newer xj ???'s

I'm upgrading from my 93xj to a newer xj...looking between 97 and 01 but when i did a search i found several people saying stick between 97-99 b/c the 00 and 01's had more problems....nothing specific though....so what do you guys know about the 00 and 01's...is there anything specific that goes wrong w/ them that wouldnt happen on a 97-99...my g/f bought a 98 and it seems like the electrical is complete **** . Let me know...any info is appreciated as i'm selling my 93 this friday and will need to find a new xj soon!...Thanks!

get a 97-99 w/o power windows or door locks and you list of trouble areas will go down

see thats my problem, everyone keeps saying this stuff, do you know any of the specifics that i would want to stay away from an 00 or 01 or is it just rumor b/c one or two people had a bad experience?

refer to my post to your thread on Jeepboard, I don't feel like cutting and pasting right now.

I have a 98 XJ with 77,000 miles on it. Never had any prob's with power windows or locks. But then again, time and mileage will tell the truth.
Previous owner kept it in gorgeous condition as well. So the bugs may have already been worked out.
Take a chance on a newer one. Ya never know. And with every car you buy your gonna have prob's of some sort.
Used cars aren't made in heaven. But then again, neither are new ones.

i have a 00 sport...auto and stock.
so far it has been hit hard, off road many times and driven daily to about 75,000 miles on the odo.
these are the problems i am having (maybe related to the hit...maybe not)
electrical in the doors seems to be okay, but once in awhile the little power button lights go out. took a look, everything seems okay and since it only happens once every three months i can live with it.
have a strange wobble at 55 to 60 mph (did all the balance castor toe things several times). the balancing (as eagle suggested) seems to work the best, but the Al rims dont seem to hold the weights very well...(get steel?)
recently had a hiccup at start up and the code registered misfire in #6 cylinder. changed battery and plugs and it runs smoother than ever (but there is still less power...looking into that one).
maintenance on the newer vehicles must be flawless or everything will hit you all at once. seems to me rich p. has it dialed.
when its in 3 (not overdrive) going down a hill i have a large clunk as the vehicle downshifts into 2 and 1 coming to a stop. dealer says everything is fine... still looking into that one too.
in comparison to our 74 cherokee, 73 cj5, 85 grand wagoneer, and 92 MJ eliminator, my '00xj' seems like a strange stepchild lost in limbo....I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ONE... but i like the uncertainty of making it home each day. kidding! all in all my '00' is LESS dependable, but i know of no other which perfoms better off road (i waxed a D-90 on the trails sunday and it cemented my thoughts of improving the faults).
disclaimer: this is my .02 $ and i am by no means an expert on any subject.

O1s have low pinion Dana 30s.

biscuitboy87 said:

when its in 3 (not overdrive) going down a hill i have a large clunk as the vehicle downshifts into 2 and 1 coming to a stop. dealer says everything is fine... still looking into that one too.

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Every 4.0l/AW4 XJ I've ever driven does that.

Whats wrong w/ a low pinion dana 30?

JeepXJ93 said:

Whats wrong w/ a low pinion dana 30?

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The operating angle of the u-joints will be steeper than the high-pinion, and there's that reduced ground clearance to deal with. Additionally, the gears aren't as strong in the low-pinion front as they are in a high-pinion application.

I drive a 2000 XJ with a 3" skyjacker lift. I've added 4 hella lights, a custom built roof rack, k&n filter and a custom exhaust. I have ran the heck out of my jeep offroad and on and the only problem I've ever had was my alternator going out after an offroad trip where I was the only vehicle to make it through a mud hole. I also drowned it in a creek a few times. But besides my error, the Jeep will run flawlessly. Only drawbacks come from the design itself (unibody problems such as shock absorber mounts in the top rear) But other than that these are awesome machines.

Yucca-Man said:

The operating angle of the u-joints will be steeper than the high-pinion, and there's that reduced ground clearance to deal with. Additionally, the gears aren't as strong in the low-pinion front as they are in a high-pinion application.

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So other than the loss in ground clearance, when you say the gears arent as strong do you mean the actually physical characteristics of the gears or do you mean the ratio isnt as high?

All in all, i'm going to off road minimal on some trails that a stock cherokee can easily handle and other than that if we get blizzards i'll be driving through snow as much as i can b/c i love it and then its just my daily driver...Seems like i should go for a newer one??

I bought an '01 XJ Sport, stock and auto last October with 19,000 miles for $11,495. It just now turned 30,000. I have had the left front speaker wire die out (replaced for a few bucks), and an annoying misfire issue on cylinder #3 which was permanently repaired with a fuel line sleeve and a free software upgrade to the CPU from the dealer.

Aside from those issues, it is without a doubt the best vehicle I have ever owned. I use Mobil 1 10/30 synthetic oil every 3000 miles and follow the factory maintenance schedule like clockwork. Oil pressure runs between 20 and 45 and the temperature never exceeds 205. No rattles, wobble, or shaky starts. It runs and looks as good, if not better than the day I bought it.

The '01 also has had few recalls or TSBs as compared to other years. The low pinion Dana 30 may be a negative if you intend to do much rough off-roading though.

On balance, my opinion is that you would be best served by trying to find an '01. I plan to keep this thing well past 200,000 miles.

YEA! i feel like a little kid in a toy store..lol i found 3 in my price range...around 8000...a 2 2001's w/ 80k and 70k on it and one 99 w/ 85k on it....goin to check em out tomorrow...anything specific i should look for other than the basics? Thanks for all the input.

P.S the one thing i've noticed about newer sports than my 93 is the ride hieght...maybe its just the diff. fender flares but to me it seems like the newer ones sit lower than the older xjs.....u guys know anything about that? Thanks again for all the help.

I see you found some to look at and have pretty much decided on the later models. I don't disagree. I own a '93 AW4 and have had a '91 5-speed, a '96 AW4, and currently have a '00 AW4 at work. Whereas with most products these days, the quality keeps dropping year by year, I have not seen that happen to the XJ. At least from '91 through '00, I would take any one I could get my hands on, except for the issue of the driver's ride height. I do have one complaint with the later models. At 6' (and over 300#), and being as I am living in Texas, I find it very disapointing that I cannot wear my Stetson while driving the '00 XJ. Even in the '96 it was a bit awkward. For this reason, and this reason alone, my next XJ will be no later than the '95 model. Otherwise, shop around for the features you want and don't worry too much about the model year.

XJ Dreamin'
stock 2WD '93 XJ, 4.0L HO, AW4, D35c, LT 235/75R15 A/T's all 'round

We have two 2000 XJs, a Classic for my wife and a Sport 5-speed for me. The Sport mostly sits in the garage because it's virtually the last of the breed (it's the only 2000 5-speed sold in Connecticut, and possibly the only one sold in New England) but my wife's is her daily driver and we just took it on a cross-country trip.

No problems with either one. I don't know why people seem to think the 2000 and 2001 are more trouble-prone. I have seen nothing to suggest that, either with my own or when hanging out at the dealership.

Driveliene vibrations due to lifting are a concern with the newer XJs, but that started with the 1996 models when they changed the transfer case output design, it was not limited to the 2000 and 2001. In 2000 they switched to a low pinion front diff, but it's the same axle used in the TJ and hasn't really been a problem for anyone that I'm aware of.

1997 was the first year for the revised body and a lot of other changes. I would buy a 2000 before I'd buy a 97.

I have a bone-stock 2001 Sport (6cyl., auto, NP232) that I bought in February with 81,000 on the clock. After putting 17,000 miles on it since then, absolutely nothing has gone wrong with it that I didn't cause myself.

The one major issue was killing the TPS through a combination of spray-washing the engine and hitting a deep water crossing hard. Having said that, this is a common XJ affliction and not unique to this year or the later models. It was also my fault for soaking it, so I got what I deserved on that one.

Power delivery is noticeably improved over earlier models with the torque peaking 1000RPM lower. Interior noise is considerably reduced, too. The coil rail that replaced the distributor and ignition wires is a major improvement in terms of ignition system water-resistance, IMHO.

All the electrical toys (mirrors & windows, in my case) work fine despite having been subjected to a fair amount of mud, dust, water, and snow. I love the ABS.

The suspension has needed to be replaced for the last 10,000 miles or so. The stock setup just doesn't seem to be very long-lived off-road; a couple of people I've talked to with similar vehicles have said the same thing. Then again, if you're planning on lifting it anyway this probably isn't much of a concern. Overall, off-road ability does not appear to be any better or worse than any earlier model.

People will tell you to avoid the run-out models - why, I don't know. The LP 30 is a consideration, but if you're going to run lockers or similar it makes sense to swap out and regear anyway, probably with a D44, so it's a moot point.

One other thing: the 2000 and 2001 models are statistically likely to have the lowest mileage and lowest instances of abuse since most are going to be coming back from one-owner leases at this point. In theory, this should give you longer-term enjoyment of the XJ with less downtime.

I'd say go for it, but then I'm biased

XJ Dreamin' said:

For this reason, and this reason alone, my next XJ will be no later than the '95 model.

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I assume that this is because power seats were gone? Why not just do a swap with one of the many Limited seats I see being parted - In case there was a newer one that you really liked.

XJ Dreamin' said:

I see you found some to look at and have pretty much decided on the later models. I don't disagree. I own a '93 AW4 and have had a '91 5-speed, a '96 AW4, and currently have a '00 AW4 at work. Whereas with most products these days, the quality keeps dropping year by year, I have not seen that happen to the XJ. At least from '91 through '00, I would take any one I could get my hands on, except for the issue of the driver's ride height. I do have one complaint with the later models. At 6' (and over 300#), and being as I am living in Texas, I find it very disapointing that I cannot wear my Stetson while driving the '00 XJ. Even in the '96 it was a bit awkward. For this reason, and this reason alone, my next XJ will be no later than the '95 model. Otherwise, shop around for the features you want and don't worry too much about the model year.

XJ Dreamin'
stock 2WD '93 XJ, 4.0L HO, AW4, D35c, LT 235/75R15 A/T's all 'round

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Whats a stetson? Only thing i dont like about the interior is the handle bar on the door gets in the way of my knee...i'm only 160lbs and 5'10 so its not a problem.

JeepXJ93 said:

Whats a stetson? .

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nice cowboy hat