good evening for me, good morning probably for most of you guys.

first of all, some words about myself.

im ronny, im 29 and living in Abu Dhabi, aka known as the capital of the united arabic emirates.

i apologize for my english, but im not native but i try to do my best to express myself that everybody can understand what i wanna know.

as mentioned in the subject, im asking about the cherokee xj. does it worth to buy one to use it in the desert? we have here in the summer temperates on daytime 50-55°C(donīt know to convert in °F[37°C = normal body temperature, 100°C = boiling whater] maybe it helps a bit)

back to the topic. several guys told me know, the cherokee with the line 6cyl have problems with overheating, specially the one with the automatic transmission. is that true? or can you definitely decline it by 120% ;-). For sure im looking for a XJ with manual transmission.

then. what the guys told me too, instead of a xj, i should buy a grand cherokee ZJ ? etc, but only with V8. does it makes sense? is it that easy to modify like the XJ?

right now, i dont know what i should go for. i am pending between a xj, zj and a tj.

what i wanna do with my car? sure a good question. 1st priority will be the dune bashing, offroading on sandy surface, 2nd will be offroad on hard grounding in the mountains and driving through wadis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi)

for sure, I have some plans in my mind. for exampe, lift the car, change the tires, upgrade the cooling system, a roof rack, modify the front and rear bumper, a winch.

i would highly appreciate it, if one of you guys, or maybe some more, could share their thoughts or and experiences about this idea?

even, i would import a car from the states, thats shouldnīt be a problem.

then, for the XJ, how much i can lift easily just with different suspensions, springs, coils, shock absorber etc. when do i have to change something on the steering or the transmissions.

i hope i did not made to many mistakes in writing or grammar.

thanks ahead for any reply from you guys !

 

XJs are great for the desert. There are plenty of lift kit options available for you depending on how you want to use it. Many will tell you to stick to low-profile for this kind of wheeling and to trim your fenders.

 

There's Americans that have way worse grammar and spelling than you. LOL I wish they had as good a command on the English language as you. Welcome to the forum!

 

First off, your English is better than some native-speakers!

Your friends are correct. The XJ's cooling system has a very small tolerance for issues, much less than other vehicles. Particularly those equipped with the automatic transmission (Aisin Warner AW4). On base models this transmission dumps its heat into the engine radiator instead of a separate unit. This can cause overheating even in temparate climates simply by running larger tires.

With a manual transmission you do not have this problem. Given your environment some upgrades to the cooling system and good maintenance will be wise, but I'm sure that's true of anything you want to play with over there if you want it to last! I see it's in your list already

A 4.0L Inline Six with manual transmission is probably the most reliable Jeep you can find. A Cherokee XJ to us here is very cheap, and easily modified and repaired. The technology in them is comparatively "low tech" so construction of bumpers and suspension components is very simple.

As you go higher more things need to be changed out from the factory components. For example the factory steering is good to about 3.5" lift, need new shocks over 1" lift, etc.

 

thanks for the compliments.

however, so far i can rely on you and my friends, the xj manual would be one of the best options. manual have not the overheating problem? i also did read about the problem with the cracking heads on 00+01 models what will lead to overheating later. therefore i try to find a previous model(-99), also to prevent problems with the ignition system.

ok, then i should to forget the grand cherokee. About the wrangler, iīll keep it in my mind as a backup option.

my plan to increase the efficiency of the cooling is, beside more fans, to lift the hood at the connections for some cm to get an airflow out of the engines room.

for sure, one additional mod i forgot yesterday is a snorkel - mandatory here. btw, are there air filter available like a cyclone? remember its sandy, dusty weather here, specially on a safari through the desert.

whichs parts i have to replace to keep having fun with the xj? lets say with 6-8" lift??

where i can find those parts? is it just a plug and play? (replace and drive) thing or are there more work and adjustments to do? i do not plan to have a maximum flexible vehicle. will be not a rock crawler thing ^^

how much does a stock xj costs in the states, ready for export ( export only) i did heard something about crashed and insurance cases, that you can not re-register the jeep then, if the insurance company made a payout. is that true or more a rumor?

and, how difficuilt it is, to make a stroker engine? are there also complete kits / engine free to buy somewhere?

thanks so far - have a nice friday

is 5 to 6 thousands dollar enough or do i have to plan much more?

edit1: does it makes a different between select-trac and command trac for me?

 

I live in a cold wet country with no deserts so I'm interested in this!

When you're in the sandy bits, are you in a flat area or will there be big dunes? Because if it's big dunes I'd have thought you would want to keep the Jeep quite low and avoid rolling over. You might need to put on lots of protection underneath to stop the sand ripping bits off but that's got to be better than a roll?

I think there's going to be an interesting compromise in set up if you're looking to bash wadis as well as dunes. Fascinating and I'm very jealous!

I assume you want an XJ rather than a wrangler for the aircon?

 

Very true!!!!

 

Here's your guy and he's near you.

http://www.jeep4.0performance.4mg.com/

 

Here are a few ways that I have improved my cooling as I have overheated 2 cars and am now super paranoid haha.

I installed a CSF radiator and converted my closed cooling to open (mainly because I was too lazy to properly burp my closed system).
Replaced the XJ fan clutch with a 98-99 ZJ one https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/zj...clutch-196880/
Do a very thorough cooling system flush including the heater core.
I also installed a separate larger transmission cooler but I have an automatic transmission.
I haven't done this but http://www.hesco.us/ make a high flow water pump and thermostat housing. I have heard some good reviews on them.

I don't know if it would help with the sand or not but you could install a cowl air intake rather than a snorkel. I have mine going over the valve cover to the passenger side but here is a good link for a homemade one. https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/di...intake-179449/

Here is a link that has a chart with some general guidelines for what you will need to do various sizes of lifts. https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/5-inch-lift-206846/

As for the air filter, I would pick out an aftermarket air filter that you can wash so you wont have to replace it very often.

I have about $3,000 into my 4.7L stroker engine and that was doing almost all of it myself. There are a few companies here that will make a stroker engine that is almost a complete drop-in. I think that the Golen 4.6L has the best reviews from what I remember when doing research for my build.

I hope this helps!

 

Loving the information on this and yes the English grammar is commendable sir.

 

I live in New Mexico, middle of a desert. We get to 100F+ (about 38C) pretty regularly around here. I run a the stock cooling system with a "cold air" intake that sits in the engine compartment. By far, the best upgrade for dealing with the heat was hood vents. It allows a lot of the heat to escape from the engine compartment. With the stock cooling system my engine rarely gets 250F (about 120C).

I would say your idea of lifting the hood to essentially do the same thing, as well as upgrading the cooling system would do you pretty good.

 

Great suggestions and links so far! Hood vents, ZJ clutch fan (to move more air), and a copper multi-row radiator are definitely wise to last in 50°C ambient conditions.

Regarding your years of choice, yes 2000-2001 are good to avoid because of the head cracking/overheating issue but there are more reasons: Manual transmissions are very rare for these years, so you'd probably not end up with one anyway. But more importantly, the exhaust system places two small catalytic converters in the exhaust manifold right in the engine bay. Vehicles here where the ambient temperature is 15°C have heat soak issues with them, never mind middle of the desert...

One thing I have to add regarding air filtration: You specifically are concerned about sand and a cyclone style filter. There is no ready-made aftermarket kit, but a guy in Australia has already covered this issue, with a Donaldson cyclone-type filter. See here: http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoAirFilter.htm He obviously used a cowl-style intake but there is no reason you could not connect that hose to a traditional snorkle.

You're correct on the insurance thing. Vehicles that were "totalled" by insurance companies are registered as 'wrecked' and cannot be re-registered for road use in the USA or Canada (as far as I know) unless they undergo significant inspections, and are then branded 'salvaged' or 'rebuilt', depending on jurisdiction.

$5-6k will get you started, but with ordering so many parts from the United States, and your grand aspirations, that's about it! This Jeep stuff is a disease, you'll soon find yourself spending more money than you realized you had!

 

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thanks for that link. very interesting site he published !

so i guess there are much cheaper then?
when it comes to a totalled. because i can not register a car with a warped frame.

so for my planned mods, including the car itself i need how much in cash?

 

I run an 01 cherokee automatic with 33inch tires. It did overheat a bit, but a new thermostat and radiator keeps my enigine temps at 200 F, i hardly ever hit 210 unless im hard on it for 10 min plus. But a few seconds off the gas and ot drops back down fast.
The normal operating temp for my friends is usually 210. Its just smart to go over the cooling system on any older car, especially when you live in a place that has high temperatures
Now i live in the mountains so its never that hot.
And another vote for the cold air intake if you have a box to keep engine temp away from the filter