bonzaiscott

I have a 4.0 97 Cherokee Sport 4x4 w/automatic transmission. I've had it 11 years since it had 34,000 miles on it. It now has 185,000. It has some issues and I have some questions. Engine light has been on for about 4 or 5 months. the code indicates an issue with cylinder 4. It runs a little rough when starting but after 5 minutes it smooths out and seems OK. My mechanic wasn't exactly sure what was causing this. It does have a mysterious coolant leak and he thinks it's possible that it is getting into the engine and because of other recent issues he thinks I should get a new car. The entire exhaust system is original as far as I know and it passed NJ inspection one year ago. I now need a new muffler and catalytic convertor for certain. Also front axle needs to be replaced. Other than replacing the torque convertor on the transmission 5 months ago, the transmission has had no work done on it. The body is about as perfect as can be for its age with no rust. It looks great on the outside. My question is how much would it cost to repair with the possibility of getting a rebuilt engine and is it worth keeping it alive at this age or am I looking at a money pit even with the known repairs needed. I love the Jeep and would like to keep it around a bit longer rather than spending $20,000 and getting a newer car. What do you think?

Bigsnook91

Make a few calls to some of your local junk yards or check craigslist for a replacement engine/transmission. Shouldn't be any more than 2000 bucks for both installed.