I have a 95 that runs like a new Cherokee. It has the 4.0 and 230,000 miles. Only real problem is an oil leak at the filter. Pretty common problem and easy to fix or if you choose cheap to have fixed by a good mech.

 

Being this thread is 5 yrs. old I guess they keep running till they quit


Mines still going strong at 226,000 runs like a top and zero leaks now, doesn't use any oil between changes either 3mo/3,000. Sometimes sooner if it is going to or has been sitting for a while.

 

The 4.0 L6 is a beast, everyone knows it. Gives the Toyota 22RE a run for its money as far as reliability IMO.

My dad's 93 ZJ 4.0 had over 415k miles before it was cash for clunkered. Original head gasket, diffs had never been opened, plugs were only changed every 150k miles, 4.5k oil change intervals

 

Mine has 300,000 miles orginal everything 👍🏼

 

My Dad's 94 had over 400k original everything when he retired it due to rust. Engine/tranny/xfer all still ran flawlessly. I have no doubt he'd have crossed 500k if he had been willing to do the necessary bodywork.

 

352,000 miles on my 1996 XJ Sport, 4.0L, manual.

Had starter replaced once and rebuilt recently. Alternator, radiator, and water pump replaced, cabin blower motor and control switch for that too. Fuel pump probably didn't have to be replaced but was about 17 years ago. A/C clutch has been out for a long time, coming up on doing that job soon.

When under warranty in 1996, I found some trans oil seepage, a dealer rebuilt the transmission. For some reason I thought they replaced the clutch too, either way still has same clutch from 1996.

Valve cover and oil pan have never been off. Recently cleaned off accumulated oil from engine and added dye to oil change, still no leaks anywhere. Old oil all over was from spills, a failed sending unit sprayed oil all over for a while.

Interior isn't so hot.

 

Any vehicle will last a good while if it is properly maintained. Having said that, there are several factors the make the 4.0L last exceptionally long. A good quality malleable iron block, vertical cylinders that keep ring wear concentric, low piston speed, and a 7 main bearing crankshaft support. Yes, they have fractured piston skirt problems, but that's caused by pistons that are short because of the stroke and being allowed to wobble side-to-side at the bottom of the stroke. They tend to have burnt valve problems because they are geared too high to pull a decent load at highway speeds. They have no business trying to pull a load at 1500 rpm at 55 mph! They would be much better off at 2000 than at 1500. This is why a manual transmission is better than an automatic for longevity of the engine. Because of the hills where I live, I keep my AW4 in third gear for anything up to 55 mph, only using 4th for flat ground or higher speeds. I'd like it if it didn't lock up the converter in 3rd even better.

 

I agree.
Of course if you live in a desert things might be different.

Anyway, my XJ has 170 showing or thereabouts. It has had a head gasket in my ownership, which revealed that it had received a very rough headgasket repair in the past that involved loads of silicon. A core plug died.. and I've had a new rear axle. So I reckon it has had a rough life and the mileage may be false but even with that, it's still a great vehicle and I'm looking to get 250k out of it before I even think about moving on.

 

My 2000 WJ 4.0 had 155K miles on it when the 0331 head cracked. It went another 100K miles before it was pulled for low compression and a piston slap from being scuffed. The cause of the low compression was 3 burnt exhaust valves. The D35 carrier cracked locking the rear diff, causing the t/case to jump out of 2wd. I replaced both with used parts. The t/case wouldn't go back into 2wd. I drove it for 3 months in full time 4wd.

 

My 85 with 2.5L and 3sp automatic now has 185K on it, and it definitely doesn't fall into the over geared category. With the 3.73 in it I run about 2300 at 55mph with the converter locked On the interstate it sounds like it is going to fly apart, so it is rare I drive it there, 3000 at 70mph just feels like a little much.

 

The early to mid XJ's are pretty basic not a whole lot to go wrong. Mechanically, eventually the rear ends will go on the old Dana's and you'll be looking at a bearing rebuild, and expect to replace the front U-joints too (not a simple job).

If I was buying a high-mile Cherokee, I'd carefully check the front u-joints ...might just go and have put new bearings put in the rear before they leave ya stranded.

I drove a 95 Grand Cherokee 4.0 to about 325k miles. Still runs great though I don't drive it much anymore.

 

Granted, but with a 4 speed auto that has a 4th gear overdrive and 3.55 gears you'll only be pulling 1500-1800 at 55 mph. My 67 Camaro with 4.10 gears ran 4000 rpm all day at 70 mph and loved it, but that was a 350 small block.

 

197XXXk on my 2001 XJ sport... finally giving her the love she deserves. Runs like a top. Now it is time to work on the drivetrain and suspension. I'd agree with a few of the earlier comments that rust is and usage is key to longevity. If the unibody is rusting our it's sometimes hard to win that battle depending on where you live. Colorado is pretty decent on vehicles... especially near the desert. otherwise, if it's been wheeled alot that's going to cause stress to all of the vehicle systems.

Best part about these jeeps is that they are fun to work on, east to repair, and cheap. IMHO, XJ's were meant to be DD dirt drivers... they like being offroad

 

219xxx on my 96. Been well taken care of before I got it. Synthetic fluids all around. Take care of it and it'll take care of you I always say. Did you end up buying one? Hahahahahaha just kidding. That was like 10 years ago.....

 

I did end up buying a Jeep - a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Limited. I had it for about 8 years starting with 120,000 miles, and in all that time it never failed to get me where I needed to go. I loved that thing, the sheer versatility of it, the ease of repair, the style.

I didn't know much about cars when I bought it, and after driving it around the first week it started overheating. I brought it to a mechanic who said that he couldn't find the leak, that it must be in the engine somewhere, and that it would cost me upwards of $500 to fix it. I didn't have the money at the time and just refilled the coolant tank once every month or so. Seven years later, it suddenly started sucking down coolant at a much faster rate. I finally looked into the issue again, feeling guilty for not looking into it sooner after everything the jeep did for me, and found out that I had the 0331 cylinder head which is prone to cracking. I'd spent a lot of time working on that Jeep and I decided to try and replace the head myself. I got as far as removing the head and then I saw the chocolate syrup sludge mess. I did a little research and found that it probably would continue to run if I just cleaned out all the visible sludge and slapped a new head on there, and it maybe it would have run for a good while, but wouldn't have ideal. I figured it should have the engine gone through, bearings checked and the rest, which is beyond my abilities. I ended it up selling it to a guy who was looking for a Jeep with a good body to rebuild.

Had a lot of good and interesting times with this Jeep. Drove circles around my friends' fords explorer and honda civic, stuck in a little patch of mud. Kept up with ATVs speeding on trails going through woods. Many times I'd take this thing camping and sleep in the back instead of bringing a tent. I could just barely fit laying down in the back diagonally. I fought for the longest time to keep my rocker panels from the rust, but eventually I was adding new bondo to old bondo, which was attached to even older bondo and those wire mesh patches. I ended up painting them black and it wasn't too noticeable. I keep two little rattle cans in the jeep and some sandpaper, for fixing scratches on the go, which works much better than people seem to think in the long run. At least I never had much rust on the body doing that, and I live in Michigan. Smashed it into a tree once in the middle of winter. Besides a few fans, the radiator, the AC Coil, and some ascetic bits needing to be replaced, it was fine. (I never did replace the AC coil) I once I chose to let a high school auto shop class change my breaks because it was free labor. They didn't tighten the lug nuts on my front left wheel and not soon after that, it fell off. My rotor ground flat on one side against pavement in a shower of sparks, while the wheel crossed the street and rolled almost half a mile away. You get what you pay for.

"New"


That tree just came out of nowhere


Mostly rebuilt


Chocolate Syrup


There it goes