ok spare, ferm, etc........

[charlie_the_tuna]

so I get it. you guys like the Cherokee. not many good ones around. when did they stop making them? is there a GRAND Cherokee that is as reliable? there are a ton of these around and they're pretty cheap. I like a lower truck because it'll be easier for my little guy to get his kayak off the roof.

[smokeonthewater]

Grands ARE cheap but will NEVER be as reliable as a cherokee (or wrangler for that matter) with the 4.0 in it

[THEFERMANATOR]

The 4.0L is a great engine, nobody can argue that. The CHEROKEE got the TOYOTA built AW4 trans, and it is nearly bullet proof(a bullet will stop one, don't ask how I know). The CHEROKEE and WRANGLERS with autos got DODGE trannies are known to fail anytime after 60K miles. The GRAND CHEROKEES also normally had alot of electric comfort features that can be REALLY expensive to repair after they get to be 10 years old. GRANDS also had alot of rear end troubles, and the 4X4's lost alot of front driveshafts and CV axles. The smaller CHEROKEE was made from 84-01. I like the 91-95 myself, but 96 is a close 2nd. 97-01 changed the interior to a nicer interior, but I'm not a fan of some of the driveline changes they made to them.

[Destroyer]

A grand Cherokee with the 4.0L in it is pretty reliable, but NOT the ones with the V6's and V8's in them.

You can still find good Jeep Cherokee Sports on eBay, but as the supply gets smaller the prices are getting higher. They are appreciating in price. Mine is a 98' Sport with fuel injection, it gets an honest 20.1 mpg on the open highway and has over 200K on it. If at all possible, get a fuel injection one...they are so much easier to start than the older carb ones.

This one has caught my eye on eBay.. I'd go 5k and maybe even a bit more on it presuming that a car fax report came back ok. Real low milage, that engine has 200k left on it easy. Drivers seat is not torn on the door side (a common event) Upholstery looks in good condition. And it's not that far from you. If I were in the market for a Cherokee I'd DEFINITELY give this one a look/see. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Cherokee-Classic-/201102337162?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2ed2a2248a&item=201102337162&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

[THEFERMANATOR]

A grand Cherokee with the 4.0L in it is pretty reliable, but NOT the ones with the V6's and V8's in them.

You can still find good Jeep Cherokee Sports on eBay, but as the supply gets smaller the prices are getting higher. They are appreciating in price. Mine is a 98' Sport with fuel injection, it gets an honest 20.1 mpg on the open highway and has over 200K on it. If at all possible, get a fuel injection one...they are so much easier to start than the older carb ones.

This one has caught my eye on eBay.. I'd go 5k and maybe even a bit more on it presuming that a car fax report came back ok. Real low milage, that engine has 200k left on it easy. Drivers seat is not torn on the door side (a common event) Upholstery looks in good condition. And it's not that far from you. If I were in the market for a Cherokee I'd DEFINITELY give this one a look/see. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Cherokee-Classic-/201102337162?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2ed2a2248a&item=201102337162&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Fuel injection has been standard equipment on ALL 4.0L's, and ALL CHEROKEES since 87(the 2.5L 4 banger got it in 85 or 86). Carbs pretty well went away in the 80's for most all CHRYSLER products with the WRANGLER being one of the last holdouts due to the 4.2L engine, but starting in 91 they were ALL injected. GRANDS still have that POS torqueflite derivitive tranny in them(unless you can luck out and find an EARLY built 93 GRAND with an AW4), and is the sole reason I wouldn't own one. STarting in 99 you could get the 4.7L V8 though that used a pretty good trans, the 45RFE(later became known as the 545RFE when they added an extra OD, and a software update is available to add 5th to the earlier models).

[Destroyer]

Fuel injection has been standard equipment on ALL 4.0L's, and ALL CHEROKEES since 87(the 2.5L 4 banger got it in 85 or 86). Carbs pretty well went away in the 80's for most all CHRYSLER products with the WRANGLER being one of the last holdouts due to the 4.2L engine, but starting in 91 they were ALL injected. GRANDS still have that POS torqueflite derivitive tranny in them(unless you can luck out and find an EARLY built 93 GRAND with an AW4), and is the sole reason I wouldn't own one. STarting in 99 you could get the 4.7L V8 though that used a pretty good trans, the 45RFE(later became known as the 545RFE when they added an extra OD, and a software update is available to add 5th to the earlier models).

Yep. Agree on the fuel injection ... reason I mentioned it is my neighbor has a Jeep Wrangler with the 4.0 and a carb, and every winter you can hear him grinding the starter trying to get the thing to start. Once it's started it's great, but it's a bear to coax when it's really cold. Mine, on the other hand, I put the key in and it starts in seconds. I love it.

As to the tranny comments, I know they have had some bad reps , but honestly, I've never had ANY trouble with my auto trans, transfer case, drivelines or differentials. I'll still say that as long as that Cherokee in that link I put up has a clean record I'd seriously consider buying it. That one looks like a winner..

[spareparts]

the 95 I had took more abuse than any vehicle I've every owned. I gave it to my sister and 6 months later, the transmission took a dump. It was two wheel drive and those transmissions are hard to find. 6 months later, I found a guy who sold me one for $20. I swapped it out and put it up for sale. I got $1500 for it. If i had a place to store it, I would have kept it just to have a spare vehicle. Ny daughter just turned 14, so I'm probably going to start looking for another one for her first vehicle. They are great vehicles, hard to kill(I tried).

[Road King Cole]

.... If I were in the market for a Cherokee I'd DEFINITELY give this one a look/see. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Cherokee-Classic-/201102337162?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2ed2a2248a&item=201102337162&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

AND it's GREEN!!!

rkc

[Destroyer]

AND it's GREEN!!!

rkc

Yep.

Truthfully, not my favorite color, but it goes well with the tan interior they offered with the vehicles. Tan, black and light grey seemed to be the only choices available for interiors... I'm sure there must be more, but that's about all I've ever seen. Anyways, that particular combo works nicely.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Yep. Agree on the fuel injection ... reason I mentioned it is my neighbor has a Jeep Wrangler with the 4.0 and a carb, and every winter you can hear him grinding the starter trying to get the thing to start. Once it's started it's great, but it's a bear to coax when it's really cold. Mine, on the other hand, I put the key in and it starts in seconds. I love it.

As to the tranny comments, I know they have had some bad reps , but honestly, I've never had ANY trouble with my auto trans, transfer case, drivelines or differentials. I'll still say that as long as that Cherokee in that link I put up has a clean record I'd seriously consider buying it. That one looks like a winner..

They never made a 4.0L with a carb, he either has a 4.2L or put a carb on it. And if the carb is right, they start right up even carbed. I know the CARTER feedback carb is tough for most to repair, but when they're right they work great. And there is a HUGE difference between a CHEROKEE, and a GRAND CHEROKEE when it comes to the driveline. They share virtually nothing in common with each other except for the 4.0L engine, and even then the engines don't always interchange as the GRAND CHEROKEE uses it's own mounting points on the block in some years. The regular CHEROKEE had a pretty tough drivetrain except for later years with the crappy CHRYSLER 8.25" bearing eating rear axle. Some of them ran forever, but the 8.25" rear axles gave more grief I think than the DANA 35 that came in the GRAND CHEROKEE. But the DANA 35 that came in the regular CHEROKEE rarely gave trouble.

the 95 I had took more abuse than any vehicle I've every owned. I gave it to my sister and 6 months later, the transmission took a dump. It was two wheel drive and those transmissions are hard to find. 6 months later, I found a guy who sold me one for $20. I swapped it out and put it up for sale. I got $1500 for it. If i had a place to store it, I would have kept it just to have a spare vehicle. Ny daughter just turned 14, so I'm probably going to start looking for another one for her first vehicle. They are great vehicles, hard to kill(I tried).

I've got one of them 2WD AW4's sitting under a tarp outside. Have no use for it whatsoever.

[Destroyer]

They never made a 4.0L with a carb, he either has a 4.2L or put a carb on it. And if the carb is right, they start right up even carbed. I know the CARTER feedback carb is tough for most to repair, but when they're right they work great. And there is a HUGE difference between a CHEROKEE, and a GRAND CHEROKEE when it comes to the driveline. They share virtually nothing in common with each other except for the 4.0L engine, and even then the engines don't always interchange as the GRAND CHEROKEE uses it's own mounting points on the block in some years. The regular CHEROKEE had a pretty tough drivetrain except for later years with the crappy CHRYSLER 8.25" bearing eating rear axle. Some of them ran forever, but the 8.25" rear axles gave more grief I think than the DANA 35 that came in the GRAND CHEROKEE. But the DANA 35 that came in the regular CHEROKEE rarely gave trouble.

Hmmm... Don't know what to tell you. It's funny, because my brother Dave has a Jeep, (Safari edition) with a 4.0L engine in it that I've worked on many times, and I know it has a carb on it. We changed the combo intake/exhaust manifold gasket just before winter last year because he had an exhaust leak. As to my neighbor, since I've never looked at the engine I'm only telling you what he told me, and he told me that he has a 4.0L with a carb. And I can attest that every winter now for the 4 years he's lived next door to me he grinds that thing for about a minute, pumping it etc, until it starts. And I just put my key in my Cherokee and it starts instantly.

As to the gearing etc, I'm not a mechanic, and since I've had no problems with mine I have had no reason to get into the drivetrain. But I've never replaced anything but the oil in my transfer case, transmission or differentials. Never replaced a CV joint, wheel bearing or anything else in the drive train. About the only complaint I have is that they seem to eat exhaust systems, ...and brake lines and power steering lines seem to rust through about every 80K miles. (But that could very well be because of the towing to the shore)

Not even talking about the Grand Cherokee vs the Cherokee. I'd never own a Grand if I could avoid it. Hell, my other brother Steve has a Grand that he loves, but I think it's a POS.. but that's just my opinion. But again, I'm basing my opinion on my own personal observations, and his Grand Cherokee, which seems to suffer from poor trim work, and a lot of little things, is still running great mechanically.... And he has the 4.0L engine in his, with an auto trans 4WD and over 200,000 miles on it without any major repairs. So I don't know what to tell you other than I guess it all depends on how you drive, how you maintain your vehicle, etc. Based on that, I have to stand by my original opinion though, that I think a grand Cherokee with the 4.0L in it is pretty reliable, but NOT the ones with the V6's and V8's in them.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Hmmm... Don't know what to tell you. It's funny, because my brother Dave has a Jeep, (Safari edition) with a 4.0L engine in it that I've worked on many times, and I know it has a carb on it. We changed the combo intake/exhaust manifold gasket just before winter last year because he had an exhaust leak. As to my neighbor, since I've never looked at the engine I'm only telling you what he told me, and he told me that he has a 4.0L with a carb. And I can attest that every winter now for the 4 years he's lived next door to me he grinds that thing for about a minute, pumping it etc, until it starts. And I just put my key in my Cherokee and it starts instantly.

I think your confusing the 258 with the 4.0L. The 258 was used up to 90 in the WRANGLERS, but it was a 4.2L engine. On the outside it looks just like a 4.0L, but uses a 1/2" longer stroke crank, and I think it's a 1/4" smaller bore internally. It gets confusng because the 4.0L came out in 87 for the CHEROKEE, COMANCHE, and WAGONEER. But the WRANGLER kept the older 4.2L engine until 90, then starting in 91 they went to the 4.0L in the WRANGLER. The other thing that really throws people is the fact that the 258 used a plastic valve cover, and the 4.0L used an aluminum one, BUT the 258 4.2L used in the 87-90 WRANGLERS had an aluminum valve cover. I can assure you they never made a 4.0L 242 cubic inch engine with a carb as the 4.0L camshaft never got cast with a fuel pump lobe, and the 4.0L blocks never got cast with a fuel pump boss whereas the 258 4.2L got both. And there is no factory intake to match up to ANY 4.0L cylinder head(258's had a slightly different cyclinder head port heaight, but uses the same bolt pattern).

[charlie_the_tuna]

what do you think of like the 1998- 2004 trailblazers? they seem to be in good supply and pretty cheap. if I can get 5 or 6 for mine and get a trailblazer for 3 or 4 I can put a buck or two towards a little boat i'm looking at.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/cto/4496318274.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/cto/4494398928.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brx/cto/4505243568.html

[THEFERMANATOR]

The 4200 inline 6 seems to have been a good engine from what I have heard, but the electrical in the actual trucks have been troublesome once they get some miles on them. All and all though from what I have heard they are good rigs. I don't like the ones with a sunroof though as it made the headliner hang down a good 3 inches lower than a regular one, and cost alot of headroom.