Hi--New Guy Here--Looking to Buy an XJ

Hi all,

New to this forum here--I like what I see so far!

I am looking at possibly buying a 94 Cherokee Sport. It has the manual tranny and the I6 in it, and the tow package. It also has the off-road package. Don't know the miles on it yet.

How good are these 4.0L engines? I have a 16' boat--total weight of around 1000-1200 lbs. Hould it be able to pull that up I-70 without having to go into 2nd gear? How would the Jeep itself handle big hills like that? Would I be able to go up using 4th gear [I am already assuming 5th would be too high? Also,what kind of mileage can I expect to get [city/hwy] from just normal everyday use?

Also--ifit is in good condition, of course--what is a good price to pay for one, and what kind of mileage should be on the odometer for something like that from 1994?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

forthehalibut said:

It has the manual tranny and the I6 in it, and the tow package. It also has the off-road package.

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What do you meant by off road package. Its a Jeep, they all have off road capability If you mean 4wd, then its good to have.Im not sure what tranny that year has in it, so ill leave it to someone better in that dept.

How good are these 4.0L engines?

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They rock. especially if you like getting your hands greasy every now and then.They arent perfect, but what engine is. I love them, as many people do. theyre reliable, rock solid, and torquey(sp?) until some dumbass sensor goes crazy.

I have a 16' boat--total weight of around 1000-1200 lbs. Hould it be able to pull that up I-70 without having to go into 2nd gear? How would the Jeep itself handle big hills like that?

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If ,when you say it has the tow package you mean a reciever hitch, you should check to make sure you have a d44 (dana44) rear diff.Thats a from the factory "tow package". Otherwise you have a,...hitch. (there are plenty of threads on this site ,search for em, that can link you to a good page with descriptions on determining what diff you have)Which, coupled with that drive train will have no prob pulling that boat.On steep hills , depending on how you drive, it shouldnt have a prob.specially with the 5 speed.

Also,what kind of mileage can I expect to get [city/hwy] from just normal everyday use?

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I dont know about actuall mileage.Mine usually undergo a tire upgrade and mods so as far as stock, i never really experience em.But its definitly no honda, but not a full size chebby truck.And again, with a 5-speed, itll be even better.

Also--ifit is in good condition, of course--what is a good price to pay for one, and what kind of mileage should be on the odometer for something like that from 1994?

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www.kbb.com pretty much like any vehicle.This is the place to look. Oh ...aand welcome to the addictive world of Jeep ownership..!!!!!!!!!!!! May the force be with you.

Welcome to . Be sure to search around and try to remember that EVERYONE is not an expert. Look around enough and you will figure out who is, ok?

Glad to have you on board! Enjoy your new adventures!

forthehalibut said:

How good are these 4.0L engines?

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http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24716&highlight=highest+miles

mine has 290,000 miles on it no major work at all

welcome to the forum and if you need an answer for something, I'm just gonna tell you now, search before you post. Theres a lot of people on here that will give you shit if you don't. just givin you the heads up

welcome to !

Thanks for the tips.

Wallymander--I haven't been by to check out the Jeep yet, but "tow package" should mean receiver hitch, wiring, and beffier rear suspension. I do not know what the rear axle is yet, but will be sure to see if it a D44 [although D60 or Rockwell 2.5 would be better--heheh]. Also, not sure what "off road package" means in this case, but I am assuming that is a suspension upgrade as well.

Sniggs--thanks for the ehads up. I am familiar that not everyone on a certain forum is an expert, although they may play on on tv.:laugh:

91Limited--GLad to know yours has a lot of miles w/o any major problems. Gives me a bit more confidence. I will do my research before asking a question.In this case, I needed details on a combination of things concerning this one particular vehicle.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated! :worship: arty:

forthehalibut said:

Thanks for the tips.

Wallymander--I haven't been by to check out the Jeep yet, but "tow package" should mean receiver hitch, wiring, and beffier rear suspension. I do not know what the rear axle is yet, but will be sure to see if it a D44 [although D60 or Rockwell 2.5 would be better--heheh]. Also, not sure what "off road package" means in this case, but I am assuming that is a suspension upgrade as well.

Sniggs--thanks for the ehads up. I am familiar that not everyone on a certain forum is an expert, although they may play on on tv.:laugh:

91Limited--GLad to know yours has a lot of miles w/o any major problems. Gives me a bit more confidence. I will do my research before asking a question.In this case, I needed details on a combination of things concerning this one particular vehicle.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated! :worship: arty:

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I think 94 still had differnt gearing in the axles for the factory tow pacage. so you are looking at probebly having 3.73 gear ratio(if the factory tow package is installed)
However, I don't think that they put the tow package on the 5-spd ?any one else help me out on that one?
If they did or not i don't know for sure, but i do know that the automatic (aw4) is rated at higher towing cpacity, because mainly the auto trans can be cooled by an aux tranny cooler. manual just gets really hot...
on that note do your self a favor and search this forum for pictures of the ax-15 manual tranny, make sure you get the ax-15. there is another beast made by Peugeot or how every you spell that. the Peugeot will die fast and hard. and forget about towing anything anywhere with that tranny...

diddo on the "off road package" from wallyman No such thing on the factory jeep to my knowlege. sounds like a dealer trying to sell you somthing.
there is an "up country" package that brings 1" of lift not very common, but its out there.
and you know... I don't really remember what they call the skid plates... maybe that is what they are calling the off road package. (that would include steering skid in the front, a gas tank skid in the back and some times a skid on the x-fer case.

don't trust me though, I am not an expert. use the search feature. and you will be happy to find most of the info is out there.
good luck and welcome to the addiction...

1994 has the AX-15 transmission with the external slave.

The offroad package includes tow hooks and skids, if I remember correctly.

Don't think the D44 was offered in that year either. . . :wierd:

Mambeu said:

1994 has the AX-15 transmission with the external slave.

The offroad package includes tow hooks and skids, if I remember correctly.

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You are correct! arty:

I did check out the Jeep today, although the dealership was closed. The previous owner modified it--looks like about a 3" lift, had a roof rack, and 4 off-road lights attached to the rack. I cannot tell what kind of axles are on it [how do you know if they are D44, D60, whatever?]. Unfortunately, I did see the oil pan coated in somewhat wet oil.

This does make me wonder how hard the previous owner ran it. It is modified to some real wheeling, and the odometer reads 153K plus change.

I can confirm that the off-road package includes tow hooks (front and rear), front and rear factory skid plates that protect the front of the engine compartment and the gas tank. Additionally there is a skid plate/cross member that protects the transfer case. None of these skids are perfect but they are sturdy and will protect some.

If I were in your shoes I would not buy this jeep just for its ability to tow a trailer regularly. It is simply not built for such work. I do not doubt that it will survive and perform reasonable but towing is not a stong point. The I6 will produce around 190 HP and 225 ft-lb of torque at 4500 and 3000 RPM respectively. The torque range is actually fairly flat across the entire RMP range. This is a plus for towing, but in my opinion this is at the lower end for a towing vehicle. You can look at the graphs here (http://groups.msn.com/desertxj/dynocharts.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=71)

In addition to being a little under powered the breaks are not stellar under normal conditions and when pulling a load they will be less stellar. It is un-safe? That depends on who you ask. Just a little weak.

Finaly the rear suspention. If it does have lift then you want to look at how the lift was done. The stock springs will loose spring and sag if they are constantly pulling a trailer. I would think that most aftermarket spring packs would improve this.

On the other hand if you do not plan to tow everday or only once in a while then I would not have problem using the Jeep. It is a solid vehicle and can get the job done. I would not be concerned at all with its ability to tow 1000-1200 lbs every weekend. It is just not ideal.

Look at the jeep first as a mid-sized vehicle that has excellent off-road potential. It has good cargo space and a reliable track record. Additionally it has great aftermarket and internet support.

For barganning purposes assume that worst. Because the jeep has a reciever hitch it is likely that the previous user "abused" the poor engine by pulling a trailer everywhere. At 150K miles this means that the engine is about shot, because you must assume that the previous owner did not handle all of the maintanence on time and in the proper way.

The same can be said of the lift. If the lift was not done in the proper manor and with quality parts then it will also be an "abuse" that will shorten the life of the Jeep.

So you are realy looking at a vehicle that has been "abused". Explain this to the used car sales man and offer a low figure just to be on the safe side. Let hime know that you are concerned about the condition and the life span. If he accepts your story then you will probably get a fair deal.

Proceed with caution

Read this link for good info Stock specs

Cherokee's never came with D60's. They came with D44's, mostly in 1987 with the tow package. Your tranny is an AX15, which came with 3.07 gears. You say you want to tow, I would personally regear, it puts less strain on the tranny and such.

If it has a 8.25, it will look like so.

The D35 is rounded on the bottom like so.


You can go here to identify the axle also. Front will be HP D30, unless someone swapped it out from a '00-'01 XJ, or a '97 and up TJ. Or any year Grand Cherokee, it think?

XJjeepLess--thanks for the pics--they should help me out when I check out the Jeep. As for the 3.07 gears, I didn't even know they made them that high for these Jeeps! I figure the previous owner has put lower gears in there--seeing as it is made more for off-road use.

byu-xj--I will be towing my boat from time to time to fish, but not everyday, nor every weekend [darn it]. I doubt the boat/trailer even weighs 1000 lbs, but I use that as a benchmark to be safe. I am also considering Jeeps because of the various array of aftermarket products for them. Also, thanks for the tips on negotiating with the dealer. I am very possiblu looking at a rebuild on the motor, and the tranny is unkown. Don't know if he'll go down enough for me, but it is worth a try.

BTW, there is a place around here that will rebuild the motor for $1900. For an extra $250, they will give it the performance enhancement rebuild [cam, high press rings, etc] that will increase all around performance [hp, torque, mpg] 20%. Either way, they do it with a 60K mile/36 month warrantee. I will use that price in negotiating with the dealer.