Thinking about buying one, and I've owned nothing but Japanese for the last 15 years.

I have grown to hate a lot of Chrysler automatics, but I do love the 4.0 liter engine...except for the crankcase ventilation system.

But I haven't had a whole lot of experience with Jeeps other than minor maintenance things on the ones that rolled into the shop.

Speak your mind here.

7/31/2005 10:29:54 PM

my pops has a '90 laredo with 510,000 miles. he put in a new tranny at 280,000 and a new engine at 340,000. only problems he's had with it.

7/31/2005 10:33:40 PM

that's a lot of fucking miles

7/31/2005 10:36:52 PM

the 4cyl ones still have the AX-5 and its tendancies to self-destruct. if you get the 4.0, you'll prob be ok.

7/31/2005 10:54:03 PM

what is an XJ

a wrangler?

7/31/2005 11:01:19 PM

Cherokee.

Wrangler is either a YJ or TJ.

GC is a ZJ


Our company truck blew a head gasket this weekend. It's a Toyota T100 with the 5VZFE 3.4 V6...an engine notorious for head gasket problems. Shame this one has about 310k on the odo, and Yota's not replacing ones this old.

[Edited on July 31, 2005 at 11:06 PM. Reason : shit.]

7/31/2005 11:04:53 PM

Quote :

"GC is a ZJ"

or a wj or a rebadged durango


stay away from the v 6 model.... 4.0 only and the aw4 isn't a bad transmission @ all (though i still took the time to find a 5 speed)

try to get one with an 8.25 and stay away from athe dana 35

7/31/2005 11:20:06 PM

lots of them get vandalized with stickers

7/31/2005 11:21:31 PM

My boss has a 92 with 235,000, still drives like a champ, no major engine/tranny work done yet.

8/1/2005 12:22:29 AM

biggest problem is its made by jeep.

8/1/2005 8:01:30 AM

Ben wins.

8/1/2005 8:49:45 AM

4.0 is tits, except for the header likes to crack at the collector, but the aftermarket one for about 200 has an expansion joint

get the auto, its the aw4 that supra guys swear by, good through 700 hp

all that comes to mind currently

8/1/2005 9:36:04 AM

at least go with a 92 or newer (better heads) and def stay away from the ax-5 trans..that thing is a peice of shit, but on the 4.0, I think the 5-speed was an ax-15 which, really wasn't bad at all. As far as the Dana 35, unless you are going off roading, I wouldn't worry about it busting, and if it does, they're very cheap and easy to replace. I preffer the older selec-trac design for everyday use, but Command-trac is good as long as you aren't in 4-wheel drive for higher speeds. Mine had an, NP208...horrible..but any 4.0 after 87 should have the NP242 or NP231. Here's a good site to get all the technical stuff.

http://www.jeeptech.com

8/1/2005 11:22:03 AM

4.0 w/ AW4 and 242 (selectrac) and 8.25" is the way to go, basically bulletproof in a Cherokee. Most of them leak at the valve cover b/c of the poor ventilation you mentioned, expect that.

[Edited on August 1, 2005 at 1:51 PM. Reason : ..]

8/1/2005 1:50:53 PM

I believe 91-93 have an easier to modify OBD system for more power and are a little simpler. 99 up have a different manifold that is less restrictive and gives you about 3 extra HP and holds up better. get one above 91 for the open circuit cooling system, or get used to cooling system problems. They also had a vacum disconnect 4x4 system that can be finicky. 87's came with a stock rear dana 44, so if you're going wheeling, its a good swap-out. I had an 88 and a 93. Both vehicles were used and abused hard and always came back for more. There's lots of aftermarket parts sources and lots of good sites related to xj's. personally, I'd rather have a toy, but for what it is, they're good vehicles.

8/1/2005 2:03:55 PM