xjwanted

Hey guys, I sold my jeep long ago, and purchased a sport bike afterwards, I spent lots of time working on my '98 Cherokee XJ when I had it and I became very well versed in all things to do with the '97-01 Cherokee XJ. A friend of mine is looking into buying a 1997 Grand Cherokee Laredo, he wants me to go with him and help him look it over. I need a list of things that are known to commonly fail on these so that I can know right away what to target, here is what I remember so far:

1. Cherokee XJ used the AW-4 Transmission, which wasn't used in the Grand ZJ, from what I remember the AW-4 was bullet proof, the other types of transmission's used in the ZJ's had tendencies to fail at low miles.

2. If it has a 4.0 Inline 6, it's a bullet proof engine. Nothing to worry about there, just check for no leaks of any kind.

3. Transfer case may have remained the NP231, not bullet proof by any means but still a good 4WD case (odds are this Jeep will not see any off-road use).

4. Steering joints and parts, check for loosen or worn out u-joints, or tie rod ends (checking front tire thread can give good indication of whether or not the tires are shaking or jumping around on the highway, check wear pattern to determine if any steering issues exist.)

5. Make sure A/C and heat are both working (XJ's heater core's fail, not sure about the ZJ's)

6. No rust under vehicle.

Any other stuff you guys can think of? I haven't ben back here in a few years, but this was one of the best forums I've used for advice with the Jeep I had. Thanks for any and all advice.

dave1123

In my humble opinion, find one with the Selectrac 242 transfer. That gives you the 2WD option if it's going to be a street crawler. I had a 97 ZJ and now have a 2000 WJ both with the 242 and love them. They don't jump, cramp, or feel funny in tight turns on dry pavement either.

Yes, the 42re and 46re do tend to start shedding clutch material around 135K and this can plug small orifices and soleniods causing problems. I now have 138K on my WJ 42re and it shifts fine, but the lock-up converter decided to not lock up anymore. I'll stretch it for a while and then rebuild.

Also, with the 242 t-case, the rear diff gets more abuse, so check it well.

pwb

1993 ZJ has AW4 :-)

Rusti's91xj

Run it on the freeway for about 20mi then find a parking lot and turn as tight as you can if it binds any ur looking at a new v.c in the fulltime case that to my knowledge all 96up zj have cheaper to swap a 231 in if this in the issue but if its a good price the upgrade pays for its self with better mpg(I gained 3 to 4)

xjwanted

Thanks guys!