ok so, the big question is whats some big differences between early 90s and late 90s xjs? anything i should know before throwin money out on one

The early 90s XJs are waaaaaaaaay cooler....LOL!!!! Seriously, the interior is much nicer in the newer ones and the body is just a little bit more rounded not much. I think the late 90s XJs have airbags to deal with...not positive about that though. The 95 and newer XJs all have non vacuum disco front D30s. That is a very much good thing. I converted mine. I can't think of anything else now but I'm sure more will come to me.

early 90's are better lol

im not a fan of the early 90 models for two reasons.
1. OBD I, for some reason i just dont like it period, im more of a modern person when i get a engine DTC i like to jus plug in and go. thats just me though.
2. vacuum front disco. ive seen enough of those go bad on and off the trails to decide i dont like them, not for me..

mine doesent have the vacuum front axle,so im set with my 91

I know '97+ doesn't have a fiberglass hatch, it's sheetmetal, doesn't crack nearly as easily. Also, our windshield washer fluid is inside the fender, out of the way, yes, but is hard to access, and a few parts can't really go on without piercing it, but most of those have versions for '97+, for example, Bushwacker cutout flares can be replaced by V2 Fender flares, the Bushwacker's mounting hardware might pierce the reservoir if your not careful. 2000's also don't use a distributor, we got electronic ignition, saves you another little headache. One bad thing about 21st century XJ's though- we got the Low-pinion D30's, rather than the high-pinion... and I guess you can find newer years with lower mileage easier, but we're talking about XJs, 300,000 miles in an XJ is like 100,000 in just about any other car.
Although, any XJ is just great, can't beat a Jeep, even more so if it's a Cherokee.

97+ have bigger front u-joint shafts and none abs rigs have a 29 spline 8.25. really to me and 91-99 is a good rig, just make sure it doesn't have abs

97-99 are probably some of the best years for stock durability if you find it with the 8.25. Upgraded frame pillars, bigger u-joints somewhere(forget), 8.25 29spline axle. Other than that the earlier years are better IMO, less electrical bull**** to deal with, tons more in the JY. I mean, I got my '99 and I've found like two 97+XJs at junkyards so far. Compare to when I had my 89 when I could pull from 10-14 different XJs. Also the plastic rubberish letters they stick on the 97+ models look like crap IMO. I like the chrome decals on the early models.


Edit: Irongrave already said it, the front U-Joints are the bigger ones. Though If I recall you can upgrade any Cherokee to them.

97 and up have cupholders, Win! The guys have pretty much covered it, 97-up steel vs fiberglass hatch, some styling differences, 97-99 high pinion front diff etc. IMHO 98-99 models rock, they're not hard to find reasonably priced with acceptable mileage. I've had my 98 a year and a half and the only problems I've encountered was the ussual cracked exhaust manifold and a shorted out license light bulb that kicked my *** diagnosing. Oh yeah, I wheel the **** out of it too.

Here's my '91 Limited, I inherited it in 2008. 70,600 miles as of a few days ago. Attachment 34999

this is really helpful information but its still hard to decide lol