hey guys, I wanted to get on here and introduce myself. I'm considering getting an XJ as a toy. Well sort of a toy. I will be driving it often around town and such. I'd also like it to be able to take camping roadtrips etc. in. I'm considering a late 90's with V8. Any input on 5.2 or 4.7 would be nice. It appears from what i've seen so far that those are the two V8s they came with.

Also, what sort of power / reliability can those two motors put out? I'm selling my Cummins diesel truck, and I'm really worried I'm going to be un happy with power of a jeep with v8. I don't have anything to two really, but I do like being able to push on the go pedal, and have the rig actually "go"!!

Thanks guys, also, any suggestions on threads to read to start learning about cherokee's would be greatly appreciated.

 

Jeep cherokees(XJs) never came with a V8. They either came with a 2.5 4 banger or 4.0 I6. The 4.0 is indestructible and great. If you really want a V8, then go look at the Grand Cherokee. I don't have much experience with the V8 jeep engines, but i can vouch for the 4.0. Good luck finding a Jeep.

Forgot to add Welcome to the site

 

Yeah, the Grands had the V8 optional. '93-'97 (ZJ) offered the 5.2 V8 w/230 HP, 300 lb. ft. of TQ. For '98 only the Limited had the 5.9 V8, w/250 HP & 350 lb. ft.of TQ. Some say those numbers were low-balled, as the 5.9 was the quickest SUV until the Grand Cherokee SRT 8 came out. It was a limited production run, and clean ones at a nice price can be hard to find.
The '99-'04 Grands (WJ) were offered w the 4.7 V8 w/235 HP & 295 lb. ft. of TQ.
Between '02 & '04 the WJ offered an optional 4.7 HO. It had 260-270 BHP at 5100 RPM & 325-330 lb. ft. of TQ. at 3600 RPM.

Here's some good info to get you started. >https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/helpful-links-10052/

 

Thanks guys. I guess I need to look at the grands then cause I definitely want the additional power of the v8. I didn't know the 5.2s put out that much, 300lbs of TQ in what I imagine is a pretty light vehicle is nothing to slouch at. Especially since core my needs I'll probably only be running 33-34" tires. Is there much of an aftermarket for performance on the 5.2? I know there is for the 5.9 and 4.7.

 

You can get lots of stuff for the 5.2, from fully ported heads, cams, stroker cranks, forged rods & pistons, and bigger injectors. The 5.2 & 5.9 are very similar, and some parts can be interchanged. You can even put a 5.9 in place of the 5.2's.

 

Welcome from Nc....hope you find a nice grand cherokee v8 they are hard to find....good luck

 

Welcome from Wisconsin.

 

Thanks guys. Well I guess a "good" one might be hard to find, but when I'm looking at craigslist here they're all over the place. They usually have 150k + miles though.

 

You can get pretty darn good power out of the I6 from the xj... (this is just me trying to convince you to get an xj). I just dont care much for the look of GC's and all the fancy electrical things they have that are easy to tear up, but a PITA to fix.

 

To each his own. I think I tend to like the looks of the GC. And I'm hoping to build this vehicle up to use as a roadtrip/camping vehicle for the family, so some of the creature comforts might be nice.

 

Welcome from Engaland, good luck with the search.