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Towing Modifications

I have purchased a 2000 Cherokee Classic.

I intend to tow a 2,000 lb boat.

If I understand my research, the typical Cherokee Sport has a 2,000 lb towing capacity. If it was ordered from the factory with the "Towing Package" it has a 5,000 lb capacity. Is that correct? What is the Towing Package?

What modifications could or should I make to the Cherokee to ensure it can tow something more than 2000 lbs? I want to give myself room for greater weight.

Thank you,

Read
 
Well, if you have a power transmission button make sure you push that to power. My sport has that choice.
 
Install a trailer hitch and a transmission cooler(assuming its an automatic). Probably wanna install new brake pads (or make sure yours are in very good shape). Also make sure your fluids are in good shape... brake fluid, and transmission fluid especially. Also make sure your cooling system is working properly. If you live in a hot climate or in the mountains you may wanna consider a better performance radiator.
 
A transmission cooler is a fluid-air heat exchanger similar to a radiator but is instead used for cooling your tranny fluid (the auto trannies are great but overheating them can occur easily if you but a lot of stress on it and don't have a cooler). The stock "tow package" came with a small front transmission cooler that sat infront of the radiator. Take a look at this link and it will give you a good idea of whats involved in installing one. http://jeephorizons.com/tech/xj_cooling.html
use the search feature in the upper right hand corner and search things like "transmission cooler" and /or "performance radiator". A lot of the guys on here use the radiator that is sold by www.radiatorbarn.com and agree it has increased cooling capacity and is more durable than the stock unit. By the way, your 2000 cherokee has a different head on its motor (0331) than the older cherokees. It has been known to be prone to cracking... so making sure your cooling system is in optimal condition and never overheats is of utmost importance for your motor (i have the 0331 head too). I don't mean to scare you with that, but its definatly something for all 2000 and up cherokee owners to be aware of. Pay attention to your coolant level because a mysterious loss of fluid with no leak on the ground is the typical presentation.
 
tow pack included hitch wiring for the trailer lights an aux trans cooler( already has one in the radiator), and i read somewhere a heavy duty radiator but i have not looked into that anymore.
 
Thank you both.


cklaus-

That description of the Cooling System upgrade was great. I have a friend who works on his own cars and just added on a working garage. Hopefully I can get him to help with the upgrade.

Thank you for the link.

I will keep an eye on the temperature. I read about the head problems and I am a little worried, as I know the water pump was replaced recently. If there was a problem with the water pump, could the head have overheated and be about to crack?
 
I tow a 3100# bass boat in the Blue Ridge mountains with no problems. Install a good cooler if it is a auto and and a good quality 2" reciever hitch. I also use a tranny temp guage just to keep tabs on it. A larger 3 core radiator will help but if everything is working as it should you should be ok.

jeepboatsideview2lr.jpg

trannytempguagekc4.jpg
 
waterpumps wear out. Most people will replace them at a given mileage due to age, or when it starts to leak a little bit of water out of the weep hole. It IS possible that the owner may have overheated it, but considering its probably running fine now, i wouldn't sweat it. The big thing is to be aware and keep up with your maintenance. if you are worried about your head, keep an eye on the amount of coolant. also check the underside of your oil filler cap, if it is nice and oily, you are good, if it looks like some whitish residue or some chocolate milk has gunked on it, you may have a small hairline crack. Also, change your own oil sometime, (or have your buddy help you), and look at the color of the old oil. since right now your xj is probably running fine, don't sweat it, enjoy the jeep.
 
I have an 87 wagoneeer, 4x4, 4.0 liter, auto AW4, with what looks like a Heavy duty factory trailer towing package on the rear, up under the body, but the transmision cooler lines go to a liquid/liquid engine coolant/tranny fluid heat exchanger built into the radiator, not a tranny air/ tranny fluid heat exchnager. Is the radiator tranny coolant system good enough for towing, not as good, or better than an air cooled tranny heat exchanger? Should I use one, or the other, or one followed by the other?:dunno:
 
Ecomike said:
I have an 87 wagoneeer, 4x4, 4.0 liter, auto AW4, with what looks like a Heavy duty factory trailer towing package on the rear, up under the body, but the transmision cooler lines go to a liquid/liquid engine coolant/tranny fluid heat exchanger built into the radiator, not a tranny air/ tranny fluid heat exchnager. Is the radiator tranny coolant system good enough for towing, not as good, or better than an air cooled tranny heat exchanger? Should I use one, or the other, or one followed by the other?:dunno:

The cooler in the radiator is present in all auto-equipped XJs (and pretty much everything else with an automatic trans). The fluid-air cooler is a small add-on unit that is plumbed into the transmission cooler lines to provide extra cooling. Typically, this small add-on unit is mounted in front of the radiator so air can flow through it before hitting the main radiator.

The factory towing package would have included a two-core, heavy duty radiator (same unit as on air conditioned vehicles), but I don't know if they also put in the aux cooler at the factory. Someone with a factory tow package will have to speak to that.
 
I see that there is a recommendation for a high flow thermostat housing and a 180-degree thermostat.

Is there any negative to running at a lower temperature?

What maintenance manual do you recommend?

As you can see I am a neophyte to working on my own cars. The last time I worked on my own car was my 1972 Super Beetle. I had the original "Idiot" book written by a hippie in California. Also the engine was outrageously simple.

Do you recommend any particular shop manual? Any particular books describing how to perform work on my Jeep? I am considering taking an adult education class at the local Industrial Technical College in auto shop.

Thank you for your patience.
 
Reader said:
I see that there is a recommendation for a high flow thermostat housing and a 180-degree thermostat.

Is there any negative to running at a lower temperature?

What maintenance manual do you recommend?

As you can see I am a neophyte to working on my own cars. The last time I worked on my own car was my 1972 Super Beetle. I had the original "Idiot" book written by a hippie in California. Also the engine was outrageously simple.

Do you recommend any particular shop manual? Any particular books describing how to perform work on my Jeep? I am considering taking an adult education class at the local Industrial Technical College in auto shop.

Thank you for your patience.

Running a RENIX(87-90), OBD1(91-95) or a OBD2(96-01) at 180* will cuase it to run very rich and result in poor fuel economy and loss of power. Use a 195* T-stat in the 4.0, and maintain your cooling system properly.

Get the Factory Service Manuel(FSM) for your year model. Your local dealer can order it for you or check on E-bay for a better deal.

You will learn a lot just hanging around NAXJA, best FSM for the Cherokee in the world. There are some on here that I consider "experts" on the XJ alone.
 
xjtrailrider said:
Running a RENIX(87-90), OBD1(91-95) or a OBD2(96-01) at 180* will cuase it to run very rich and result in poor fuel economy and loss of power. Use a 195* T-stat in the 4.0, and maintain your cooling system properly.

I have heard a lot, and I mean a lot of others here say this also, but I have had my doubts about it for some time, and now I no longer agree, or maybe I should say I now officially disagree! I have found a few others here running at least as low as 180 F thermostats that are getting excellent mileage, including 5-90 with his Renix (as I recall). In fact I think 5-90 recently concured with me on this in another thread.

I have a 165 F thermostat in my 87 Renix, and it seems to switch to the lean(er) mode in less than a minute after start up on mine at temperatures as low as about 130 F (partly because the O2 sensor has a working internal heater, HEGO).

I would really like to know if anyone has ever really tested their fuel economy with different temperature thermostats under tightly controled conditions and what results they got with each kind of control system???

I was told by my first mechanic teacher that cold air, and cooler engines were more efficient than hot ones (back in 1973). I was also told 25 or so years ago that they went from standard 160 F thermostats to 195 F thermostats for emissions control reasons, not for fuel efficiency. I am also under the impression that early O2 sensors did not have built in heaters, and that some current universal O2 sensors do not have built in heaters, in which case it might be important to get the engine as hot as fast as possible to get the o2 sensor up to operating temperature so it can switch to lean operation.

Personaly if I was going to be towing I would make sure I had an extra air cooled tranny cooler and no higher than a 180 F high flow thermostat.
 
I can tow 2000+#'s with a 195 all day long hills or no hills,get yourself a good trans cooler, and make sure ur rad is good, i run a 3 core, if u tell a knowledged parts guy what you are towing weight wise he will sell you a proper size trans cooler.There is no such thing as a auto trans running to cold (within reason)
 
I used an Autozone thermostat - kept it way too cold in the winter, making my heater suck.

Then I went to Stant. After 3 months it failed....probably just a lemon, but.....

Then I got an OEM thermostat from the local Jeep dealership. Been using that since early last week.

I was able to replace my Stant thermostat because the Superstat's have a lifetime warranty.......so I do have a backup spare. The regular Stant thermostats have a 1 year warranty.
 
I think most of us agree that the OEM thermostat is the best choice. They are not expensive, and there have been a lot of reports of issues and negative reports about non OEM thermostats here. But some swear by others like stant.

The nice thing, usually about OEM thermostats is you are more likely to get the right part (right flow amd temperature) than elsewhere.
 
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