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WJ (Grand Cherokee) advice

bhicks

bhicks

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Forest Falls, CA
Times are tough right now and I'm thinking about getting rid of our 07 Explorer. It has a $15,000 private party blue book and I feel I should be able to get at least 12-13k for it. I will be replacing it with an 01-04 WJ (or at least I THINK those years are a WJ, not sure though). There seems to be a lot in the 6-7k range and my wife and I could use the money left over from the Explorer sale to make ends meet. I need to know what issues to look out for. I know XJ's have certain issues for certain years and I'm guessing since this is a Jeep it will have it's own issues. Anything to know about the V8 or the quatro?? something transfer case? Tranny, electrical, brake, etc. issues? Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
 
The wj grands are 99-04, they have a few differnt engine/t-case options, I had a 04, with a 242 and a 4.0L, it was awesome. I had almost no problems with it. I did have a tps go out, but they warranted that. I highly recommend a grand I loved mine. GL bro.
 
I had a 2000 Loredo with the 4.7L V-8 and thought it was great for towing and general use. I liked it so much, that I tried to find an '04 Overland, but settled for an '06 WK Overland instead. As nice as the WK is, I prefer the older style that you are looking for.

After I bought my WK, I found a beautiful 2004 Grand Cherokee Overland with flawless silver paint and a nice lift with tires and rims. Selling price was about 12k, which seemed to be a good price for the low miles and great condition.
 
rocknxj said:
I had a 2000 Loredo with the 4.7L V-8 and thought it was great for towing and general use. I liked it so much, that I tried to find an '04 Overland, but settled for an '06 WK Overland instead. As nice as the WK is, I prefer the older style that you are looking for.

After I bought my WK, I found a beautiful 2004 Grand Cherokee Overland with flawless silver paint and a nice lift with tires and rims. Selling price was about 12k, which seemed to be a good price for the low miles and great condition.
Click to expand...

What is on the Overland package? Any common issues with the 4.7 V8?
 
I had an 00-01, can't remember. Finally sold it because it was 2wd :( and it had some minor hiccups in the trans. Bugged the crap out of me. It would double shit 2nd gear every time, and would do it repeatedly at low speeds, like cruising in a parking lot. 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2....gets to be really annoying.
 
JohnX said:
I had an 00-01, can't remember. Finally sold it because it was 2wd :( and it had some minor hiccups in the trans. Bugged the crap out of me. It would double shit 2nd gear every time, and would do it repeatedly at low speeds, like cruising in a parking lot. 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2....gets to be really annoying.
Click to expand...


Does the 4.7 and the 4.0 come with the same tranny? If not, which tranny did you have?
 
My mom's 4.7 wj dropped a valve seat in one of the heads right at 100k miles. Had it fixed at the dealer and the other head did the same thing 4 months later. Other than that it has been a great vehicle, she's owned it since new. I have a buddy who up until being rear ended a month ago has a 99 with the 4.0, he loved it as well.never had a problem aside from a water pump go out and a headlight relay (which was a pain in the butt to change because it's mounted behind the front bumper). Personally i'd look for one with the 4.0 just because i'd be more familiar with the engine if it ever needed work, but they seem to be pretty decent rigs all around.

If you're looking for a 4x4 and plan on wheeling it, be aware that the cv style front axles they use are known for being weak, and the viscous coupler inside the 249 tcase is expensive to replace when they go bad.
 
Up until two months ago, I had a 99 WJ with the 4.7L that was my wife's DD. Great rig with plenty of power, fun to drive. In the 2.5 years we owned it, I replaced the climate control sensor, both CV shafts on the front (for the same reason Grimm listed), the radiator twice (first one lasted 2 weeks, bad seam on pass. tank) and the TPS once. Rig had just over 140k when we sold it, and the only reason we got rid of it was because it became too cramped with two car seats and all our other crap on road trips. I almost wish I'd kept it, but it was hard to pass up the $4500 we got for it when we sold it, especially since we only paid $5500 when we bought it.
 
I'd check the edmunds.com True Market Value on the Explorer. My experience is that Blue Book is a big on the high side for private party sales. You may find the savings from offloading the Explorer are less than you're thinking.

Is it paid off?
 
GrimmJeeper said:
My mom's 4.7 wj dropped a valve seat in one of the heads right at 100k miles. Had it fixed at the dealer and the other head did the same thing 4 months later. Other than that it has been a great vehicle, she's owned it since new. I have a buddy who up until being rear ended a month ago has a 99 with the 4.0, he loved it as well.never had a problem aside from a water pump go out and a headlight relay (which was a pain in the butt to change because it's mounted behind the front bumper). Personally i'd look for one with the 4.0 just because i'd be more familiar with the engine if it ever needed work, but they seem to be pretty decent rigs all around.

If you're looking for a 4x4 and plan on wheeling it, be aware that the cv style front axles they use are known for being weak, and the viscous coupler inside the 249 tcase is expensive to replace when they go bad.
Click to expand...

I have no intentions of wheeling this. This will be my wife's daily driver. The only mod I will do is immediately get rid of the 249 and swap in a 242. I like the functions of the 242 in my XJ is snow conditions. I want my wife to have the same features.
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
I'd check the edmunds.com True Market Value on the Explorer. My experience is that Blue Book is a big on the high side for private party sales. You may find the savings from offloading the Explorer are less than you're thinking.

Is it paid off?
Click to expand...

My numbers came from Edmunds.com. I find they are the only site that is actually accurate. Every vehicle I have sold I used their site to price it and I always sale it within a couple hundred of their number.(not including built offraod vehicles) I figured at the 15K value they gave my Explorer, then I would have no issues getting 12-13k in this economy. I also have it paid off. In regards to offroading an Explorer, that's just not gonna happen. The Independent front and rear suspension and zero aftermarket support makes it a BAD candidate for a trail rig. My XJ on 35's does just fine as a trail rig. I just need a good 4x4 daily driver for my wife.
 
Ok, you had said blue book, so I thought KBB.
 
Alright, so I did some homework on a few sites and now have figured out what I want. Unfortunately they don't make it. I want an 02-04 V8 limited with a 242 and the varilock axles. The varilock axles only come with the quadrdrive 247 which I don't want. I like the 02 and newer ones because they come with the updated brakes that don't have the rotor warping issues and I like the V8 for the heavy tranny, more power, and the dana 44 rear end. So here's the plan. Find an 02-04 limited V8 with the quadradrive 247 (that comes with the varilock axles). Swap out the t-case with a 242 and I will have my perfect WJ. Now I just need to find it. If anyone knows of someone selling what I'm looking for then please let me know. Please understand I'm not saying the WJ I just described is the perfect rig for everyone, it's just the pefect set up for me and what I plan to use it for.
 
That sounds like my 04 Special Edition with 86K on it. I do not have the vari-lock axles. They don't work anyhow! All they are is a weak limited slip. Mine has the 4.7, 4x4, (QuadraTrac II) tow package, leather, no dual climate control, 2" BB, 245/70/17 tires, 17" Commander Hulks, and the 10 disc changer.

I could sale for the right price.

BTW: the D44 is not the same as the XJ D44. The WJ has an aluminum center section on it.

1201091245.jpg
 
Last edited:
GrimmJeeper said:
don't get too pumped about the d44 rear end, it's a d44a not a true d44. the housings are much weaker
Click to expand...

True, but they are still better then the d35 that comes in the other models.
 
shelbyluvv said:
That sounds like my 04 Special Edition with 86K on it. I do not have the vari-lock axles. They don't work anyhow! All they are is a weak limited slip. Mine has the 4.7, 4x4, (QuadraTrac II) tow package, leather, no dual climate control, 2" BB, 245/70/17 tires, 17" Commander Hulks, and the 10 disc changer.

I could sale for the right price.

BTW: the D44 is not the same as the XJ D44. The WJ has an aluminum center section on it.
Click to expand...


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