JakeTRS

About to make a drive to fl from Tennessee, got a 96 Cherokee county with 250k in the clock what should I need saying I am always having one problem or another with it. Getting oil change today get Goodyear wrangler radials tomorrow seeing as I'm running almost bald tires have an extra serpentine belt extra quart of oil and power steering fluid, am I missing anything important?

aflemke

AAA and a couple extra travel days just in case. Bring tools. It is hard to plan for the next problem you will have. Make sure everything that needs attention is taken care of prior to departure. Some things come up that you can still travel with, others stop you in your tracks. Any vehicle can experience part failures on the road, newer cars included. A few years ago I was on the road in my Cadillac. It was a nice car, ran perfect, never had any issues and I never deferred any maintenance. 6 hours from home it threw a rod cruising down the highway; blew a hole in the bottom of the engine and dumped the oil. I found a rental for the rest of the trip. Never saw the car again, got a check in the mail a few weeks later from the junk yard. That being said, it is highly unlikely the 4.0 will experience a complete failure, so just have the tools ready to swap parts like the alternator or starter. Keep an eye on the temp gauge, especially if you get into big city traffic.

Morat

I'd swap as many fluids I could reach, check the brakes/pads/rotors, replace as necessary and stick a decent socket set in the back. Take some extra bottles of water. You can decide whether to stick them in your radiator or drink them while you're waiting

They do run well, though. I've been stranded twice, once for a fuel pump and once for a headgasket. Both times I knew there was something wrong before I set off and for the headgasket it actually died on the way to the garage so if you set out with a clean sheet I reckon you'll be fine.

cherokeelaredo'90

Like others have said, just make sure everything's in order. Make sure your fluids are all topped off and carry some quarts of spare fluid and some basic hand tools.
I was driving home from college this past summer for a job when my Jeep cut out. I popped the hood and tried the best that I could to get it going again. Turns out that my fuel pump had died. I think it was one of those things that just happens and you can't really tell when it will go caput, since it ran perfectly fine before hand. Anyways, I left with a few days to spare before the start of my job and because of this I was able to repair the Jeep at a buddy's house nearby and make it home before work started.

oldguy52

Fuel pump can definitely get you. Any car new or old. Got me on a 4 year old Suzuki SX4. Had to be drop shipped from China for $1000. Real oddball that was only made for that car. Never would have bought it had I known.

Morat

Does the 96 still have the pump on the front of the tank? you can get at those really easily. Having to drop the tank to swap the pump is a real drag on the 97+
I had a 96 before but never had to change the fuel pump.

CurrySoSpicy

I have heard some people recommend carrying a spare CPS in the glovebox. Good luck on your trip.

dmill89

Yes, but the 96 fuel-pump assembly is a one-year only part (since it was the only year with that tank design with OBD-II, 95 and older had OBD-I and 97+ use the new tank with the pump on top), so finding a new one is difficult to impossible (especially if you are stranded somewhere and need one ASAP), so in most cases you have to just get the replacement pump itself (not the full assembly) and rebuild the existing assembly (which is a bit of a pain).

Morat

Yeah, my 96 had a broken fuel level sender and I never did find the right part to replace it. So I never actually got into it.

I've swapped new pumps into the fuel modules on my 97 a couple of times when I had a nightmare of failing pumps (in fact it turned out to be a kinked fuel line under the hood) and it's a faff but can be done with basic tools and a little patience. I guess they're different to the 96 though, being top mounted. A spare fuel pump doesn't take up much space compared to the full module so that could be an option.

NewbJeep

Same thing coming up this week for me. Delaware to Florida on the beach highways spread out over two days. I've basically rebuilt this monster so I'm pretty confident. A few tools and fluids and an updated roadside assistance account.

Maybe a belief in a higher power

Best of luck to us