WildBillMI

Hello to all,

First off, I am new to Jeeps. That being said up front I have a couple questions for the group here.

I have been lusting after a Wrangler Unlimited 4DR w/ Hardtop for some time now...just don't want to pull the trigger on it due to cost. My 2nd choice and one of my favorite body styles is the Cherokee 4DR.

I found a 2000 Cherokee Sport 4DR w/ the 4.0L and 4WD (Selectrac I believe) w/ 198K on it. It's got a few rust spots to take care of, but it appears to be in good shape. It's the dark green which I have always been a fan of on this body style.

Should I be worried about anything prone on these with this kind of mileage? I can take care of brakes, tuneups, etc but I've never had a Jeep before or a 4WD vehicle.

My idea for this is to use for a winter vehicle or as a 3rd car...not necessarily a daily driver.

FWIW, the other cars in my stable are a '67 Mustang 289 Coupe, '98 Cobra Coupe, and 2 Buick Regal GS (1 I may trade in on this Cherokee). My wife is debating about trading in her Saab on a C5 this summer and so we'll need a winter vehicle for her to drive, hence why I am looking at the Cherokee.

Any thoughts and advice is greatly appreciated!

-Bill

WildBillMI

Well I worked out a deal on the Cherokee Sport in question.

I am picking it up this Wed. I couldn't get them to budge on price but I'm getting them to put a new windshield in it as well as a new belt. I think the price is pretty fair for a dealer...I'm trading in one of my Regals on it so I'm actually walking away with cash from the deal. I'm planning on putting some of it into fixing up the Cherokee.

It's a 2000 Cherokee Sport 4.0L 4x4 4Dr, 198K, one owner that traded it in. It's got rust in the usual spots along the inner bottom edge of the doors and sills, a spot on the passenger side under the rear window and some on the external lower edges of the doors. It's also got 2 small spots on each side of the front roof by the drip rails.

Other issues are the rear wiper doesn't work, don't know what's up with that. Missing a fog light and it's also got a hard brake pedal feel.

The plus's are the interior is in pretty good shape, at least for the age. It has a pioneer cd deck in it, the A/C blows cold and it drives and handles pretty darn good. I was surprised at the power the 4.0L has. I did shift it into 4H and 4L and both seems to work fine. Obviously a full tuneup will be on the short list along with going over the brakes. I think it might need a valve cover gasket as well, saw some oil around the edge of the cover.

I'm thinking of tackling the spotty rust issues along the inner door edge and the roof myself and having the rear 1/4 repainted professionally. I'm also thinking about having the lower trim, wheel lips, and doors and bumpers all line-x. So I think I can take care of the rust there myself and then just have the line-x done.

So with all that said...here are some pics!










I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask as I tackle this project. I don't know anything about lift kits and what to go with and what not...

Bustedknuckle

Congrats & Welcome to CherokeeForum!

WildBillMI

Thanks for the welcome!

Needless to say I'm pretty stoked...always like the style of the boxy Cherokee and I think that's why I like the looks the Dodge Nitro, H3, Patriot and Wrangler Unlimited 4dr...all nice and boxy and remind me of the Cherokee design.

I also love the dark green color on this body style. I think with a line-x'd lower trim and bumpers it will stand out a bit.

I know nothing about lift kits, what is good for around town and what is not...basically this will be a winter vehicle for MI winters...I want to be able to get out of the driveway after a good snow and to not get stuck like the other vehicles do. I have broke 2 half shafts on the '06 Grand Caravan from getting it stuck in the snow in our driveway and turning the wheel too tight while trying to get it unstuck!

I would like to set this up for a nice winter driver.

Bustedknuckle

Not 100% sure if your gonna need a lift. Tires are a definite, something along the lines of a Goodyear Duratrec (studded for winter use if desired).

I'd start with that if I were you, focus on the maintenance, then if you decide on a lift, the possibilities are endless. It's really a sturdy and trustworthy platform from the factory though.

WildBillMI

Has anyone heard of these Remington Wide Brute that are on the Jeep now?

1ATony

Welcome to the site Bill. Looks like a pretty clean Jeep.

phsycho

welcome to cf from kzoo.

WildBillMI

Thanks guys for the welcome! Glad to see there are other MI people on here!

I picked up the Cherokee tonite, and immediately put my first mod on it...my Lifetime NRA Member sticker for the rear window, lol!

I stopped by autozone on the way home and picked up some pads, rotors, and plugs for the weekend project. Can't wait to tackle it.

BTW, the tires that are on it are Remington Wide Brute A/W 235/75/15 and they look very new, still have nubs on the outer edges leading to the sidewall. I think I want to keep these for awhile, would a 2" or 3" lift look silly with these?

phsycho

There are quite a few MI folks on here. (check out the great lakes threads) If you want to know how the 235 will look you can check out my profile album. They look pretty small with 3" but I also had a 2" (might be able to tell by some of the pics) and they looked ok.

Gee oh Dee

Welcome!

The 235s, depending on mfg, measure just over 29". On a 3" they may look funny, but I run a 31" tire on my 3" for a dd tire and those look ok to me.

Biceps McRipped

Looks like a pretty clean jeep for almost 200k miles. Welcome to the forum.
I don't think 235/75's on 2 inch lift would look bad. You'd want to go bigger if you went over 2", though.

ol"blue

Looks to be in pretty decent shape.