Anybody have a Jeep Cherokee?

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GotDart

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My son is looking at a '96 Lerado package. It has the 4.0 I6 with automatic. All the power accessories work. About the only problem I saw with it is the passenger side floorboard was soaked. It has not been raining here lately, so I am thinking it is probably the a/c drain tube is blocked. It has 137,000 miles on it and they are asking $3400. What do you guys think? Good deal or no? Are there any common problem areas with these Jeeps that I should know about?
 
the passenger side rear floorboards have rust problems. exhaust manifolds crack. overall they are good trucks i have a 88 with 160k on it with no major problems. $3400 is a little high i'd start at about $2800 and see what happens
 
We currently own a 2000 Jeep GC, and had a '96 before this. No serious problems with either. Fuel pump and waterpump on the 2000, nothing on the '96. One very common problem on GC is the rear axle seals leaking. It will be very obvious because the whole end of the axle will be wet with axle grease. Mother has a high mileage '97 and it has been very dependable and mother IL has a '95 with 118K that just had a plugged cat and needed some sensors to be replaced, also need brakes to be replaced. All the above vehicles had the 4.0 IL6. They have been good to my family.
 
I have a 94 Larado. 5.2L, Truck is great. Only probl;ems I've had were starter and batery cables and the Viscous coupling is going. You dont have to worry about the last one if its a selectatrac and not quadratrac.
 
Forgot to mention this one is a 2wd. Just talked to the sleezeman on the phone and he said the sales manager will not budge on the price. Supposedly the truck was originally priced at $6200 and after a few weeks they put it on sale for $4400. It still has not sold, so they marked it down to cost which is $3400. Somehow I don't believe the story, but this is the best looking truck we have found in this price range. Anyway, the place is closed till Monday so we have time to think about it.
 
Yeah never believe the sales men and there price games. When we get new cars from auction they come off the truck and to me for detailing. After Im down I put a big red sign in the window that says Was 10,995 - Now 8995. (example)

So I guess by cleaning the car it loses $2000 of its value.
 
Got Dart, I have two 97 GC, both with IL6 engine. One has 121 K and the other 60K. My problems have been with the diff bearings. Both vehicles have had both front and rear bearings replaced twice. One is select trac and the other is Quadra Trac. If its got a CD player, make sure it works. The GC ltd player has been replaced twice and is broke again. It eats CD's...Infinity System that was standard on the 97 models. All else has been okay with ours.
 
Sounds like you need an aftermarket stereo. I bet its even cheaper then the factory and wont eat your CDs.

I'll be looking for another G.C. in the begining of the year. My wife drives the Larado wich meens Im stuck driving the Mirage. I want a 5.9 limited for myself.
 
I know Adam. Guess I'm to cheap. Hoping to hold out on the high mileage one until the new Challenger or Cuda comes out in 09...Oh well wishful thinking.
 
i have 2 xherokees. granted theya re older BUT!!! 2wds are not easy to find. i was lookin at a 98 2wd sport and they wanted $9000 for it. i paid $3700 for my 87 when i got itand it was the BEST $3700 i ever spent. granted i have put a few thousand (100,000) miles on mine but it still runnin great. i have had a wet floor on the pass side and i know mine is from thrashed door seals AND the ac drain. now my 90 the only reason its wet is the seals are toast! but i do have a blown motor after only 146,000 miles.... poor maintainance from the previous owner.... i would jump on it and drive the hell outta it till it falls apart...( which might take a while)
 
Okay, so I ran the VIN thru Carfax and here is what I found:

For the first 3 years the car was a lease vehicle located in Farmington MI. Was auctioned off on 6/29/99 with 49,426 miles on it. Has spent the last 6 years here in SW Texas. Looks like two titles were issued in Texas, so I must assume 2 different owners after the initial lease period. There are no records of any major damage, odometer tampering, etc., and it has never failed an emission test. From the milage logged, it looks like it was used about 15,000-17,000 miles per year consistently.

So everything appears to check out. The only concern I have now is the 3 years spent in Michigan. I'll have to crawl under again and look for evidence of rust. Anyone know if they use a lot of salt there in the winter?
 
Lot's of salt up there. I paid $2900 for a 96 with 4 wheel drive last year. I've sold it already though. I had to put a radiator in it. They are notorious for overheating problems. There is a company that sells a 3 core rad for it. The stock is a 2 core. I wouldn't pay more than $3500 for one with 100k or less especially a 2 wheel drive model. Those are usually way cheaper than the 4x4 Sport models. My 2 cents. later, j
 
GotDart said:
Okay, so I ran the VIN thru Carfax and here is what I found:

For the first 3 years the car was a lease vehicle located in Farmington MI. Was auctioned off on 6/29/99 with 49,426 miles on it. Has spent the last 6 years here in SW Texas. Looks like two titles were issued in Texas, so I must assume 2 different owners after the initial lease period. There are no records of any major damage, odometer tampering, etc., and it has never failed an emission test. From the milage logged, it looks like it was used about 15,000-17,000 miles per year consistently.

So everything appears to check out. The only concern I have now is the 3 years spent in Michigan. I'll have to crawl under again and look for evidence of rust. Anyone know if they use a lot of salt there in the winter?[/QUOTE

Yes, they use alot of salt in Michigan. Your report may have said Farmington, MI, but I'm guessing it is Farmington Hills, MI which is near Detroit. Which of course is also near the lake. Us Northerners (from Ohio) have something we like to call Lake Effect snow. Which bascially means that eventhough it is well below freezing it is also extemely humid out, and everything will become a sheet of ice. Eventhough there may be no salt in the water/Lake all the salt on the road will be nice and preserved on the vehicle. I've never seen that year and model of car really rusty before. But check all the usual suspects like the rear quarterpanels and fenders. A neat trick is to get a round magnet and just role that anywhere you think the vehicle could have rusted, very quick way to find every backyard mechanics best friend. Bondo.

Jason Foster
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Thanks for all the pointers guys. We went back and looked it over again last night. I could not find any significant signs of rust. The car was undercoated when new, so hopefully that has protected it. We ended up buying it. My son is a happy camper... at least until the tank runs dry.

So, are there any good Jeep forums I should know about. I need to start learning to speak Jeepanese.
 
GotDart said:
Thanks for all the pointers guys. We went back and looked it over again last night. I could not find any significant signs of rust. The car was undercoated when new, so hopefully that has protected it. We ended up buying it. My son is a happy camper... at least until the tank runs dry.

So, are there any good Jeep forums I should know about. I need to start learning to speak Jeepanese.
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http://jeeperz.tenmagazines.com/

i am a member of this one and a few others. these guys aren't to bad so far and have some good tips.
 
Thanks for the links. Here is a pic.

stevens_jeep.JPG
 
I too have a 96 Grand Cherokee, thought it was a regular Cherokee. The biggest problem on mine which is kind of common, was the AC evaporator went bad. Now in order to have the evaporator fixed it cost me over $800. I was told the mechanics had to yank out the whole dash and steering column.

Another thing kind of common is the sway bar links like to break in half. However, that is cheap and a easy do it yourself task. Another main problem is only on 4X4 so you have nothing to worry about.

Mine is a Black Grand Cherokee Limited with a 5.2L V8 has over 165,500 miles on it, and it still never misses a beat.
 
Jason96R said:
I too have a 96 Grand Cherokee, thought it was a regular Cherokee. The biggest problem on mine which is kind of common, was the AC evaporator went bad. Now in order to have the evaporator fixed it cost me over $800. I was told the mechanics had to yank out the whole dash and steering column.

Another thing kind of common is the sway bar links like to break in half. However, that is cheap and a easy do it yourself task. Another main problem is only on 4X4 so you have nothing to worry about.

Mine is a Black Grand Cherokee Limited with a 5.2L V8 has over 165,500 miles on it, and it still never misses a beat.
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i to thought it wwas an XJ not a ZJ but thats cool to... if your alarm ever goes nutty and you loose your keyfob... passenger side door..... trust me.. i have dealt with this many times...
 
The absolute best site on midsize jeeps is on ORC, here is url for the board itself http://bbs.off-road.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=offroadjeepcherokee&PHPSESSID= , I have been a memeber since 01 and use same screen name there. GC=OPEN WALLET WIDE AND DUMP OUT, great number of problems, I had one, a 96GC with all wheel drive. Transmission went at 60k and had to be replaced $3000,00 (THANK GOD for extended warranties) also had troubles with trans cooler lines leaking, radiators are made of plastic and start to fail at this age I have seen 3 failed one on mine and 2 others friends GC's, the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) can fail and cause you no end in grief trying to troubleshoot to figure out WTF, rear ends are notorious for troubles, hope you didn't get one with power sun roof cause they are JUNK, they leak and break ALL the time (the mechanisms are plastic) power locks and memory seats are a source of headache, and as mentioned the Infinity Gold systems are awsome brand new and for the first year or so then they go to hell in a hand basket. The only positive I see u have going is the fact it is a 4.0, outstanding engines that can go for up to 400,000miles with only basic maintance, it's just everything else about them that sucks.

My condolances on your purchase.
 
krabysniper said:
The only positive I see u have going is the fact it is a 4.0, outstanding engines that can go for up to 400,000miles with only basic maintance, it's just everything else about them that sucks.

My condolances on your purchase.
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Uhh thanks kraby, I think.

So far the only real problem is the condensation drain for the a/c evaporator is plugged. Of course the dealer assured us it was fixed when we picked up the car last weekend. NOT!
 
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