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

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

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.

Originally Posted by 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).

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

[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.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

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.