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

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by THEFERMANATOR

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.