Ok, Im new to this forum not sure if im even in right section to post this..
I have 93' XJ all stock w/31's 235,000 miles. It is leaking oil profusely from beleived to be RMS. I have mechanics background, just not with jeeps.
I know what its gonna take to fix this problem. Heres my dilemma...
I have oppurtunity to have a 95 ZJ "orvis" 5.2 quadretek for $700 plus my jeep for trade. ZJ had 135,000 miles and everything works unlike my XJ.
But..the ZJ has some trans slippage issues with it. SO...do I keep mine and invest more time & money OR buy the ZJ and be good to go until trans. dies out and then worry about that fix, which will be more time & money invested in a new project.

 

yours is 4.0L? RMS is a common and easy fix. Transmission slip means NEW trans. Id say stick with the XJ.

 

Being that the ZJ is a V8, it more than likely is AWD. If this is the case, it is a 249 t-case, and they are not known for their strength. Either t-case offered in the XJ, 231, or 242, are both better the the 249, IMHO. I had to replace mine, less than a year after I bought the Jeep!! As for the transmission, you are looking at around $2K for a rebuild, and it will go out again, in about 100K miles. The guy a the trans shop told me that they are junk!! I have hot heard anything but bad about this trans. I had a 95 ZJ, and had to rebuild mine. Everyone that I know that owns a ZJ, has had to have the trans rebuilt, including the 4.0 version. Jeep did not use the AW-4 in the ZJ, which was a bad move on their part!! The AW-4 is FAR superior to the 42RE trans. I love the look of the ZJs, and they ride a lot better than the XJs do, but IMHO, it's not worth the other issues that come with them.

 

Yes my XJ is 4.0 5speed has been very reliable, just getting old and worn lots of things not working and its leaking alot of oil! Just was curious about reliability of ZJ's automatic trans. especially if one is already slipping at 135k?

 

Ive had the XJ for 3years now and only had a waterpump replacement, a couple vcg's pcv valves and very minor stuff. Give big props to the 4wd system and the 5 speed trans (aw-4)? in the XJ. I love my jeep, just had worries with the major oil leaks! I mean like 1/2 quart drop on ground overnight!

 

The RMS is pretty easy to replace, IIRC.

 

stick with the xj dude. plain and simple.