Intro, story, pics, some mods, and quiz!
06-02-2010, 11:47 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Cleveland, OH
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Year: 1997
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
Intro, story, pics, some mods, and quiz!
Hey all - new to Cherokee, not new to forums and Jeeps. I use forums for all my hobbies and toys, great source for info and sharing my stuff too. Bad for my pocketbook b/c I see other mods I want to do. And I'm on 4 other non-Cherokee forums for my other toys. $$$...
I've had my Cherokee for 3 weeks. Spent 3.5 months looking for one. My use of the Cherokee is interesting and part of the quiz at the end of this post. Anyway, before buying I used this forum a lot to learn about Cherokee. My biggest take away was find one not rusted out.
Also nice to be back in the Jeep world. Here was my previous Jeep 1984 CJ7 I sold for $7500 in 2004. Prolly worth $20k these days because it was all original and no rust ! CJ7 full doors and hard tops are hard to find...I wrenched on that Jeep for 3 years and learned a lot...
After looking at a lot of Cherokees I found this one. I knew it had a lift, but PO wasn't sure and thought it was 2". I was a little green on Cherokee lifts, but I could tell it was properly lifted because there were no big shackles in the rear or spacers on the coil springs. Only a little rust, 4.0L 106k miles, well maintained, a little dirty needed TLC, new clutch, all new brakes and the price was right. Mine.
After getting it home, I learned I have factory tow kit with trans cooler, a LSD, and a little better gearing than non-tow kit equipped. BONUS ! Also found $10 under the back seat. BIG BONUS !
My 3 sons were Jeep crazy... and I put them to work. Each got 2 cans of resolve carpet cleaner and they went for it... Definitely fun to watch the kids clean it up.
Ok, I spent hours on the forum trying to figure out the lift. I learned stock Cherokee measures 17" from center of wheel hub to bottom of flare. I was measuring 21", so I was in the 3.5" lift range... Digging further, I had OME shocks on all corners and I found some OME lettering on the top of the rear leafs. Nothing on the front coils. So I guess I scored an OME Cherokee lift. I noticed a 1" TC drop installed too. Looks like the lift is quality and done right....
Then I measured the existing tires....they were 30" tall. BFG Long Trail TA P265/70/15, but they were 11 yrs old and aged out.
NOW the trouble comes. If I have a Cherokee with 3.5" lift and running 30" tires no problems, it is time to man up and get 31s on there. BFG ATs are my fav tire. The white lettering on a white Jeep look cool. I was planning on just satin black painting the stock wheels, but found the local 4x4 mega center had some take offs. They had 5 ProComp 8179s take offs for $250 -- the clear coat around the rim was discolored yellow. I offered $150 for all 5 wheels and they took it. I hurried home sanded the rim edges down and then recleared with VHT header clearcoat. We'll see if that holds up.
I did have 2 sleepness nights... The backspacing on those Procomp wheels was 3.75". And they were taken off a Jeep --- but a TJ. I was worried about the wheels sticking way out. Well, they do, about an inch. But it looks good IMO ! I also have no rubs anywhere. This Cherokee will see some light trails, so I'm not too worried about fender flares and wheel tucking....... at least not this year....moooohahahaha....
I also added a bumper brow from FullSizeXJ.com, Yakima Rack, and some Wallmart lights for now
3.75" backspacing 15x8 wheel BFG 10.5" tires sticking out
Yakima roof rack. These are 1A rain gutter mounts with 58" load bars. Perfect fit.
Interior -- kids cleaned it well and all the PO "man funk" is gone too...
Oh, BTW, I needed some floor mats. I've been using these walmart ones in all my cars. They are rubber, hold dirt, water, snow, and stay put. $8 each compared to some of those big ticket custom molded mats.
A hitch was very important to me for my bike rack. This Cherokee has a Hidden Hitch. Bike rack is an Allen 550 -- hold 5 bikes. Yeah, kids get a chuckle from that big magnetic band aid on there too.
I did do some minor wrenching... Changed all the fluids, recharge K&N, paint some stuff, stereo is goofed, have some rocker rust to think about, etc.
Oh yeah, when putting on the oil filter, I barely touched that oil sensor and it broke off. Put on a new one and two days later it would act up and light up my oil dash light (scary in a new to me rig......) AND the new one just wouldn't seal and left puddles of oil on my drive. Got a second one and worked just fine. Lesson Learned -- oil sensor is fussy and can be big source of oil leak.
I learned on my CJ7 that a big steering stabilizer really is worth it. Picked up a Rough Country on eBay for $33 delivered. Installation was a PITA. The bolt that goes through the drag link gives everyone trouble. It is in there tight. I beat on that thing, heated it, PB blasted it, use a tie rod fork, etc etc over a 4 day period. Easily spent 5 hours on it to no avail. I resorted to drilling the bolt out. I was expecting a tedious job, but it drilled out in 20 minutes flat. Installed the new stabilizer in 5 minutes. Lesson learned on that steering stabilizer drag link bolt -- drilling it out is fast !!
NEXT MODS:
My Cherokee is not a rock crawler project, but I want to see some light trails. I need to test out that lift and wheel setup. Not sure how much flex I'll get with that wheel backspacing before I'm into the flares.... I like the flare look too....
A Cherokee rag top is a must do.... Neighbor has a Liberty rag top, I love it... There is one for Cherokee I have to read up on...
QUIZ TIME. I'll be adding this thing to my Cherokee. What is it? It is the main reason I bought a Cherokee.
HINT, has something to do with my other toy...
ANSWER... it is a base plate to attach a motorhome tow bar. My Cherokee will tow my motorhome. hahha, <jk>. Cherokees are awesome to tow behind motorhomes. Put T-case in N, unlock steering and it is towable with all four wheels on the ground. Cherokees are also 3500LBS and that is an easy tow for most motorhomes. Lastly, it can seat 5-6 people, dog, and gear in the back. Few other RV towable cars can do that...
I've had my Cherokee for 3 weeks. Spent 3.5 months looking for one. My use of the Cherokee is interesting and part of the quiz at the end of this post. Anyway, before buying I used this forum a lot to learn about Cherokee. My biggest take away was find one not rusted out.
Also nice to be back in the Jeep world. Here was my previous Jeep 1984 CJ7 I sold for $7500 in 2004. Prolly worth $20k these days because it was all original and no rust ! CJ7 full doors and hard tops are hard to find...I wrenched on that Jeep for 3 years and learned a lot...
After looking at a lot of Cherokees I found this one. I knew it had a lift, but PO wasn't sure and thought it was 2". I was a little green on Cherokee lifts, but I could tell it was properly lifted because there were no big shackles in the rear or spacers on the coil springs. Only a little rust, 4.0L 106k miles, well maintained, a little dirty needed TLC, new clutch, all new brakes and the price was right. Mine.
After getting it home, I learned I have factory tow kit with trans cooler, a LSD, and a little better gearing than non-tow kit equipped. BONUS ! Also found $10 under the back seat. BIG BONUS !
My 3 sons were Jeep crazy... and I put them to work. Each got 2 cans of resolve carpet cleaner and they went for it... Definitely fun to watch the kids clean it up.
Ok, I spent hours on the forum trying to figure out the lift. I learned stock Cherokee measures 17" from center of wheel hub to bottom of flare. I was measuring 21", so I was in the 3.5" lift range... Digging further, I had OME shocks on all corners and I found some OME lettering on the top of the rear leafs. Nothing on the front coils. So I guess I scored an OME Cherokee lift. I noticed a 1" TC drop installed too. Looks like the lift is quality and done right....
Then I measured the existing tires....they were 30" tall. BFG Long Trail TA P265/70/15, but they were 11 yrs old and aged out.
NOW the trouble comes. If I have a Cherokee with 3.5" lift and running 30" tires no problems, it is time to man up and get 31s on there. BFG ATs are my fav tire. The white lettering on a white Jeep look cool. I was planning on just satin black painting the stock wheels, but found the local 4x4 mega center had some take offs. They had 5 ProComp 8179s take offs for $250 -- the clear coat around the rim was discolored yellow. I offered $150 for all 5 wheels and they took it. I hurried home sanded the rim edges down and then recleared with VHT header clearcoat. We'll see if that holds up.
I did have 2 sleepness nights... The backspacing on those Procomp wheels was 3.75". And they were taken off a Jeep --- but a TJ. I was worried about the wheels sticking way out. Well, they do, about an inch. But it looks good IMO ! I also have no rubs anywhere. This Cherokee will see some light trails, so I'm not too worried about fender flares and wheel tucking....... at least not this year....moooohahahaha....
I also added a bumper brow from FullSizeXJ.com, Yakima Rack, and some Wallmart lights for now
3.75" backspacing 15x8 wheel BFG 10.5" tires sticking out
Yakima roof rack. These are 1A rain gutter mounts with 58" load bars. Perfect fit.
Interior -- kids cleaned it well and all the PO "man funk" is gone too...
Oh, BTW, I needed some floor mats. I've been using these walmart ones in all my cars. They are rubber, hold dirt, water, snow, and stay put. $8 each compared to some of those big ticket custom molded mats.
A hitch was very important to me for my bike rack. This Cherokee has a Hidden Hitch. Bike rack is an Allen 550 -- hold 5 bikes. Yeah, kids get a chuckle from that big magnetic band aid on there too.
I did do some minor wrenching... Changed all the fluids, recharge K&N, paint some stuff, stereo is goofed, have some rocker rust to think about, etc.
Oh yeah, when putting on the oil filter, I barely touched that oil sensor and it broke off. Put on a new one and two days later it would act up and light up my oil dash light (scary in a new to me rig......) AND the new one just wouldn't seal and left puddles of oil on my drive. Got a second one and worked just fine. Lesson Learned -- oil sensor is fussy and can be big source of oil leak.
I learned on my CJ7 that a big steering stabilizer really is worth it. Picked up a Rough Country on eBay for $33 delivered. Installation was a PITA. The bolt that goes through the drag link gives everyone trouble. It is in there tight. I beat on that thing, heated it, PB blasted it, use a tie rod fork, etc etc over a 4 day period. Easily spent 5 hours on it to no avail. I resorted to drilling the bolt out. I was expecting a tedious job, but it drilled out in 20 minutes flat. Installed the new stabilizer in 5 minutes. Lesson learned on that steering stabilizer drag link bolt -- drilling it out is fast !!
NEXT MODS:
My Cherokee is not a rock crawler project, but I want to see some light trails. I need to test out that lift and wheel setup. Not sure how much flex I'll get with that wheel backspacing before I'm into the flares.... I like the flare look too....
A Cherokee rag top is a must do.... Neighbor has a Liberty rag top, I love it... There is one for Cherokee I have to read up on...
QUIZ TIME. I'll be adding this thing to my Cherokee. What is it? It is the main reason I bought a Cherokee.
HINT, has something to do with my other toy...
ANSWER... it is a base plate to attach a motorhome tow bar. My Cherokee will tow my motorhome. hahha, <jk>. Cherokees are awesome to tow behind motorhomes. Put T-case in N, unlock steering and it is towable with all four wheels on the ground. Cherokees are also 3500LBS and that is an easy tow for most motorhomes. Lastly, it can seat 5-6 people, dog, and gear in the back. Few other RV towable cars can do that...
Last edited by calvinator; 06-02-2010 at 11:51 PM.
06-03-2010, 09:51 AM
#5
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
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Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 rebuilt w/ bored TB, banks header, upgraded ignition, 3 row rad, high flow h2o pump, 180* t-stat
i want one of those magnetic band-aids.....
06-03-2010, 09:59 AM
#6
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Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
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Year: 2002
Model: Grand Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 I-6
Aw man, I was hoping you'd actually quiz us and wait for the answer. I was so ready to pipe up on what it was. Just bought one for 20 bucks last week, have absolutely no use for it other than some serious recovery that I don't forsee happening
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06-03-2010, 11:38 AM
#8
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Location: Cleveland, OH
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Year: 1997
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
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