Give me a crash course on 1996 Jeep Cherokees!
Discussion
A temptingly cheap one has become available locally, but I know nothing about 'em! So, could anyone tell me;
-Are they any good
-Which models/engines should be avoided
-Common faults
-What to look out for while viewing
Finally, what should I be paying for a 56,000 mile 4.0 Auto SE 'Limited', reasonable nick, year's certificate, 6 months tax?
-Are they any good
-Which models/engines should be avoided
-Common faults
-What to look out for while viewing
Finally, what should I be paying for a 56,000 mile 4.0 Auto SE 'Limited', reasonable nick, year's certificate, 6 months tax?
Phew, it's not too late. Responses in order are -
- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
good 'ole Pistonheads, a broad spectrum as always!I'd get a Grand Cherokee. In fact, I did. More comfy, simple to fix, goes for ever. Mine has 182K and you'd never know, especially since I spent too much on it. Still stands me at less that £1200 though, and I get just over 20MPG on a 200 mile roundtrip from London to Gloucester every week.
(P.S. I need to sell mine)
(P.S. I need to sell mine)
You see, this car is properly cheap and while I wasn't looking to buy a car at the moment, leave alone a big silly yank tank like this, it's so cheap that I reckon I can have my fun and pass it on at the very worst a minimal loss. That also happens to be a perfectly reasonable excuse to simultaneously pop my 4x4, American, Jeep, V8, Auto cherries all at once.
Avoid the 2.5 diesel, That engine started life in canal boats, and has a reputation for cracking all of its (separate) cylinder heads.
These Jeeps are monocoques, so beware rust as its not a simple repair job like a ladder chassis. Do not expect anything in the way of refinement, build quality or handling. The rear is also surprisingly cramped with very little load space once the spare tyre is in there.
Other things - rear axle diffs get very worn and noisy at about the 100k mark, and at a similar time the rear (leaf) springs will sag and flatten out.
Apart from that, they are fairly hard to kill and I will grudingly admit they have a passable off road ability as long as you dont ask for any sort of axle articulation
These Jeeps are monocoques, so beware rust as its not a simple repair job like a ladder chassis. Do not expect anything in the way of refinement, build quality or handling. The rear is also surprisingly cramped with very little load space once the spare tyre is in there.
Other things - rear axle diffs get very worn and noisy at about the 100k mark, and at a similar time the rear (leaf) springs will sag and flatten out.
Apart from that, they are fairly hard to kill and I will grudingly admit they have a passable off road ability as long as you dont ask for any sort of axle articulation
ean21 said:
Phew, it's not too late. Responses in order are -
- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
Brilliant!- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
To add some balance, the engine is nice, and if you get one cheap enough, fair enough. Of course, if it's cheap enough, it'll probably have been neglected. Which is where ean21's comments come in.
Get one that's had lots of maintenance, brace yourself for the fuel bills, accept that it drives like a truck rather than a car, and swallow hard. I had a Grand Cherokee for 4 months and it confirmed every cliche - drank like a fish, terrible ergonomics, burbling V8....it wasn't remotely what I needed, but it was a laugh.
I have got both a 4litre XJ on a 95plate, engine is bullet proof, its used for laning and off roading and I just cannot break it. Not that i am trying but it just does what I ask of it. MPG I get 17 but that is with a lift and 31inch Muds and very little road use.
Check for Rust as said, mine has non and is a pre face lift, leafs can sag but cheap to change.
Like I said, I have had no issues at all and love its drive (proper old yank feel).
I also have a WJ 2002 4.7 V8 with a 3inch IRO lift, LPG and its awesome - nothing more to say.
Check for Rust as said, mine has non and is a pre face lift, leafs can sag but cheap to change.
Like I said, I have had no issues at all and love its drive (proper old yank feel).
I also have a WJ 2002 4.7 V8 with a 3inch IRO lift, LPG and its awesome - nothing more to say.
I used to have a 4.0 Cherokee many years ago. They are tough and can climb over large obstacles with ease. I went over a 1.5 foot boulder and it hardly even notcied doing it. I suspect you could go over way bigger rocks. I bet they are great fun in the snow too. Downside is they do not drive like a car. But then again they probably make a Cayenne, X5 etc look rather daft in the rough stuff.
My wife had a Cherokee 4.0 limited for about 10 years. Ended up with about 150K miles on it when we sold it - for peanuts - as nobody wanted a 4 litre 4x4 
All the toys still worked, electric heated seats, leather still looked decent, no significant rust, and nothing other than oil changes and filters/plugs in all the time we owned it. I thought it was a real nice solid piece of kit and relatively nippy - but wouldn't have touched a diesel though.
When I wanted a 4x4 to tow the trailer for the tuscan, I thought I knew better and bought a brand new Ford Ranger. 4 years on it was literally falling apart - a rust-hole you could put your hand through at the foot of the passenger door, broken springs, rust so bad on the diff case oil was weeping out, rust so bad on the PAS lines fluid was leaking out, brake judder from hell etc. Plus a nasty oil burner.
Got rid of it and bought a Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi, and a marvelous thing it is. To date is seems equally bulletproof. There does seem to be a lot of Jeep hate around - not sure why. They are immensely capable and in the main, real robust. The interior may be not as plush as a Rangey, but then it's functional and I don't feel guilty about never having cleaned inside any of ours except throwing out the sweetie wrappers and juice cans. And of course its not a Range Rover with all the Chelsea Tractor/Footballer baggage that comes with them.
Jeeps - even the Grand Cherokee - really aren't that big. You get the impression that they're 'big 4x4s', but the Cherokee is way shorter than a Mondeo estate, and there was a Honda CR-V parked next to my GC the other day and I swear it looked the bigger car (but not the bigger engine
).
All the toys still worked, electric heated seats, leather still looked decent, no significant rust, and nothing other than oil changes and filters/plugs in all the time we owned it. I thought it was a real nice solid piece of kit and relatively nippy - but wouldn't have touched a diesel though.When I wanted a 4x4 to tow the trailer for the tuscan, I thought I knew better and bought a brand new Ford Ranger. 4 years on it was literally falling apart - a rust-hole you could put your hand through at the foot of the passenger door, broken springs, rust so bad on the diff case oil was weeping out, rust so bad on the PAS lines fluid was leaking out, brake judder from hell etc. Plus a nasty oil burner.
Got rid of it and bought a Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi, and a marvelous thing it is. To date is seems equally bulletproof. There does seem to be a lot of Jeep hate around - not sure why. They are immensely capable and in the main, real robust. The interior may be not as plush as a Rangey, but then it's functional and I don't feel guilty about never having cleaned inside any of ours except throwing out the sweetie wrappers and juice cans. And of course its not a Range Rover with all the Chelsea Tractor/Footballer baggage that comes with them.
Jeeps - even the Grand Cherokee - really aren't that big. You get the impression that they're 'big 4x4s', but the Cherokee is way shorter than a Mondeo estate, and there was a Honda CR-V parked next to my GC the other day and I swear it looked the bigger car (but not the bigger engine
).Used to own a '96 4.0 running LPG. A far from perfect 'car'. Had a slight oil leak, the floorpan needed the occasional bit of treating, it didn't do many MPG and the steering was like driving a car from a movie set. (lots of turn before anything happened)
However, I still miss mine. It went anywhere, the engine was a gem and was genuinely fun to drive (in a tonka-toy way).
The do need a bit of tinkering but I still have a soft spot for my old one.
However, I still miss mine. It went anywhere, the engine was a gem and was genuinely fun to drive (in a tonka-toy way).
The do need a bit of tinkering but I still have a soft spot for my old one.
This would be amusing fun next time it snows...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNNVBLXd0U
Skip to 3 mins...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vtype3TzM
Tempting to get one for a toy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNNVBLXd0U
Skip to 3 mins...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vtype3TzM
Tempting to get one for a toy!
Edited by k-ink on Friday 15th March 12:36
I bought a 1996 Jeep Cherokee...my wife was getting sick of me buying cheap BMWs, so she chose the Jeep, a cheap Jeep.
Drove it for 2 years, it was reliable, reasonably quick, fairly (not ridiculously) heavy on fuel.
Like the poster above I thought it was a real laugh to drive, I never realised how small they are until I owned one. Being a PH member I went sideways in it, a lot.
Did I mention it was reliable. It also had good handling, in that I could drive it at a reasonable speed, with the tyres howling though bends (not on the public road obviously!!!!), and it went where I pointed it, without ever feeling like it would roll.
To be honest I was shocked how good it was, maybe I got a good one?
Drove it for 2 years, it was reliable, reasonably quick, fairly (not ridiculously) heavy on fuel.
Like the poster above I thought it was a real laugh to drive, I never realised how small they are until I owned one. Being a PH member I went sideways in it, a lot.
Did I mention it was reliable. It also had good handling, in that I could drive it at a reasonable speed, with the tyres howling though bends (not on the public road obviously!!!!), and it went where I pointed it, without ever feeling like it would roll.
To be honest I was shocked how good it was, maybe I got a good one?
ean21 said:
Phew, it's not too late. Responses in order are -
- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
Any rational to any of these claims?? Suspect probably not...- No
- Look on the steering wheel. Does it say JEEP. If so, avoid.
- Transmission, steering, electrics, 12mpg, electrics, electrics, transmission.
- Other cars
Finally, they should pay you.
Biased? me? never.
To be fair, the 4.0 engine is unbreakable, and lovely. Which is a shame really because you get tempted to keep fixing the other faults.
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