I've got some Jeep questions
 

So a friend of mine is looking for a new vehicle and is open to the idea/likes Jeep Grand Cherokees 2000- and up. I know you guys like your jeeps so I was wondering if you could help us.

Of those years are there any desired ones? undesirable?
preferred engines? what would be considered high mileage in these?

Are they relatively easy to work on?

Any types of options that we should steer clear of?

Any other types/options we should seek out?

Thanks a lot guys

cant go wrong with a inline 6cyl 4.0L.. the v8's they put inthose are gas hogs and the 4.0's last forever with regular maintenece... my cherokee is a 2000 and its goin on 140k... dont know much about the grand cherokees other than depending on what your friend wants to do with it... they made them with AWD and 4WD... and if he plans to lift it and offroad i think the transfercases in the AWD ones limit you to what you can mod down the line. like i said just some helpful info for ya but im not that hip on the grand cherokees because they did run different setups than the regular XJ cherokee

thanks!

she's not looking to lift or anything crazy, just something that can take her from A to B and be reliable.

also i forgot, what can you guys get as far as gas mileage? is it heard of to break into the 20s for city?

Probably 14 city 17-18 highway pending a few things. If you try to really go for gas mileage, I'd say 1-2mpg improvement over that. 4.0's are great, just maintain them. What year's are you looking at? Hop on jeepforum.com and read up, plenty of good info around.

Okay, she said she does mostly around town so the gas mileage isn't thatt important to her, but thank you!

and she wants a newer car, so for now I just opened up the search for 2000 and up.

Ok, I think in 05 they stopped the 4.0 and they got the whole body lift. That's when quality tanked too :lol:

Avoid the 99-01 4.0l if possible had issues with head casting. They like to crack and leak coolant.

perfect guys thanks. Now i'll narrow it down to 2002-2004.

I'm looking on craigslist and its pretty shocking to see so many ridiculously clean Jeeps with detailed/well written ads.

two things it needs to make a deal

1. 4.0L inline 6
2. Traditional transfer case set up

Do NOT get an AWD one

I was a victim with this with my TJ (Wrangler). Luckily, Daimler Chrysler made good on it and it only cost me $100 out of pocket for the $1200 replacement. Other than that, though, I'm with everyone else on the 4.0 bandwagon. Mine's got over 159k and still runs strong.

Get a ZJ, if you can afford it.








J/K.

Had a '95 box cherokee w/the 4.0 liter...indestructable. As stated, go w/the straight-6 and non awd if your goiing w/the grand cherokee although the classic cherokee (box) was one of the most reliable jeeps ever made. Currently have an kj and should have kept my xj (replaced my trans at 69k, just short of the 70k powertrain limit) but all in all the kj has been reliable.

as far as gas milage i get 12 city and around 16 highway... but im on 33s so thats killing my miliage

so avoid the AWD, check, what about the 4wd? avoid? indifferent?

I owned two a 94 and a 97 back in the day and they were quadra trac which I think is what these guys are referring to as AWD. If the tire pressure is a hair off, the T-case thinks it is slipping and engages the 4wd. After awhile it seizes the viscous coupler in the T-case and gets stuck in 4wd. In the newer models I think they changed the name to Quadra-Drive but not sure if the problem still happened.....Get a 98 5.9 limited. IMO the coolest Jeep of all time(besides the SRT8)

those 5.9 are gas hogs and will no outlast the 4.0L... yea iv heard horror stories about that awd system (often reffered to as fulltime 4wd) the regular 4wd (referred to as part time 4wd) is normal where you choose to put it in 4wd or 2wd with a lever on the floor or maybe the newer grand cherokees have electronic selectors

IDK my brother has one of those "gas hogs" as you call them in his 99 Durango and gets better than your 4.0. He gets 14-14.5 around town and 18 or a little better on the highway. His 5.9 also has 270k and has never been opened up!

I have a 6.6 surround by 3 tons of metal and on "33s" that clicks off 20mpg. You guys need to step it up.

WJ's (99-04 GC) the 4.7's are reliable, just not as reliable as the 4 liters. 4 Liters are easy to work on, 4.7's not so sure. They're decent SUVs, If I were to wheel one I would get a ZJ as they seem to be better suited. If you want a beater for around town the WJ's are really coming down in price and aren't bad for what they are.. for gas mileage it's a Jeep, don't expect to see anything over 20 ever unless its highway driving. As others have stated, part time 4x4!

Yeah but rig now jeep is slightly less hipster. So you need to step it back up

My xj on 31's got 18 city 22 highway, with 35's and 4:10 gears I get 14 city, havnt had it on the highway since the new lift.

4WD good. Just no AWD. and 2WD is kinda pointless being it's a Jeep

not all 99-01 4.0s had the bad head (it's a 0331 head, btw). I have owned 3 different Cherokees with the 4.0, and it is a GREAT engine, no doubt. But IMO, if you are looking into getting a WJ Grand Cherokee (99-04), go with the 4.7 v8. It gets very similar mileage numbers as the 4.0 in the same application, has plenty more power, and is also quite reliable. My wife has had her '04 GC Laredo with the 4.7/A5 for over 5 years now, and we both love it. It has 115k on it (we bought it in '07 with 51k) and aside from maintenence items it has never given us any trouble. AWD high/low range works great, trans shifts fine, rides well, etc. My wife drives with a heavy foot and she averages 14-15mpg commuting (in town), average highway mileage is 19-20mpg at 75.

If you want to know more about the differences between the WJ model years, read up here: www.wjjeeps.com

- Justin

My liberty, 2" lift and 30's (no gear change) went from 20mpg to 15 after the lift. My '95 cherokee w/no lift got 24mpg highway and around 20mpg w/a mix of driving if you don't romp on it.