Hi, I finally got on the forum,YAY! I have been looking at 98'-2001 XJ's as I like the body style and the 4.0. I found a VERY nice 2001 Cherokee,4.0, with a two wheel drive auto tranny. It's about one hour from me. It has about 160,000 miles on it. The guy who is the original owner told me over the phone it had blown a head gasket. He had the head rebuilt a short while back. Now, my question is, would that affect the lower end of the engine?? long time? He has garaged this thing, changed the fluids regularly, and taking excellent care of this Jeep. His sister in law blew the head gasket somehow. I have looked at a lot of Cherokees after getting rid of my 96' Grand 5.2. two weeks ago, I had to! The rear end was starting to go out and I just did not want to put money into it any longer! I won't mind putting a few bucks into a nice 4.0 square body, I just hope the trannys in these things last a while! Is 160,000 a lot on these things?? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

I wouldn't be so concerned about the transmission, but the head issues would concern me, especially if its had problems in the past. Google 0331 head for some info.

If the head gasket blew, you have to ask the question "why?" That's not a very comforting question when talking about 2000-2001 XJ's.

My $.02 cents

 

160,000 is nothing as far as components should go. I had 320+ on my last XJ before I crossed a cold river with a hot engine and cracked my block.

Is the head gasket leaking or is the engine dead all together?

 

Head gasket or did the head crack? That year has the marginal head.
It can affect the bottom end if antifreeze got into the oil, check oil pressure and listen carefully. Sounds like whatever problem it had was fixed ASAP, if the jeep was as well maintained as the owner says it's probably not a big worry.

160K is nothing on an XJ, including the transmission. They'll hit 250-300K easy without much drama, some folks are far beyond that. The electronics cause trouble here and there- CPS, grounds, switches, sensors etc. but the engine and transmission mechanically are quite tough and durable.

 

Thanks for all the help I am getting! I decided on a 98' Cherokee (forest green with the tan/black Limited interior) I found on Craigslist in Sacramento.It has 140,000 well cared for miles according to the second owner and it's two wheel drive/auto tranny. It started up ok, a hair slow I thought. It idles a little rough, on heavy acceleration it bogs down a hair but then smoothes out. No check engine lights are on. And I noticed getting back to town and it was foggy and chilly, the heater doesn't get that hot, even turned all the way. They recharged the A/C for me at the shop it was parked at. The guy who owned it runs an auto repair shop. I love the Jeep as it is so hard to find a green one of any kind and I love the 4.0! No real oil leaks from what I see so far, just a little drip near the rear main seal. I work at an auto repair shop also so fixing it is no issue Got it for $3000. And the paint is great! No funky clearcoat problems,YET! I plan on changing ALL the fluids this week,rear diff,oil,coolant flush,etc to be safe. I think it may also need ball joints. No biggie!

 

I still miss my 1956 Mercury station wagon! That was my daily driver for over ten years! The Cherokee is a good sub!

 

The prices seem a lot higher on your end of the country. Here in NJ an XJ with your description would be about half that price. Good luck.

 

But you have to deal with rust issues,right?

It is a lot of $ for a 2wd.But as long as you are happy.

 

The big difference is that the east coast vehicles have more rust then the west coast vehicles. $3000 is a little high for a 2 wheel drive but it is not unheard of a price. Personally I think that you made the right choice on getting the 98 over the 01. I love my 98. It has to be my favorite out of the 4 that I have owned and it is also the forest green but with the gray interior. I got lucky when I found mine on craigslist. It was at a small used car lot. They wanted $4000. I talked him down over the phone without even seeing it to $3300. When I went to look at it and a little more haggling I got it for $3000 out the door and they picked up the tax and license fees. I would have tried a little more on getting the price down. But, I think you got a decent deal if you are happy with it. After all that is what really matters.

 

Tell me about it. Blue book on a 1998 limited 2wd out here is right at $3000. But honestly, finding one is the hard part. They're few and far between out here.

 

I pick up mine for 2200 and its a 2dr base model but its a 5speed and only had 82k on it. Interior clean just front seat wear mostly.

 

The guy here at work now tells me that my cam bearings are probably wearing out. My oil pressure started to drop just under 20 on the oil pressure gauge at idle. When I bought it, it was eprfect at 20. 40 while driving, 60 when cold. It now has check engine light on. Still runs a little rough like it did before we change the distributor. Isn't as bad,though. He thinks the timing chain. Sooo, I ordered a timing chain/gear set for $70 at NAPA. He says I can drive this thing for a couple of years before I need to replace the engine. How nice!! amazing this passed smog two months ago! Anyone know of a really good reman 4.0 company??

 

One question about you oil pressure. What brand of oil filter do you have on it right now? If you have a Fram filter get rid of it and put on a Mopar, Napa Gold or a Wix brand filter and see if that brings your pressure up. When I first bought my current 98 XJ it was running 40 psi cold idle and would drop to 5-10 psi at warm idle. Once I got rid of the crappy fram filter the pressure went up to 45-50 psi cold idle and 30-35 psi warm idle. Our 4.0 run like crap with the crappy fram filters. Give that a try and see if it help any.

 

Didnt you just buy the jeep and now it needs an engine?? Thats a bummer. And i agree with you guys with the prices. I cant even seem to find a 2wd xj around me ( not that i want to) but if i did it would be going for alot less. You can have a pristine low mileage 4wd xj around here for 3-4k and even cheaper. My 00 4wd w/ 166k nice and clean was only 2k. Some of the prices around the country are nuts!