Buying Used XJ Perdicament

[FitchVA]

well i ran across this jeep (LINK) sunday at a local used car dealership. that's about what i was looking for...but with the lift/tires already done. but i called the dealer this morning only to find out that she sold it saturday and it's waiting on the customer to pick it up.

oh well. i guess it's best that it was. i'd rather have a HO 4.0L and a little more lift. it had what appeared to be around a 3" SkyJacker lift on it. I liked the meats on it though.

besides, i'm in no rush so i'm going to wait for the right one. all things go to those who wait, rigiht? or do they just get left in the dust? :tears:

 

[four_shot]

I found my option/build sheet behind the inner drivers door panel. (of course Busters an '86) don't know if that helped at all.

 

[Fore Wheeler]

I paid $3500 for my wife's 93, two door sport with 5.5" of lift, body real clean and a great runner.

I just today paid $300 for a 91, real good body, leather, but it won't keep running. I figure that I can spend some money to get it to run for the buy in price.

A few years ago I paid $6200 for my 93 that is now my trail rig, super clean with 3" of lift. Too much money for this one, live and learn.

This was just to give you an idea as to the differance in prices for basically the same Jeep. Buy the 91+ with the 4.0 HO, they're becomming cheaper every day. Keep looking, you'll find a deal.

 

[FitchVA]

Search is OVER!!

well just getting ready to hit the sack after a long week (and it's only wednesday). but just figured i'd let those that care know that i picked up my jeep tonight. '98 cherokee sport. dark green (don't know the official green name). 4x4, 4L, 8.25" rear end. nothing special. still have blue on the white letter tires but no pics yet, by the time i got home, it was dark. so i'll try to snap off some pics with my digi cam tomorrow sometime.


w00t for me :cheers:

 

[FitchVA]

well thanks to isabel, i've only been able to get one half-way decent pic of my xj without f'ing up my digi cam.

here she is...

1998 Cherokee Sport
64,967 miles
4.0L 6 cyl.

but like i said, she's nothing special, yet.

here are my future plans:
RE 4.5" lift
32x11.50's
Skids all around
Rock Rails
Con-ferr Roof Rack
CB
New Tunes
Front/Rear aftermarket bumper (winch up front)
Lighting


most of that stuff will be black, and i've got black trim. do you think it would look better if i kept strict with the black/green theme and get black rims?

 

[Eagle]

Go for something in the '91-'95 years. The HO came out in '91 and in '96 and up, you need to spend a little extra cash to get the drive line vibes out above 3" of lift. If you get one with a D44, it is next to finding gold. If it has a D35 most likley a "C" clip, there is a strong chance it has a LSD (limited slip diff) almost a locker.

You're giving the poor guy conflicting information.

1. The '96 and newer will have vibration problems after ANY lift, even a budget boost. 3" is not the magic number for this.

2. The Dana 44 rear axle was only used by AMC. Although some people claim to have found them under '88s and '89s, I have never seen one under anything except an '87. It was definitely not available in the '91 thru '95 range you're talking about.

3. If a '91 thru '95 has a Dana 35, it will be a C-clip axle. There is no "probably" involved. And it probably will NOT have a limited slip -- most people didn't order that, and most dealers didn't put money into options that buyers couldn't see and touch. Although I happen to like the factory limited slip ("Trac-Lok") for street and moderate wheeling, there is no way it could be described as "almost a locker." The Trac-Lok is about the least aggressive limited slip available.

 

[FitchVA]

well it's got the chrysler 8.25" rear anyway. i'm assuming it's got 3.55 gears? they spray painted all under it so i can't read any lables. and since hurricane isabel is dumping on us, i can't jack her up and count axle rotations.

 

[ryurabbit]

So whad ya get her fer!

You didn't say how much your newest prized posession cost? Congrats anyway hope it serves you well and see ya in MOAB!~!
Rabbit:bunny:

 

[FitchVA]

7,000 dead presidents

 

[BPB]

I got my 1990 for a grand

 

[Jaysheep]

I just picked up a 89 XJ 2 door 4.oL 5 speed D30 front and D35 rear Np231 t case 160K miles. looks good runs good. Its pretty much bone stock. Only real prob is that it needed brakes and its purple. I paid $1600.00
You should definetly be able to find one in this range, I had about 4 different ones to pick from, in my local area alone.
http://dtw.truckmoxie.com/showownerpic.ten?u=7118&n=129032&pos=1

 

[FitchVA]

thanks for the info guys, but if you check the dates on the posts, i bought one back in september of this past year :tu:

 

[Boris T]

Well Fitch shared the info that you guys provided with me as I am in the market for a Cherokee too.

Can you tell me what the differences are between the 97-99 and the 2000-2002 models? I know the diff trim levels, standard features of each level but am more curious about axle difference, ABS?, etc. This will be a replacement for my 94 Dakota.

Thanks all!
Travis

94 SLT on Dakota USA

 

[BPB]

is your dakota the boxy body style or the rounded one?

 

[FitchVA]

hey bro. glad to see you made it over.

ben, yeah his is the more boxy style. the gen III's (the more rounded ones) were started in '97.

as for the differences between the 97-99 and the 00-01 (stopped production in '01) they are subtile. in '00 they switched to a slightly better intake manifold, a distriubutorless ignition, and a low pinion dana 30 axle up front.

and as i stated before over on the dakota board, if you get a model with abs, you'll have a dana 35 rear axle which is weaker than the non-abs models that have the chrysler 8.25" rear. but you stated that you didn't plan on lifting it, so that really doesn't matter to you.

but if you have the slightest thought of lifting it, you might want to think about it. some guys have had issues lifting w/ the low pinion dana 30 up front...others haven't. some get vibes, some don't. and if you plan to go big, the dana 35 might not stand up to it.

do a search and you'll find gobs and gobs of good info.

again, welcome and enjoy naxja

 

[Boris T]

Thanks Fitch!

 

[Boris T]

is your dakota the boxy body style or the rounded one?

Here it is Ben:

and

More pics here if you would like to see them:

My Cardomain Page with Dakota, Maxima and 68 Fury Pics

 

[BPB]

are the hubs the same on the older dakotas as they are on the newer ones? I have a 2000 quad cab 4x4 on the stock 31 10.50's. But the wheels on yours look like the r/t wheels. looks good for a 2wd.

 

[Boris T]

Hubs are the same on all Gen II and Gen III trucks or to make it easier for you: 92-2004 all use the 6" on 4.5" bolt pattern. You are correct, those are stock 17"x9" Dakota R/T wheels on it. I wanted to drop the front 2" and back 3" but decided to get a Jeep instead. Hit me up with any Dak questions if you need to!

Travis


Here it is with the stock wheels, please ignore the smoke :angel:

arty:

 

[FitchVA]

of you can hit me up for any 4x4 dakota q's