im1986

I an looking into buying my first grand Cherokee. I am looking at years 94-99. I would love some advise on what to look for, what to stay away from, those kind of things. Any help would be appriciated. Thanks.

Bustedback

The ZJs with the v8 came from the factory with the NP249 full time four wheel drive transfercase with the problematic viscous coupler that fails at 80k miles. 96 and later Grands with a v8 had the Dana 44A rear axle that had an aluminum diff housing, all of that sounds better than they really are. If you live in the rust belt you're going to find rust behind the body side moulding and any place else water and mud will collect. The transmissions in the early years of the ZJ had a bad reputation of crapping out kind of quick, but mine work flawlessly at 182k miles. The Grand Cherokee is a great vehicle and will go anyplace an XJ can, but do it more comfortabley. I have a 95 ZJ with the inline six and the NP231 transfercase, it's no rocket, but I love the feel and torque of the 4.0, and it is much easier to work on under the hood. The 5.2 v8 used in the ZJ is also a great engine, but it is packed in there kind of tight. The 98 ZJ had the option of the 5.9 v8 and it was kind of fast. You will find that most ZJs on the market were adult owned and have seen very little if any off road duty, they're also less likely to be hacked up or molested. I would not buy one that has been lifted, you never know if it was done correctly or done by Cletus with his Walmart hammer and pliers. Good luck.

im1986

Thanks a lot for the info. This will be very helpful in my search. I have a 1989 xj, with the 4.0L and I love it, but i really dont know anything about the Zj's. I am thinking of buying one for my wife to drive, so she will let me turn the xj into a wheeling monster.