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so I went to my Jeep specialists today to...

spencer411

NAXJA Forum User
Location
St. Louis
have my transmission fluid changed, belt replaced (maybe), to have my tie rods looked at cuz their grease boots are torn, and possibly any other fluids that might need replacing (transfer case, diffs). im sure its easy to do these things but ive never done any of them and they were gonna let me watch them take care of it so I wouldnt have to come back to them for the same things.

I get there and we check all fluids. they tell me that the transmission fluid is ok and that in a Cherokee it doesnt really need to be changed until about 70,000 miles regardless of what my owners manual states. they said all my other fluids were ok also until later/more miles.

then to the belt. its got a couple cracks so they said to run that until its really showing wear.

then they looked at my tie rods and the grease boots on them. on both sides the boots have holes in them. they said not to worry about it and that as long as I shoot some grease in there every time I change the oil I should be ok. but what about salt gettin in there? its supposed to snow this week.

so I was planning on spending some money and ended up spending nothing. they told me that they wouldnt take money from me for things I didnt need and that a Cherokee motor is an amazing product that needs little maintenance except for plugs and oil, of course. other than that it can handle tons of abuse which im sure alot of you know already.

I really appreciated their honesty and wanted to know what you all think about what they have told me...
 
Well...they get more money out of you if your parts fail completely later on...:D But what do I know? They are the supposed experts.
 
Vertisce said:
Well...they get more money out of you if your parts fail completely later on...:D But what do I know? They are the supposed experts.

thats what I was thinking as I was driving off, but they seem sincere.

besides even if the tie rods do give I will just replace them then. thats not too expensive.
 
He's right. I would definitely change the tranny fluid just because it is so easy and cheap. You can do it, it is easier than an oil change. Get under the Jeep, look for a square pan behind the engine with drain plug. Pull the plug, then refill after the drain is complete. I recommend buying a case of Castrol Dexron III at auto zone, for like $30. You will only be able to get in 3 or 4 bottles. This drain and fill should be done about every 20,000 miles because it is so easy and cheap. The $30 case will last you 4x20,000, or roughly 100,000 miles. If you really want to keep the Jeep and make the tranny last (it is the most expensive part to replace), install a tranny oil cooler, and do the drain and fill 3 times in a row to make sure all fluid is replaced. (Drive at least 50 miles between each drain and fill). Replace the fan belt too, only because it is cheap, and you get stranded and possible engine damage if it breaks. You could do it yourself, but even a shop should charge less than $50. As for the tie rod ends, grease them every 5000 miles yourself, and they will be fine until your steering starts wandering all over!
 
spencer411 said:
then to the belt. its got a couple cracks so they said to run that until its really showing wear.


I would go ahead and change that belt...if cracks aren't a sign of "really showing wear", then what is? Failure?

It'll cost you about $20 and 15 minutes of your time, and you'll have piece of mind. Take the old one and throw it under the seat for a spare.
 
Yeah...that belt thing...I dunno...if the belt breaks you could do some real damage...and all it takes is one crack to break the whole thing.
 
might I add, people are so intimidated about care car for no reason. A jeep is so simple, all you have to do is grab a towel and wrench, get under there, and you can figure it out. The diffs each have 10 bolts, it is so easy to pull the covers and change the fluid. The transfer case has 2 allen wrench bolts, it is also like changing the oil, so easy, just dig in and look under there.
 
prb24 said:
I would go ahead and change that belt...if cracks aren't a sign of "really showing wear", then what is? Failure?

It'll cost you about $20 and 15 minutes of your time, and you'll have piece of mind. Take the old one and throw it under the seat for a spare.

good idea.

dont you need a belt tensioner for that? ive never changed one, but im up for tryin it.

there are seriously very small cracks on the belt. and only like 2 of them. they were gonna charge me 30 for the belt and prolly about 40 in labor to do it and didnt think it was near time for a change yet. he showed me the belt in a few jeeps they had in the shop and they were much worse and still running them. not somethin I would do but mine is still in very good shape. I might change it and keep it as a spare though.
 
Mine is a 2001 and there is a tensioner bolt on there. Turn one way with a ratchet to loosen it and turn the other way to tighten it.
 
no, it does not need changing. Belts wear very gradually, they must be in really horrible shape to break. Also, you don't need a spare belt, ever. Finally, changing it yourself is so easy. There is a small pulley across from the electric fan, directly, with a bolt. Loosen this, then loosen the long tensioner screw near the power steering pump and thermostat housing. As you turn, the belt will loosen. When reinstalling put the belt as loose as you can where it won't squeak with the A/C on. The looser you get it, the longer it and the components last.
 
Jackhill442 said:
Also, you don't need a spare belt, ever.
This makes no sense to me at all, are you trying to make it so if he breaks down he has to be towed? What if something like an A/C Compressor has a catastrophic failure, seizes up, and throws the belt off?

Jackhill442 said:
Finally, changing it yourself is so easy.
Yes it is, I would do it, takes me about 30 minutes on my 1990 and its a much more complicated system than your 2001 is.

My $.02
-Collin
 
The chances of that are so low, I would rather use the already paltry cargo space for many other things. Besides, turn off the A/C if it seizes, but it has a protection system built in to not run the clutch if it does. If a belt is properly installed, it will usually last 100,000 miles. With regular maintenance, a man will almost never become stranded, just give it a look every 3000 miles or so.
 
Make sure you tighten it in the winter also...prevent that horrible squealing sound. If you think it looks ok then dont bother changing it. But if there is a crack that spans the entire width of the belt no matter how small it is then you should probably change it.
 
Jackhill442 said:
He's right. I would definitely change the tranny fluid just because it is so easy and cheap. You can do it, it is easier than an oil change. Get under the Jeep, look for a square pan behind the engine with drain plug. Pull the plug, then refill after the drain is complete. I recommend buying a case of Castrol Dexron III at auto zone, for like $30. You will only be able to get in 3 or 4 bottles. This drain and fill should be done about every 20,000 miles because it is so easy and cheap. The $30 case will last you 4x20,000, or roughly 100,000 miles. If you really want to keep the Jeep and make the tranny last (it is the most expensive part to replace), install a tranny oil cooler, and do the drain and fill 3 times in a row to make sure all fluid is replaced. (Drive at least 50 miles between each drain and fill). Replace the fan belt too, only because it is cheap, and you get stranded and possible engine damage if it breaks. You could do it yourself, but even a shop should charge less than $50. As for the tie rod ends, grease them every 5000 miles yourself, and they will be fine until your steering starts wandering all over!
All good advice accept for the trany fluid. I don't see the year the OP is asking about so Dextron III may not be correct fluid.
 
spencer411 said:
have my transmission fluid changed, belt replaced (maybe), to have my tie rods looked at cuz their grease boots are torn, and possibly any other fluids that might need replacing (transfer case, diffs). im sure its easy to do these things but ive never done any of them and they were gonna let me watch them take care of it so I wouldnt have to come back to them for the same things.

I get there and we check all fluids. they tell me that the transmission fluid is ok and that in a Cherokee it doesnt really need to be changed until about 70,000 miles regardless of what my owners manual states. they said all my other fluids were ok also until later/more miles.

then to the belt. its got a couple cracks so they said to run that until its really showing wear.

then they looked at my tie rods and the grease boots on them. on both sides the boots have holes in them. they said not to worry about it and that as long as I shoot some grease in there every time I change the oil I should be ok. but what about salt gettin in there? its supposed to snow this week.

so I was planning on spending some money and ended up spending nothing. they told me that they wouldnt take money from me for things I didnt need and that a Cherokee motor is an amazing product that needs little maintenance except for plugs and oil, of course. other than that it can handle tons of abuse which im sure alot of you know already.

I really appreciated their honesty and wanted to know what you all think about what they have told me...
I think they are idiots, and that you NEED to find a new Jeep specialist ... quickly.

They are correct: A Cherokee will go almost indefinitely if properly maintained. How they can say that and at the same time recommend NOT doing the maintenance the factory requires is a mystery to me.

A cracked belt may last several more months ... or it may fail tomorrow. They weren't designed to have cracks. 'Nuff said.

Tie rod ends ... the boots are there to keep "stuff" out. If the rod ends themselves are still tight, you can get replacement boots for a couple of bucks each. If you keep them greased up the boots aren't absolutely necessary, but with torn boots you should be greasing a lot more frequently, and in winter that's a nuisance.
 
Jackhill442 said:
Also, you don't need a spare belt, ever.


Should this be a poll?

What would happen first?

A) The Jeep overheats.

B) The battery dies.

C) The Jeep ends up in the ditch because the steering is now heavier than a vehicle without power steering, and I was hurrying home because I realized my temp guage was going up, and my volt guage is going down.





:wave:
 
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I'd love to see how many people actually had a belt break who regularly inspected and replaced as necessary with quality belts, and installed them without too much tension, all obvious procedures for maintenance. Almost never would it happen under these circumstances.
 
Jackhill442 said:
I'd love to see how many people actually had a belt break who regularly inspected and replaced as necessary with quality belts, and installed them without too much tension, all obvious procedures for maintenance. Almost never would it happen under these circumstances.
Actually my old belt had about 5 visible cracks in it so I had it replaced while I had my oil changed. I also kept my old belt just in case something were to ever go wrong with the new one. I always have it as a spare in with my tools in the back of my Jeep.
 
Take the spare out, put in jumper cables, or vice grips, or radiator hose, or something more worth while. There are dozens of other things more likely to go wrong with the vehicle, given good maintenance has always been performed. My only point was, belts are pretty tough, and they have about 5 or 6 strong ropes in them. They ain't gonna break unless you are extremely negligent.
 
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