jeep cherokee vs ranger

[1993]

i found this jeep cherokee for pretty cheep and was wondering how they are?
how are jeep cherokees compared to my little ranger? just looking for some insight on what i should do.
any thoughts on the jeep cherokee (xj)???

 

[84stealthranger]

jeep would be better off road then ur rangers but thats it if ur lookin to take it in the woods and what not. how much is it?

 

[1993]

one is 900 but dont know much about it and the other is 1200 and has nice tires and a small lift.

is there anything to watch out for in a jeep.

i am just looking for a 4x4 cause i am tired of getting stuck

 

[James86]

I had a 1999 for about 2 years. I didnt mind it - kinda miss it sometimes. The 4.0 is a dead reliable engine much like the ranger 3.0, and it's a piece of cake to work on because its an inline (that last plug hiding against the firewall is a pain though. With a 5 speed and no cruise I got about 18 city and 23-24 highway pretty consistently. Only reason I got rid of it was the local Chrysler dealership made me hate it because the two times I had to take it in, I didn't have it for ridiculous periods of time. Some things to be aware of are that the headers (yes, factory tube headers - look it up) like to crack their welds, and the 1987-89 Renix injected ones had a bass-ackward wiring and injection system. Also, the Peugeot trannies (late 80's) are ridiculously light duty and won't tolerate serious abuse. Stay clear of 1984-1986 models with a V6 because its a GM 2.8 with a Motorcraft carb and a nightmare of vacuum lines and even then was good for maybe 115 HP in top shape which they never are - my buddy had an '86 and it was noisy and wheezy like an old Corsica. That's about all I can throw out there for ya since its been almost 4 years since I had that Jeep, but I read a LOT about them in JP magazine and such, but I just needed something with a bed eventually. Hope that helps.

 

[Ak_Ranger]

Jeeps arnt bad but from friends and family who have had em, i have learned they are not cheep to fix.

 

[PaleBlue90]

I had a 1999 for about 2 years. I didnt mind it - kinda miss it sometimes. The 4.0 is a dead reliable engine much like the ranger 3.0, and it's a piece of cake to work on because its an inline (that last plug hiding against the firewall is a pain though. With a 5 speed and no cruise I got about 18 city and 23-24 highway pretty consistently. Only reason I got rid of it was the local Chrysler dealership made me hate it because the two times I had to take it in, I didn't have it for ridiculous periods of time. Some things to be aware of are that the headers (yes, factory tube headers - look it up) like to crack their welds, and the 1987-89 Renix injected ones had a bass-ackward wiring and injection system. Also, the Peugeot trannies (late 80's) are ridiculously light duty and won't tolerate serious abuse. Stay clear of 1984-1986 models with a V6 because its a GM 2.8 with a Motorcraft carb and a nightmare of vacuum lines and even then was good for maybe 115 HP in top shape which they never are - my buddy had an '86 and it was noisy and wheezy like an old Corsica. That's about all I can throw out there for ya since its been almost 4 years since I had that Jeep, but I read a LOT about them in JP magazine and such, but I just needed something with a bed eventually. Hope that helps.

+ on all this, another thing is look behind the front seats under the carpet. ive seen quite a few crack there when used and abused offroad

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The jeep 4.0 is notorious for cracked head make sure it is not overheating and the wiring can be a problematic take a close look at both.

 

[Doom's Day Custom]

I owned one for years and have like 6 books on Cherokees and if dought i will send pic..
The motor runs runs hot like in the 210 range, I put a 160 thermostat to help to keep the engine cooler... With the jeep always go with long arms because short arms sucks and they give you a harsher rides but if you go skyjacker they come with short arms but have drop down mounting brackets to counter act the hasher ride.. Stay away from Rusty's offroad , I have nothing but problems with them and there products are know to crack and weld not to be very strong.. I broke the trac bar mount.. They are a pain in the ass when it comes to warranty work.. I had a leaf spring break on me and it took me 2 month to get the piece to fix the spring pack..
THe np242 is all time 4wd tranfers case and np231 is a part time transfer case..
Make sure that you get the high pinion front axles which is strong and don't get the cental disonnect axle because the vaccum system suck and will probale have to change out to a pull cable 4wd set up..
Check to see what axles you have in the rear and the 8.25 axle is the better than the dana 35

If you have any questions just pm me and i will glad to answer you

Jay

 

[trail B2]

My G/F bought one for $500 dollars a 93 with a 4.0 and an auto.She's had it for about a year and a half and i've been surprised, she doesn't drive it anymore its passed around her kids.I keep waiting to hear it died but that thing runs and runs.I don't like the way it feels going down the road like a RBV but that's just taste.Gotta have the 4.0 don't look at the 2.8 junk seems good for the money.

 

[84_Nor*Cal_Ranger]

All i need to say is they are reliable as hell. my g/f 90 4.0 is nice its beat up like a trail rig but that dosnt hurt it. btw watch out for the closed cooling system they suck. if it has a radator cap its good but if u have to fill it through the over flow(plastic bottle on the passenger side fire wall) your best thing to do is swap it to the open system. besides that crappy cooling systne i like them almost as much as my ranger.

 

[Doom's Day Custom]

Oh by the way 87-91 xj w/4.0 they have ballist resitors and a crank positon sensor when they get hot it will just kill the motor don't matter how fast you are going and the truck will start right up as soon as the sensor cools down which take like 20 min.. I had my ballist go on the parkway a couple of time and one time i hit tree trying to stop the truck..

 

[1993]

is there anything i should look for when buying a jeep????
my friends jeep over heated today and so i looked into it a bit and i think i came up with a fact that most cherokees have this problem??? is it a normal problem for cherokees to over heat?

 

[Burls]

The jeep 4.0 is notorious for cracked head make sure it is not overheating and the wiring can be a problematic take a close look at both.

00-01 Cherokees,99-02 grand Cherokees, & 00-02 wranglers with 4.0l had head cracking issues. But those were hit or miss. 96 and earlier 4.0's will go beyond 200k with no problems.

 

[Doom's Day Custom]

is there anything i should look for when buying a jeep????
my friends jeep over heated today and so i looked into it a bit and i think i came up with a fact that most cherokees have this problem??? is it a normal problem for cherokees to over heat?

Use a 3 core rad and a 160 thermostat and what year is it ???.. buy a jeep post 91 w/4.0 h.o motor ,The 4.0l motor are know to have a valve tick .. If you have any questions just pm me , I have rebuilt 3 jeep motors and every spec for cherokee and the mopar motorbook for the 4.0L

 

[James86]

My 99 never overheated and ran just under 200 degress according to the temp gauge and I know it worked because id se it fluctuate when mudding and stuff. Mine was a manual with the Command-Trac 4WD so it only had one disconnect and it never gave me issues. I will however attest to the wiring gremlins as my whole drivers door electrical system would kill sometimes when I opened the door (the switched wouldnt work and youd see the green lighting go out).