Offroad-Express

hi ive been offered an xj cherokee for a very good price. is there anything i need to know when looking over these things? what are they like reliability wise??

Do not go anywhere near the Deisel XJ they are the bastard cherokee
The 4.0 petrol Engine, Trans and transfer case will last forever with a bit maintenance
Water pumps last about 100000k
The head light switch will crap out at about 150000k
The Trans Neutral safety switch will either be stuffed or about to become stuffed
The dana 35 rear diff will be OK with not too much right foot, they will break rear axles if hammered
The front diff is OK
It is wise to replace all the U joints at about 150000K
The rear leaf springs will Sag particulary the RH side
The crank position sensor can cause issues

Other than that they are a great truck plenty of power and light weight. Out of the box they are pretty good off road

On the plus side, theyre 1400kg (power to weight ratio is sweet), and galvanised (so they wont rust, aside from 4 little spots at each corner of the roof where the robot was holding it when it was dipped)

Need either a 3-4 inch lift, or to cut and slash guards to get decent tyres on, cant body lift.

BB240c has chopped his up and im sure can provide some more insight.

hi i am still looking into one of these as they seem like good value for money ...solid front and rear axle 4wd with grunt.


have read on trademe that the autos are prone to shitting out on these at around 200 000ks..can any jeep owners shed some light on this??

also what fuel economy figures are you jeep owners getting(im not expecting much)

Safari Swb wrote:hi i am still looking into one of these as they seem like good value for money ...solid front and rear axle 4wd with grunt.


have read on trademe that the autos are prone to shitting out on these at around 200 000ks..can any jeep owners shed some light on this??

also what fuel economy figures are you jeep owners getting(im not expecting much)

There was a recall in (i think) the 96's with a dodgy trans oil pipe thingy that caused mayhem. My 2nd one had done 212k and the torque converter needed some tlc but the box was strong as.

Fuel economy... both my XJ's (93 and 99) would do Hamilton - Whangarei - Hamilton on a tank, just.

im on my 2nd trans in my 95, let go on about 180 ks, in saying that that it had a slight leak i thought i had fixed , maybe not .. 500.00 for a 2nd had one been sweet as since...as for gas sweet on open road, hate to drive it around town but.....

Mine has over 220K and no problems, tho' I bought it with over 200K on it already so don't know if it had already been replaced. Great off-roader, tho' just waiting delivery of front right wheel bearing, bringing in from the US, cheapest way.

downunderxj wrote:.... just waiting delivery of front right wheel bearing, bringing in from the US, cheapest way.

How much? cheaper than $285.00?

is there much suspension parts and accesories available for these in nz. planning on running 31's on 15x7's and a 2" lift.

Safari Swb wrote:is there much suspension parts and accesories available for these in nz. planning on running 31's on 15x7's and a 2" lift.

There's enough to get buy. Lovells do a series of springs, chamberlains in ChCh can do them too. Shocks can be obtained at any suspension outfit. Greg Hopkins in whangarei, guys at 4x4Accessories in ChCh deal in the Omix-Ada gear out of the states, they can get ya most anything.

Happy to hook ya up if required.

xj wrote:

downunderxj wrote:.... just waiting delivery of front right wheel bearing, bringing in from the US, cheapest way.

How much? cheaper than $285.00?

$US80 ($NZ119) off Amazon.com for a Timken hub unit, delivered to a friend in San Diego who then is sending it via US Post for $US55 along with 3 hard cover books that my sons ordered as well, so <$200 delivered to my door, might take a few days longer than local, but definitely cheaper than $285. I even found some for $US35 but saw on NAXJA that they are chinese and the quality is not good.

downunderxj wrote:

xj wrote:

downunderxj wrote:.... just waiting delivery of front right wheel bearing, bringing in from the US, cheapest way.

How much? cheaper than $285.00?

$US80 ($NZ119) off Amazon.com for a Timken hub unit, delivered to a friend in San Diego who then is sending it via US Post for $US55 along with 3 hard cover books that my sons ordered as well, so <$200 delivered to my door, might take a few days longer than local, but definitely cheaper than $285. I even found some for $US35 but saw on NAXJA that they are chinese and the quality is not good.

sweet, good score

http://www.4wdaccessories.co.nz/ http://www.offroadspecialties.co.nz/

Worked alongside Jeep workshop while working with Contintal cars for years and found the mechanics always adding additives to the diffs and replacing them due to wear on the pinion and crown wheel.This additive was required with the new Jeeps up to 2006 at the time.Most people towing with the autos fit larger trans oil coolers to try save them overheating.I like the power of the petrol and im sure they are great 4wd's but after pricing some bits for a customer with a rough one the tidy up cost of mirrors,windows,trim and minor mechanical parts was about twice the value of the vehicle so you would want some contacts with the parts man.

LIFTED wrote:Worked alongside Jeep workshop while working with Contintal cars for years and found the mechanics always adding additives to the diffs and replacing them due to wear on the pinion and crown wheel.This additive was required with the new Jeeps up to 2006 at the time.Most people towing with the autos fit larger trans oil coolers to try save them overheating.I like the power of the petrol and im sure they are great 4wd's but after pricing some bits for a customer with a rough one the tidy up cost of mirrors,windows,trim and minor mechanical parts was about twice the value of the vehicle so you would want some contacts with the parts man.

Which is precisely why you dont buy off the dealer, examples:
Front wheel bearing/hub - Winger $750.00, justjeep $285.
Front inner and outer pinion bearing and crush tube - Winger $485.00, Justjeep $117.00.
Drivers side G/Cherokee mirror - Winger $490.00, Justjeep $230.00.
Replacement softtop - Winger $4000.00, Justjeep $980-odd..... the list could go on.... and these are for the SAME manufacturers parts, not cheap ripoffs.

"theiving cnuts" i think is the term im looking for

[EDIT: semi retraction, the $980-odd soft top is for the top only, NOT the hardware, whereas tyhe Winger one was for the whole kaboodle, having said that, even adding in the harware on the $980-odd one, the gulf is still rather expansive]

cheers for all the info everyone. got my mind made up that im going to get one now, now i just got to find a decent one for a decent price

sorry to you jeep guys but thought you may like this

And.... your point is?

its a good idea for a 4wd in heavy snow in a city

Oh you were being sincere, my apologies. I read into your opening "sorry" comment that you found some kind of piss taking humour in the pic. Seems I was wrong.

its ok get that all the time the joys of being me