Hello, hopefully this is the first of many post.

I'm looking to buy my first Cherokee and am looking for some advise on what to buy. What years do I want to stay away from? What years are good? What engine is best...?

I'm looking to buy low so I can afford mods, probably '80's and low '90's. I have been looking in my area and it seems like there are always lower mileage older Cherokees.

My use would be for general four wheeling like getting to camp sites and everyday driving. I would probably put cut-out flares and enough lift to get 32" or 33" tires. I would want the best gas mileage I can get.

Any advise would be appreciated, thanks.

 

i have a 88 4.0 its been great to me i greatly recomend the 4.0 and and the 88ish cherokees which you can find fairly cheap

 

Avoid the 2.8 v6, avoid anything with hacker mods done to it, avoid rust bombs, avoid something with tons of electrical wiring hanging everywhere. If the seller has more toes than teeth, run away fast.

 

lol paid 500 4 my 88

 

91 was the first year of the H.O. motor and is a good thing to look for. the auto trans is good but if your looking for a stick make sure you get the ax 15, its the good stick box that is not really rare. If you drive in snow the np 242 transfer cas is good but if you dont drive in snow get the np 231j. the dana 35 rear end sucks so look for the chrysler 8.25 especally if your planning to run bigger than 31's. get the xj with the least amount of rust on it, that will pay off big when you try to put a lift on it. 91 or newer is what I would look for. you can find those cheep so just be patient and not jump on the first xj you see. avoid something that has electrical problems or a blown head gasket, everything else is not hard to fix. good luck and happy jeepin!

 

You know, it's not nice to make fun of the new guy. Just because I have 11 1/2 toes and nine teeth doesn't make me a bad guy, LOL

Great advise so far, thanks.