My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

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csuengr
Posts: 1290
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:24 am
Location: Sterling, CO

My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by csuengr »

So after three years of DD'ing my 77' Cherokee, I finally got a car. Not new, hell no, but a 2007 Mercury Milan with a manual transmission. 27 mpg is much nicer than 13 mpg. Of course, my Jeep kinda pushed me to do it by developing a leaky clutch slave cylinder, which requires dropping the transmission to replace. I can actually hear the Jeep breathing a sigh of relief.
1977 Cherokee S, Ford 5.0, 5 speed, BW 1356, 33 x 10.50 BFG's. No longer my DD.
2007 Mercury Milan, 2.3L, 5-speed, now my DD. 29 mpg average.
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Stuka
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Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by Stuka »

I remember when I moved away from daily driving my FSJs. Sure I had a small car payment at the time, but the HUGE increase in fuel economy made it cheaper to drive the new car even with the payment (I went from 12 to 30mpg).

It let me do work on the Jeep without having to make sure it was ready to go monday morning.
2017 JKU Rubicon
Pevious Jeeps: 1981 J10, 1975 Cherokee, 2008 JK, 2005 KJ, 1989 XJ

Topic author
csuengr
Posts: 1290
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:24 am
Location: Sterling, CO

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by csuengr »

True. I have to find some seat covers. I am still running the original 1977 upholstery. After three years as a DD the drivers seat is in bad shape. Can't find seat covers for low back bucket seats without head rests.
1977 Cherokee S, Ford 5.0, 5 speed, BW 1356, 33 x 10.50 BFG's. No longer my DD.
2007 Mercury Milan, 2.3L, 5-speed, now my DD. 29 mpg average.
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melford72
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Location: San Diego, CA
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Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by melford72 »

I feel the pain. My Wagoneer is my dd. This weekend I did the front disc conversion at a buddy’s place about 15 minutes from my house. Left my sunglasses there. Today I went and picked them up...in my wife’s Honda. Because I wanted to save myself the gas it would have cost to drive there and back...
70 Custom Special
Not running at the moment, but LMG/4L60e in the works! :mrgreen:

Previously, 72 Wagoneer
Carbed, Cammed, and Lifted

will e
Posts: 5097
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by will e »

Giving up my Cherokee as my DD really set me free. I pulled the back seat, crammed all of my offroading and camping stuff in the back and had my weekends free from working on the Jeep all of the time. Now if it is down (like it is now) I don't have to fit fixing it into a weekend. And when I go offroad I don't have to worry as much about breaking it. I was also able to make it less road worthy at the expense of being more off road worthy. It is basically my only hobby so my disposable income can go to the Cherokee.

I had no idea you could get a Mercury with a stick. That's pretty cool.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge

candymancan
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Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by candymancan »

Gas is a yes and no thing... If you have a new 36k$ car to pay it iff would take 6 years at 500$ a month... in 6 years at say 25mpg at 3.00 a gallon 15k miles a year its 10,800$ in gas... a wagonser at 10mpg 15k miles 3$ a gallon is 27k$.. But in those 6 years youre not making a car payment. Insurance is also lower.. i pay 25$ a month for usaa car insurance. A 36k%$ car will be 150$ at the least going down a little in 6 years but lets stay at 150 and thats another 10800$.. so that 36k$ in 6 years will cost 57000$... 57k minus 27k is 30,000$ in savings. Lets not even add in property taxes if you live in a communist state like virginia which is where i live.. property taxes on the 13 camaro when it was brand new 45k$ camaro was 650$ a year... utter robbery

So 57000$ in 6 years.. you save 30k$ so lets do another 6 years at 3$ a gallon thats 10800$ for the 25mpg car and 27000$ for the waggy.. so in 12 years the 36000$ car costs 67000$ and the wagoneer costs 54000$ in gas.. so even in 12 years that brand new now decade old car still costs more then the wagoneer.

Think about that for a minute

So you can bitch an moan at paying the gas prices but in reality youre saving tens of thousands of dollars... and this is at 36k a average cheap car in todays vehicles... most suvs or trucks are 45+ today..

Of course if you have a 6-8+ year old car thats paid for and gets good gas mileage sure then it works out. Like our 4.0 Zj gets 21mpg on long trips... id much rather take it or even my 5.9 zj that gets 18mpg on the interstate then my wagoneer lol.

But yea.. Thats why i thought cash for clunkers was a huge scam.. and why people who thought they were getting a great deal were morons... its cheaper replacing an engine and transmission then buying a new car.

But thats just me.. Ill continue daily driving my wagoneer. U do take the ZJ though if i have to make trips 50+ miles out though but anything 30-40 min out ill take the wagoneer and i dont drive far very often as i live in the suburbs and the mall and shopping are only 10 miles out
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)
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lkmarsh
Posts: 211
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:35 pm
Location: Modesto CA

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by lkmarsh »

That's how I see it. Jay Leno invests in cars, for the rest of us they are only expenses.
Never in my life has my monthly gas bill come close to a car payment. Neither did the
improved gas mileage of the Impala offset the payment, insurance, registration,
and maintenance bills. Never again will I talk myself into making payments.
Lyle
69 1414x Buick350/Th400/D20
PDB, HEI, relays, rallyes, rhino, rust...
73 Wagoneer parts donor

candymancan
Posts: 3652
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by candymancan »

Now i can see if youre getting older or dont hsve time to fix your jeep if it breaks.. then sure i guess buying a new csr is nice... and sure maybe it gets old driving the same car over n over ?? For some people.

My mom when she bought that 45k$ camaro brand new in 2013 for my brother... yea insaine this 18 year old kid gets a 13 SS v8 camaro for his 18th nirthdsy because he joined the army... She finally finisjed paying it off last year but she had saved like 8k$ and paid it off fully... She told me she wants a new grand cherokee i dont blame her.. she worked her ass off all her life and deserves a new car.. but she thought about it and now says.. no way in hell in she making another 600+$ a month car payment like that camaro.

Her 98 ZJ 4.0 is starting to hsve transmission issues.. i believe the internal seals are hardening allows pressure to leak. But it has 280k original miles... To me thats insaine for a stock 42re Chrysler transmission lol.


Speaking of impalla. My brother has a 2017 chevy impalla.. he bpught brand new... spent like 40,000$ on it... brags about his gas mileage and how nice it is inside.. and keeps telling me to get a new car my jeeps are going to die on me... Yet here he is wanting to move in with me after he gets out of the military so he can pay his debt off... While i drive my 30 and 20 year old Jeeps and have no debt in car payments....

Im not saying i wouldnt like a new car.. sure id love one of those new Jeep gladiators.. or a new ram pickup... but im not going to be suckered into paying on a 35-40$k car payment.


One thing i do hate about my two jeeps ( the 5.9 zj and waggy are mine) is they are loud.. I mean i love the loudness of the v8s.. but when going over to a girls house at night lol i cant sneak over... LOL.. but i guess im 32 now.. so im getting too old for that haha.. but 5-8 years ago.. i couldnt do it because of the noise.

I also dont like the emissions my wagoneer puts off. I can smell it.. Not sure if thats normal but man it stinks. Doesnt blow smoke out and has a brand new cat on it. Although its a magnaflow so i dunno if its doing 100% of a job lol but thr jeep smells bad lol.. when driving and coming to a stop i csn smell the smell catching up to me haha.. people must hate my jeep lols
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

SJTD
Posts: 1924
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 12:02 pm
Location: Lompoc, Sunland or somewhere between

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by SJTD »

I've had one new vehicle in my 60 years, a '98 Dodge. Only reason I bought new was there was no way to I was going to find a Diesel, short bed with a stick used. Paid cash and I still have it.

My latest car is a '16 Jetta. Had 9k on it when I bought it. Good as new but much cheaper.

I let someone smarter than me take the big hit on depreciation.
Sic friatur crustulum

'84 GW with Nissan SD33T, early Chev NV4500, 300, narrowed Ford reverse 44, narrowed Ford 60, SOA/reversed shackle in fornt, lowered mount/flipped shackle in rear.

letank
Posts: 4010
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by letank »

Ah, ah, ah, I have been wondering for how long will I be able to fix the stable of clunkers I have, the 74 is hibernating, the 85 fsj and 86 honda are still good and have moderate issues, like the absent or feeble A/C.
Last week the sunday paper was dropped by mistake with all the ads for new vehicles: the 2018 Renegade 4x4 NEW for less than $14k got my attention.
YES it is a Fiat engine and some Aisin 9 speed trans... I trolled the Renegade and Fiat 500 forums, because it is the same engine, and can be equipped with the 1.4L turbo... and a 6 speed manual, with the Sierras near by, my next vehicle will have to be a turbo, aaaaack the auto trans seems to be constantly looking for the right gear... and no-start issue for the early models that can be fixed with a firmware upgrade

But these got my attention:

filling up with gas can be an issue

oil leaks

sputter at idle

http://www.fiat500usaforum.com/forumdis ... 316b1e5203

seems like Fiat has coppied the OEM jeep engine
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)

Topic author
csuengr
Posts: 1290
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:24 am
Location: Sterling, CO

Re: My Cherokee is no longer my DD.

Post by csuengr »

The 9 speed was developed by ZF. Used by Range Rover, Honda, Acura, and FCA. FCA decided to built it themselves, and hence all the issues.

Yes, the 9 speed shifts like crap, when the computer ever figures out when and how to actually shift. I had a Renegade and was sooooo happy when I got rid of it.
1977 Cherokee S, Ford 5.0, 5 speed, BW 1356, 33 x 10.50 BFG's. No longer my DD.
2007 Mercury Milan, 2.3L, 5-speed, now my DD. 29 mpg average.
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