good year and things too look out for, Cherokee

[K85 Octane]

Looking to get a Heep Cherokee
not getting rid of my blazer
but looking for something smaller and towable behind my DD truck while the blazer takes form I will probably green sticker the Heep and take as much stuff off of it at possible (ex: doors etc)

looking at something like this:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/2599121289.html

Any Heep knowledge out there



PS> or this could just be the beers talking, but I've been thinking about it lately since I'm missing out on 4x4ing while I work on the blazer

 

[tRustyK5]

we had an '89...worst vehicle we ever owned. The body/unibody on those falls apart fairly quickly when wheeled. They don't take the flex very well.

YMMV, all I know is I'd never own another.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Per Rene's post, taking the doors off is pretty much a guarantee that they won't go back on. When they are flexed out you typically can't open or close the doors as it is.

They are good mild wheeling vehicles; reliable, capable to a point (say, 32-33" tires) and they ride nice with decent space. Lifts are relatively cheap and if you get the 8.25" rear you'll be fine with moderate tires (i.e. avoid the D35 rear). Avoid the 2.8L V6, that one has a 4.0L which is a great motor.

That XJ is cheap and a slave cylinder is an easy fix, not sure if that one is internal or external as they switched at some point but either way it's ~$50 and a day or less to fix.

I'd say do it, keep wheeling and have a chance to have fun while you build the big vehicle

 

[shady]

check out www.racingjunk.com lots of prebuilt wheeler heeps on there pretty cheap. some already exocaged.

 

[blazinzuk]

Biggest thing on a Cherokee is do all the doors and tail gate and hood shut good and straight. Look at all the gaps. Wheeled hard they kill the unibody quick. Its nothing but a problem, I have seen problems from not being able to open one door right to never being able to align the thing.

Best thing to do is weld on some unibody stiffeners and then weld on some sliders to the rocker. Those two thing will stiffen it up enough so that you can open the hatch when the truck is fully flexed out.

If you get one and want advise lemme know I have built up several over the years

 

[diesel4me]

My friend repairs a lot of Cherokees,just abut every one thats come in his shop needs a new radiator,water pump,and sometimes a heater core--the engines rust up inside bad,typical of any mopar ptoduct,especially if the coolant wasn't changed often or they ran plain water in it...the heater cores often clog up and you get no heat,due to the design of the tank where the hoses go on it,the water just circulates from hose to hose and cant go thru the clogged core..

Another thing that is often needed is the plastic P/S resivoir,they always crack on certain years...but other than those issues,he sees few other problems with them--one came in the other day with a leaking fuel rain on a 4.0 straight six,some dewhickey with a diagphram on it was gushing gas out,and its not serviceable spearately,dealer wanted 250+ bucks for an entire fuel rail--so he got another one from a slavage yard for 20 bucks ...another one he fixed had the freeze plug rot out thats located in the rear of the cylinder head,he decided to pull the entire dash out and use a hole saw to the firewall so he could remove and replace it,and he screwed an access panel over the hole,it was better than having to pull the engine out!..--a garagequited the owner 1000 bucks to replace that freeze plug,the customer was happy to give 500 to have him do it "his way"...

The underbodies on them seem to never rust ,they must be galvanized or oainted with good paint,or made of good metal,they dont dissapear like most other vehicles do in no time here...I think a Cherokee or CJ jeep is about the only "new" vehicle I wouldn't mind owning,at least you can SEE the engine and a straight six is faitly easy to work on,and they done need to be very often usually..I wouldn't buy a Cherokee for off roading or plowing though,street use only!..

 

[63chevyll]

It's hard to point out the good things. Around here every Tom, Dick, and Harry has one and been working on jeeps for most of my career.

In.short,

The 4.0 is the best option
Don't get the Chrysler trans get the one with the Toyota trans (has drain plug on pan) if automatic.

Any manual with a 4.0 will have the AX 15, a decent trans

Full time 4x4 is bad news

8.25 Chrysler is best rear end,

It will have oil leaks unless someone has fixed it.

Water pumps, heater valves, heater cores, radiators all seem to he normal problems.

Just a Jeep Thing

 

[diesel4me]

Another issue I see a lot on them is the automatic tranny cooler lines get smashed shut when someone bottoms out the front suspention,they routed them rught under the frame rail and the diff or other suspention parts make contact with the frame and the lines cet smooshed--seen quite a few in my frinds shop that did that,and more than one lost the tranny because of it!...
I saw one he had that had a aluminum diff carrier in the rear,that had a crack in it--I thought that was dumb,using a die cast diff housing on a JEEP of all things,with steel axle tubes!--why not just make all of it out of steel?..I assume that was the diff everyone says to stay away from?..

 

[Chaddy]

I have a 2000 xj. Its been a great vehicle. I have had it for 6 years now and the only leak I have had was the valve cover gasket. simple fix. Just maintain it and it will run forever.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

had a 95 cherokee in high school.

4.0 and auto. 2" lift on 31s.

honestly blew my mind how much abuse that thing took and how well it did off road.
i've recently thought bout selling out and getting another one.

mine had over 250k before the chain in the t case stretched out far enough to grenade the case.

that thing wheeled great, but the flex in the cab was crap. when you'd open the door with even a little bit of flex, youd have to punt the doors open. i had it bad enough once that the stereo deck popped out of the cab

 

[1BEATK5]

let me add my .02 and clear up some mis-information

87-90. i would avoid these
french fuel injection =junk. injectors leak externally and start fires. 177hp
pressurized coolant resivoir =junk. problematic at best.
vacuum actuated axle desconnect =kinda junk
peugot ba10 5 speed manual trans = more imported junk
really crappy abs system that has problems if equipped =junk
they do get really good fuel mileage compared to the 91'-up

91'. i would still avoid these
HO engine and chrysler electronics. 190hp. but they had some wiring differences compared to the 92 and newer
1st year of the regular style cooling system
most still have the cad front axle
5 speed is now the good ax-15

92'-96-. good choice as they are now lower in price
as with all 96' and older. they leak water inside from the heater box and fuse box. yes fuse box. floors rust out from the inside from water pooling in the rf floor board and behind the front seats.
solid drivetrain. reliable
96' got the new head with a gasket instead of rtv

97'-98' also good choice
new body style. interior is nicer. drivetrain is the same
5 spd rare in this body

99' very good choice
best power and mileage for the HO engine. has the bigger horseshoe intake manifold. still has the old factory header exhaust manifold.
first year for nv3550 5 speed. they are noisey but heavy duty

00'-01' ok choice
split exhaust manifolds that dont crack. 3 catalytic convertors instead of 1. low pinion tj front axle assembly to clear the front cats.

other stuff

4.0l's leak oil like a mutha. use that to talk the seller down. head gaskets leak oil on the passenger's side. its pretty normal. just use it against the seller. rear main, oil pans, valve covers, oil filter adapters leak also
exhaust manifolds crack, look for the flex section on the end tubes, these are the later ones that dont crack.

all cherokee's came with the aw4 auto trans. they can go 300k miles and more without a rebuild. drain and fill every 3 oil changes. its only 3.5 qts. dont take the pan off. they dont have a filter, just a screen.

either t case is ok. i prefer the 231 though.

avoid all xj's with abs. all abs equipped have dana 35 rear axles and most have issues.

if you buy one with a dana 35 rear, its no biggie. 8.25" chrysler rears are cheap and plentiful. direct swap other than u-bolts.

5speed's have 3.07 gears
auto's have 3.55 or 3.73
4 cyl has 4.10s

frame stiffeners are a good idea. but the uniody is better than others have said. i dont know of 1 that has them, and they are fine after years of wheeling. i would get them if you plan on keeping it for a while.

low lifts and narrower tires are the way to go. more cutting the better. after 4" of lift you will need a sye. also the lift gets alot more $$ after 4" of lift. 33's will fit with bumpstops and

i think that about covers it

 

[63chevyll]

That's a great description, and close with some stuff I said.

 

[muddermilitia]

It's rare. but a few have dana 44 rear ends. I think it was only 88-89 with the tow package. My buddy found 1 in the junkyard and its now under his xj. He loves the thing. Got 33's, 5-spd manual and the 4.0 has been bored and stroked to 4.6L.