I am seriously considering buying a 1995 xj (will have money friday), and I have been trying to do my homework on it as best as I can. it has 165xxx miles, 4 door, 4.0 HO, auto, 4x4, 3" suspension lift, and new 31x10.5 mudders. $2700 with a bump'n subwoofer and amp, $2500 without.

The 4.0 HO is pleasantly quick, and has no oil leaks or burns that I can see/smell. The motor is clean enough to eat off of. Anything I should look for, or pay attention to? How do they stand up to high mileage?

The serp-belt squeals when I turn on the heat or the AC, I suspect an old belt/tensioner. If it were the harmonic balancer, it would be squeeking at all times, correct? Just trying to figure out how deep I might be getting to fix this problem.

I am wary about auto transmissions, but the AW4 seems stout, shifts smooth and doesn't slip even when romping on it, so I will give it the benefit of the doubt. Should I bury $1000 in the back yard for if/when it goes? 165k miles is a lot to ask of an auto, so I am cautious. I have heard conflicting reports of what fluid to use, dexron III, or ATF-4. What does everyone put in theirs? How often should it be flushed?

I'm not sure if the trans has a cooler or not (owner doesnt know if it got the tow package or not). if not, how hard is it to install? I hear those AW4s are little furnaces, and heat kills slushboxes fast...

Are there any common problems I should check for? Anything I should make sure to do (or not do) to keep it running well?

Looking forward to your input, thanks for hearing me out.

 

165,000 miles would be considered by many to be "just broken in". These Jeeps are known to last many more miles than that, provided basic maintenance schedules have been followed.

Here's a good place to read opinions from actual 1995 Cherokee owners:
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/jeep/cherokee/1995/

 

AW4s are pretty robust and quite often last as long as the engines or longer. I don't recall my '96 having a towing package, but the trans has lines plumbed into the bottom of the radiator. It wouldn't be difficult or expensive to add an auxiliary cooler. BTW, Dexron III/Mercon is the recommended fluid. Its an older design trans that dates back to around the mid 1980s, was used in some Toyotas, and made in Japan.

I think the fluid change interval was 3 years or 36000 miles. If you were to pull the drain plug and refill yearly, you would be doing far more than most, and it would cost $16-$20 for 4-5 quarts.

 

I think it sounds good. I have had 3 XJ's all with AW4's and love them. I'm not nice to them but just change fluid and run a cooler and never had an issue. On my second one slipped when I picked it up so I use one quart on Lucais and in 3 years of working it to its max never had it slip.

 

look at floor boards from underneath for rust in the floor

 

Yes look for rust. The belt sounds like it shouldn't be too hard to fix.. You might just need to tighten it and 165k is very little miles for a xj. I got mine a year ago with just over 200k and haven't had any problems with it at all so no problem there. Uhh sounds like a reasonable deal I'd go for it.