Jeep Cherokee 4.0
Discussion
I've always rather liked these but not too sure why. Was thinking of picking a cheap one up on ebay or the like to drive around over winter while our roads are covered in salt.
I'm looking at mid/late 90's cherokee or grand cherokee for a few hundred pounds so I don't expect anything immaculate, but other than usual 2nd hand car stuff do these have any weak points to look out for?
Might stretch to £1000 if I can find a later 4.7l V8 but I'm guessing any that go for that kind of money will be a bit broken.
I'm looking at mid/late 90's cherokee or grand cherokee for a few hundred pounds so I don't expect anything immaculate, but other than usual 2nd hand car stuff do these have any weak points to look out for?
Might stretch to £1000 if I can find a later 4.7l V8 but I'm guessing any that go for that kind of money will be a bit broken.
great engines, we had an auto one at the office as a general lugging car.
bought for about £1500, it was overpriced.
door almost fell off and had to be tied shut with string. transfer box blew up on the motorway, though not sure if some numpty stuck it in 4wd
went through a diff, ended up as rwd only. had problems towing my metro without wheelspin but it was on crap tyres
not a very good judge since we had such a niff, though they never felt that well put together.
engine was great, though i went through 1/4 of a tank with some heavy right foot over the space of about 10 miles
put some good tyres on it and it'll be a good laugh, you can always ebay them if you blow it to bits
bought for about £1500, it was overpriced.
door almost fell off and had to be tied shut with string. transfer box blew up on the motorway, though not sure if some numpty stuck it in 4wd
went through a diff, ended up as rwd only. had problems towing my metro without wheelspin but it was on crap tyres
not a very good judge since we had such a niff, though they never felt that well put together.
engine was great, though i went through 1/4 of a tank with some heavy right foot over the space of about 10 miles
put some good tyres on it and it'll be a good laugh, you can always ebay them if you blow it to bits
The Cherokee is less complex - and a lot cheaper to buy - than the Grand Cherokee. The 4.0 straight six in the cherokee is pretty bullet-proof, as is the drive train and not massively thirsty (certainly compared to a Range Rover V8 of similar vintage) The're well equipped and quite car-like to drive but not really any bigger inside than a mondeo estate. Wonderful ground clearance and you def want quadra-trak not sport-trak.
Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
I've owned 4.0 petrol and 2.5 diesel versions. Without doubt, the petrol version is the one to go for. The diesels eat head gaskets and don't have full time 4x4.
As others have said, buy on condition. Check for leaks (gearbox, diffs, wheel bearings etc) and aim for one with a full years MOT and some recent service history.
Parts aren't cheap, but they're great fun and very capable.
I'd have bought another for my winter shed this year, except that the old Merc came along first and distracted me...
As others have said, buy on condition. Check for leaks (gearbox, diffs, wheel bearings etc) and aim for one with a full years MOT and some recent service history.
Parts aren't cheap, but they're great fun and very capable.
I'd have bought another for my winter shed this year, except that the old Merc came along first and distracted me...
I had a 4.0 petrol/lpg as a stop gap, was one of the best cars I've owned. Cheaper to run than my current car (expect 15mpg petrol and about the same on LPG, check your local LPG prices). I wouldn't touch a diesel anything, so couldn't comment on the Jeep diesel.
Indestructible comes to mind - the guy who said he and his colleagues destroyed one, well, I wouldn't lend them my car let's put it that way. I took mine seriously off road, towed for hundreds of miles, took part in traffic light grand prix's and won, and the only thing I had to replace was the water pump.
I would buy another.
Indestructible comes to mind - the guy who said he and his colleagues destroyed one, well, I wouldn't lend them my car let's put it that way. I took mine seriously off road, towed for hundreds of miles, took part in traffic light grand prix's and won, and the only thing I had to replace was the water pump.
I would buy another.
I've got one and love it.
Use it for towing anything, and most of the time has a trailer attached!
Its a 98 S reg with LPG, I paid £825 for it and its done 12,000 miles in the last 20 months, needing only brakes and tyres.
Its even managed a 1500 mile round trip to Germany, towing a car on a trailer and hasn't really missed a beat!
Its currently got a knock on the front, so i'll be doing the ball joints when i get a chance.
The diffs have a little bit of noise, and the box makes a strange noise every now and then, but if it blows i'll either replace the box, or hunt out a V8!
Use it for towing anything, and most of the time has a trailer attached!
Its a 98 S reg with LPG, I paid £825 for it and its done 12,000 miles in the last 20 months, needing only brakes and tyres.
Its even managed a 1500 mile round trip to Germany, towing a car on a trailer and hasn't really missed a beat!
Its currently got a knock on the front, so i'll be doing the ball joints when i get a chance.
The diffs have a little bit of noise, and the box makes a strange noise every now and then, but if it blows i'll either replace the box, or hunt out a V8!
Thanks for all the feedback, sounds good!
Went to get some insurance quotes on confused to get a ballpark figure, with all my no claims on the Alpina means I have 0 year so most insurers give silly quotes. Found one reasonable insurer (Sureterm direct), clicked his name and he turns out to be a 4x4 specialist so that's probably the way to go. As I'm not at all familiar with Jeeps, who are the insurance companies who specialise in 4x4's?
For other quotes I'll go down the usual route of trying various brokers, in the past they have always given me the best quotes.
One more question, a lot of the fleabay specials seem to be converted to gas, I've never had that before as I'm not too bothered by MPG, just wondering if Jeeps are ran on gas does it tend to cause them some issues?
ClaphamGT3 said:
The Cherokee is less complex - and a lot cheaper to buy - than the Grand Cherokee. The 4.0 straight six in the cherokee is pretty bullet-proof, as is the drive train and not massively thirsty (certainly compared to a Range Rover V8 of similar vintage) The're well equipped and quite car-like to drive but not really any bigger inside than a mondeo estate. Wonderful ground clearance and you def want quadra-trak not sport-trak.
Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
What's the difference between quadra-track and sport-track?Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
Went to get some insurance quotes on confused to get a ballpark figure, with all my no claims on the Alpina means I have 0 year so most insurers give silly quotes. Found one reasonable insurer (Sureterm direct), clicked his name and he turns out to be a 4x4 specialist so that's probably the way to go. As I'm not at all familiar with Jeeps, who are the insurance companies who specialise in 4x4's?
For other quotes I'll go down the usual route of trying various brokers, in the past they have always given me the best quotes.
One more question, a lot of the fleabay specials seem to be converted to gas, I've never had that before as I'm not too bothered by MPG, just wondering if Jeeps are ran on gas does it tend to cause them some issues?
Chris944_S2 said:
What's the difference between quadra-track and sport-track?
quadra-track is only on Grand Cherokees with 4L+ enginesit's permanent 4wd (although there are 3 versions of it).
Sport-track is actually Command-Trac (no idea where the sport name came from?)
this is used in Wranglers/Cherokees, it's part time 4WD as in either 2WD or 4WD locked centre (as in NOT for normal road use!)
the other one not mentioned so far is Selec-Trac, used in Cherokees and grand Cherokee's (4L up usually), this can run 2WD, 4WD with centre diff, and 4WD locked.
in the UK, XJ Cherokee's either have Command-Trac (2.5 petrol/dismals) or Selec-Trac with 4L petrol.
Chris944_S2 said:
Thanks for all the feedback, sounds good!
Went to get some insurance quotes on confused to get a ballpark figure, with all my no claims on the Alpina means I have 0 year so most insurers give silly quotes. Found one reasonable insurer (Sureterm direct), clicked his name and he turns out to be a 4x4 specialist so that's probably the way to go. As I'm not at all familiar with Jeeps, who are the insurance companies who specialise in 4x4's?
For other quotes I'll go down the usual route of trying various brokers, in the past they have always given me the best quotes.
One more question, a lot of the fleabay specials seem to be converted to gas, I've never had that before as I'm not too bothered by MPG, just wondering if Jeeps are ran on gas does it tend to cause them some issues?
Do not touch Sureterm Direct - I had a policy with them for a few days which, when I received the paperwork, turned out to be full of errors. Not even the right model. When I told them to cancel it (well within the 14-day cooling-off period), they tried to charge me a £90 "admin" fee. I had to take them to the ombudsman in order to get my money back. I did speak to various top bosses at Sureterm before resorting to the Financial Services Ombudsman but they will not shift unless forced.ClaphamGT3 said:
The Cherokee is less complex - and a lot cheaper to buy - than the Grand Cherokee. The 4.0 straight six in the cherokee is pretty bullet-proof, as is the drive train and not massively thirsty (certainly compared to a Range Rover V8 of similar vintage) The're well equipped and quite car-like to drive but not really any bigger inside than a mondeo estate. Wonderful ground clearance and you def want quadra-trak not sport-trak.
Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
What's the difference between quadra-track and sport-track?Lots of electrical gremlins & they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
Went to get some insurance quotes on confused to get a ballpark figure, with all my no claims on the Alpina means I have 0 year so most insurers give silly quotes. Found one reasonable insurer (Sureterm direct), clicked his name and he turns out to be a 4x4 specialist so that's probably the way to go. As I'm not at all familiar with Jeeps, who are the insurance companies who specialise in 4x4's?
For other quotes I'll go down the usual route of trying various brokers, in the past they have always given me the best quotes.
One more question, a lot of the fleabay specials seem to be converted to gas, I've never had that before as I'm not too bothered by MPG, just wondering if Jeeps are ran on gas does it tend to cause them some issues?
Try Adrian Flux, they were cheaper
Edit: Mine ran on gas for a year while I owned it, if it's a half-decent conversion you will prefer gas to petrol. More bang, less £££
Edited by matt0677 on Wednesday 20th October 19:42
rallycross said:
Anyone know anything about the diesel version.
Friend is looking at getting a 2.7 diesel grand cherokee 2003 model.
Are they permanent 4wd?
Anything to look out for on the diesel 2.7?
it's the old Merc engine, not the best, but better than the VM 2.5 before.Friend is looking at getting a 2.7 diesel grand cherokee 2003 model.
Are they permanent 4wd?
Anything to look out for on the diesel 2.7?
tranmission wise they all came with Quadratrack II, perm 4WD
Thoughts on this one?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JEEP-GRAND-CHEROKEE-4-0-LIMI...
Looks reasonable to me, but there's not much in the way of description other than the dealer bigging himself up.
Might go see it this weekend as its not too far away.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JEEP-GRAND-CHEROKEE-4-0-LIMI...
Looks reasonable to me, but there's not much in the way of description other than the dealer bigging himself up.
Might go see it this weekend as its not too far away.
Just to add on fluids:
The Cherokee(xj) transfer case has cogs and a chain so can use normal dexron3 fluid but Grand Cherokee with full time 4wd has a viscous couple and needs special fluid. Putting normal tranny fluid in will stops cause it to lock the axles, fine off-road but annoying on-road when turning.
The Cherokee(xj) transfer case has cogs and a chain so can use normal dexron3 fluid but Grand Cherokee with full time 4wd has a viscous couple and needs special fluid. Putting normal tranny fluid in will stops cause it to lock the axles, fine off-road but annoying on-road when turning.
Another XJ nugget, look for a post 97 as it will be galvanised. The older vehicles aren't. As above, don't bother with a diesel and the 2.5l petrols aren't fantastic.
If it helps, bought my 98R Cherokee 4.0 Ltd with a full ticket from a dealer for 1300 quid. The secondhand market in the UK certainly doesn't like them, which is good if you don't mind the larger running costs.
If it helps, bought my 98R Cherokee 4.0 Ltd with a full ticket from a dealer for 1300 quid. The secondhand market in the UK certainly doesn't like them, which is good if you don't mind the larger running costs.
mark387mw said:
ClaphamGT3 said:
they do rot; most worryingly where the steering rack bolts to the bulkhead - if the steering feels vague, walk away!
I test drove one and it felt like trying to drive a boat - generally vague all over. Is this the steering or are they all a bit soft handling?yes, it's never going to feel like a car with rack&pinion, most of the feel is killed by the over-power assistance.
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