

[Hoosierdady]

When you find a Jeep in the set budget range that Im assuming you have (given the other thread on the T-Bird) you should beware. Drive it first for sure before you buy and be honest with yourself about wether you like it or not. Seeing all of these 1:10 and 1:1 on here will make you want one just for kicks and giggles or to keep up with the Jones'. Ive had a itch to buy a Wrangler, I drove a few and found out real quick that they werent for me. They handle odd in turns, feels like the back end was fixin to come around in the curves. It was a 2010 Rubicon BTW. Then I drove a 2003 and still the same. Bad ride due to the short w.b., bad handling, bad gas mileage. To find a properly setup Jeep to do 20mpg in your price range is going to be impossible. Not trying to crap you out, Im just saying be cautious.

[Devil Inc]

My "dream" Jeep would involve some generation of an XJ with either the 3.9L Cummins 4BT or the CRD out of the Liberty. The rest is still a bit blurry as far as how to finish it out. LOL

My mom had a '95 XJ when I was in high school, hell of a vehicle. It took everything we threw at it and asked for more. Of the stuff that we had to repair/replace, I felt the prices were budget friendly. A water pump was something in the $20 neighborhood and was pretty straight forward to replace. General things to check for is RUST in the rockers/floorboards.

Earlier XJs are said to be easier to lift, mid-90s had better axles and a little more power, late-90s had the facelifted interior/exterior and a plastic fuel tank (no rust).
I've read somewhere that near the 2000 year models, they switched the cylinder head design on the 4.0L for fuel economy or something and turned them into a turd.

If you've decided on which body style you want, lurk around a few of the many Jeep forums across the almight internet. You'll find plenty of insight on what's good and/or bad.

[Zeus.:God]

Originally Posted by Devil Inc

My "dream" Jeep would involve some generation of an XJ with either the 3.9L Cummins 4BT or the CRD out of the Liberty. The rest is still a bit blurry as far as how to finish it out. LOL

My mom had a '95 XJ when I was in high school, hell of a vehicle. It took everything we threw at it and asked for more. Of the stuff that we had to repair/replace, I felt the prices were budget friendly. A water pump was something in the $20 neighborhood and was pretty straight forward to replace. General things to check for is RUST in the rockers/floorboards.

Earlier XJs are said to be easier to lift, mid-90s had better axles and a little more power, late-90s had the facelifted interior/exterior and a plastic fuel tank (no rust).
I've read somewhere that near the 2000 year models, they switched the cylinder head design on the 4.0L for fuel economy or something and turned them into a turd.

If you've decided on which body style you want, lurk around a few of the many Jeep forums across the almight internet. You'll find plenty of insight on what's good and/or bad.

The 0331 cylinder heads used in 2000 to 2006 (can be found in 99, both XJ and Wrangler) like to crack between cylinders 3 and 4.

As you said, rust on the rockers and floorboards are the places to check.

Also, getting decent mileage out of an XJ isn't impossible regardless of price range. You're not going to get 20+ on average, but 15 or so isn't bad.

[demonoid369]

15 or so is fine, like I said t birds only getting 17 lol do its not a big difference. Which is better or at least pro and con between the wranglers and cherokees?

[Zeus.:God]

Originally Posted by demonoid369

15 or so is fine, like I said t birds only getting 17 lol do its not a big difference. Which is better or at least pro and con between the wranglers and cherokees?

Cherokees have more room. Lifts are a bit cheaper because of rear leaf springs... They're unibody, though, whereas the Wranglers are body-on-frame. Cherokees are a lot cheaper. In my area, Wranglers (late 80's-90's YJs) go for about 3500 on up, and that's for your bottom of the barrel. Cherokees can be had in great condition anywhere from 1500-3000. Cherokees are more "weatherproof" unless you have a hard top for the Wrangler, even then you have a lot of seals to worry about and be cautious of. Cherokees are better acoustically, if you care about stereo systems, but not by much. That's about it...

[vltchkr]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

I thought the same, until the JK came out and I saw that it had round headlights....then I realized that theory went out the window.

Chrysler really screwed the pooch with the JK. By scraping the 4.0 for the 3.8, 3.5 they basically turned the catch phrase "Barbie Jeep" into reality. Now if Chrysler does go through with a diesel version then I might retract my "barbie" statement...

[THX_138]

Mine gets 11 with the 36's and if I remember it was around 12-13 with the little 33's. It never has been a gas sipper, but then again, I drive it like I stole it every moment I am in it




.

[tedo]

Get a 96 - 99 XJ (Cherokee). These years do not have the problems the 00 and 01's have with blown heads mentioned earlier. Also the 00 - 01 changed the ring and pinion angle to weaken the drive line. And the late 90's models have most of the modern features.

I just purchased a 98 with 124k miles and zero rot ( rockers and floor boards were coated with appears to be spray on bed liner). I sold my lifted 88 Toyota and wanted a jeep. However I needed the ease of the Cherokee because of my 1 year old. It sits on 31s with a 2 inch budget lift. Plenty plenty more upgrades to come in the future, but it's plenty capable as it sits now. Way better than my old Yota. But right now I probably get 15 - 17 mpg city... I don't know, but don't really care either.

Oh, I also drove 4 hours to purchase it, after a month of researching and searching all of new england' craigslists...

I love my XJ, and they have tons of possibilities, and are relatively inexpensive to get behind a stock one. Just get one with as little rust as possible!

[demonoid369]

What about these two?

http://salem.craigslist.org/cto/3250836466.html

http://salem.craigslist.org/cto/3254777406.html

The 92 looks good but you guys keep saying look for 95 and up so.......?

[THX_138]

I say the red one, don't be scared of the mileage, remove the cracked exhaust manifold and instal a Headman header and not only solve the ticking/leaking exhaust, but add a few horsepower at the same time.

The other one... Over-priced and will need a radiator soon =equals= it is overheating and I can not figure out way, I am scared to death it is most likey a head gasket or cracked head (which is probably is), and am selling it while it still runs to an unsuspecting victim by saying it will only need a radiator.

That is my quick take on the two.

The red one doesn't look that bad a deal. Do not buy the first thing you see ... Shop around... Join a jeep forum for a few weeks and see what is for sale local.... Throw up a wanted ad.

[demonoid369]

The red one was also my first choice but everyone keeps saying go for 95 and up and this is a 92 do that's why I saw the other and asked here lol

[Harvo]

The 4.0 is a great motor. I had a 93 Cherokee. It was a daily driver until it had 220,000 miles then it became my trail Jeep. At 250,000 miles it started burning oil and I stopped changing oil. At 310,000 miles I sold it to someone who was going to use it for parts, but decided he wanted to drive it instead because it was so nice. He is still driving it.

Why do you want the manual transmission? The 4 speed auto is a really solid unit.