1997 Jeep grand cherokee

[nyisles_99]

hey,

I am looking at a 97 jeep with 30K on it in mint condition any of you folks hear any poor news about this truck? Any good news?

Who owns one? Give me some details please..

dan

 

[Black Magic]

Yea, this is an Explorer forum...


J/K, I don't know but I am sure someone will.

 

[Robb]

My wife has a '96 Laredo. A little of 100K miles. No problems at all.

Robb

 

[TarHeel085]

yeah i still kinda wish i had gotten one i was lookin at a red LTD Grand with the 5.2 and i prob would have 33's on it by now. the good thing about those is the motors are tried and true and you cant go wrong. very easy to lift too.

 

[nyisles_99]

THANKS ALL!!!!

KEEP EM COMING

 

[donkey boy]

Whoa, a '97 with 30'000 miles Take it!! (if the price is not exagerated)
'97 has been a very trouble-free year for the ZJ, and with just 30'000 mls on the clock, you can't really go wrong. Both engines, the V8 and specially the I-6 have the fame to last for (almost) ever. With this low miles, you should not even have to worry about the bushings, which anyhow would be fairly easy to change.

Check all rubber hoses for cracks and make sure that all the electricery works, specially the heated seats, if it has heated seats. If it has leather seats, check for cracks.

But tell me more: What engine, trim, transcase, price etc. Also you might want to run a carfax of its VIN to make sure it has a clean title.

And the Grand Cherokee source of grand wisdom and occasional flaming is www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/ and www.nagca.com

Hope this helps.

 

[nyisles_99]

AWESOME STUFF FELLAS.

Its a 6cyl, 4x4, silver, no leather, new tires and breaks, automatic. Pricing just around $10K i am working on lowering the 4$$ is this fair?

cheers

 

[GaSouthern1]

i had one for my first car and drove it so hard, you would not believe the things that i did in that car. It had the famous I-6 in it and it was just great. I had that truck on 2 wheels numerous times ( how things change after tickets) and it never gave me any trouble. I had it stuck tons of times, i hit everything with it. I just loved that truck and it worked awesome. When i got mine it had 30K on it as well and i sold mine at 56K when i got te Explorer, but i miss that car sometimes and the simplicity of that car...no frills, just gets the job done. You would never know by reading this thread that it was an Explorer board...must tell ya something huh..

 

[Xplodor]

My buddy bought a 98. They are nice, no problems thus far.

I have heard though they have a belt driven t-case or something to that nature? I've also heard few of the earlier models had a problem shifting into 4WD, or they would automatically shift into 4WD on their own.

Anyway, it's all hearsay. My friend bought his for his wife and he likes it. I'm sure all the problems, if there were any, were worked out in 97 and 98. Go for it. I have a 01 X with 50K on it now that i've put on her in the past year and 10 months!!!

 

[expo5.0]

only thing i'd say is that they handle poorly, and they interior is a little cramped. however, if those things aren't at the top of your list, go for it.

 

[nyisles_99]

cant possibly handle more poorly than a 94 X

 

[donkey boy]

Originally posted by expo5.0
only thing i'd say is that they handle poorly, and they interior is a little cramped. however, if those things aren't at the top of your list, go for it.

Not really. The Grand Cherokees are of the last ones which have, thanks God, a solid front axle, which is definitely an advantage off-road. But despite the solid axle, IMHO, my WJ handles better on-road than my '97 Ex, most noticable when heavy loaded on bumpy on-off-ramps. (To the Ex's defence, the rear shock were not at their best anymore)

The interior of the Grand actually is wider than the one of the '97-01 Ex., but it's shorter, specially the luggage compartment.

I think 10 k$ is actually not a lot too expensive. Probably 8 - 9 k$ would be fair.

 

[nyisles_99]

so what I think you are saying, is that you agree that the grand cherokee handles better than the 94 EX...yeah I was thinking $8-9k was more of a fair deal.

I miss my wrangler to be honest with you. I loved those trux. to bad they are way over priced

 

[donkey boy]

You think correctly Yup, Wranglers are nice, specially the Rubi. But as long as there is no lwb TJ with more interior space, it's not an option for me. And the AEV TJs are a little costly

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

I had a '98 5.9Limited. That thing was awesome but it was totaled in '99 with only 13k on it so I can't really tell ya if it's reliable or not. Within that 13k miles, it didn't have any problems at all. The '99 I had was a completely different case...

 

[Jason_25]

The Jeep should be great for you.

Cons:
1.Small, cramped interior
2.Oil Leaks
3.Poor road handling

Pros:
1.Solid Axle
2.Better tranny

I have driven and wheeled them and you can't go wrong with the ones with the 4.0 and AW4 tranny.

 

[donkey boy]

Originally posted by Jason_25
The Jeep should be great for you.

Cons:
1.Small, cramped interior
2.Oil Leaks
3.Poor road handling

OK. Road handling is subjective. I personnaly like the handling of the Grand Cherokee, but that's me. And with 2" lift and BFG MT's as every day tires, I anyhow don't misstake her for a Subaru WRX.

But I can post some numbers regarding the "crampt interior": Numbers are in both cases for the 2001 model year from the official brochure.

Front:
Head room: Explorer 4 door 39.9", Grand Cherokee 39.7"
Shoulder room: Explorer 4 door 56.7", Grand Cherokee 58.9"
Hip room: Explorer 4 door 51.9", Grand Cherokee 56.5"
Leg room: Explorer 4 door 42.4", Grand Cherokee 41.4"

Rear:
Head room: Explorer 4 door 39.3", Grand Cherokee 39.5"
Shoulder room: Explorer 4 door 56.8", Grand Cherokee 57.8"
Hip room: Explorer 4 door 51.9", Grand Cherokee 52.4"
Leg room: Explorer 4 door 36.8", Grand Cherokee 35.3"

Cargo volume:
Folded rear seats: Explorer 4 door 79.8 cu. ft., Grand Cherokee 72.3 cu. ft.
Behind rear seats: Explorer 4 door 41.4 cu. ft., Grand Cherokee 39.0 cu. ft.

You decide

 

[Jason_25]

Donkey boy, I can't speak for the WJ's. I have never driven one but the ones I have ridden in seem to have more spatious interiors than their ZJ counterparts.

 

[nyisles_99]

this is great info. guys...

it seems like you all feel pretty good about buying a Jeep.

Why the oil leak though? Not a mass amount? where was it coming from?

 

[Jason_25]

I say that about the oil leak thing because I have never seen a Chrysler product over 50K miles without an oil leak. They seem to all do it.

Also, overheating seems to be a problem with jeeps as well. EVERYONE I know with a Jeep has a chronic overheating problem.

But, even after all that, I would still recommend getting one.