Grand Cherokee Question

[Fireman91186]

There is this young man that my Father and I over the years have tried our hardest to help out at every opportunity possible. He has had a very rough life so far and he is only 20. About two months ago he had to have a pace maker put it because his heart would just stop beating.
He called me the other day looking for help trying to get a car. He has about $2500 to spend and he found a 95 Grand Cherokee that appears to be in good shape.

My question is what should I be looking for? It has a 191,000 miles and they are asking $1500 for it. I know a little about the motor but I do not know all that much about other areas of the vehicle. Any help or advice would be great so I can help this young kid out.

[BCRAWLER]

If it is a V-8 the very first thing I would check is the drivers side upper control arm mount.What you are looking for is where it mounts to the frame.The V-8's have a tendency to tear the cup shaped mount out of the frame.Have a friend who is a repair shop foreman and and after showing him mine he was checking all Grands entering his shop. He was surprised how many he found with the same issue and mostly on V-8'S.Have a 93 and hate the electronics but that could be just mine.We can wait and see how others feel. Best of luck.

[Stuka]

If its a V8, I think I would pass. If its a 4.0, its still got lots of life as long as it has been taken care of.

With any vehilce that old, things will need to be fixed from time to time. But for the most part the ZJ's are pretty robust vehicles.

[letank]

May be something more gas friendly?
Otherwise, when I was looking at their specs and repairs, you want the 97-00, in fact there are so many variations that it is tough to keep track... of the better drivetrains. A bit like the cherokee.

[Fireman91186]

It is the 4.0 so that helps. I am more familiar with those then I am the V-8.

I am hoping we get to look at it tomorrow if it all works out.
The electronics were a concern of mine. But we all know how it is when you are buying your first car. You dont care about the problems you just want it. I hoping it is all good so I do not have to burst his bubble.

[letank]

more infos... had to find it in the bookmark

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/ult ... e-1271979/

from the ref above:

The 4.0L has only two vulnerabilities - piston cracking and head cracking. 99-2000 4.0s apparently suffered from a poor casting run on pistons and the skirts can break off, destroying the engine. In addition, the 0331 casting head (2000-2001) is prone to cracking and mixing oil and coolant. Check the oil cap for milky goo, this can indicate a cracked head or head gasket problem.

Daimler/Chrysler paired the I6 up with the 42RE transmission and Dana 35 axle....neither of which has a stellar reputation for being durable. Even when properly serviced, many 42RE transmissions fail in the 120-150k range. They are...ok, but not great.

[Dumpy]

I have a '96. Love it. Pretty easy to work on. 4.0 Mileage sucks, and I have some weird hiccuping issue if I have to do lots of stopping and starting, especially in reverse. I think it might be trans related, which is why I have a newly rebuild spare with 0 miles I picked up for $100 in the basement I paid $2500 with 167k on it. I have 181k on it now and it's my daily driver. Comfy, parts are super easy to source, lots of aftermarket support. Like others have said, pass on a V8, especially with that mileage. If it's an I6 and interior is decent, $1500 all day.

[FSJunkie]

I grew up in a '93 model with a 4.0, 42RE, NP231.

Original motor lasted 160,000 miles. We ran that poor thing into the ground towing. The next engine was a MoPar remanufactured one that ground itself to bits due to plugs left in the oil galleries from the rebuilding process. The warranty replacement of that engine pounded out it's improperly installed rod bearings in 50,000 miles, and the valves never sealed right because they botched the guides and seats. Not to mention #2 rod cap was on backwards... That engine has recieved a valve job, re-ring, and re-bearing and is siting on the garage floor right now awaiting installation. Hopefully it'll go 150,000 miles.

I really want to love the 4.0L, but I kinda can't since every single one I've worked with has been screwed up by careless idiots.

It's on it's second transmission with it's third torque convertor and the second transfer case as well. All MoPar remanufactured units.

228,000 miles on the whole thing.

Other than the drivetrain, everything else is holding up extremely well. The ZJ is rustproofed extremely well. They don't really rust at all. A good primer and the plastic side cladding plays a big part.

Find one with a drivetrain that is not full of MoPar remanufactured parts, and it'll treat you well.

[carnuck]

'93 should've been the AW4

[Stuka]

'93 should've been the AW4

I was going to say the same. I actually thought the 4.0's kept the AW4 for the life of the ZJ as the XJ's kept them. AW4 is a great transmission.


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[carnuck]

AW4 is awesome. 42RE not so much. They took the 904 and lightened up the rear of the case to bolt on the O/D and that's what usually gets torn out when someone accidentally downshifts to first at speed or hits reverse while still moving.

[OutrageGIS]

I have a 95 4.0. 300K miles on the original motor and tranny. On transfer case #5 (231j). Been a great old truck (on which I can now change a transfer case in 30 minutes!)

[FSJunkie]

Late 1993 is when the 42RE appeared. Mine was built March 8, 1993 and always had a 42RE. It's not a bad tranny so long as the bands and TV cable are adjusted right. A lot of dealer service departments don't get them right and roast the tranny.

Since my last post, the newly rebuilt 4.0L has run for about 100 miles. This one feels really good. Finally! A sweet motor! It's amazing how nicely a 4.0L runs when the bearings are installed right and the valves actually seal... I always knew the 4.0L was an excellent motor. That's why I was so pissed off when all these MoPar reman. units were screwed up. It's like taking a nice new computer and spilling a coke in the keyboard. I love the 4.0L now that I have one that's not screwed up.

ZJ Grand Cherokees are good cars, all around. I just happened to have one that was screwed up from years of bad dealer service departments and faulty remanufactured parts. Not to mention the owners, my parents, trusted the dealer work at the time. This vehicle is the whole reason I took over all the servicing of my family's vehicles when I was 12 years old. It's taken years, but I think I have ironed out nearly all of the things that were messed up, and it's become a very nice vehicle.

I like the ZJ's because aside from the EFI, ABS, and a few other systems (all of which are extremely simple by today's standards), it's a Grand Wagoneer in basic design. At it's core, the ZJ is of the same technological generation as our FSJ's.

[Clarkgriswald]

I would say if you are anywhere near the rust belt. (Michigan here)>. Pay close attention to the floor. There is a half inch think felt pad under the carpeting that will NEVER dry out. Up here everytime you get in and out in the winter you get snow (and road salt) in there and it soaks in and rots the floor from the inside out. Most all XJ's and ZJ's and others like em (really can be anything)> have that problem.

I got a 93 GC in october for 800 bucks and it had a bad motor.. found another 4.0 for 700 bucks that had 70k on it.. runs like a top. Totally rebuilt my transfercase and threw a few new seals at the 42RE trans. But the real job was cutting out and welding all new floors in it.. on the driver side it was all the floor between the transmission hump and the inner rocker panel, on the pass side were a few large sections to which I included exposing the inside of the entire uniframe channel so I could get in there with several grinders with several shapes of wirewheels, then rust coat and paint inside. (new floors are plugwelded to the top of the hat channel similar to the orig spot welds. It was a lot of work but to me it was fun building my daily driver.

At anyrate check the floors carefully they could deceive you as there may be undercoating underneath but you cant tell they are rotting up top. I will risk a picture and hope not to get to much flack.

[whowey]

I just sent my 94 ZJ to a guy who wanted a few parts and cut the rest up.

275k on the original motor and tranny. V-8 with the 44RH transmission. Both were worn, but still had some life left in it.

The issues I had were completely related to the really awful Chrysler interior electronics and rust. Both front doors had the hinges welded and door pins replaced. The door locks might or might not work depending on how they felt that day. Windows were the same way.

Noone mentioned it, but if it is a All Wheel Drive, the viscous coupler in the transfer case will fail and leave it stuck in 4wd all the time. That viscous coupler is around $850 to buy. Changing the t-case out for a NP242 or 231 is a popular conversion for folks that want to rid themselves of the AWD.