Buying a Cherokee

I was looking at a 2000 XJ today. The front differential is leaking fluid out of the pinion and also the oil pan is leaking as well. There was a small (not much) fluid around the valve cover. It's got 134,000 miles. Are these major problems? What's the pinion leak cost to fix if I can't do it myself and should I be worrying about the leak on the oil pan?

Can you wrench at all? These are pretty forgiving vehicles to work on, but if you have no desire to work on your own rig, a 10 year old vehicle may not be the best choice for you.

Any leak can eventually turn in to a major problem. Any vehicle I get fixing leaks is a priority to me. They will only get worse. Stop leak products might work in some instances but are just a band-aid and CAN damage pieces and systems eventually.

Common fluid leaks on XJ's.

Easy to fix:
Valve cover gasket (Felpro rubber, reusable gasket, dont screw with the cork one).
Diff. gasket (a good % of guys don't even use the gasket, just RTV, I do both)
T-stat housing (same as above)
Most coolant leaks (at hoses anyway)
Power steering hoses (if in doubt, replace, dont try to REPAIR)
Brake cylinder (rear). Don't screw around with it, buy 2 new cylinders. Any brake system leak should be addressed IMMEDIATELY before you take one more drive.
Tranny cooler lines (you can replace the disconnect o-rings & spacer or cut & clamp)
Harder to fix:
Tranny cooler lines (you can replace the disconnect o-rings & spacer or cut & clamp) can be a bear to find and the discos are crap (IMHO).
Oil Filter adapter o-rings (the b**ch is in the nut, on a 2000 it's a torx that's hard to remove, once you're there, it's a cake walk)
Oil Pan et al. - Getting the pan off and out is the hard part but once you've done that it's easy to replace. If you ever have to replace the pan gasket you should do the Rear Main Seal (RMS) at the same time. If you do that, the OFA and the Valve cover, you've eliminated pretty much all the engine oil leak sources. Always buy the Felpro one piece pan gasket, it costs more, but worth it in ease of handling AND effectiveness.
Axle seals - is a project I have yet to deal with - looks involved, pull the axle etc.

Your original question.
The pinion seal involves removing the drive shaft. If you are comfortable with that, the seal is fairly easy to replace, pry it out, tap it in to seat it with a wood block and hammer. Also while you're there and have the shaft out, the transfer case output seal should be checked and/or replaced.

I'm not saying that you have to go out and fix all these things this weekend. If you have some random small leaks, welcome to the "Jeep Thing". These are just the most common places that pop up over the years.

Gaskets and seals are maintenance items and should be checked out at regular intervals.

Getting my front pinion seal done on tuesday price quoted was $110. to $120. Looks easy but dont have the time.

cj11 said:

Getting my front pinion seal done on tuesday price quoted was $110. to $120. Looks easy but dont have the time.

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dont you dare, spend ten bucks on the pinion seal and do it yourself. look for a write up its easy as pie

Also, the AC made a loud whining noise. He said it was the belt, and the power window motor will make a grinding sound if you are still pressing the button and the window is all the way up. Also, speaker in the drivers front doesn't work either.

The Jeep is a 2000 Cherokee with a 3 in Rough Country lift, aftermarket wheels with new 31/10.50/15 BFG AT's. It also has all the skid plates (no sliders) and JCR front and rear bumpers. The Jeep was clean. Appeared to run well. $4,500 134k

souske said:

Can you wrench at all? These are pretty forgiving vehicles to work on, but if you have no desire to work on your own rig, a 10 year old vehicle may not be the best choice for you.

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God, I had to read the last part twice. i dont know about the rest of you, but When I here 2000 Cherokee im thinking new for some reason. real hard to be leave production stopped 10 years ago.

does it have a slip yoke eliminator kit installed?

that price is high...

Does it have full leaf packs or AAL? That price isnt super high if it is clean inside and out. The speaker and window moter are pretty simple. The AC compressor may be bad. maybe offer 4k, and put $500 into getting it 100%.

heck with the JCR bumpers, stock skids, and New BFG's Id say its worth the asking price.

Seems like a high price to me. I just bought a 98 4.0 sport that wasnt running for 500 bucks that has 150xxx miles, a budget lift, 31" mtr's, AX-15, HP D30, and no leaks. 2-300 bucks later I have a full functioning XJ that runs pisser. Minus the wiper motor and the rear passenger door latch.

I did luck out with mine though, and it turned into an awesome deal. But personally I think there are better deals out there than the one you're looking at. JMO

austinaubinoe said:

heck with the JCR bumpers, stock skids, and New BFG's Id say its worth the asking price.

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valid point! a good price is whatever someone is happy to pay. so if you like it i guess it isnt that high.

austinaubinoe said:

God, I had to read the last part twice. i dont know about the rest of you, but When I here 2000 Cherokee im thinking new for some reason. real hard to be leave production stopped 10 years ago.

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Me too! 2000 seems like just yesterday...but then so does 1980 (and I have the mullet to prove it!! JK)...I'm old, it's not my fault.

You may want to check the head number to make sure it isn't an 0331. Your oil pan leak may be a head gasket leak that runs down the back.

is the engine & area clean? so that you can tell where the (oil) leak is coming from? (something i still need to do when i have the time, , degrease the engine & check for where the leak is.)
i'm actualy suprized that someone didn't already post this up!

ParadiseXJ made a very good point, most leaks are easy fixes. but IF you arent good at wrenchin and/or don't have the time to do it yourself.....

post up in here & have a wrenchin party!!! lol do not waist your cash on the local stealership gettin your rig fixed.(and you wont get ripped off)

I wouldn't touch a 2000 with the 0331 head) which they all have). Better keep some money in the bank to get the head fixed when it cracks. Seems like you aren't anxious to do your own work, so my guess is you'll need $1500 to $2000 to get the head replaced. It is one thing to have acquired one out of lack of knowledge (me), but don't get one once you are aware of the problem (you).

winterbeater said:

I wouldn't touch a 2000 with the 0331 head) which they all have). Better keep some money in the bank to get the head fixed when it cracks. Seems like you aren't anxious to do your own work, so my guess is you'll need $1500 to $2000 to get the head replaced. It is one thing to have acquired one out of lack of knowledge (me), but don't get one once you are aware of the problem (you).

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0331 shouldn't be a deal breaker, but it should get you some bargaining power. Print out what you can find about cracking problems and bring it with you when you meet with the owner. See if you can get a written estimate for replacement with a newer (less problematic) head and try to haggle the price low enough to compensate for the future.