I went and looked at the 1993 Cherokee with the 4.0 I-6 and it looks good and has 170K miles however I did notice that the engine oil was not clear so maybe a head gasket??

 

What color was it?

If it hasnt been changed in awhile it will probably be black.. which is normal.. if it had a carmel color to it then it probably had a recent oil change... If it is blue...or purple.. then put the crack pipe down. Just kiddin...

 

It was light brown/beige but it was not clear so maybe it had a little water in it?. The guy said it had a coolant leak from either a hose or the thermostat

 

yeah, light brown is usually not a good sign...

 

It runs good and the oil isn't foamy but the discoloration is a concern

 

If it was a blown head gasket is there anyway to "patch" it?. I've heard of products that you add to the oil and it is supposed to stop the leak.

 

Those products are merely snake-oil.
All they will do is gum up everything and cause more problems down the road.

What about that one with the mangled fender???
Fenders are easy to replace and can be done in about 1/2hr with basic hand tools

 

The '93 with the possible blown head gasket is also the one with the missing fender. The interior is in excellent condition, The body is straight and the paint is not faded (except for the fender) And it seems to run ok just the oil problem. I have talked him down to $400

 

Bill the 93 sounds like a much better deal but that engine may be toast from your oil description and unless you can hear it run I would be prepared to rebuild or replace the engine.

 

I heard the engine run today and it had no abnormal sounds or ran rough

 

man for $400 i'd pick it up. even if there is something wrong with the engine it would prob. last for a little while. and if its in that good of shape except the fender go for it. worst case rebuild or find a JY engine and slap it in.

 

I think i'm going to go ahead and get it. I'll do a full tune up (plugs, wires, oil change, filters, termostat,etc) and go from there

 

so let me get this straight, the oil is a beige color and you think its a headgasket? i think if its beige then he went with a synthetic oil after using normal grade and its picking up all the impurities of normal oil and carbon, but it would be rather milky if it had a headgasket issue. just my .02.

 

Would that cause the oil to be non-transparent?

 

just a little unclear. it looks like a cleaner more tan an oil with the feel of oil and the same weight.