fr1234

I've been lurking for a short while so decided to make my first post to try and get some useful advice in becoming one of you.

For a number of years, I've fancied a Cherokee - it was seeing one in the Goonies that turned me on to them. I absolutely love the shape - but with moving around a lot, I've never had the opportunity. I am finally going to be settled for a little while so have decided to get one.

I'm looking at getting a 2.5TD with a budget of around £2.5k. I decided on the 2.5 over a 4.0 as it would primarily be used to get me the 20 miles round trip to work each day and the relative fuel economy of the 2.5 over the 4.0 is a huge plus. I'd also be using it in very tame off-road for mountain biking, camping etc. With my budget, I guess I'll be aiming for something in the 80-120k miles range.

What are some key things I should be looking out for in my Jeep? From what I have learned, milage is not a huge issue (say when looking at 80k vs 120k) as they go forever. Any warning signs to avoid? What questions should I be asking the seller/dealer?

Many thanks. I look forward to becoming an active member of the forum.

bullettooth2008

Morning, I have the 2.5td and love it,when I bought mine the head gasket had already been done. since then have bought new battery, new Alternator and new radiator, as others weren't perfect.
Since then no trouble at all, I have since raised 3" and fitted new steel D window wheels and BFG 31" mud tyres, never lets me down.
I do go offroad and it is often covered in Mud, amazing what these things can do.
I also went for diesel over petrol for same reason's, bearing in mind our fuel prices are three times the U.S price.
So get one quick before the snow and have some fun.
Oh and welcome to this great Forum.

fr1234

Thanks for the reply. Yours looks great. Are the head gaskets prone to going?

inghamjon

Hi fr1234 and welcome to the forum. I have a 2.5TD XJ and picked that for exactly the same reasons as you & bullettooth. Me and the wife used to live in the states and we always wanted one. I have to say that I wanted the XJ while the wife really wanted the more refined grand Cherokee. I picked mine up about 10 months ago and I knew that I would need to do a few things. Unfortunately the first thing I needed to do was to replace a broken leaf. I was intending to do a small lift but the broken leaf came too soon for my wallet so it stayed stock. That would be something to note when you are looking, does it sag at the back. I must admit that I didn't really notice how low mine was at the back when I bought it but with the new leafs on it made a massive difference and I'm not going to bother with a lift now. Oil leaks are common, I didn't have one when I bought it as I checked under the car for them but I have developed one now though which looks like it is coming from the bell housing so that is going to cost a bit to get fixed. I guess it is safe to say that they are bullet proof but check for the usual things that you would check on any car. Put it in four wheel drive to make sure that works, check UJ as they can be a pain to change. I swapped my for new drive shafts with CV joints instead of UJ, check for any obvious off-road damage particularly around the diffs and transfer case. Check the heating as this is a common issues with the blend doors failing so that you only get hot air into the cab (like mine lol) check that the AC works too. Hope you manage to pick up a good one.

bullettooth2008

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^must have the Limited, I have the sport, less refinements, less to go wrong and No AC this country not necessary.
Yes the heater core Inghamjon mentioned can be a wallet drainer if you can't do yourself as labour intentive,a friend has just taken his to the garage for this.
Luckily mine ok.

fr1234

Excellent. Thanks for the good info, both. I look forward to getting my hands on one!

bullettooth2008

No problem, keep us updated.
Any problems or issues no matter how small just ask!
Good luck!

fr1234

So I finally snagged one.

I've bought it blind from eBay and probably paid over the odds for it but I couldn't be more excited.

It's a 2001 Orvis with 96,000 miles. I paid £2,200 for it. The only downside is that I have to wait over 3 weeks to pick it up as I don't get back in the country til Dec 6th.

I look forward to contributing to the forums.

Cheers!

thwdavis

Hi,
That looks very nice. I have a td sport and unfortunately am suffering from the dreaded 2000 rpm loss of power.

Does anyone know where the AFM lives? I have a new one to try but can't find a schematic

Thanks

Tim