monte350

i am looking to buy a ZJ and i wanted to get some opinions from those of you on this forum. i have been looking at a 95 a 96 and a couple 98's. i have read about transmission problems. is it with all or just ones that aren't maintained? all are 4.0l and select-trac. is the 4.0l underpowered for a grand cherokee? they all have at least 150k for miles, one is 191k another is 164k. all are between $2k and $3k. is this a good price? i had an XJ until i rolled it last week. all the XJ's i looked at so far have been rotted badly.

Bustedback

It's true that the 42RE is not as reliable as the AW4, but if was taken care of it should be ok for a long time. I have the 4.0 in my ZJ and I feel it has enough power for what I'm doing. I paid 2,900 for my 95 with 158k miles on it about 7 months ago. Avoid ZJs equiped with a sunroof, and give it a good test drive before laying out any cash.

gclrick

Purchased my 98 gcl less than a year ago for 3k. After replacing some fuses, a full tune, all fluids, she runs like a dream. Its a 4l, has the 42re and the 249 case. If you can find one with the 242, lean towards that. the 249 is great when it is functioning properly, but it has the viscous coupling. Although mine still works properly, it is a part that everyone has said will fail, no matter the maintenence. and it is an expensive part. I will do the 249-242 swap when the time comes. There are tests you can do to test the vc, do a search on here.
Use this website to research what to look for when test driving zjs and you should be able to find a good one between 2500-4000 with 100k miles and up.

Bustedback

The NP231 t-case is stronger and has good aftermarket support.

monte350

As far as I know, they are both the select-trac, so no 249 t-case. About the six, is it powerful enough for a grand Cherokee?

rickybarth

i have a 97 grand with the selec trac and a 4.0 and its great.I can spin the tires on dry ground(30s)and i still can get 20mpg highway.the selec trac is great with the shift on the fly and i can go almost anywhere.as for the transmission there ok just as long as there maitained and not beat on.i had to get a sensor replaced but thats it and it has 97000 on it and it still shifts fine

Bustedback

Plenty of power with the 4.0, and I have 173k on my transmission, still working great. It is way easier to work under the hood with the inline six, the V8 is a great engine, but it does take a lot of room.

rickybarth

agreed you can actually get your arms around the whole motor to change sensors and what not