Jeep Cherokee

Easyrider

Easyrider

Joined
Jan 31, 2000
Messages
4,090
I'm looking at a Jeep Cherokee the guy down the street is selling. It has the 4.0L inline six under the hood. What can everyone tell me about them? Is there anything I should be aware of? Do they have any well known problems?
 
Yes, scheduled maintenance is very, VERY expensive, particularly if you are looking at a 4WD. This perhaps won't be an issue for you if you are a mechanic, or otherwise not inclined to keep up with scheduled maintenance, but it was the one definite negative in my 4 year experience with a Cherokee. I am not a mechanic, and I tow a camper almost every weekend, so I had to keep on top of things and it damn near broke me. On the bright side, I never had a mechanical failure.

- Rob M.
 
It's a Chrysler product, so expect less than stellar reliability, as with most American cars.
 
Expect less than stellar reliability, as well as overpriced parts when things break, just because it's a Jeep.
 
if you do your own work, it's not pricy to keep up a cherokee. i've put 100k on mine in the last slightly less than 4 years, and at 189k, i still have yet to have to do more than routine maintenance (which is rather easy to do with that kind of ground clearance if you don't mind getting your hands dirty). 4.0L inline 6 is a rather solid engine all in all, and most of the transmissions behind them are rather stout as well (particularly the AW4-the automatic behind all standard cherokee 4L engines-it's actually the same tranny as goes behind the engine in a twin turbo supra-i think A340H is the code toyota uses for them). there are varying quirks about different year models (87-90, 91-95/96, and 96/97-2001 are the main design differences-all bodies are similar). i have put my vehicle through hell, and spent very little on maintenance (of course, i do it myself) and repair (also tend to do it myself)-had to do the brakes (rear brakes need cleaning/adjustment with some frequency, and the crappy newer chrysler factory rotors for the front dana 30 axle should be replaced with one-piece cast rotors if possible), water pump (twice, once at around 90k and once a coupla months ago), and the occasional sensor. i'd be happy to get into specific sensor issues. as far as maintenance frequency, i've done my oil every 2.5-5k and tried to be pretty faithful on my tranny-threw synth fluid in my diffs and haven't needed to redo them, and the transfer case, if you aren't actually using it offroad much, doesn't need much maintenance, aside from occasional (30k?) changes in the dexron ii/mercon that goes in it. there are plenty of quirks in different years that i will get into if you provide further year data. http://www.jeepsunlimited.com is a pretty strong resource for more or less any of the info i would be able to provide-i got what i know from working on my own, reading there, and reading my chrysler factory service manual (a godsend if you do your own work). hope that helps. a lot of people have issues with ride and interior, but if you want a little suvish vehicle that can work hard and take a beating, i think you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option, which is probably why i'm still driving mine.
 
I've had my Cherokee since 2000 and I have had no mechanical failures at all. I have had to replace some door parts and the window track but it was easily done by me. The schedulaed maintainence program is jsut a scam IMO. I can easily get all that doen either by myself or the garage down the street for less than 1/2 of what Chrysler would charge. Other than that my in-line 6 hauls ASS! It has some great low end torque and is really quick. Keep it well oiled and maintained and you should have no trouble.

Moving this to Gadgets & Gear, btw.
 
my dad had an older grand wagoner with the 4.o six, one problem he had was oil kept getting sucked into the distributor and causing the engine idle rpm to go sky high.
 
Mine was the best SUV I ever owned. Ran great, minimal problems. Owned from new in 1993 to 2001. Wish I still had it.
 
I have a '96 SE and an 01 Sport, both purchased new. Best vehicles I've ever owned (Also have owned Chevy, Ford, VW and Mitsubishi). Comments from a couple of talented mechanics support my experience that the 4.0 L 6 is a superb engine.
 
The 4.0 inline 6 is a tried and proven engine. Inverhad any problems out of mine.

The only problem I had with my cherokee was that it would get water in the passenger side floorboard. I understand that is a fairly common problem. I tried to track the leak down but couldn't. It was coming in from somewhere around the firewall, and I mean by the bucketfull.

I ended up selling it to my brother, who didn't care about the leak.
 
Just last year we bought my father an 03 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the 4.0 and he loves it. No problems so far, but it only has 12000 miles on it. We will see how it does.
 
Shootist16 : I'll bet the water problem is caused by a clogged A/C drain. It happens to my 96 annually as it is not garaged. The black locust trees near my parking area shed tiny flower petals in the spring and something else in the fall. I believe these gain entrance through the vents in front of the windshield. The 96 drain is easily cleanded with compressed air from beneath the vehicle, but I understand some models are not so easy. I don't seem to have a problem with the 01. HTH.
 
Neanderthal said:
Shootist16 : I'll bet the water problem is caused by a clogged A/C drain.
Click to expand...

I'll bet your right.

Other than that I never had a problem with it.
 
DaveH said:
my dad had an older grand wagoner with the 4.o six, one problem he had was oil kept getting sucked into the distributor and causing the engine idle rpm to go sky high.
Click to expand...

I do believe I have the same problem. It was kinda scary actualy, started her up and though that there must be something stuck on the pedal. Took about a minute for it to drop back down, but it was quite a suprise.

What did you do about it Dave? It just started for me and I don't really have a clue what to do about it. :o
 
what year is your xj? throttle position sensors and idle air control steppers can cause this. throttle body is easy to open up and clean. never seen oil in my distributor, though that might be less prevalent in the manufacture range for my vehicle (93, similar to the rest of the 91-95 or 96 cherokees).
 
I had an 89 Cherokee Ltd with a 4.0L 6. Car gave me alot of trouble and was always expensive to fix. Luckily my uncle is a mechanic and did alot of the labor for me. The parts that were most troublesome were the radiator, hoses, water pump, thermostat, and one leafspring.
Matt
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top