candymancan

I've been looking at Jeeps for a few months now and there is like nothing in my area thats not way overpriced or way Junk yard ready. Basicly i want a 96-98 grand cherokee, 93-95 is to Cherokee style ugly when it comes to the inside. The 99-04's are usually all around like 4-5k+ which is beyond my budget.

I found a 97 Grand cherokee Inline 6 select trac today, but its rejected for property tax stickers because the exhaust needs replaced i think, and the suspension.. The auto auction doesnt know exactly whats wrong with the suspension but from what i saw it doesnt look major as the springs look ok and so do the other parts.. Altho im not a expert..

The engine started up fine but there is a ticking or sqeaking noise maybe both.. I cant narrow it down but it could be the belt or the engine i dunno.. It goes away after slight gas is given.. There is no knocking or anything.

The major thing tho im worried about is the transmission fluid on the dipstick looked dark/brown like the color of used engine oil. It smelt a little burnt too.. Im going to test drive it tomarow because it was running on fumes today..

Should i just completetly ignore this car because of the transmission fluid condition ? Or give it a try anyway ? It has 190k miles and they are asking $1900.. I think i can chew em down to like $1600 or so probably. From what ive looked at online tranny fluid like this means major problems... My mom's tho 6 years ago was a dark color and wouldnt shift anymore... A flushed and change and its still running 70k miles later..

I dunno its getting depressing... Local auto shops dont have any Jeeps, and the ones that do shouldnt even be driven on the road.. The ones that have good Jeeps are like $3-4k which is Overpriced IMO.

Craigslist there is like nothing at all... The only Jeeps i ever see now adays are ones driving on the road which is rare or Junk yards

Bustedback

Go with your gut feeling on this one. The suspension is no huge deal, the control arms with new bushings are pretty inexpensive and a whole steering linkage kit can be found on ebay for cheap. Now, the transmission may just need a fluid change, but if it is slipping when you test drive the Jeep, keep looking. A transmission aint cheap, and don't waste your time with boneyard trannies. With 190k on the clock, I'm sure there are a few things that need to be done to it. My advise would be to spend a little more cash and buy a Jeep that will make you happy without needing a bunch of repairs. You'll save money in the long run. Say you buy one for 1500 bucks, but it needs a transmission, those can go for 2000 or more. The you find it needs control arm bushings at all four front control arms, that is about 200. So now you have $3700 in a vehicle with close to 200k, if you were to sell it in a week you would only get about $2000 for it. So spend that $3700 on something newer, cleaner, and with less miles on it.

candymancan

Well when i test drive it in the next 3 or so hours, i will report back and im going to take a little paper towel with me and wipe down the tranny fluid and see if its actually black or not.. I noticed when you look at fluids on the dipsticks they are usually darker in color while on the dipstick then they are on something white. So im hoping when i look again its maybe a dark red lol and not the dark brown almost black color i thought i saw... The transfer case fluid in my mom's Jeep was like that, when i was draining it it looked black however it was actually just dark red

Altho doesnt the burnt smell usually mean its bad, I'll bring a bottle of ATF+4 i have laying around and compare the smells to be sure. I'll test out the suspension by wiggling the car up and down and see if it rocks alot or not.. I was told to grab the tires inside and pull them to see if they wiggle or not for bad bearings. Not sure other ways to check suspension's because they wont let me put it on a lift at a Jeep dealership maybe 15min away which i find odd.

Another thing i rememberd to check is the CV joints.. Vin numbers on the car doors and stuff heh

My gut fealing right now is im not worried about the exhaust because i know that isnt too expensive to replace.. My mom's Jeep needed the entire exhaust replaced awhile ago and the cat converter. The suspension people have told me on other forums isnt too expensive either. Its just that tranny..

What i am worried tho is what if the transmission runs perfect ? Then i change the fluid and it starts giving me problems ? I read that the dirty fluid is whats actually alowing the tranny to grip easier.. I'll post pictures of the vehicle.. You'll see why im kinda excited about it.. The outside looks like brand new almost.. Inside isnt to shabby either just needs detailed.. Engine compartment has the typical 4.0 oil stains of course but that doesnt worry me.

Oh yea any idea's what the ticking/sqwelching noise could be that goes away on a increase in RPM ? Ill bring my hearing tube with me and listen for the noise like i did on my mom's cracked flexplate.

candymancan

Lol well forget this post... haha

I test drove the car just now... WOW it was scary to drive.. The transmission wouldnt shift and when it did it would slip back a few times. Then the rear differential was grinding.... so the gears in the diff were gone.

The car body when you turn sharply or make a U-turn felt like it was going to fly off the axels... I cannot belive they are selling this peice of junk for $2000

Damn i just cannot find a working Jeep... My mom's 98 GC has zero problems with it... this was a at least $4k nightmare... $2k for a tranny, $1100 for a differential.. God knows what else..

Hommersimpson

Paid $1700 for ours... got junk yard motor put in new bearings and seals.. runs as good as new.. might have $2300 in it at that point... runing and driving... as you see with lift and tires...so look around find someting that was being driven then had something like trans go or motor...usally the rest of the jeep will be all together road worthy...Craigs list is def a good source... even if you need to find a buddy with a truck and you rent a dolly... and travel some...but they are out there still... cash for clunkers sure screwed up a good amout of them tho..

tiwvr1

Keep looking, I paid 900 for my 94 grand. 5.2 212k on it. Had a set of 31 10.50 bfg for free I through on, had to replace front pads and rotors, and one front cv shaft. Did all the work myself, bought it from 2nd owner that had all receipts back to 96. Has 219 on it now, not my daily driver, but never had problems with it. Just scan craigslist EVERY day, multiple times.

96GC4x4

I just picked up a 1996 jeep grand cherokee with 257,000 kilometers on it, and it runs flawless. Tons of power, no ticks or knocks, interior has no damage at all, and exterior is perfect. I paid 1000 dollars for it. I bought it wholesale from a dealership after they took it in for trade at 1,000 dollars. Wait for the right jeep.