snakeyez

Here's the deal. I own a 1996 Country 4x4 and my dad owns a 1996 Country 4x4. We decided to pick up another Cherokee near a '96 year model for spare parts. The opportunity came along to purchase a 1996 Classic 2wd for cheap. It runs but the valve cover leaks big time, is super nasty on the inside, has a few dents in 3 of the 4 doors, and the front wheels aren't stock Cherokee wheels but do say 'Jeep' on them. But hey, it's going to be a great parts vehicle.

My question is, what is the Classic package? All I can tell is that this model has a chrome grill with nothing else chrome on it and the fabric on the seats has a slightly different pattern than my Country seats.

Also, I have heard that something was changed mid year in 1996 with the Chrysler rearend, something to do with spline count - how can I tell if the rearend in this Classic the same as my Country's rearend?

And it's amazing - all three of these 1996 Jeep Cherokees have different oil dipsticks.

wjnfirearms

The packages were basically options, nothing more. I have a '98 Classic and the wife, a '97 Sport. I have a few more options that she does, but nothing more.

Mid production year engineering changes are nothing unexpected. It's a parts counter person's nightmare, and is most common it seems with GM trucks, but is not all that uncommon for most vehicles over the years. For example, on my 1995 F-150 4x4 with manual locking hubs, the build date determines which front brake rotors it has. You should see the expressions on people's faces when they come in for wheel bearings, axle seals and the like and I end up asking them which rear end they have or I need a build date just to buy brake parts. Most of the time, they are clueless and it's understandable. Another issue that comes up on occasion, again especially with GM trucks and SUVs, is the factory throwing different production year parts at the models in any given year. The parts listing for something specific for a given year, make and model may not be accurate because the factory used extra parts on hand to finish a production run. These parts work just fine, but when they need replaced, create a major headache for the owner and whomever is trying to figure out what to replace the part with. We see this with sensors way too often. Some of us figured this out a while ago and get in the habit of checking the listings up to two or three years back from the build date of a particular vehicle if the needed part doesn't look right to the buyer or gets returned because it didn't fit.

There should be a metal tag affixed to the axle with a number that identifies the unit. If it is still there (sometimes they disappear) and the numbers are the same, then they are identical units.