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new to the forum and i have a question

K

killahaas

NAXJA Forum User
Location
long island
hey guys im looking at buying my first car which happens to be a jeep cherokee and im looking at a 2000 jeep cherokee. it looks very clean inside and out,it has 141,000 miles on it but the only thing is it is leaking a tiny bit of oil around the pan and it looks like the tranny may be leaking a tiny bit of tranny fluid(if it is tranny fluid) as well but its not dripping at all it just looks wet and i took it for a test drive and everything works fine. The guy is asking 4000$neg and its from a used car dealership and my question to you is, will this be a bad thing or is it a bad thing? sorry if this is in the wrong section. but i really hope you guys can help me out with this . oh yea heres the link http://www.taillightmotorsinc.com/De...Q41LL4VXNB4=
 
The link doesn't work.

Would be nice to narrow down the cause of the leaks. Common places that leak oil on the XJ include the valve cover, oil filter adaptor o-rings, and the rear main seal.

Check it closely for rust, be sure everything works including the 4WD. Check the condition/color of the coolant (should be green) and the oil. The 2000 has the 0331 head which some have had trouble with cracking. Poor cooling system maintenance and any overheating can contribute to this.

If you're interested, always offer less. You can always go up in your asking price but can't go down once you toss out that number!
 
Personally, I wouldn't buy a 2000 or 2001. I have one. Search the 0331 head problem. Many of them crack. At least look very carefully at the oil fill cap on the inside and inside the valve cover. If it looks milky or mayonnaise in there, the head is already cracked. Mine is. The 98's and 99's without the coil rail have the older head that is more robust.

Also they have the high pinion front axle which is preferable to the low pinion of the 2000/2001. I got mine for $3000 over a year ago without realizing that it had the cracked head already. The PO had jimmied the oil fill cap so that I couldn't do my usual blow-by test. And I didn't know about the propensity of the heads to crack.

Don't buy it. There are a ton of pre-2000's out there.
 
That is not the stock oil fill cap. Have you had that off and checked for blow-by while the engine is warmed up and running? Have you checked for milky substance on the cap and inside? 144k miles -- too much money anyway. It looks just like mine. Even the dent in the rear bumper. I bought a nice hitch to put on mine, but can't get it into place properly until I pull the bumper and beat it into shape. I also never liked buying off a lot, because you can't get a feel for whoever owned it before.
 
yea you are right i think im going to just look for something else i dont think its worth the hassle. but should i do this too every 2000-2001 cherokee? or just ones that have leaking oil and everything?
 
Leaking oil has nothing to do with the head cracking. The head cracking makes it use antifreeze (out the exhaust) and lets it also mix with the oil.

Yes, be very suspicious of every 2000-2001 for cracked head syndrome. Some of the '99s may also have this head. The giveaway is that if it has the coil rail (ignition coil unit that is like a long rectangular unit that sits on top of all of the spark plugs together), it is the "infamous" 0331 head.

If you aren't already stuck with one, I don't see why you would want one unless it's a SUPER deal. Like perfect for $2500.
 
Nothing to add but welcome to NAXJA.

I went to college in Oakdale.
 
My 97 had a minor oil drip and I was worried it was the rear main seal. I decided to replace the valve cover and filter housing o-rings and that solved my drips. Gravity and the fan blowing really do tricks with oil and makes it hard to see where it's coming from.
 
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