Man>Bear>Pig

I am coming over to the dark side. Right now, I am looking for a mid 80-90 Cherokee w/a 4.0 straight six. Looking to spend around $1500. Are there any major things I should look for?

Thanks in advance.

winston427

If you are looking for one to build for offroad wheeling ther are several things to look for.
1. Find one without the vaccum disconnect front axle. They are nothing but trouble.

2. Look at 95 and up, the front axle has larger u-joints which makes them a little stronger.

3. Get one with the Chrysler 8.25 rear axle. The Dana 35 is a turd.

4. 4 doors have a marginal strength gain over the 2 door due to the extra body pillar.

Cherokees are readily available at reasonable prices so it should not be difficult to find one to fit your needs.

76ANTHONY

orrrrrrr, look for a waggy, and make sure it has the d44....or just get one and make it what you want. all depends on what ya find. show a pic of what your looking for and what you want to do with it.

richxj89

get a 91 and up you will regret getting one with the renix 4.0l

00XJCO

What is renix?

cheapJeeper

Get one with a 4.0 litre engine...
If you are looking for a 5-spd, avoid the Peugeot BA10/5 tranny..
Look at the floor pans for rust-through.

76ANTHONY

i own a renix and love it, no regrets at all, so not everyone falls into that category.

tampaviking

Just be prepared to do plenty of maintenance, alot of P.O.'s neglect their vehicles and then just the age of it parts are gonna be worn out. XJ's are definently home mechanic friendly.

76ANTHONY

x2, dont neglect the poor baby...

cherokee4meplz

+1 I like my reniix setup.

look out for rust- have a good look all under the truck. You will be surprised that some older trucks are not as rusty as newer ones, all depends on the truck and how it was cared for.

I just picked up a 1990 4.0 4x4 that is relatively clean for it's age and being a rust belt truck. It was treated to the ziebart undercoating/ rust protection, and 20 years later just now needs some attention. I've seen trucks almost 10 years newer with sections of the "frame" rotted away with rust.

Man>Bear>Pig

Thanks, there are some good suggestions so far.

I want to do some "light wheelin" but this will also have to be a daily driver.

91 Laredo

Hmmm....

I would probably look for the 91 HO and newer. Not that there is anything wrong with the Renex system, but the HO version has more performance options, plus its newer.

Completely avoid the 86 and older, they have a 2.8 GM v6 - turd!

I'm on my second one and both have lacked power windows and locks. I seem to always read about problems with the power equipment on Jeeps so I figured I would avoid it, one less problem to worry about.

A lot of folks recommend avoiding the dana 35. If your not going too big with tires they are okay. 31's and a dana should be fine. The 8.25 is better, but the dana shouldnt be a deal breaker since it is more common.

I guess rust too. I live on Oregon so we dont have to really worry about that over here.

They are decent rigs, mine seems to be stubborn at times, but it also has 145k on it and is 15 years old. I am by no means a mechanic, but they seem to be fairly strait foreward to work on.

94sport

Look for problems with driver side door alignment hinges, this can be tricky to fix if you don't weld. I just fixed mine today. Also if you are in an area where they salt roads in winter you can expect exposed items such as shock bolts to snap when you go to remove them and rusty rocker and floor panels. Try to get the Chrysler 8.25 rear end or D44 if you get a pre 1991 model. Expect to spend time replacing things like idler pully, belts, hoses, fuel pressure regulator and things that normally need to be replaced on a older vehicle. My 94 sport needed all the above and only had 87K miles on it when I bought it in November. I still need to replace exhaust, replace broken battery box, and replace leaking valve cover gasket. Not difficult for someone who has basic mechanical know-how and the right tools.

ledangel

I just purchased a '98 XJ sport 4X4 with 92000 miles a month ago for 2000, I will list the repairs I have done and what i believe needs done and cost for the parts (no labor since, like others have said, my Cherokee seems very easy to work on,). I dont think my problems are typical since i have not seen many listed here but this should give you an idea of what to expect:

1:
Problem:
When i bought my XJ the hatch was stuck shut.
Fix:
Had to cut out a section of the back panel inside to get it open.
Cost: $0
Time: 4 hours to figure out what i had to do and 10 mins to actually fix it.

2:
Problem:
The power mirrors and window lock would not work (window lock was stuck on so the windows could only be rolled down from the drivers door),
The drivers side window made a thunking sound when rolling up or down because the guide sleeve had come unattached and unsleeved itself.
Fix:
Had to remove the door panel and found that the connector to the electronics in the door had been partially disconnected.
Used a zip tie to reattach the guide sleeve and inserted the guide back into it.
Cost: $0
Time: Less than an hour.

3:
Problem:
Minor leak from rear pinion seal and rear differential gasket.
Fix:
Have not fixed it yet but this is not a very involved or costly job.
I have just added lube.
Cost: $40 (esimated)
Time: About an hour.

4:
Problem:
I may need a new Transmission or Transfer Case.
Cost: Transfer Case 60.37
Transmission 90.00 with 10.00 core charge


Thats about all I can think of atm.

When looking at a vehicle always switch through all the gears even on an automatic, from low 1 all the way to park and back a few times during a test drive. The XJ I bought has problems in low 1-2 and reverse. I knew they were there when I bought it, well I knew there was a problem somewhere anyway.
Check all the fluids to see if they are full and check for metallic flakes in the oil and trans fluid.
Check to make sure the 4WD unit is working correctly, just remember Part time 4WD is not intended for drive pavement.

Remember that just because a vehicle has a problem it doesnt mean you absolutely should not buy it....the best deals on vehicles are usually ones that need some work, just weigh the cost and difficulty of the repair(s) to the worth of the vehicle. Four new tires will run you about 65 a piece for cheap ones so to replace all 4 you are looking at than it will cost to replace a transmission, if you do it your self of course. Keep that in mind.
From what I have seen Jeeps are some of the cheapest vehicles to repair.

Hope this helps you to make your conversion to the "dark side".

ShortyzKustomz

I got a Renix with a BA10 and rust holes in the floor and I LOVE IT