RE: Shed of the Week: Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Orvis
Discussion
g7jhp said:
humphra said:
I've noticed a few comments creeping in over the weeks, criticising the SOTW. I think the only bad pick would be something that doesn't generate debate, so I reckon they're still on track and keep them coming!
6 posts in 25 months, top lurking! 
Pat H said:
I have had a couple of late 1990s 4.0 litre Jeeps.
Engines are bombproof and sound good, too. Miles better than the hopeless 4 pot petrol and diesel versions.
20mpg on a run, down to 15mpg around town.
Very comfortable old chariots, though the handling was pants.
Very capable off road.
Read diffs are made of chocolate. Expect sagging springs and problems with ABS. Bulbs and electrics are queer US type and hard to find.
Central locking and immobiliser are problematic, difficult to by-pass and have to be re-programmed at a main dealer. Dealers are thin on the ground and expensive.
The heater/ventilation system is operated by vacuum, which fails when the hoses perish, but they are very cheap and easy to fix.
In my view, the smaller Cherokee is more attractive prospect and miles better than a Land Rover.
I have a lot of time for these old Jeeps.
I sold this 75000 miles ages ago for £750, so the SOTW is rather expensive.
To misquote Ferrari "That's £700 for the wheels and tyres. The rest is for the box to take them home in." Engines are bombproof and sound good, too. Miles better than the hopeless 4 pot petrol and diesel versions.
20mpg on a run, down to 15mpg around town.
Very comfortable old chariots, though the handling was pants.
Very capable off road.
Read diffs are made of chocolate. Expect sagging springs and problems with ABS. Bulbs and electrics are queer US type and hard to find.
Central locking and immobiliser are problematic, difficult to by-pass and have to be re-programmed at a main dealer. Dealers are thin on the ground and expensive.
The heater/ventilation system is operated by vacuum, which fails when the hoses perish, but they are very cheap and easy to fix.
In my view, the smaller Cherokee is more attractive prospect and miles better than a Land Rover.
I have a lot of time for these old Jeeps.
I sold this 75000 miles ages ago for £750, so the SOTW is rather expensive.
That said I can think of a lot of worse ways to spend £750.
Pat H said:
I have had a couple of late 1990s 4.0 litre Jeeps.
Engines are bombproof and sound good, too. Miles better than the hopeless 4 pot petrol and diesel versions.
20mpg on a run, down to 15mpg around town.
Very comfortable old chariots, though the handling was pants.
Very capable off road.
Read diffs are made of chocolate. Expect sagging springs and problems with ABS. Bulbs and electrics are queer US type and hard to find.
Central locking and immobiliser are problematic, difficult to by-pass and have to be re-programmed at a main dealer. Dealers are thin on the ground and expensive.
The heater/ventilation system is operated by vacuum, which fails when the hoses perish, but they are very cheap and easy to fix.
In my view, the smaller Cherokee is more attractive prospect and miles better than a Land Rover.
I have a lot of time for these old Jeeps.
I sold this 75000 miles ages ago for £750, so the SOTW is rather expensive.
Always liked that shapeEngines are bombproof and sound good, too. Miles better than the hopeless 4 pot petrol and diesel versions.
20mpg on a run, down to 15mpg around town.
Very comfortable old chariots, though the handling was pants.
Very capable off road.
Read diffs are made of chocolate. Expect sagging springs and problems with ABS. Bulbs and electrics are queer US type and hard to find.
Central locking and immobiliser are problematic, difficult to by-pass and have to be re-programmed at a main dealer. Dealers are thin on the ground and expensive.
The heater/ventilation system is operated by vacuum, which fails when the hoses perish, but they are very cheap and easy to fix.
In my view, the smaller Cherokee is more attractive prospect and miles better than a Land Rover.
I have a lot of time for these old Jeeps.
I sold this 75000 miles ages ago for £750, so the SOTW is rather expensive.
Jimmy Recard said:
Chrysler’s immobilisers for the UK (maybe whole EU?) were rubbish, as you say.
However sagging back end is more an XJ Cherokee than ZJ Grand Cherokee problem. These have coils all round while an XJ like yours had leaf springs on the back (as I’m sure you know; I’m just highlighting the difference)
Yep, you are quite right, and it's a point worth making.However sagging back end is more an XJ Cherokee than ZJ Grand Cherokee problem. These have coils all round while an XJ like yours had leaf springs on the back (as I’m sure you know; I’m just highlighting the difference)
The Grand Cherokees are coil sprung all round. The XJ Cherokee is coils on the front and leaf springs on the back. The leafs on the XJ are terrible for sagging. I fitted heavy duty springs all round, which made a world of difference.
Otherwise, the XJ and it's contemporary Grand Cherokee are mechanically more or less the same car.
£1500 is a lot of money for an old Jeep, but the other side of the coin is that you can spend an awful lot of cash sorting out failed immobilisers, defective central locking fobs and ABS problems, so an ostensibly similar car at £750 is not necessarily better value.
The later cars don't rot. The 4.0L engine is unburstable and apart from the rear diff, the rest of the transmission is strong. A well shod Cherokee is as capable as a Defender, but as comfortable as a Granada.
g7jhp said:
humphra said:
I've noticed a few comments creeping in over the weeks, criticising the SOTW. I think the only bad pick would be something that doesn't generate debate, so I reckon they're still on track and keep them coming!
6 posts in 25 months, top lurking! 
Pat H said:
Yep, you are quite right, and it's a point worth making.
The Grand Cherokees are coil sprung all round. The XJ Cherokee is coils on the front and leaf springs on the back. The leafs on the XJ are terrible for sagging. I fitted heavy duty springs all round, which made a world of difference.
Otherwise, the XJ and it's contemporary Grand Cherokee are mechanically more or less the same car.
£1500 is a lot of money for an old Jeep, but the other side of the coin is that you can spend an awful lot of cash sorting out failed immobilisers, defective central locking fobs and ABS problems, so an ostensibly similar car at £750 is not necessarily better value.
The later cars don't rot. The 4.0L engine is unburstable and apart from the rear diff, the rest of the transmission is strong. A well shod Cherokee is as capable as a Defender, but as comfortable as a Granada.
Fair summary!The Grand Cherokees are coil sprung all round. The XJ Cherokee is coils on the front and leaf springs on the back. The leafs on the XJ are terrible for sagging. I fitted heavy duty springs all round, which made a world of difference.
Otherwise, the XJ and it's contemporary Grand Cherokee are mechanically more or less the same car.
£1500 is a lot of money for an old Jeep, but the other side of the coin is that you can spend an awful lot of cash sorting out failed immobilisers, defective central locking fobs and ABS problems, so an ostensibly similar car at £750 is not necessarily better value.
The later cars don't rot. The 4.0L engine is unburstable and apart from the rear diff, the rest of the transmission is strong. A well shod Cherokee is as capable as a Defender, but as comfortable as a Granada.
The XJ Cherokee is an excellent car. I've always had a 4.0 on my list of cars to have before I die. I still haven't though
Pat H said:
£1500 is a lot of money for an old Jeep, but the other side of the coin is that you can spend an awful lot of cash sorting out failed immobilisers, defective central locking fobs and ABS problems, so an ostensibly similar car at £750 is not necessarily better value.
It's like you know mine - although none of these faults have cost money....I now have no alarm/immobiliser, no remote central locking (nothing in the car woth nicking, so I rarely lock it anyway) and the problem of ABS has gone away
Actually, I had one with working ABS and it's such a slow witted system, I find it makes more of a mess than it's trying to solve.
g7jhp said:
A few randoms from the PH classifieds which are sub £1.5k.
MG MGFYes, I'll give you that, but it's arguably no more interesting than a Jeep
Morris MinorYou know that's an auction, right? Not aware SOTW does auctions, and if this is any good it'll fly past that guide price
BMW Z4 RoadsterCouldn't find that...
Ford StreetKaOh please...
Citroen C2 16v VTSSee comment re MGF above
Toyota CelicaSomething seems "wrong" here: ad says manual, car is an auto and as someone else has said, not sure these came as manual in UK
Alfa Romeo GTVHas some appeal, but a dull colour combo and someone else's modifications would put me off
On balance, as this SOTW has instigated quite a lively thread, I think Shed has a winner.
MG MGFYes, I'll give you that, but it's arguably no more interesting than a Jeep
Morris MinorYou know that's an auction, right? Not aware SOTW does auctions, and if this is any good it'll fly past that guide price
BMW Z4 RoadsterCouldn't find that...
Ford StreetKaOh please...
Citroen C2 16v VTSSee comment re MGF above
Toyota CelicaSomething seems "wrong" here: ad says manual, car is an auto and as someone else has said, not sure these came as manual in UK
Alfa Romeo GTVHas some appeal, but a dull colour combo and someone else's modifications would put me off
On balance, as this SOTW has instigated quite a lively thread, I think Shed has a winner.
Edited by g7jhp on Friday 7th September 17:10
nicfaz said:
This man has it spot on. Immobiliser failure is a worry (and what eventually killed mine as the dealer was clueless). Apart from that they are excellent, if really bad on fuel. One of the best towcars I've ever driven, up there with my current RR TDV8 (which should be better as it's a ton heavier and has twice the torque, but it's only just better). Also note that you can drift them as they have a RWD mode for the 4WD system. These things are important...
As others have pointed out, shed is a Grand Cherokee, which is heaver and not as much fun as the Cherokee. It's also £750 overpriced.
I know there seems to be a bit of cross over on this thread, but I'd be interested in how good the 4.0 is as a tow-car. I'm looking at Grand Cherokees and quite fancy the ruggedness of the 4.0 over the 2.7CRD, but I've read a few reports that suggest it's pretty underpowered. I'm not lexpecting it to be quick, but will it manage to tow, say, a couple of tons of track car & trailer up the hill on the M40 at 60mph? Or will I end up crawling with the HGVs every time I get to an incline?As others have pointed out, shed is a Grand Cherokee, which is heaver and not as much fun as the Cherokee. It's also £750 overpriced.
I don't mind this week's SOTW, variety is the spice of life and all that and having owned a WJ Grand (the next gen, 2001ish) with the 4 litre six, everything that people have said about them is true. Probably the most comfortable vehicle that I have owned, nice ride on crappy roads and a more commanding driving position than anything else this side of a Range Rover. I fancied a change from an estate and wanted an XJ Cherokee really, as my friend at school's dad used to have one and I loved it but I couldn't find one and the Grand was a very roomy vehicle with a huge boot (they moved the spare wheel to underneath the car on the WJ, although no Isofix on the rear seats). However, performance was merely adequate, mpg around 18 average and the handling/steering was pretty soggy and imprecise. This doesn't seem too bad a price for a 3 owner car that appears to be fairly tidy and relatively low miles for the year. Mine was by far the most expensive to run and unreliable car that I have owned though and it's not out of the question that you could spend the same again in repairs over 12 months and rust started to take hold on mine too.
Probably not for me then but I do like them. One with the 5.9 V8 would be mildly amusing and the latest GC (WK2?) is a great car. My BIL owned one for 3 years and no major issues.
Come on though PH. This is a GRAND Cherokee not a Cherokee, that's a fairly basic error. What next week? A Mitsubishi Shogun?
Did anyone also notice in the ad about the GM recall? I'm pretty sure the last time I checked that GM don't make Jeeps! Out of interest, the problem with these and the WJs that there was a possibility that the fuel tank could get ruptured in a rear-end impact and the car catch fire. The solution on the recall was to fit an aftermarket tow hitch to protect the tank! Fortunately, mine already had one fitted but that the lack of Isofix and the unreliability issues meant that I moved mine on perhaps sooner than I would have liked.
Probably not for me then but I do like them. One with the 5.9 V8 would be mildly amusing and the latest GC (WK2?) is a great car. My BIL owned one for 3 years and no major issues.
Come on though PH. This is a GRAND Cherokee not a Cherokee, that's a fairly basic error. What next week? A Mitsubishi Shogun?
Did anyone also notice in the ad about the GM recall? I'm pretty sure the last time I checked that GM don't make Jeeps! Out of interest, the problem with these and the WJs that there was a possibility that the fuel tank could get ruptured in a rear-end impact and the car catch fire. The solution on the recall was to fit an aftermarket tow hitch to protect the tank! Fortunately, mine already had one fitted but that the lack of Isofix and the unreliability issues meant that I moved mine on perhaps sooner than I would have liked.
seiben said:
I know there seems to be a bit of cross over on this thread, but I'd be interested in how good the 4.0 is as a tow-car. I'm looking at Grand Cherokees and quite fancy the ruggedness of the 4.0 over the 2.7CRD, but I've read a few reports that suggest it's pretty underpowered. I'm not lexpecting it to be quick, but will it manage to tow, say, a couple of tons of track car & trailer up the hill on the M40 at 60mph? Or will I end up crawling with the HGVs every time I get to an incline?
I didn't use mine for towing but it has low down torque (230 lb ft at 3000rpm) and can supposedly tow 6500 pounds. Ladder frame too, so should be strong enough. I wouldn't say it would be any worse than something like a Discovery/Discovery 2 diesel but a V8 would be better. seiben said:
I know there seems to be a bit of cross over on this thread, but I'd be interested in how good the 4.0 is as a tow-car. I'm looking at Grand Cherokees and quite fancy the ruggedness of the 4.0 over the 2.7CRD, but I've read a few reports that suggest it's pretty underpowered. I'm not lexpecting it to be quick, but will it manage to tow, say, a couple of tons of track car & trailer up the hill on the M40 at 60mph? Or will I end up crawling with the HGVs every time I get to an incline?
I suspect it'd be transmission cooling that'd be the worry before you bother the engine too much.190bhp and torque for 1000rpm on the 4.0.
white_goodman said:
I didn't use mine for towing but it has low down torque (230 lb ft at 3000rpm) and can supposedly tow 6500 pounds. Ladder frame too, so should be strong enough. I wouldn't say it would be any worse than something like a Discovery/Discovery 2 diesel but a V8 would be better.
All Grand Cherokees are monocoque.The 4.0 is a really good towing engine - plenty of torque from the bottom and a tough automatic gearbox. Not fast but they easily pull heavy trailers
Jimmy Recard said:
All Grand Cherokees are monocoque.
The 4.0 is a really good towing engine - plenty of torque from the bottom and a tough automatic gearbox. Not fast but they easily pull heavy trailers
Quite right, I stand corrected. The 4.0 is a really good towing engine - plenty of torque from the bottom and a tough automatic gearbox. Not fast but they easily pull heavy trailers
I thought that it switched after the WJ but yes, it was a monocoque all along. Certainly handled like a body-on-frame SUV though. white_goodman said:
Quite right, I stand corrected. I thought that it switched after the WJ but yes, it was a monocoque all along. Certainly handled like a body-on-frame SUV though.
They still have a chassis... it's just welded to the floorpan, so not really a Moncoque in the modern sense. I thought that it switched after the WJ but yes, it was a monocoque all along. Certainly handled like a body-on-frame SUV though. 
They handle the way they do thanks to front and rear live axles, making them very capable offroad.
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