I have a '97 4.0L daily driver and love it. My wife ordered it new in '97 and it now has 176k miles and has had no problems exc a water pump at about 165k or so.

I have Cooper 31 10.50 STT's on AR 15x8 Baja's in the garage waiting on a RE 3.5 superflex lift w/full leafs and SYE to be delivered...hopefully tomorrow. From what I have read in planning my lift, I feel 97-99's are the best bet out of the box for the following reasons:

8.25 29 spline rear axle beginning in '97...maybe not as good as a Dana 44, but not bad either...stronger than a Dana 35 or 27spline Chrysler 8.25
still had high pinion front Dana 30 ('01 & '02 were low pinion)
improved interior for '97 (pass airbag & updated styling & such if you care)
metal, not weaker fiberglass rear hatch
Stronger axle u-joints beginning in '95

For what it's worth, I could not have asked for a better running, easy to maintain & reliable vehicle..plus the ole XJ's have become a classic in my opinion.

 

89 baby love my jeep even though she is not running at the moment

 

89............ Oh yeah!

 

thx Blue for the recomendations..RE for my XJ, will that come with blocks or add a leaf? I'd rather add rear leafs because I've heard that a block can slip out, idk if this is true.

 

No blocks from anyone please. They will not slip out but cause your springs to lose their arch much quicker. You can choose either add a leaf or full spring packs. The full packs will last for years but the AAL will be OK for awhile if funds are in short supply.

 

Hey guys, I don't want to hijack the thread but I have the option of buying a jeep about 5 hours from me. It's a 2001 sport with about 240000 miles on it for $1500. I have a couple buddies with jeeps and they are trying to convert me. Does that seem like a good deal? I haven't seen it up close but the pictures he has show a pretty mint interior and a couple minor blemishes on the outside, no rust or dents. Very little to no rust on the underbody either. I don't see any oil on the block or on diff cases. It is a 4x4 and has 4 new tires and it's all stock, let me know what you think to a possible jeep convert. This is being purchased as a weekend fun vehicle and home depot vehicle since I sold my '92 Mustang. Also it is something for me to tinker with once in awhile. Any help is greatly appreciated for this jeep newb.

Thanks!

 

cool thx =P

 

Buy That jeep for $1,500 Bucks but try to talk him down bring $ Cash$$ and let him lnow your ready to drive it home! Good Luck!

 

I'm still trying to decide but it seems 1500 is a good price, I've actually talked him down from 2300. For 1500 I'm thinking theres not much to lose and it's a lot cheaper than the brand new pickup I was going to buy, and I'll probably have more fun with it. I'll have to sleep on it but for a fun vehicle, worse comes to worse I have to put some money into it but I plan on doing that anyways with a lift and 32" tires eventually. Are the problems I read about on here with 2001s (electrical, engine block cracking) a certain thing or do some keep on ticking just fine? I'm guessing they would have known by 240000 miles.

 

It's a steal. Grab it. What rear axle does it have, dana 35 or chrysler 8.25? The dana 35 housing is oval, while the 8.25 is oval but with a flat bottom.


For what it's worth, i bought my 2001 sport (fully loaded minus cruise) for $8k last year. It had 82k miles. So you are obviously getting a goooood deal.

 

I think I'm going for it. It's hard buying a truck sight unseen, but for 1500 I can't really go wrong. Only a couple minor exterior blemishes, new tires and from what I can tell on the engine, only some minor slow seepage of oil out from under the valve cover, probably from not being driven much anymore. I'm thinking that should be an easy fix to put a new gasket in. Looks like next weekend I might be picking up a jeep.

 

96 is the best!!

 

Thanks to everybody for great answers.

I'm off to look at a 96 limited with 118k miles in the next few days (depending on when the seller is available). He wants 2500 for it. It looks just like xj jeepman's avatar!

Any known problems, leaks, rattles, clunks I should look for in the test drive??

 

ya u should look for all that stuff even rust

 

I came across a beautiful 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport, 141,000miles, No rust inside and out.. dealer is asking $4495..
Is this a good price or should I offer them a little lower.. I'm paying cash.
Thanks guys!