Hello,

Newbie here from Spokane, WA. I'm thinking of picking up a second vehicle, currently I own a '95 Dakota but want an additional vehicle as I might be looking and some transmission work on the Dakota. I had 3 vehicles but the ex-wife wrecked or destroyed them mechanically, so I'm looking to "rebuild the fleet" so to speak.

What it really boils down to is that I'd like another "toy" and this is a good excuse.

I'm looking at the "cheap" end of the spectrum, as in the $1000-$1500 range, which puts me in the early '90s category from what I'm seeing on Craigslist around here. I'd prefer a manual transmission if I can get it.

I was looking at a '90 Cherokee with the 5 speed manual that's supposedly not pretty on the outside (fine with me) but "good" mechanically. I know the I6 tends to leak from the rear main seals after 140k or so, but is there anything else I need to check for, or any other common problems be wary of?

Thanks!

M.B.

 

Go 91 or newer. They are supposed to be better . The other thing is the front axle in those years your looking at ,it has a vacuum disconnect for the axle on the passenger side ,it`s controled by a switch on the top of the transfer case that engages or disengages the unit on the axle housing,sometimes one or the other fails or else a vacuum line fails. You will discover that it doesn`t work when you want to use 4x4. Other than that there are plenty of parts available for the xj

 

Yeah, the Dakota had issues with the CAD too until they went to no disconnect at all in either '93 or '94. Do all the Cherokees from 91-96 have CADs?

The guy on Craiglist never e-mailed me back so the '90 is out of the running anyhow I guess.

 

you could slap the dakota leafs on your XJ and it would lift it 3-4"

Artist: TesseracT
Album: Concealing Fate EP
Genre: Djent / Progressive Metal
Year: 2010

http://www.myspace.com/tesseract

no relation?

 

That would suck as the Dakota has the "HD Payload" package on it that allows 1850lbs in the bed. I bet in a Jeep I'd break some teeth, it's bad enough in the Dak.