Need advice on a cheap reliable 4x4 to replace my CUCV with

[MEANSTREAK K30]

What about the nissan or toyota suvs? Ford escapes?

All this makes me want to sell the truck less ha

Must be a sign.

 

[nostomofo]

Nothing wrong with a Cherokee. 99 is the newest I would go. Last year of the HP D30, and probably the best year of the 4.0L. Jeep made changes to the engine in 2000, and the 00 & 01 motors are specific to those years. Yes, they are disposable. Just got rid of my 00 and picked up a 99, put before I did, all my parts came off. Nice thing about jeeps is that they are 99% bolt on. The 4AW tranny is fine (for an auto), just needs to be respected as an auto, and not abused. In stock form, or even a mild lift (3 - 4") with 31s, they are great DD.
As far as Subaru's are concerned, the full time AWD can be disabled by pulling a fuse. You can pop it back in when winter rolls back around and have the best of both worlds.
And please don't sell the CUCV. If anything, store it in the parents backyard until you can get it to your new place. Isn't that what mom and dad are for? I constantly had 1 or 2 projects in my mom's backyard growing up. I mean really, what parent doesn't want an 85 Monte Carlo yard ornament?

 

[diesel4me]

I think the Jeep Cherokee's are ok for daily drivers,not the greatest fuel economy with the straight six 4.0.but you'll probably never kill one--all they ever seem to need for parts is water pumps and radiators,some of the P/S fluid tanks liked to crack easy,and the fan on the engines act up sometimes,but thats about it..

You see thousands of them around here from the 90's on up,but I'd stay away from the later ones after 2000 with a V-6 or the crappy V-8's ,those also seem to have many electrical issues..

True they are unibodies,but if your not going to do any off roading that isn't really an issue--despite heavy salt use around here,most of the Cherokee's I have seen on a lift have practically no rust underneath,even old ones,but the rockers and wheel archs will rot out eventually..the rear shock mount bolts like to snap off in the weld nut,making repair a pain,my friend does a lot of those..

Two words make your request tough-- "cheap and reliable"...a Subaru might fit your needs,but they aren't cheap to fix if and when they break down,but they are pretty reliable..
I dont like their timing belt setup much personally..bent valves can result if they jump time,and they blow head gaskets sometimes too..

 

[Dabba]

This is a tough choice. Any subarus in particular I should be looking at snowdriver?

Well the cucv can't sit for three years either. I might need to sell it and the car to get decent money for a DD suv. I also know and don't want the cucv to rust away up there.

I dunno. If I can make enough maybe I can swing the small suv and bring the cucv up via dollying and dropping the driveshaft. Id really like to replace the spring hangers and leafs but that would be money going to a new car.

Ideally the cucv would go to one of you guys but not many of you are in or near NY

 

[GWeakland620]

I have a Cherokee with 250k miles on the original motor and trans. I beat the living sh*t out of it every day as a DD and get 16-17 mpgs out of it. It does have rust. It does NOT have death wobble. I would trust my wife to go cross-country in it without any issues. ON the other hand, you have to make sure you get a good one. There are some out there that are major POS's. Uni-body doesn't mean crap in the Cherokee's as long as you leave the doors on. All drivetrain parts are plentiful and usually cheap if there was to be an issue.

 

[nostomofo]

I just spoke with my buddy that showed me the AWD disable trick. He said that it's a feature so you can dolly tow the vehicle. I'm sure a quick Google search will provide you with all the info you need.

 

[Dabba]

I just spoke with my buddy that showed me the AWD disable trick. He said that it's a feature so you can dolly tow the vehicle. I'm sure a quick Google search will provide you with all the info you need.

Working for a tow company, I'd be wary of towing anything with AWD with dollies. Even if its not getting power I dont wanna risk internals moving under tow. Would be cool to test with gas mileage though!

 

[runamok151]

Why not a M1009? This is CK5, right? You get to stay GM, it's a real truck, 20ish mpg w/ the diesel, 4wd, easily lifted, $3-5K all over the place.

 

[black dawg]

Nothing wrong with the 90s cherokees, and yes they can have death wobble like anything else. Not sure on the "bad transmissions" though....worse than a 700/4l60???

 

[Dabba]

Why not a M1009? This is CK5, right? You get to stay GM, it's a real truck, 20ish mpg w/ the diesel, 4wd, easily lifted, $3-5K all over the place.

Maybe! I've been thinking about it but finding one is hard and the gov bomb worries me. Im just worried about driving two hours or so. The noise and such. Something more modern with more comforts would be nice for now

 

[snowdriver]

Actually just about any Subaru from about 2000 and newer is pretty damn good,I favor the outback,coworker loves his forester,my niece just got a 2012 Impreza,the all wheel drive system is bullit proof,they do seem to have a head gasket issue on some of them,and stay away from the turbo,not that the turbo is bad,but just one less thing to go wrong

 

[Dabba]

The prices dont seem outrageous. I'd like a tahoe but holy crap the low mile ones are up there!

Opinions on CRV or Sante Fe?

 

[skunked]

I was going to mention a crv. They're pretty simple, similar to a civic but those little B20's are good runners. Just make sure you get a 5psd and verify t-belt has been replaced

 

[Big Ray]

Nothing wrong with Cherokees. We had a 95 Grand Cherokee, by the time we were done with it there were over 260k miles on the clock. Only problems were usual wear parts. Fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, injectors etc. Hard to kill a straight 6 no matter who makes it.

 

[TommyD11730]

Anyone who knocks the driveline of the XJ 4.0 automatic and 231 is either plain stupid or NUTZ. However that said the XJs subjected to LI salt and beaches are rotting away as I type this. If you can find a clean one, go for it. Just look it over real well!
How did you 1008 do on that cold weekend we had few weeks back?

 

[Dabba]

I was going to mention a crv. They're pretty simple, similar to a civic but those little B20's are good runners. Just make sure you get a 5psd and verify t-belt has been replaced

I can attest that honda manual transmissions are great. I was actually looking for one in manual earlier

Anyone who knocks the driveline of the XJ 4.0 automatic and 231 is either plain stupid or NUTZ. However that said the XJs subjected to LI salt and beaches are rotting away as I type this. If you can find a clean one, go for it. Just look it over real well!
How did you 1008 do on that cold weekend we had few weeks back?

How are the transmissions in them? Any I should look for it avoid? Is stick better? The m1008 started right up. Sounded like she was going to rattle the engine out of the bay for the first five seconds then normal clanking. That was some bitter cold.

 

[TommyD11730]

Never had problems with them. People must have the XJ autos confused with the ZJ <Chrysler Junk>. Treat em' right and its a easy 200K driveline.

Thats funny on your 08. Never was a fan of that 6.2 but hey to each their own. Fellow has one upstate he converted to a 5.7 and AOD I might take a look at it.

 

[MEANSTREAK K30]

Anyone who knocks the driveline of the XJ 4.0 automatic and 231 is either plain stupid or NUTZ. However that said the XJs subjected to LI salt and beaches are rotting away as I type this. If you can find a clean one, go for it. Just look it over real well!
How did you 1008 do on that cold weekend we had few weeks back?

WTF??!!........... Well, my brother in law was a mechanic at the local Jeep dealership for over 25 years. The transmission that I speak of is the Aisin-Warner AW4 automatic that he says was used from 87-01 . There were countless heeps with this transmission coming in on warranty that had either totaaly burned up , or had trouble with the control unit crapping out. The transfer cases are good. The brther in law has owned like 15 of these xj over the years, and if it wasn't the trans, it was the rear dana 35 goin out , or the weeny front axle u-joints snapping just going over a damn ant hill . My brother quit going four wheeling with him, because every time there would be a problem , and he would have to tow him out with his 71 GMC,and it was getting old. YOU SURE YOU JOINED THE RIGHT FORUM , BUDDY ?

 

[MEANSTREAK K30]

And I can go on......I've seen mounts on the front Dana 30 rip off the housing real easy like, and of course the unibody. Ive seen almost every one of his xj's have a cracked wind shield cause of all the flex goin on when he rock crawls. One time, the whole windshield popped out ! The things creak and groan like an old wood sailboat. He finally used some kind of kit to stiffen up the uniframe , and installed a roll cage , and this definitely helped. He still has to weld up cracks from time to time. When his son turned 16 his dad wanted him to buy his friends xj. He said HELL NO , and asked my brother and I what to get. We told him to look for a K-5, what else?!And that is what he got!!

 

[Dabba]

Well keep in mind guys I'm not wheeling this thing. Its just for snow and MAYBE trails. Its mostly a commuting vehicle that if I needed to drive 500 miles in I wouldn't hang myself in.

So avoid the aw4 tranny. Any other auto options or should I just get a stick? Wouldn't mind one at all.