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Stock Grand Cherokee Tech. All ZJ/WJ/WK Non-modified/stock questions go here!ZJ (93-98), WJ (99-04), WK (05+)
All ZJ/WJ/WK specific tech questions asked here!
I am being gifted a 2001 Grand Cherokee with the 4.0 I6 engine and Selec-trac transmission. It has 64,518 miles (with about 20,000 of those miles being towed behind an RV).
The owner is elderly and drives it a few times per month on maybe ten mile round trips. The one slight glitch is I have to fly there and drive it back about 1200 miles. The gifter is also paying for the flight .
This will be my first Jeep. Any advice on checks or maintenance to be performed before the trip, cautions (death wobble !) or things to be aware of during the trip, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
All anxiety suppressing positive input also very welcomed.
Other than checking fluids, belts, hoses and tires, I'd say you should be good to go. I'd take a few quarts of oil, a gallon of coolant, and a spare serpentine belt with me along with a small toolbox. Make sure the spare tire is properly inflated as well. I'd do this with any unknown vehicle anyway. If you have AAA, I'd notify them you'll be driving this one and request coverage just in case you need it. Likewise with your insurance company. Keep you're speed down for the first hour until the jeep proves itself, then go for it. It takes that long for every part of the engine to heat soak and stabilize. I've had truckers tell me if it runs perfect for that first hour, it'll probably be good for the rest of the day.If you plan on driving it with his plates, have him write you a note for the police in case there's any questions. Otherwise, the legalities are up to you.
1200 miles is about 18 hours on the road, not counting stops for fuel and lunch. Don't try to do it in one day. Just my opinion. I've driven the same model for over 110K miles and love the WJ (99-04). Mine now has 235K miles on her.
Sounds like good advice Dave. Thanks for responding.
Yes I have AAA and they assure me that membership covers the member no matter what vehicle they are in (as long as the vehicle is eligible according to your specific type of membership). Contacted our insurance company and the Jeep will be added before I leave. Working on the legalities now.
Made this same trip about nineteen months ago with some help with the driving and stopping overnight at a motel. Drove straight through on the trip back home. It took twenty hours with food, fuel and rest stops. So your estimate of eighteen hours is spot on.
I have read many negative things about Jeeps recently but hoping that I too will come to "love the WJ".
To be honest, once Fiat had control of production, they have destroyed jeep's reputation by poor quality and increasingly poor reliability. The emphasis seems to be making a comfortable road car that is off-road capable, not an off-road vehicle that is easy to drive on the street.
Check out Auto Expert TV on YouTube with John Cadogan. This guy pulls no punches about ANY vehicle and tells it like it is. He's based in Australia and I can't say I disagree with anything he says. He's funny too!
Yes, I got complete maintenance records with it and the only major thing that was done to it was a new high pressure power steering hose and a T-Tech transmission service. That was at 125K miles when I got it in 2012. I've got 235K on her now and have replaced all 7 suspension control arms, all the steering and ball joints, steering box, bearing hubs, multiple water pumps, radiator, electric fan, switched the brakes over to Akebono, replaced the rear axle assembly, front drive axles, cracked cylinder head, alternator, and heater core. I put a U-Haul trailer hitch on it for a rear recovery point before the recall, of course, damn it!
I use this jeep in my business of delivering newspapers and the only time it let me down is the night the rear axle blew up! Luckily I had finished the route already. I'm out there before the snow plows come out to play and have pushed snow up to the headlights with no problems. I missed a turn one night and put it in a ditch, but backed it out in low range. Here's a picture of it;
Ok so the good news is it went 125k with only minor repairs needed. That's great. The 2001 WJ that I'm getting has 65k (less if you consider that about 20k of that was being towed behind an RV).
So maybe it should be good for a while.
The daunting news is all that was done since. But you have racked up quite a few miles since, probably daily on your route, so some repairs would be expected. Did you do all of that work yourself?
No, most of it was done by a local shop run by a long time friend. I'm not physically capable of doing much more than brakes and underhood stuff anymore. He did the head for me because that sucker weights 85 lbs!
Newspaper delivery is really tough on vehicles, sort of like taxicab service like where it runs for 3 to 4 hours with constant stops and starts, U-turns, K-turns, maneuvering close to mailboxes, and long periods of idling and low speed driving. I go thru lots of brakes and tires quickly.
Word of warning. That 2001 still has the 0331 head on it that tends to crack. Chrysler supposedly fixed the problem during the 02 model run with the "TUPY" head which has a different metal composition. I bought a "Clearwater" head from Odessa in Florida for $455 complete with new valves and shipping. Keep an eye on it for sudden loss of coolant and you can probably save the bearings. Read the posts on this forum to get all the horror stories about it. Mine got to 175K miles before it cracked. 125K to 150K is about when most that are going to, do.
I forgot to mention wjjeeps.com It's got lots of good info about the WJ that you'd like to know.
What's the track record on the Clearwater head? At 85 lbs it should be about "bullet proof "
Sounds like you put your WJ through its paces on a daily basis. You must have to keep a close eye on your maintenance schedule.
Yes, I've been checking wjjeeps.com and have written down the maintenance info. That's in case I have no internet access when I arrive to pick up the Jeep.
Is the info there reliable?
The Clearwater head weighs 6 lbs more than the 0331 does and comes with a 5 year guarantee against cracking UNLESS OVERHEATED! There is a melt tag on the back side of it that melts at 250*F, right where you can't possible see it unless you pull the head. I bought mine directly from Odessa, but I understand they are letting other parties sell it with no price restrictions. I saw it advertised for $525 on other sites. When I bought mine, it was $455 complete with new valves and free shipping BOTH ways, core return included. There's a $100 core charge if not returned in 30 days, but they are pretty lenient about that. I got mine in 3 days because they have a warehouse here in NY. Funny! They shipped it to me Fedex and the return label was USPS Scrap Metal!
The extra metal doesn't change the geometry at all, standard valve train parts fit perfectly. It's drilled for 2 different temp sensor locations and plugged where you don't need it. CHECK THE PLUG for being sealed when you get it! I didn't and got a leak after 2 days and went ballistic!
WJ Jeeps is pretty good about their info. I needed a couple of plastic pushpins for the front fascia and used their part number when I went to the dealer to get them. It was wrong and I e-mailed them about the error. They thanked me and corrected the info on the site. The dealer parts guy looked them up on his computer and gave me the right ones. Some of the factory parts are no longer available because of time since production.
Good to know. Thanks Dave.
I am positive this info will be useful at some point in the future for my soon to be acquired WJ and it's less than reliable head.
BTW nice zebra safari paint job! One of a kind no doubt.
Actually, it's not paint. It's vinyl tape for a decal cutter. It's held up over 3 winters, but now is starting to come loose on the body creases. I guess I stretched it a bit on the hood so it comes loose and the wind tears it. It's still good on the rest of the body so someday I'll replace the pieces that have come off. Someday.
The jeep was an excellent buy for the price and condition, but I wasn't too happy about the white. It was very difficult to find it in a parking lot with all the other white SUVs around! Now all the local cops know me and that I deliver newspapers so we've become friends. I don't dare do anything wrong! I joke that it's snow camo but it actually IS! People don't see a vehicle coming! I deliver my papers in the high priced neighborhoods where people get nervous seeing cars driving thru late at night, but they all know the jeep by now. I just put a Flowmaster 50 muffler on it but I haven't had any complaints about it yet. It's not that loud anyway. Just a nice deep base note.
Just recently saw the recall on 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees due to rear end collision fire hazards. They designed the fuel tank in the very back in the crumple zone??? The auto industry and safety engineers have known at least since the 1970s that fuel tanks need to be in front of the rear axle and between the rear wheels.
What is your take on this? Concerns? Is there any real fix other than adding a trailer hitch (that does nothing to solve the problem)?
There really is no other place to put a tank on a jeep. The WJ is exceptionally bad because they lowered it to accommodate a spare tire well. Even if you go to the hassle of rebuilding the floor and raising it, it's still in the crumple zone. The trailer hitch was a compromise to the NTSB to show faith in trying to fix the problem.
05-30-2018, 01:21 PM
2001 Grand Cherokee Laredo
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