02Tahoe

Hey guys, im new here and i'm a Tahoe Z71 owner who just sold his ATV for lack of legal riding areas. That being said i'm looking to get a weekend wheeler, and have a small budget and have narrowed it down to 2 different vehicles. First one is a MID 90's Toyo Land Cruiser or the reason i'm here a MID 0'2 Cherokee. The Toyo's ($ 4-5k) are over twice the price of all the Cherokee's ($1,600 - 2,500) i'm finding. I live near Miami Florida and there is a LOT of mud down here and watery trails, I like trail riding and will go through mud if i need to, but i grew out of sinking **** in the mud after my 20's lol. Can you guys shed some light on this for me as i'm new to the non-ATV wheeling world.

94XjSport94

What year are you looking at..? The XJ's were made from 84-01.

Buy a cheap jeep for a beater. Cheaper price and all your parts will be cheaper.

02Tahoe

Both are 95' ish 93-99, i know the Yoda comes with selectable lockers and a 4.5L V-6 and stuff but is way more heavy and $$$, and the Cherokee will have the 4.0L but no lockers but is WAY Cheaper.

caronaxtr

I bought my XJ for 2 reasons. 1) I have owned 5 jeeps and B) they take a beating, the XJ is a cheap, dependable vehicle & their is a ton of aftermarket parts out there. The XJ also has a lot of room for other passengers or gear. I guess that's more than 2 reasons but you get the point. I'm somewhere around $12,000 into my rig over 3 years and it'll go more places than I'll probably take it. Even a cheap rig will cost you money to fix and mod down the road. From what I've heard Yota parts are expensive.

02Tahoe

Would it be better to find a rig already Modded?

ohio95xj

That I all relative. I personally would not buy a lifted rig, a vehicle that has been lifted more often than not has been bea off road. Also there is just a sense of pride when you build your own. Don't let the above guy scare you. You don't need 12000 dollars to build an xj. It all depends on what you want to do with it. you can have a very very capable rig with just 1/4 of that.

Darthreciffo

You can buy a cherokee and put lockers on it & still have $ to spend compared to the toyota. You can get a lunch box style locker for under 300.

02Tahoe

I won't lie i read that and was like .......oh only 12k.......

caronaxtr

Sorry, I didn't want to give you the long version and it didn't come out right... to start, I paid 5K for my jeep with low miles, and everything kept rolling into the next mod for me... XJ's are really cheap to mod, all depends on where you want to be with your rig. my point (obviously didn't come across well) is for as much as I have done to my rig It would have been much more had I had a wrangler, Yota, or most other rigs. so far here is what I've done to be at that price:
XJ @ $5,000
Tires @ $1,500
Lift @ $1,000 +/-
Bumpers @ $700
New Axles @ $250
R/Pinions @ $500
Lockers @ $1,200
SYE / Driveshaft @ $250
Rear Disk conv. @ $ 250
Winch @ $300

I bought my XJ to build it up and enjoy it for what works best for me. My options were a side x side or an XJ, the xj was the better route & more particle. don't want to scare anyone off. some of my friends have xj's for $500 and $1,000 into them & have no prob wheelin them. all depends on what u want
sorry, didn't want to sound like some Jack A$$ and apparently I did

02Tahoe

Is there a difference in the Jeep Cherokee, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee same year?

caronaxtr

Cherokee:
1) leaf suspension in the rear
2) rear axle could be Chrysler 8.25 (27 or 29 spline depending on year) or Dana 35 (8.25 is much stronger than the 35) some came with Dana 44's if It came with the tow package from the factory (only 1 or 2 years though)
3) front axle Dana 30 (high pinion or low pinion depending on year, high pinion is better)

Grand Cherokee
1) has coil sprung suspension in the rear
2) rear axle Dana 35 only as their rear axle. Not sure if they came with any other rear axle than that.
3) front axle Dana 30 (low pinion only I believe)

Both Jeeps came had options for transitions, motors, and transfer cases, not always interchangeable but very simular

02Tahoe

So if when shopping,what do i want to "TRY" to get in a cherokee what year, rear, trans, and so on? (NON - MODDED)

caronaxtr

I think the 96-98 Cherokees were the model years that came with Chrysler 8.25 29 spline and High Pinion Dana 30's (if my years are off a bit someone chime in). Standards are harder to find vs. the Auto's (both are good, just personal preferences), NP231 (IMHO) is better than the 242 transfer case. The 231 shifter will have -2WD - 4WH - 4WD Low, the 242 has 2WD - Part time 4WD - Full time 4WD - 4WD Low. Going with the 231 you can utilize a Slip Yoke eliminator or a hack N tap, a 242 can only utilize a hack N tap. With the 231 you at least have an options

Biggest thing to get is the 8.25 rear axle (looking from the rear, the bottom of the pumpkin will have a flat spot), even the low pinion 30 is a decent axle. The 8.25 and D30 can handle up to 35" tires. the manual tranny will have a lower gear ratio in the axles I believe.

Most guys will say to stay away from mode years 2000 and 2001 because Chrysler changed heads and they have been know to warp or crack (I have had no issues with this).

If you go with the newer models, stay away from any Cherokee with ABS, that only came with the Dana 35 rear axles.

You're asking the right questions, I screwed up and that is why i'm swappin in new axles into my 01. I have a low pinion D30, a dana 35 rear axle, and ABS, but like I said it had low miles.

Don't worry too much about mileage, the 4.0 6 cylinder is bullet proof, some may have a light knock (2 of mine did but didn't run bad), 100,000 to 140,000 is still low mileage, some guys here are in the 300,000 mileage area. most parts from other years can easily be swapped into any other XJ

wiggles

My advice is buy something cheap like less than 1500 go with 4.5 and 33's and just go have fun

02Tahoe

So now the hunt begins............