WJ Grand Cherokee

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Renodemona
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WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Renodemona »

Hello!
In my continuing quest to replace the trusty lincoln, I keep seeing 99-04 Grand Cherokees pop up in a good price range for me. What are some quirks of this generation? I've heard the 4.7 is not a good motor, also heard they are more reliable than the 5.2. Still would prefer the old I-6 of course...
How do they handle light off road? Not planning on lifting or anything, but some A/T tires and a few dirt roads might happen. Thanks!
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Skerrvydog
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Skerrvydog »

I'm considering the same - as a DD for the wife to get her out of the lease cycle and save some money for a while. What i've heard is try to stick with a I6, and the later years (03-04) had worked out some of the electrical bugs etc. But most will also say they are totally capable off road even bone-stock. yeah its amazing to me how many are on the road and how cheaply they can be had these days!
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REDONE
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by REDONE »

I think the 4.7 has a bad rap. They do have a tendency to leak at the back of the intake manifold which many people spend a lot of time (or pay a mechanic a lot of money) to diagnose and fix.

On the other hand the WJs that came with the 4.7 also typically came with higher trim packages and were sold to original buyers that had the money to spend having it professionally maintained. I wouldn't let the 4.7 scare me away from an otherwise good deal.
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Immortalxj
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Immortalxj »

Had a 99. Loved it. Smooth ride, AWD (np249 I believe). The 4.7L pulls really well. The oil sending unit, and crank position sensor went on me at the same time. Other than that, it was a beauty of a ride. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
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HeavyMetalThunder_81
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by HeavyMetalThunder_81 »

Electrical problems galore and rear wheel bearings were common issues. The aluminum pumpkin rear Dana 44 was an issue on WJs that were used off road or for towing.
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cmaje72
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by cmaje72 »

Electrical problems were an issue for us as well. Get one with as few electrical gizmos as possible. The 4.7 was very reliable for us had one in a WJ and one in a dakota both went over 200k no major engine problems.
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Grand wagoneer man
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Grand wagoneer man »

I got my wife a 99 with the 4.7 and its been great for over 2 years now with not to many issues and none with the motor and yes 4.7 come with a better trim package and if you can get it with a tow package your golden
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Stuka
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Stuka »

The only "common" thing I know of for the 4.7L is the timing chains. They NEED to be done before they stretch.
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Grand_Wag_85
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Grand_Wag_85 »

I just picked up a 99ish WJ for my GF. 4.0 but with all the options. I'm told the heads warp easy if overheated.

Buddy's mom had the 4.7L WJ brand new. It was a very fast strong pulling Jeep!
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Dr. Marneaus
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Dr. Marneaus »

I have a dakota with the 4.7 and its a dog. Some of the WJ's had the 4.7HO which is something like 40 HP more or whatever.
Well it ain't just the smoke and the traffic jam that makes me the bitter fool I am But this four-wheel buggy is A-dollaring me to death.
For gas and oils and fluids and grease, And wires and tires and anti freeze....And them accessories, Well honey, that's something else.
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tgreese
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by tgreese »

I've researched them a lot, but have never owned one. Went for test drives only.

If you want the 'best' combination, you either go with a 4.0L Laredo model and upgrade some things (NV242HD Selectrac upgrade from NV247, replace 35A rear axle with a 44A from a 4.7L, rebuild the 42RE automatic), or go for the fully-loaded Overland model with Quadradrive, 4.7L HO, and 545RFE. The main advantage of the Laredo is availability (read "cost") and simplicity, since the mileage isn't that much better than the 4.7L, say 19 vs. 20 or 21. The Quadradrive is a true AWD with on-demand engagement in both the transfer case and the axles, with a hydraulic gerotor in all three places. Supposedly works great unless it's worn out - just point and go, and let the gerotors work out any slippage. The 247 recruits the front axle on demand, so there is no differential in the transfer case.

They have some common issues, including electrical, which seems to plague the more gadget-laden Overlands, and the HVAC blend doors failing, requiring a titanic tear-down of the dash to access. Supposedly the 4.7s will drop valve seats when overheated. Some 4.7s have a complicated and expensive hydraulically powered cooling fan, which can fail. I'm sure there are others I have overlooked.

The JeepForum WJ forum has a very nice buyers guide - http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/ult ... st12259917 - there is also a FAQ http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/wj- ... t-1304102/

I think their main appeal is they are the last live-axle full-sized Jeeps. The newest ones are from 2004, so at best they will be 12 years old. May take some effort and wide search to find exactly the one you want. I know that here in the Boston area, many people bought Laredos for commuting, and they are of the age where they are being sold off as 'old.' You can have your pick of dozens of them locally.
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Dr. Marneaus
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Dr. Marneaus »

I dunno about the HO, but everybody and their brother says the 4.7 is pretty much the worst engine ever created in the entire world and it's sure to overheat and explode killing you and everybody in a 10 mile radius.

Aside from it being gutless, the one in my 2004 dakota has 140,000 trouble free miles on it...I dont really see the big issue.

YMMV
Well it ain't just the smoke and the traffic jam that makes me the bitter fool I am But this four-wheel buggy is A-dollaring me to death.
For gas and oils and fluids and grease, And wires and tires and anti freeze....And them accessories, Well honey, that's something else.
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Stuka »

Dr. Marneaus wrote:I dunno about the HO, but everybody and their brother says the 4.7 is pretty much the worst engine ever created in the entire world and it's sure to overheat and explode killing you and everybody in a 10 mile radius.

Aside from it being gutless, the one in my 2004 dakota has 140,000 trouble free miles on it...I dont really see the big issue.

YMMV
If you have not done the timing chains, I highly suggest you check them.
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Dr. Marneaus
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Dr. Marneaus »

Stuka wrote:
Dr. Marneaus wrote:I dunno about the HO, but everybody and their brother says the 4.7 is pretty much the worst engine ever created in the entire world and it's sure to overheat and explode killing you and everybody in a 10 mile radius.

Aside from it being gutless, the one in my 2004 dakota has 140,000 trouble free miles on it...I dont really see the big issue.

YMMV
If you have not done the timing chains, I highly suggest you check them.
that sounds like alot of work.
Well it ain't just the smoke and the traffic jam that makes me the bitter fool I am But this four-wheel buggy is A-dollaring me to death.
For gas and oils and fluids and grease, And wires and tires and anti freeze....And them accessories, Well honey, that's something else.
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Stuka
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Stuka »

Dr. Marneaus wrote:
Stuka wrote:
Dr. Marneaus wrote:I dunno about the HO, but everybody and their brother says the 4.7 is pretty much the worst engine ever created in the entire world and it's sure to overheat and explode killing you and everybody in a 10 mile radius.

Aside from it being gutless, the one in my 2004 dakota has 140,000 trouble free miles on it...I dont really see the big issue.

YMMV
If you have not done the timing chains, I highly suggest you check them.
that sounds like alot of work.
It is a fair amount of work, as there is three of them. Thankfully though its a non-inference engine, so when they do stretch, the engine just starts to lose power as the cam timing gets off. Very little risk of them slipping though as each chain has a tensioner.
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Skerrvydog
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Skerrvydog »

rentdresxrz wrote:thinking about buying a cherokee for daily driver and light off road use .cant make up my mind whitch one would be better,xj or a grand.you can find either one very reasonably priced.is a grand a little to big for off road or not?what years are good ?
If you plan to do any modifications, go XJ or ZJ. The WJ Grand Cherokees (99-04) are more difficult and expensive to mod. But are perfectly capable in stock form. I'll never trade my XJ by I'm also fond of the later ZJ (96-98) and if you go with a WJ try to find an 03-04 to avoid many of the common electrics plagues.
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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

my mom has had a 99 WJ limited for about 7 years now. It has the 4.7 and it's still quite peppy. She's got about 165 on it now with over 100k of that being under her ownership. They bought it used from a dealer and only 1 previous owner. I know it had a warranty and they had some fairly expensive things done to it under that pretty early on but since then it's been very reliable and only normal maintenance stuff that they've had to do. My dad uses it to pull their 17' ski boat but other than that it's had a pretty easy life. My mom loves it and wouldn't part with it for much of anything!

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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Oh and the only real "gremlin" it's had for a LONG time is with the transmission shifter. For some reason you just have to get in the habit of shifting it PAST drive for it to engage, then set the shifter in drive and go. Probably a stupid adjustment thing my dad just never messed with and I don't think either of them even think about it anymore, since dealing with it quickly became a habit and it's a predictable little quirk.

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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

rentdresxrz wrote:thinking about buying a cherokee for daily driver and light off road use .cant make up my mind whitch one would be better,xj or a grand.you can find either one very reasonably priced.is a grand a little to big for off road or not?what years are good ?
There is definitely a lot more aftermarket support for the XJ. XJ ZJ and WJ are all solid axle front and rear, with the WJ being the last year they did solid front axle in a grand. The XJ's are pretty dang inexpensive to lift and run up to 33's with stock axles. They have leaf rear and coils up front unlike the grands which were always coils at all 4 corners. The ZJ's and WJ's look really nice with a little lift and 31's but unless you really like to break out the sawzall on the body panels you're not gonna go much bigger on that if you want to keep it fancy. All were available with the 4.0 but it's going to move the lighter XJ around the best. IMO 99 is the best year for XJ and WJ, emissions killed the 4.0 and they are more prone to overheating resulting in a cracked head, I believe because of an added catalytic converter in the manifold on the 2000 an later models. I would probably look for a 1998 ZJ as that was the last year for it and get a 4.0. My uncle has a 1996 with over 300,000 on it. As many have said the 2003-2004 model years for WJ are pretty good. I'd probably prefer a 4.7 V8 with the limited package if I was going to go WJ otherwise I don't really see any reason to get one over an XJ.

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Re: WJ Grand Cherokee

Post by candymancan »

I had a 02 limited sold it, and got my 98 ZJ 5.9 limited. I prefer both my 98 ZJ's with the 4.0 and 5.9 over any WJ..

WJ's limiteds all have duel climate control and are 99% likely to have the broken blend doors, which is a $1,000 job to fix, or unless you enjoy ripping the entire dash out. Also prefer my 5.9 engine over thast 4.7HO, just has more power, and a better lower power band. Also alot more reliable.

As for as off-road, any XJ-ZJ-WJ should be fine off-road. My 98 ZJ's with mastercraft courser axt's (cooper brand tires) drove stock height on 30's in 2- 3 feet of snow last year. I didnt get stuck once.. I even broke the shift linkage on my 98 4.0 and didnt get stuck once so i didnt need reverse LOL. Disnt evn dig my jeep out. just drove right out. Any ZJ or WJ is going to be worlds better off-road or in snow then a SJ wagoneer lol.

Image
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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