Hey all,

Just purchased a 97 Cherokee sport 4wd last night and already am having fantastic luck with it. Keep in mind when you are reading these problems that none of them presented themselves last night before I purchased it. I took it for approximately 30 minute drive/inspection but seem to have failed miserably.

On my way home last night (~12 miles) I noticed about 1 mile into my journey the voltage gauge went to "9 volts" and the Check Gauges light lit up. I shut the heater/radio off and was able to make it home without issue.

Once I got home I let it idle for 5-10 minutes. Then shut it off and restarted it and the volt gauge read normal at 14 volts. Then I took it and put gas in it and left it run and drove it a couple miles and the volt gauge never changed.

Went out this morning to start my car and it fired up, I let it warm up for 10 minutes before leaving to go to work. I got just around the corner from my house and the volt gauge dropped again.

I continued to work since I have to get to work. Stopped at my morning gas station and it felt like the Jeep wanted to die, it stumbled a bit and then revved itself up to 1800 RPM.

When I left the gas station I had about a mile to go. I made it to work and pulled it in the shop. I could smell some burning oil and it did the "1800 rpm idle up" again.

I also noticed some dripping coolant from below the passenger side head light(on the floor)...The frame rail area was also wet with coolant on the same side. I shut it off and looked for any major signs and didn't see anything.

I restarted it to pull it out of the shop and voltage gauge was working of course but the check gauges light was back on and it had low oil pressure (gauge wasn't reading or was VERY LOW). The idle was kind of rough as well. I just backed it out and parked it to let it sit for awhile.

TL;DR: Intermittent voltage reading, oil burning, 1800 rpm idle, coolant dripping on ground from around passenger side headlight area.

seems to be a few gremlins playing about

Tell me about it.

Just went out and restarted it, runs great(except for lower voltage).

One thing I noticed is the coolant reservoir was very low.. as if it's losing coolant.


Looks like it could be head gasket.. FML

1. Get to the root of your voltage issue. Have your charging system tested at a parts store or do the quick and dirty test with a voltmeter at the battery to CONFIRM your problem. You should be at approx. 13.5-14.0 volts give or take a bit if your charging system is working properly. Be sure serpentine belt is tight as that is what powers your alternator. If the voltage truly is dropping like that, the problem is most likely the alternator. The voltage regulator for these is in the computer, but the alternator fails way more often than the voltage regulator.

2. Leaks are hard for us to help you with. Warm up the engine so that it is fully pressurized. Get a good light and get under the vehicle (hoist is best) and look around. If it is an external leak, and it really sounds like it could be, you should be able to find it this way. Fluids "migrate", so where it is leaking onto your garage floor may or may not be where the leak is coming from.........fluid can travel to the lowest spot and then drip off. Hoses, water pump weep hole, radiator, etc. are all suspect.

1. I tested the voltage at the battery this morning and twice this afternoon. Both tests this afternoon showed only 12.0x volts at the battery. I'll look into checking the tension on the serpentine belt.

2. I've looked for the leak, and it appears as though it may have come from the coolant reservoir. This morning it was near the top (above the "full" line) and this afternoon its nearly empty. There is also coolant along the engine bay fender area/frame rail.

I found a broken vacuum line from the fire wall to the vacuum canister in the fender(for the heater controls) I fixed that, but now my heat is not working at all. It blows COLD, even at operating temperatures (temp gauge was around 195-210). Before the heat(which was blowing hot, but not super hot) worked only on defrost which is what lead me to the vacuum line fix. Now the vents work, sorta. It's still not definitively switching between floor, vents, defrost, etc.

Also one last note, I noticed a small amount of coolant splashed on the air box as if it pissed out by the radiator cap(not holding pressure?)

Seems very likely that it has a head gasket issue and the cooling system is being over pressurized..

So get this, the previous owner by passed the heater core and instead plumbed in the a/c evaporator for heat.. This thing is hacked.

Wow thats a new one, I have never seen that. failed alt(or slipping belt?) hopefully not a headgasket leak. Does the evap work as a heater core?? Lol!
Goodluck!

I'm not sure if the alt is bad or if the belt is slipping. I've been more concerned with the coolant issue.

Is the coolant overfill reservoir supposed to be pressurized on 97 cherokee sport 4.0L?

id get my money back ????

I don't think that is possible. Either that, or you know much more upstanding private party sellers than I do...

All said and done this stuff will get fixed, it'll still be a decent deal for a winter beater.

Just an update for anyone that may search.

Took it to the shop. They checked it over. Pressure tested the cooling system warm and cold for extended length of time and found no leaks.

The water pump pulley was making some bearing noise and there was residue as if it seeped a bit at some time. They replaced the water pump and the serpentine belt.

I've driven it a few days and no issues have come up. The battery gauge is solid at 14 volts. I haven't lost any coolant over the past week.

Looks like the bad bearing in the WP was causing some resistance or belt slipping and causing the voltage to drop?

That makes some sense. If the water pump bearing was going it would be dragging the belt, slowing the pump and alternator which would result in potential overheating - spilled coolant and not charging. Have you flushed the heater core and gotten that rerouted properly?