My name's Adam, I'm 17, and I just bought my first Jeep and my first car. It's a 1992 Cherokee Limited. Picked it up for $1,000, everything's as perfect as you can get on a 20 year old car. Up until now I've just been driving my mom's 2006 Ford Focus, so this is a huge change. I love it though, after a month of driving it on and off road I'm in love. The previous owner took really good care of it, everything's stock except for a 2" lift, new muffler, and new front brakes. 180k original miles.
Is there anything I need to know about DDing a Cherokee, or SUVs in general? I'd love any tips or advice, cause obviously I'm new to this. Thanks!

 

Welcome to CF from COS!!

Sounds like a great little starter Jeep you got there!! Since you are a young guy, I think you should focus on the bare essentials right now. Make sure all of the fluids are clean and happy. Front and rear diffs, t-case, transmission, coolant, engine oil, as well as all belts, hoses, rotor, cap, wires, and spark plugs, air, and fuel filters, all of those will need to be at the very least inspected. I like to replace as much of this stuff as I can, when buying a new vehicle. Then I know the history, and have peace of mind. Keep in mind that if what you replace isn't broken, it is simply a spare. This is good practice for belts, hoses, plugs, and wires. I keep at least the longest plug wire, both hoses, an old belt, and a couple plugs in my rig for spares...you never know when, or if you'll need them, but you have them! Do that, go through all of the stock suspension components, and your steering. If anything is loose, replace it. With a well maintained stock XJ with a decent set of tires on it, you can have plenty of fun, without all the cost of a lift, and the stuff that goes with it. Have fun!!

 

Welcome aboard! I am Kevin and really enjoying my stay in this forum.

 

Well when driving a Jeep, make sure to never call it a CAR because its an insult lol, just call it a Jeep.

I'm just giving you a hard time by the way lol.

I DD my 96 XJ and when driving it make sure not to do any abrubt manuvers, and try to keep your speed under 25 when cornering. My XJ is lifted and it definitely takes a whole different style of driving than any other vehicle.

Keep it well maintainted, a few common problems that you should look out for are:

-The stock radiators have plastic tanks that get weak and burst.
-The heater control valves leak over time
-The front brake calipers often seize up over time and will need to be replaced
- The floor pans like to rust out on the driver and passenger sides near the front wheels, if it isn't already rusty make sure you undercoat it.

 

WELCOME FROM LOUISVILLE, KY

 

 

Thanks for the welcome and the tips guys!
As for the front brake calipers, the previous owner put new brakes on, so I think that's good.