So i'm looking to buy and most of the Cherokees i'm finding at what seems to be a reasonable price are in the 150k-200k mileage range. I'm curious as to what I want to look for at those ranges and how to rule them out before buying.

A friend of mine tells me to be wary of power loss, failing joints, failing seals/oil pumps, oil leaks, cracked oil sensor, frame cracks, and to check 4H and 4L. I've kind of got the idea how to check most of these but how can I check the joints? Also, for power loss, I've never really driven a Cherokee so I don't have a reference point for power loss to gauge it.

Anyway, what would you look for and how would you check it before you buy?
Tomorrow evening I'll be looking at a 2001 Cherokee Sport with about 180K miles on it going for $2200.

 

Power wise: Watch for misfires/running rough. The motor should run smooth at all rpms. 0-60 should be around 10 seconds.
Failing ujoints: listen for "click click click click click" at slow speeds/while turning. Look up bleepinjeep's ujoints vids
Seals: Cherokees like to leak from the rear of valve cover and oil filter a adapter gasket, look for oil on the bottom of the bellhousing and coming down the passenger side of them bellhousing; look for other leaks like coolant dropping from clamps etc...
Cracked oil sensor? Uh...
Frame cracks? Cherokees are unibody. Check underneath/rear/front for signs of if it has been wrecked.
Check 4hi/4l: shift into 4wd part time, turn wheel all the way to the one direction, move forward slowly, if 4wd is working the cherokee will hop.

 

If ur looking at '00 and '01. Shine a flashlight down the oil fill hole and look if there's any greenish tint and check if there's water in the oil. Those years are notorious for cracked heads

 

If you live any place that uses salt on the roads also make sure to check it over carefully for rust (especially underneath).

 

if ya get it home, and it didn't break down on the way, yer good!!!

 

Go renix or go home lol jk I like 91-99s to

 

Any Jeep that can drive under its own power without overheating and the entire body hasn't rusted away yet is a good one imo.
Being a 00-01, make sure the oil looks good. As mentioned, 00-01 XJs have a bad habit of cracking heads.
My personal opinion? Look for a 99 or older. They have a better head on the engine, and high pinion front axles instead of the low pinion of the 00-01s. 200k miles is nothing for a well maintained Jeep. Mine has been abused, the oil has only been changed once or twice the entire time I've owned it, and never got changed by the previous owner. And it made it to 250k miles before the serpentine belt broke, it overheated, and cracked the head. And aside from the oil looking like a vanilla milkshake, it still runs fine, and still has been the most reliable vehicle I've owned. You really almost have to try to kill a Jeep, they're great little 4x4s.

 

Well said

 

IMHO the 97-99 model years have an advantage over the older ones. As for 00-01 I passed on several of those due to changes made on those 2 years for emissions and the head that has had issues with cracking.

Rust is a major issue on any car avoid as much if possible.

 

You probably not going to find a perfect one unless you stumble upon that diamond that was owned by an elderly couple that only drive to church on Sunday. Other than that make sure it's mechanically sounds as can be and minimal as possible on rust. Make friends with a mechanic and someone who knows how to weld because issues WILL pop up because it's going to be at youngest a 13 year old vehicle.

Stay away from 1996 there is a lot of one off crap on those. I would say 97-99 is what you really want to find. Good luck.

 

i love my 96, ive had no issues with the one off stuff and if you do theres likey one in the junk yard that has what you need, there are more 96's than any other year.

i love that you get OBDII and the older body/interior, makes finding parts easy

 

I honestly havent had a lot of issues directly related either but I dread the day I have a fuel pump go out or one of the other 1 off crap. And unfortunetly there are no 96s in the junk yards locally here in Topeka that I have found yet. I actually like my XJ but if I had to do it again knowing what i know now I would have bought a 97-99. Not to say a 96 won't make a good vehicle just other years give better options I believe.

 

If I were to buy again, I would buy a 99 hands down (or an mj...much more likely an mj)