JD3020

Well, im new to the forum and kinda new to Jeeps. Ive been around them some, and my brothers wife has had Jeeps. Plus his friends used to mod and wheel Cherokees, but ive never really talked to them. I turn 16 in January, so im looking for a vehicle. Today in the paper a dealer had an ad with a bunch of used vehicles that were on sale. One was a 2000 Cherokee, 4wd, auto and they wanted 5000. They have it now for 3k off, so its only 2000. They didnt have any other info, so im gonna call about it. But if we go look at it i have no idea what to look for. Are there any weak spots to check to see if its been abused? Or any parts that are known to fail? I just want to have a little knoweldge so i dont buy a complete piece of junk. Thanks

drummerwookie

well, being a 2000 model, most likely itll be in decent shape...that is if its still stock i mean..if its been wheeled who knows what kinda damage could be there

but, cherokees are knows to rust under the body right under the drivers floor board...so get under there and check that along with the rest of the unibody...makes sure it looks solid, not a lot of rust. check under the rear end too to see if its got the Dana 35 or the Chrysler 8.25...the way you can tell is, the 8.25 will have a long flat edge on the lower side of the differential. the 8.25 is a stronger axle, and sometimes has a limited slip.

pop the hood and check around the head gasket, and the valve cove gasket to make sure there isnt any oil running out...if so, its just in need of a new gasket...if its the valve cover gasket, its an easy fix.

take it for a test drive and bring it by your house...then jack up the front end, and check to see if the front tires are solid or if they wobble...put one and on top, and one hand on the bottom of the tire and try to wobble it....if it wobbles, then you're in need of a new wheel bearing..

if its a 2-door, which come to think of it, not sure if they made 2-doors in 2000, i know they did up to 98, but i cant recall ever seeing a newer then a 98 as a 2-door....but, if it is, open and close the door and listen to it...when jeep put the 2 doors on, they used the same hinges as they did for the 4-doors...BUT, the 2 doors are much bigger and heavier doors then on the 4-doors, which causes the hinges to get worn out extra fast


i cant really think of anything else of the top of my head.......check every place they would be a gasket, like i mentioned, also the differentials too...

but, 2 grand for a 2000 XJ sounds like a really good deal to me...even if there are a few things wrong with it

Good Luck and i hope ive helped some

JD3020

Thanks, it will help. I want to try and take it for a test drive, but without being 16 i doubt they will let me. If they dont let me ill have my dad test it and ill just ride along. Im going to be sure to test out 4wd, high and low. We wont be able to check for wobble at home cause its 30 minutes from here, but i might see if they could jack it up there so i could check it. Ill be sure to check for rust and all. I hope its a 4.0, and not something else. Also, if they have the build sheet for it would it say what axle it has and if its limited slip? I know we keep the buildsheet thing that you get when the vehicle is new, so i hope they have it.

drummerwookie

oh yea, that build sheet will tell you EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about that jeep..lol...

and im sure its going to be a 4.0...not many cherokees had the 2.5 4-cylinder..the only ones that did have the 4-cyl would be the SE models...thats the most basic model out there..but even with the SEs, most of them have the 4.0...but if its a sport, or classic, or a limited, then it will have the 4.0..that was the standard engine in all but the SE models

ktmracer419

the main thing to check for is rot. get under there and pound on the floors and rocker panels to make sure they are solid. even if they are soft that means problems down the road

even if you only see a small spot going through that means moisture has found its way onto the floor and is slowly eating away at it.

thats the only real "issue" with xj's

JD3020

Thanks for the info guys. I couldnt get a hold of a sales rep on the phone, so we went to look anyways. As we figured it was sold, but we still looked around. I found a 2002 Blazer ZR2 that looked new, but after doing some reading ive decided to stay away from it. I also test drove almost the exact truck i want, a 1996 F-250 diesel, but not sure if i want to take it to college in a couple years. So im curious, could a Cherokee easily pull a quad or two around on a trailer, or pull a 2 place snowmobile trailer 8-13 hours one way with 2 people and alot of luggage through bad road conditions? Or would that be way to much stress. Ive always been around trucks that tow anything and go anywhere, so a cherokee would kinda have to fill that spot for me.

drummerwookie

a cherokee will pull a 2 quad trailer with out any problems...im not going to say you wont know anything is back there, but its pretty close to that.

snow mobiles, same deal...no problem...ive got a friend that pulls a lifted sami with his 97 XJ with the 4.0, auto..and he doesnt have any problem, besides wind resistance...bc the lifted sami, on a trailer, sits up a lot higher then the roof line of the XJ....but that wont be the case with quads or snowmobiles

JD3020

I finally got my first taste of a Cherokee last night. I had rode in one on a hunting trip when i was young, but i havent ever really drove one. My dads friends came out yesterday so we had a fire. One guy has a Cherokee with 185k miles, auto, and in good shape. Ive talked to him before about it, and he loves it and will not get rid of it. Last night he threw me the guys and told me to take it for a spin. So i went outback and drove it around the yard and the field, and i liked the pep of the high mileage 4.0, plus it just rode nice. So i had my dad hop in and we took off on the road. It drove nice on the road, and then we got onto some of our crappy one lane paved roads. The road wasnt really rough, but it just has a bunch of small dips and is uneven. For some reason i could hardly control the Jeep. It just felt like it was floating, and was just all over the road. Keep in mind i was only doing 20-30, and i was slowing down because i was getting ready to turn. Is this normal for them, or does his front end need work? Ive driven our suburban down the road and never had a problem, but the Jeep was everywhere.

Im also confused about the 4wd system on them. One craigslist ad said it had a rare part time/full time system. What does that mean? I just want something where i can put the lever in 4 hi or 4 low and go, knowing its in 4wd. Im pretty sure i want a Cherokee now, even though my brother hates them. But i just want to be educated on them before i go buy one.

drummerwookie

with what you described about the XJ wondering over the road and your suburband didnt, that could just be a weight issue...and if your use to the longer wheel base if the suburban, then the shorter wheel base of the XJ would coulda contributed to that too...but if it was a mechanical thing, it coulda been a bad wheel bearing on one of the front sides, something like that...nothing major

and as to the 4WD system, there was a 4WD system called "selec-trac" that was an option on the XJs...it had a 4-full time which is where its always in 4WD, but the front axle egages automatically then goes back to 2wd when its not slipping....its to be used on dirt roads and snow covered roads where you only need the 4WD on and off

but they also have 2 4WD part times....high range and low range...part time is when the 4WD is always engaged. thats for when you're on a rough trail or going thru a lot of deep snow...and like i said, you can shift it down farther into 4-lo part time...they also had the 2wd position too.....it was just a transfercase that is overloaded with different options....i like em....i had one on my 98 grand cherokee

now, that 4WD system that came in most XJs was the "Command-Trac" that was your basic 4WD system....it had 2-hi, 4-hi, N, and 4-lo.......just doesnt have the 4-full time option like the "Selec-Trac" does

JD3020

Its been a while since ive been on here, but i havent gotten a vehicle yet. Tomorrow im going to go look at a 96 5 speed 2 door XJ with 170k miles. My dad and i are kinda worried about it having 170k miles, and being 13 years old, but the guy wants 1800 and is willing to go lower. I think we are going to offer him 1600 cash, maybe 1550. Its got a dana rear end, and is 4 wheel drive. Is there anything on the manuals that we should check, other than the clutch? The guy said it was just serviced and has no problems so i hope its as good as it sounds. If i can get it for 1600, then all i will have to pay is 800, my dad is paying half, so it will give me a lot of money to mod it or get a quad or something. Itd be awesome if i could find a 4 door 5 speed for the same price, but thats near impossible.

92muddycherokee

I have had a 92, 94, and I just bought a 96 XJ. I sold the 92 and 94 but the 96 I just bought has 231,000 on the body and right at 100K on the engine. The jeep looks and runs great. Don't let mileage worry you too much, but definately look it over and use the mileage to you advantage when haggling.

What to look for that I can think of:
Rust under the floor boards, and cargo area
Rust on the rocker pannels and rear quarters
Major leaks, it is common to leak from the very back of the 6cyl engines, the rear main seal leaks on a lot of xj's as long as it isn't leaking like crazy it should be fine, just know it is common.

Drive it, check fluids if the oil is down "just a quart" add a quart and let it run to see if it smokes. Check the coolant for any signs of oil.
Get it up to common speeds up to 55+

XJ's are awsome, I am a fan of the 4 door too, but 2 doors are sweet! As long as the drivetrain is solid and no major problems short of needing an oil change, tune up, exhaust, etc... it could be a good deal. Bear in mind I just bought a 96 with a 2" lift and 33" tires 4door with the 4.0 and automatic for $1600 so you should be able to get it for cheaper than he is asking.

That is all I can think of right now, good luck!
Let us know if you get it.

JD3020

We went in looked at it and were going to offer 1500 cash. My dad had looked at it this morning and said it seemed pretty good, but had its problems. He said the air conditioning didnt worked and leaked, but it might be fixable. He didnt look under it to check for rust though, but the rest of it was in decent shape. When we went back we test drove it, it drove great. I wasnt allowed to drive it since i just have my temps, but my dad did. For its condition, it rode and drove great. I looked under the frame and it all looked good, except the floor boards. The passenger side floorboard is worthless, you could put your foot through the hole if there wasnt carpet. The drivers side was better, but not much. The drivers seat was broke off of the sliders, so you could probably just pull it out of the jeep without unbolting it. We might still get it if we can get a rough price of would itd cost for somebody to fix the floor board, but i doubt it. I officially hate rust. If the floorboards were in good shape, itd be sitting in my driveway right now. Im back on my search for another XJ.

rexy44

Smart reject. Probably looking at $500-700 to fix the pan and seat mounts right. Unless one has the equipment and ability to do it yourself.

JD3020

My brother and i couldve probably got it done, but my dad wont let me get something like that for my first vehicle. We wouldve had to completley redo the floor pan behind the front seats, and a bunch of other spots. Right now i have my eye on a 2001 for 2800. I knew that jeep sounded to good to be true. A 5 speed 2 door, that looked and ran good. Just a big hole on the bottom of it.