Sharpie134

I am looking to buy a 4 wheel drive. Something I can take into the woods and not worry about getting bet up. I was thinking wrangler but then I thought why not a cherokee. So what to look for? I really dont know these cars very well. I see them alot on the trail so they must make good off road vehicles. What t-fer cases did they come with? Some years better then others?

xjmuddigger

in my opinion it be best to go 91 or newer only because it has the HO4.0 and they came with either np231 or a np242,but any cherokee u get will be great on the trails but stay away from the older cherokees with the v6 GM motor

liftedjeepxj

Id say 91-94? parts are all pretty much interchangable throughout the years. obviously some arent but youll figure that out. Cherokee parts are generally cheaper and are in greater numbers at junkyards compared to wranglers. Find a nice high output motor, 231 tcase and go crazy.

mwdouglas

avoid the 1990 like mine it has a very interesting brake system if you find a 90 with a brake booster then that's ok

OHHNOES

I have had 2 91's beat the **** out of the first one and it still runs. The 91 Briarwood I have now runs like a top... Love'em Great 4x4

EVcherokee

AVOID the bendix 9 ABS system on 90 and earlier, theres and ongoing recall on the brake system, if you see something that looks like a grenade next to the master cylinder, its got the bendix 9 system. I swapped my ABS for a standard brake system off a 96 and now I can actually stop when I hit the pedal!

I've heard people say the 96's are the best overall and I agree for the most part. They got stronger blocks than earlier XJ's, it was the first year of the more modern interior, if they have standard brakes, you get a dual diaphram booster, also if you want to upgrade the front seats, any grand cherokee up to 2010 will fit(also patriot and compass seats with a little fab), I'm pretty sure they have the bigger u-joints too. If you get one with a 242 transfercase(the selector will have a "fulltime" 4wd option in green), you can drive it in 4wd on pavement, which is really nice in the snow and ice. Can't do that with a 231 transfercase. Try to get an XJ with a tow package too, they're usually geared a little lower and come with a reciever hitch

when looking at an XJ, get on your back and look at the bottom side of the floor pans for rust...These jeeps are unibodys and made of thin metal so if you see holes or deep rust, you might be better to look elsewhere.

The H.O motors is easier to diagnose, but don't look for huge gains in power. They're only rated 13 hp and 1 ftlb. of torque over my 90 renix. also in 98 the head got redesigned-the ports are bigger, but don't flow as well. The change was to help emmisions. If your gonna be "tinkering" with the motor the Renix (87-90) may be the better bet. They don't care as much if you start yanking emmisions for a trail rig, but have a "unique" EFI system that can take some getting used to. The 87-94 4.0l share the same cam and is a little hotter than the 94+.

mwdouglas

i can posr pics of the bendix 9 brake system if you want

Vindicator9000

Your best combination of everything is probably going to be a 4.0HO, a 231 transfer case, a Chrysler 8.25 rear end, and a tow package, with as few power options as possible.

Anything without 4FT on the selector is going to be a 231. As someone previously said, the 242s have full time 4wd, which would be nice, although a lot of people consider them slightly less stout than the 231.

Definitely look for rust, especially underneath. My XJ has zero visible rust, but the floorpans had giant holes. Honestly, you may have a problem finding one rust free (especially where roads are salted), but it's just something to be aware of. Fixing undercarriage rust on these is often not really as bad as people seem to think, but it is a considerable amount of work. I dealt with mine by popriveting sheet metal in locations where I had frame underneath, and welding sheet metal in locations where I didn't. Then I caulked it all, and it's dry. Not any crazy hard work, but it took me all summer to do.

nismo5

i would say 97-99 newer body style still high pinion dana 30 with bigger u joints in the axle shafts ho motor dual diaphragm brake booster 29 spline rear end and a little newer so prolly less miles on what ya get

nickl

x2 on what nismo said, 97-99 have high pinion dana 30 front, 29 splines frnt & rear, 8.25 rear (if you have no ABS).

2000+ have bad cylinder heads....& low pinion diffs.

97+ have nicer interiors than the earlier models.

Avoid ABS, you get the crappy Dana 35 rearend on the later models.

nismo5

no matter what the dana 30 is 27 spline unless you do aftermarket upgrades

Sharpie134

Thanks all