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grand cherokee daily driver

W

waserwolf

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Vernon B.C.
I know this isn't the place to ask this question, but I figured that the guys that visit this forum would know best. Crashed my 2000 XJ a few days ago and it looks like it will be a write off, my wife and I have 3 children and she is expressing interest in a larger vehicle, what do you think of the grand cherokee compared to the XJ, will be using it as a DD as well as hunting/fishing. Thanks for your time, sorry for posting in the wrong spot.
 
Which Grand? ZJ, WJ or WK? We have a '00 WJ with a 2" lift that rides much nicer than the XJ ever has and is more comfy and is a nicer DD, IMO. It can handle mild trails quite well though. The main trail problem is that with only 2" of lift the gas tank is pretty vulnerable, much more than the XJ, unless you have good skid plate.

It has the 4.0 and 180K on it with no major problems, although people do have problems with the blend doors and certain casting number heads. I've had to replace the evaporator (PITA), headlight housing (they clouded over badly and re-clouded after multiple polishings), water pump and fuel pump. Other than that just normal maintenance. Not bad for 180K.
 
I was in the same boat as you looking for a DD SUV when I got my 2000 Cherokee. In all honesty, you can pick up a similar Grand Cherokee for around the same money as a Cherokee, but I picked the Cherokee because it's much easier and cheaper to work on. Sit in both, and I think you'll find the GC isn't any more roomer than the XJ. I also like the looks of the XJ much better. The Grand does have at least SelecTrac which is nice for DD, but the XJ was the better choice for me.
 
I'd take a clean ZJ before a WJ. I've got a friend with a repair facility specializing in Jeeps, WJ's are in there all the time for big ticket repairs - transmission, A/C, etc.
 
3XJFamily said:
I'd take a clean ZJ before a WJ. I've got a friend with a repair facility specializing in Jeeps, WJ's are in there all the time for big ticket repairs - transmission, A/C, etc.
Click to expand...

Me too, I like the boxier look of the ZJ (not surprising considering the XJ is my baby), but the wife liked the WJ and it was better riding and more comfy than the ZJs and XJs we test drove. Plus we got a good deal on it.

Maybe we've just been lucky with our WJ but I can't complain about repairs. Ours is the 4.0 w/ auto and 242. Maybe that makes a difference with repair issues. I hear that the Quadra-Trac (or what ever the viscous coupled t-case is called) can have problems with the coupler going.
 
My wife just got a WK about 2 months ago. Gas isn't great but for the price we paid I could careless, plus she is paying for the gas not me, haha.
She got the Limited Overland w/ Hemi and Quadra-Drive 2 system ( I think). Its a real nice ride on the highway, I think it gets better MPG w/o the cruise control, its easier for the MDS to stay w/ 4 cylinders, IMO.
Its a little loose on the street too.
I drove it up Capitan Mountain last weekend, and it did well. Everything worked like it should, the hill decent is touchy and I only used it for a few Min's.
The best option for me is the AC outlet that I can plug my laptop into so my wife can watch TV or movies while I drive. Keeps her from bugging me and I get to listen to the NFL/ESPN radio stations the whole time!
 
I really like the WJs.

When it comes time to buy another Jeep to build that is likely what I'll be shopping for.

WJ with 4.7 V8 and Select-Trac is what I'd look for...
 
We've got a 99 WJ with the 4.0/242 combination. Has about 120k on it now, had about 60k when we bought it in '03. It's my wife's DD and we use it for highway trips. Definitely more comfy than the XJ and a little roomier. We've had no maintenance problems with it at all. The 242 is nice because she can put it in 4wd when it's very wet or a little snowy and not have to worry about it.
We bought it from a Dodge dealer and got them to knock some $ off because it "only has a 6-cyl".
My only complaints with it are the rearward visibility is not as good as the XJ's and the headlights are awful. Maybe I just need new lights, but they're not cheap.

I thought about getting another one when I was shopping for my XJ but I knew I'd want to lift it and lifting WJs quickly gets to be expensive.
 
We have both, a 98XJ and a 97ZJ, the ZJ has the off road option, 2" factory lift, full skids and hooks, cost $3K, mint body, had to sink $900 into the rear, new carrier, locker and gears, total rebuild but I knew that up front when I bought it. It rides nice. More comfortable than the XJ IMO, it's a 4.0, 242, D35. Oh, the ecu got flakey two weeks ago, would randomly die and stall, replaced it and it's running better than ever.
I'm looking at a 98 for $2500, just need to get down to NJ and eyeball it, from the pics it's excellent, garaged it's whole life and well taken care of plus it has a brand new tranny.
 
I believe with the v8 your going to be in 4 wheel full time. I'm not sure with the wj's

I would take a 5.9 with a tcase swap on 31's in ZJ trim.

I prefer my cherokee a lot more for trails tho.
 
I thought you could get the Select-Trac with the small V8 but now I'm not certain any more. When I was researching them this past summer I poured over the information at wjjeeps.com and it seemed like it was a valid configuration.

Probably quite rare though. May be easier to buy whatever you can find with the 4.7 and get a NV242 to put on it. Since everyone thinks NV242s are "garbage transfer cases" they are cheap to source. It's great!. ;)
 
Tdad said:
We've got a 99 WJ with the 4.0/242 combination. Has about 120k on it now, had about 60k when we bought it in '03. It's my wife's DD and we use it for highway trips. Definitely more comfy than the XJ and a little roomier. We've had no maintenance problems with it at all. The 242 is nice because she can put it in 4wd when it's very wet or a little snowy and not have to worry about it.
We bought it from a Dodge dealer and got them to knock some $ off because it "only has a 6-cyl".
My only complaints with it are the rearward visibility is not as good as the XJ's and the headlights are awful. Maybe I just need new lights, but they're not cheap.

I thought about getting another one when I was shopping for my XJ but I knew I'd want to lift it and lifting WJs quickly gets to be expensive.
Click to expand...

I snagged a pair of new lights for the WJ cheap here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390019293511&viewitem=

I installed them just over a week ago so I don't know how long they will last, etc, but I have no reason to believe they won't last a long time. They fit fine, look good and we have the best lighting we've had in the WJ since we got it used in 02.
 
stoneattic said:
I snagged a pair of new lights for the WJ cheap here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390019293511&viewitem=

I installed them just over a week ago so I don't know how long they will last, etc, but I have no reason to believe they won't last a long time. They fit fine, look good and we have the best lighting we've had in the WJ since we got it used in 02.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. They're up to $105/pr now.
Do they include the aiming adjusters? I know I broke one of ours trying to get them aimed higher.
 
Root Moose said:
May be easier to buy whatever you can find with the 4.7 and get a NV242 to put on it. Since everyone thinks NV242s are "garbage transfer cases" they are cheap to source. It's great!. ;)
Click to expand...

I'd go for that, and if the regular 242 proves too weak, source one of the 242HD's from a Durango or pony up the cash and get the 242AMG
:loveu:
 
IIRC both the Durango and WJ 242s have the external cooler. I don't know if there are any other updates to the case that are not shared between them.
 
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