Soon to be XJ owner questions

[SteelblueSteve]

I have an 01' and have had the stock rotors replaced twice under warranty due to warping. I've heard this is somewhat common for the newer cherokees. Rotors can go from 60-180$. Slotted at the high end. Another plus with the 97 and up cherokees are the Chrysler 8.25 rear axles, 29 spline. Other than the few older ones with Dana 44's , this is the next best stock axle ,IMO.

 

[Eagle]

JaysXJ: "Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6..."

OK I'll admit I screwed up when I said that Jeep put V6 H.O's in some of their rigs. But growin up, I learned that a Flat 4 is the same thing as an Inline 4.
So if I'm sayin it wrong then I'll try to remember to go with I4.

A true "flat 4" engine is a Subaru horizontally-opposed engine, or a VW bug engine. More common (many years ago) were flathead 4 cylinder engines. A flathead engine has the valves in the block. The Jeep 2.5L 4-cyl is an overhead valve engine, not a flathead. It's an in-line 4-cyl, or I4.

Eagle: "the 2.5L I4 engine in the XJ should be delivering 25 to 28 MPG, not 16."

Eagle are u sure its suppose to be 25-28 MPG?

Yep. Heck, my '88 4.0L gets 21 to 23 MPG highway and 18 to 19 around town. If you have a 4-cyl and you're only getting 16 MPG you have problems.

 

[Ron Hyslop]

My 86xj, 2.5l, TBI with a 5 speed, 18-19mpg around town, 25-27mpg down the hiway at 75mph.

 

[WB9YZU]

JaysXJ: "Sorry to say, but, AMC or Jeep never produced a Flat-4 cyl. or a H.O. V-6..."

OK I'll admit I screwed up when I said that Jeep put V6 H.O's in some of their rigs. But growin up, I learned that a Flat 4 is the same thing as an Inline 4.
So if I'm sayin it wrong then I'll try to remember to go with I4.


Eagle: "the 2.5L I4 engine in the XJ should be delivering 25 to 28 MPG, not 16."

Eagle are u sure its suppose to be 25-28 MPG?

Cause if it is I'm really getting screwed on my mileage....

Cherokee motors were 2.5L inline 4 and GM 2.8L V6. in 84-86. In 87' the 2.8L was replaced with the 4.0L and they also continued to use the 2.5L untill I think 2000 when they only produced 4.0L units for the US market.

The 2.8Ls were far from H.O. units, but NOS (new old stock) engines GM didn't want (IMO). As all the 2.8Ls in GMs were TB injection. The 2.5Ls didn't start to get much over 20-22 mpg (depending on transmission and electrical options) untill port injection came around. After all, they were yanking around 3,200# of Jeep around at 90hp.

So... back to your original question: All Cherokees are OK by me. I have owned a 85' 2.8L manual, 86' 2.8L auto, and presently own a 98' 4.0L auto. It's all good.

Some things to look for.
* Fuse panel on a 84-96 MANUAL units. Sometimes the Clutch master cylinder leaked. When it did, most often it was inside- all over the fuse block- killing the fuse block and eating the contacts. Guaranteed electrical problems.
* Oil in air filter. Often caused by a Crank Case Ventalation system which is plugged. Annoying, but "minor" maintance item.
* Check Floors, esp the Passenger side floor. Often the heat shield comes off on the cat causing the floor to rust out from the inside due to condensation.
* Seats. Make sure the drivers side seat frame hasn't started coming apart. Look under seat where seat mounts to sliders for cracks.
* If you intend to off-road the unit, starting in 2000, the front axle was usually a low pinion model. All others were high pinion. Also 97 and up units sometimes came with 8.25 rear ends. Strong axles, but you gave up 1/2 an inch at the pumpkin in ground clearance.
* 84-91(?) front axles were "disconnect" front axles, which meant that the passenger side axle has a vacuum motor on it to engage or dissengage the front axle. Be sure hoses are in good shape.
* High idle issues. Annoying maintance problem.
* I prefer part time 4WD to Full time, but that's me. PT 4WD shifter goes '2WD, 4WD, N, 4LO'.
* 97-99' models had a factory recall to move the airbag controller from under the Drivers seat where it could get wet and deploy the airbags. Make sure it was complied with.

There are a host of other things, but they are all maintance problems. Most Cherokees if they are maintained last well into the 200K mark.

 

[XJRedneck]

A true "flat 4" engine is a Subaru horizontally-opposed engine, or a VW bug engine. More common (many years ago) were flathead 4 cylinder engines. A flathead engine has the valves in the block. The Jeep 2.5L 4-cyl is an overhead valve engine, not a flathead. It's an in-line 4-cyl, or I4.


Yep. Heck, my '88 4.0L gets 21 to 23 MPG highway and 18 to 19 around town. If you have a 4-cyl and you're only getting 16 MPG you have problems.

I do most if not all my driving round town and not on the Hiway, and my rig has always got about 16 mpg, so I'm not really worried. But thanx for straightening me out bout Flat 4's and Inline 4's.

 

[Huck]

* I prefer part time 4WD to Full time, but that's me. PT 4WD shifter goes '2WD, 4WD, N, 4LO'.

The 242 xfer case (SelecTrac) has every option the 231 (CommandTrac) does, PLUS full time. If you live somewhere with snow and ice, you run into crappy roads where having extra traction is nice, but you're on dry pavement enough that you really don't want it in part time. It just offers one more 4WD option.

If I had the option...I'd get one with the SelecTrac. I've had both, live in the north, prefer being able to put in 4wd when road conditions are varying from good to poor, and forgetting about it. If I REALLY need more traction, then just put it in part-time 4wd (locks the center differential that is open in full-time mode - so it's now just like the 4HI mode on the 231's)

That's my .02

I also like the late model designs...and for $6000 you're getting into their price range - I bought a '99 Sport w/ 50,000 miles one year ago for $8000 (with CommandTrac). Like my ex-wifes '98 with SelecTrac better. I think she got rid of me just to get the Cherokee to herself!

Like someone else said earlier...I'd be a LITTLE inclined to avoid '97s just cause of the new model issue.

 

[sloppyjoe]

Well there are some cool things to look for instead of steering clear. Factory tow pkg., factory skids are cool to. Not the strongest skids but there better than plastic. As far as rust goes, another place i found on the Xj's is the rear quarter panels on the bottom like to rust. All in all they are really great I love my XJ,and I have had many other Jeeps, CJ, YJ, ZJ, even a sweet TJ, witch was great but I just love the X. Enjoy, and welcome.

 

[sbxj]

One that I am looking at is a 93 4.0 5-speed with a recent (2-3yrs) Trailmaster lift. Any cooling/oil problems other than seal? Transmission or t-case? I plan to drive it daily as well as medium duty snow and light mud. ANY advice and info is appreciated. POOR college student here

I would advise staying away from used lifted Jeeps with many more potential problems than at stock height.

 

[MAXJ]

* Check Floors, esp the Passenger side floor. Often the heat shield comes off on the cat causing the floor to rust out from the inside due to condensation.

Make sure to look under the passenger side, and get way under there to check past the framerail too right above the exhaust. Prod around in the back pushing your hand down above the gas tank, that has a tendency to rot out too. I got my 93 sport for $500 because the floor is non-existent on the passenger side, thats the only problem though and it has 180,000 miles.

http://community.webshots.com/user/ducttapepro

You are definately making a good choice in vehicles, i love my jeep. Just make sure to check the floors because if you aren't up to fixing it yourself thats a pretty costly job.


Also, about the rotors, i saw on www.mycarstats.com that the rotors (at least for 1993 jeeps) were recalled due to warping caused by corrosion and they would be replaced with ones more resisitant to corroding. Check that site to see what else there would be for your year.

Lets see, one more little thing that could be a big problem, check your door hinges on the front doors, my front drivers and passenger doors the top hinge on the door has seperated at the weld from the door jamb. Not a big fix, just something to watch out for because it could cause problems down the line.

Check all the doors and hatch to see if they open/close freely without any major problems, with the unibody design if it had been beaten too much off-road i've heard of the unibody getting bent slightly causing problems with doors opening/closing (from what i can tell the back passenger and driver side doors are a little hard to open no matter what on all the jeeps i've been in, but thats more due to the door handle then the door itself).

Good luck man! Good choice. I caught the jeep thing too, but im just warning you, now it hurts to pee.

haha, joking of course.

 

[sjx40250]

I live in Oregon and own 2, a 90 and 92. No rust anywhere because we don't use salt in the winter.

I know the the change over is an issue for some but which type is of concern? 96 was the last year with the old body style (sort of) that had the rear fiberglass hatch. That hatch tends to break on some. My 90's has a crack. 96 was the year the engine management changed and is identical to the 97.

I prefer the select trac as well. Both mine have them. My 92 has the factory "limited slip" which is an improvement over my 90's open rear end. In the rain, do we ever get any here, the full-time is great.

You will find quite a variety of choices in this area. Check them all out, you may find a gem.

 

[Slip Kid]

This is a flat 4:

flat 4 post

 

[Jeeppowr]

My advice is to "buy the bigger engine." Not only for the power, but more importantly in my opinion, the 4.0L is significantly more reliable and more available (parts, etc.) My experience is exclusively with the 4.0L I6, but I've heard that the old 2.5 I4 was very hard to work on from a friend. I wouldn't buy a Grand Cherokee with the V8 either, the ones in your price range will probably be the older V8 that I've heard is problematic.

I would say that between 80K and 150K you can expect "regular" car maintenance (even a Honda or Toyota "should" get these) such as tires, shocks all the way around, gear fluids, tranny drain/refill, power steering flush, brake system flush, front pads and rear shoes, cooling system flush (every 2 years in my owners manual), exhaust manifold, 02 sensor, and maybe cleaning the throttle body depending. I'm not suggesting that everyone does all this, but if you look in the maintenance schedule of the owner’s manual, you'll find most of that listed. I prefer flushing all the fluids at regular (but not often) intervals to keep the car feeling like new.

My experience has shown that the water pump will need replacing near 100K, mostly in my opinion due to inability in following the manufact. maint interval for cooling system flush; the radiator fluid also lubricates the pump, and loses viscosity over time. Might as well replace the $1.49 thermostat at that time. If your potential vehicle doesn't have a transmission cooler, I'd add one just to extend the longevity of the auto transmission (cooler fluid lasts longer, heat kills the trans). Towards 150K you may need a starter and/or alternator, but that’s pretty standard for any car if you ask me. It seems pretty common to have the power window units of the '97 and newer brake. My "99 drivers side went at about 60K, and passenger side at 100K. Motors were fine, just the drive mechanism stripped. I replaced the driver’s side myself for around $200, and fixed the passenger side with 5 min epoxy. I also have some driveline slop, but haven’t had the time to really fix it yet, and it doesn't seem to really affect anything at the moment. This of course doesn't include various "nickel and dime" repairs that will be unique to each vehicle, and greatly influenced by the care given or neglected by the previous owner. Even a bulletproof 4.0L can blow-up if you don't change the oil, or redline in 1st gear everyday. The Jeep should tell you how its been treated by visual and wear indicators such as a brake pedal worn to the metal, loose parts, significantly leaky engine (a little bit never hurt anyone), and general neglect. Lots of info on the internet about reading the car you’re thinking about buying.

Don't get anything older than around '91, AMC engineering wasn't as user/maint friendly to me. 91-96 seem good, and I'm really happy with my '99 (except for the headroom issue, seats sit too damn high for my torso). The pre '97 seem a little more truck-like with apparently lower gearing for torque response, but the '97 and newer feel more refined. Best of luck, and hope my ramblings help a little.

--Brian