Re: [Amc-list] Best Jeep Cherokee?

[adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sandwich Maker)]

" From: Jim Boone <fljab@xxxxxxxxxxx>
" 
" 
" 
" I'm thinking of finding a 4x4 Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0; trans I prefer manuals, but they are hard to find.  Lots of these available used, but most are well over 100k miles.

everything i've read praises them highly for long life, more than 300k
without rebuilding in some claims.  if it's not crashed and unrusted,
i'd be concerned more with how it'd been used than how long, and how
it'd been taken care of.

one thing you may run across is the 'death wobble'.  the xj's front
end geometry *NEEDS* a functioning hydraulic steering
damper/stabilizer.  if it's bad, the effects at highway speeds are...
but replacement is easy.

another is the door wiring harness, if you go for an optioned model.
it's common for them to flex-fracture in the hinge area leaving you
without power windows or locks.

" What years do you think are the best as far as what was underneath - trans (man & auto), transfer case, axles.  Also consider what is easiest to service, get parts for, has best aftermarket support...

earliest xj 4.0s got a peugeot ba 10/5 stick, widely reviled; by '89
they'd switched to the much better aisin warner ax15.  that was
replaced with the nv3550 about '00; it's stronger [variant used in v8
pickups] but noisier.

they had an internal clutch slave/throwout setup [also widely reviled]
until about '94-5 but it's easy to swap the later bell and setup to
any ax15 if you ever have reason to do the clutch.

auto was always an aisin-warner aw4.  excellent rep.  no separate
2nd-gear hold though, only d - 3 - [2+1], which shifts down to 1st
asap then stays there.

t/c with the stick was afaik always a nv231.

front axle is a high pinion d30.

rear axle is either an ex-amc d35 [nee' amc15hd], mopar 8.25", or
[rare] d44.  the d44 is clearly the class for strength and the mopar
is nearly as strong, expecially after it went from 27 to 29 spline
axles about '95, but the d35 is surprisingly tough for anything short
of serious wheeling.

in sum, there's little in the drivetrain to distinguish one year or
model from another.  and they all have good parts availability and
aftermarket support.

" I was thinking 90-95 range.

'91 was 1st year for the 'ho' [obdI] ecm.  much easier to diagnose
than the previous 'renix' system though technically inferior in some
ways [no knock sensor].

mine's a '94, 2d 2wd.  well over 200k when i got it, still runs like a
top.  close to 25mpg even with the wrong [4.11] rear in my non-highway
driving.  i passed on 4wd because i couldn't imagine a reasonable
situation where i'd actually -need- it, and i've saved a couple
hundred lbs of weight and maintenance.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                       and think what none thought
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