Mr. E

Not sure where to post, so I'll give it a shot here.

Looking to buy my first XJ, infact my first Jeep.

Any particular year to stay away from?

What year is best sought after?

Reasons with answers would be "totally rad dude".

Thanks in advanced.

freegdr

theres some years that come with a bad headcasting 0331 i thinks the number def want to stay away from them,id also aviod the coil pack years stay with a distributor ...http://jeepsunlimited.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=391831

Mr. E

Hey thanks for the reply, but the link doesn't work.

tommyxj2000

the years he was talking about was 99-01 are the ones to stay away from with the bad heads...other than that every year has their own little annoyances....one of the main things to look for is rust....crawl underneath and check, try to pull the carpets up to see if the is any try to find yourself a 95 sport...most came with a ho motor and 8.25 rear....happy hunting

sycoglitch

I have an 01 and it is cast iron heads no 0331 crap thankfully. And the distributor less plugs make time ups easy. Down sides is we have a low pinion front diff but hAve a c8.25 rear which is good. You can jump to ask the questions thread and ask them too you'll get a ton of advice

storm101

Personally IMHO I'd shoot for a 99.

Again IMHO it has the best combo of all years.

Hp Dana 30, the updated intake manifold, distributor ignition, pretty sure it DOES not have the 0331 bad heads (maybe late year they started the 00 parts, pop the hood and look) "updated" interior/exterior styling, option of the 29 spline chryco 8.25......and possibly some other stuff I'm missing here.

Other little foot notes to consider

87-90 are renix era jeeps, search it you'll find info, 91-96 have good updates from the renix era, and most people have better luck lifting these years with less driveline vibrations. 97 there's been lots of electrical cOmplaints as it was a transition year, 98 is a good year...pretty sure it doesn't have the updated intake manifold, and the exterior has a few differences from 99....like a lOnger roof rack, and un color matched stock flares. (99-01 have color matched flares and a shorter roof rack)

There's tons of things to look at between years, that's just some of them, it should get you started though.

Oh yeah 91-96 rear 8.25 axles are 27 spline as 97-01 are 29 spline. FYI.

Happy hunting, and welcome to the sickness!

Desert Rat

98-99, mines a 98 my sons is a 99 we purchased these years after quite a bit of research and fared pretty well with the exception of ending up with some of the electrical bugs on the boys 99.
The good- Chrysler 8.25 rears (only slightly weaker than the D-44), HP dana-30 fronts, both 4.0's, AW-4 trans and NP231 transfer cases (good solid combination). Updated interior over the pre 97's this is just asthetics but it was something we were looking for. Distributer ignition, not a huge fan of coil on plug, too expensive a system to maintain.
The bad- first one applies to many years, the exhaust manifold crack, my 98 did it (replaced with an APN header, awesome), the 99 is developing it, plan on replacing it. They tend to eat motor mounts and thus transmission mounts (I feel this adds to the manifold problem but thats just my opinion) if the rigs over 100,000 I'd replace them.
The electrical problems. I'd heard of the 98-99"s having bugs with the windows and door locks, I got lucky on mine, no problems, the boys 99, well, different story, but not fatal.
With the help of good old Cherokee forum he bypassed the window lock and solved the window problem. With help from another thread he pulled and soldered a loose joint on the door lock circuit board and solved the door lock problem.
The biggie, as someone already mentioned, rust. The 98, no problem, the 99 was developing some rust above the windshield trim. Everything else checked out, no floor or undercarriage rust so we bought it anyway and a couple days of grinding, sanding, filling and painting took care of that.
The bugs are going to be hit and miss with any vehicle I just thought I'd share what I know about the two years I feel are the best to go with, hope it helps.

Mr. E

Thanks everyone for the info.

On the hunt.......