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2001 XJ bad idea?

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FatSlobBob

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What's the general consensus around buying a 2001 XJ? Heads not replaced but not cracked, either. 142k miles. It's sitting on a 6" long arm lift on 33s. Seller bought it built this way and doesn't know lift brand and assumes it has been regeared. Recent maintenance includes:

Aluminum radiator
Water pump
Battery & cables
Alternator
Crank sensor
Spark plugs
Brake rotors
Power aid throttle body spacer

AC has been removed. Prices at $6k.
 
Nothing wrong with a '01 except the LP D30, otherwise that seems high since the AC has been removed.
 
According to seller, no. I haven't been to see it in person yet though. So let's assume no major rust issues
 
I’ve got an 01 on the original head with 157k on it. Just drove it to Moab and back.

The head is something to be watched but not a dealbreaker
 
Hmm, it's just hard to take that gamble. It has a nice new aluminum radiator and new water pump. I'd want to do an electric fan setup.

No, $6k is what I could get it for. It's nice and clean. The heads just have me worried I guess
 
0331 head cracking is much discussed, much more often than it actually happens. If the Cherokee is nice, a good used and inspected TUPY 0331 head is not difficult to find or install, then you have no worries. There is no need to alter the stock fan set-up.
 
I'll keep that in mind. A '95 with 131k miles popped up nearby too so I guess I have some choices. Not super comfortable with OBDI but I like the simplicity
 
My 95 is heads and tail better than the 01 I had. 00-01 seems to have more electrical gremlins and have several 00-01 specific parts so are harder to source parts for such as the transmission.
 
Unclewolverine said:
My 95 is heads and tail better than the 01 I had. 00-01 seems to have more electrical gremlins and have several 00-01 specific parts so are harder to source parts for such as the transmission.
Click to expand...

Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean the rest of us with them have. I've got 2 2000's and love them both, original purchaser for 1 so ..........
 
I have a 2001 XJ with over 150,000 mile on it. I bought it in 2009 with about 130,000 on it for just about $4,000 stock. It's been a fantastic Jeep and I didn't think twice about the head issues.

To be sure, I've also owned an '85, a '90, and an '00 and the '01 by far has been the best of the bunch.

I assume you want to buy a ready built rig, which is why you are considering this one. However, I suspect you could get a stocker and build it the way you want it for less than or around $6,000 and not have to worry about other people's hands having been on it. You aren't sure if it is re-geared, and not sure what lift is on it. A 6" lift kit has a lot of moving parts above and beyond just the kit itself. I'd spend a lot of time on my back under it inspecting parts and measuring and asking questions before I'd buy a built rig from an unknown buyer...but that's just me.
 
1998-2001 AW-4's are bolt in swappable.

The total non-owner induced non-routine maintenance repairs for my 2000 Cherokee during my 18 years and 100,000 miles of ownership is: one alternator and one blower motor resistor.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, good advice all around. The seller of the '01 doesn't have much info on it because he bought it built that way, too. The '95 is on a 4.5" lift with bilstein shocks and steel front/rear numbers with fill size spare carrier. The main issue is the seller still has it on stock gearing. I could drop $1300 for gears/labor but I'd rather not
 
Or you could pull an 8.8 out of an Explorer, and a 4.10 geared HP D30 from the junkyard for $300 total and swap them in.
 
My '96 didn't have AC. I never got around to fixing it. It was rough sometimes but survivable. The owner of the '01 said the guy he bought it from used it as a snow rig so he didn't need AC
 
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