So I just bought my very first Jeep. It is a 99 Cherokee. It's been very well taken care of, best I can tell, and it has 140k miles. Within the last 6 months it has had new brakes, new shocks, and a new roof liner installed. What else should I inspect/expect? I have a plan to build it up, but for now I'd like to know what common problems may be and what I should focus on first. Thanks for having me!

 

Also, I'm sure some of this is important...It has the 4.0 motor, the DGS (Aisin/Warner) transmission, the DHN (Command Trac?)...Front is a Dana 30, rear is a Chrysler 8.25. I hope all of that is a good thing haha.

 

Welcome to the addiction! First thing I would check would be for the 0331 head. It was the head that Chrysler used on the 2000 and 2001 models, but I've heard that some late 99's may have also had it. If you do have it, then you just need to be aware that you have it and they have a bad habit of cracking between the 3rd and 4th cylinder. Most run forever without a problem, but just something to be aware of if you happen to have one of the few 99's with it. If you have a dizzy cap/rotor and plug wires, you're good to go... if you have coil pack ignition, then just be aware you have the 0331 head, and you'll need keep an eye out for the crack problem.

I would also clean all of your grounds right away, change all your tune up parts... plugs, wires, cap and rotor, etc... check all your front end parts, tie rod ends, ball joints, axle u-joints, etc... change up all the fluids. Oil change, tranny fluid drain and fill, transfer case drain and fill, and would probably do both differentials, just so you know that they are done. Check all your drive shaft u-joints,...

There's probably more, but that's what I can come up with off the top of my head.