Grand Cherokee, opinions?
Discussion
Looking at a Jeep Grand Cherokee, probably the 99-04 model. Just want it as a second car for snow, carrying large things around on the occasions I have to and for all its general lovelyness including not having to tell people I have a Rover.
Am I right in saying the 4.0 petrol is a pretty solid engine, the 4.7 is somewhat pointless, the 3.1 diesel is horrible and the 2.7 CRD is the best all rounder? As it were.
Thoughts?
Am I right in saying the 4.0 petrol is a pretty solid engine, the 4.7 is somewhat pointless, the 3.1 diesel is horrible and the 2.7 CRD is the best all rounder? As it were.
Thoughts?
SystemParanoia said:
avoid the VM diesel model like the plauge!
4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
I think got rid of that engine for the years the OP is looking at. The 2.7TD 5 Pot is an excellent engine 4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
However you are right. That VM Diesel is a terrible engine.
SystemParanoia said:
avoid the VM diesel model like the plauge!
4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
Erm... Think the VM in Grand was a 5 pot? & the Range Rover 2.5 was a BMW unit? Although I agree it's a horrible thing in both 2.5 & 3.1l guise.4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
FWIW I have a 4.0L on LPG currently. Bought about 10 months ago & stands me at about £4200 including having it converted. It's perfect for my needs, tows the horses easily across muddy fields, comfortable to drive, cheap to run & bombproof engine (the Yanks will regularly advertise a 4.0L model with 300k miles as low mileage!)
Main reason I chose this over the 4.7? Cost mainly. Extra cost to have it converted to gas (8cyl vs 6 & lubrication issues on the V8), extra cost of insurance (OL postcode) and the extra cost of tax for the decent V8 model (before 2002 the V8 only made 25hp more than the S6, after 2002 it made 265hp but falls into the newer tax bracket, some £200 dearer)
I've had a 2.7CRD before too. It had major gearbox electrical issues that nobody could get to the bottom of so got moved on. Mate bought one a year or two later despite my advice, it had the same problem. Needless to say I wouldn't have another diesel!
Main reason I chose this over the 4.7? Cost mainly. Extra cost to have it converted to gas (8cyl vs 6 & lubrication issues on the V8), extra cost of insurance (OL postcode) and the extra cost of tax for the decent V8 model (before 2002 the V8 only made 25hp more than the S6, after 2002 it made 265hp but falls into the newer tax bracket, some £200 dearer)
I've had a 2.7CRD before too. It had major gearbox electrical issues that nobody could get to the bottom of so got moved on. Mate bought one a year or two later despite my advice, it had the same problem. Needless to say I wouldn't have another diesel!
MPShan said:
and the extra cost of tax for the decent V8 model (before 2002 the V8 only made 25hp more than the S6, after 2002 it made 265hp but falls into the newer tax bracket, some £200 dearer)
2002 model cars don't fall into the higher tax rates, it was March 2006 that happened. Between 2001 and 2006 the higher emissioned cars have their own tax bracket, certainly not an extra £200.MPShan said:
SystemParanoia said:
avoid the VM diesel model like the plauge!
4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
Erm... Think the VM in Grand was a 5 pot? & the Range Rover 2.5 was a BMW unit? Although I agree it's a horrible thing in both 2.5 & 3.1l guise.4 seperate headgasgets to change, doesnt come on boost till nearly 4k rpm, heads that go porus at will, expensive to fix any part of that engine.
horrible horroble thing. rover used the 2.5ltr vrrsion in the rangie and in the 600... AVOID!
Had a 52 2.7 CRD too. For that age and price it is good value compared to other similar stuff. Loads of roll but overall a reliable use able motor. Ours had Cooper tyres on which were no ptch on the AT2 which ran on our P38. Big slides and fishtails, sometimes unintended, in the snow earlier this year. I am sure with AT tyres or winter tyres it would have been more capable than the P38. 5 pot diesel had plenty of grunt to keep up and doesn't feel that much slower than the 4.4 V8 Range Rover.
I've got a 52 plate 2.7CRD so can offer my experience with it.
Purchased it 2 years ago with 80k on the clock. This month I have just passed 125k. Up until recently it has been flawless - very capable in all weather conditions, a good tow car and munches up the miles very comfortably.
I experienced the first problem with it a couple of months ago - injector problems. Injectors are quite expensive to replace and failure is quite common in the 2.7CRD Merc engine. Look up 2.7 CRD "black death". Tell tale signs include black tar like deposits around the injector hence black death, so make sure you check for this.
The problem with the WJ jeep is that injector #5 is not reachable from the engine bay. So if that one goes you need to drop the engine to get to it and will potentially be a large labour bill from your mechanic.. Fortunately for me injector #5 was ok.
Anyway other than that I am happy with the car and am planning on keeping it at least until it hits 200k. The car is very capable of holding high mileages as long as it is serviced regularly and look after. The 2.7 CRD engine was used in the Mercedes Sprinter vans and they are known for being ultra relaible and doing 400k+ mileages with only regular servicing needed and injector replacements.
Purchased it 2 years ago with 80k on the clock. This month I have just passed 125k. Up until recently it has been flawless - very capable in all weather conditions, a good tow car and munches up the miles very comfortably.
I experienced the first problem with it a couple of months ago - injector problems. Injectors are quite expensive to replace and failure is quite common in the 2.7CRD Merc engine. Look up 2.7 CRD "black death". Tell tale signs include black tar like deposits around the injector hence black death, so make sure you check for this.
The problem with the WJ jeep is that injector #5 is not reachable from the engine bay. So if that one goes you need to drop the engine to get to it and will potentially be a large labour bill from your mechanic.. Fortunately for me injector #5 was ok.
Anyway other than that I am happy with the car and am planning on keeping it at least until it hits 200k. The car is very capable of holding high mileages as long as it is serviced regularly and look after. The 2.7 CRD engine was used in the Mercedes Sprinter vans and they are known for being ultra relaible and doing 400k+ mileages with only regular servicing needed and injector replacements.
4.0 engine is utterly bombproof.
Basic design has been in production since the 1960's right up until 2008 and is probably one of the top 5 best engines ever made.
However the grand cherokee is a heavy beast, so it struggles a bit compared to the V8 and gets similar mileage.
Grand Cherokee's sold in the UK all use Quadra-trac 4X4 system which uses a limited slip diff in the transfer box and axles to get power to all 4 wheels
The clutch in the transfer box can let go and plenty of people switch to the 2Wd/4Wd selectable system found on the cherokee as it's just a simple swap of the transfer box.
Basic design has been in production since the 1960's right up until 2008 and is probably one of the top 5 best engines ever made.
However the grand cherokee is a heavy beast, so it struggles a bit compared to the V8 and gets similar mileage.
Grand Cherokee's sold in the UK all use Quadra-trac 4X4 system which uses a limited slip diff in the transfer box and axles to get power to all 4 wheels
The clutch in the transfer box can let go and plenty of people switch to the 2Wd/4Wd selectable system found on the cherokee as it's just a simple swap of the transfer box.
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