Grand Cherokees

[Capman2k]

For as long as I've been old enough to drive (nearly 4 years, wow I'm getting old), I've wanted to get a Grand Cherokee and jack it up a few inches for some mild wheeling and such. The only problem is, they're all so darn expensive. I was trying to find one to replace my 91 Explorer, but when everything started breaking on that thing at once, I ended up looking for something I could afford that looked good, would run at least until I had it paid off, and had potential. Which is how I ended up with my 94 Explorer.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Explorer. It's been a great truck to me. I haven't had a chance to take my 94 wheeling yet, but I'm sure it'd do just as well if not better than my 91, especially if I ever get this 2" lift in it. I've never been a big fan of huge lifts since I'm not a hardcore off-roading dude.

Last night I was talking to one of my friends, he pulled up in a white 98 Grand Cherokee, lifted 2.5 inches, on 31's with 15" aluminum American Racing rims, and nerf bars. Very nice, very nice indeed. We got to talking about the Jeep and he tells me that his parents are considering putting it up for sale in the near future. His dad is going to be asking about $5,300 for it. Now that I'm making more money, I can afford to pay that much for a vehicle.

I was just wondering if any of you have experience with Grand Cherokees. I know the regular Cherokee is outstanding off road, is the GC the same way???

Now my only issue is I owe like $4000 on my 94 still, and I'm taking off for BMT in September, won't be back till December... hrm...

 

[jobunn]

A buddy of mine has a mildly modified 95 GC that absolutely kicked my explorers ass offroad. Decent f/r articulation, gearing, clearance and a working limited slip are all items I did not have.

I like the interior of the explorer much better though and much better now all around after some mods.

That 98 probably has the 5.9 engine too which is a beast. That may be reason enough too since you don't want to modify too much.

 

[RiverRat]

My parents are jeep drivers. No major problems with the 2 4.0L and 2 4.7L JGCs they owned (93-04)

Problems were with drivetrain noise, irratic a/c, exhaust manifold, and cat that rattled.

 

[98XLTLMEdition]

I like Jeep Grand Cherokees I went and test drove an 04 just for the heck of it and i like it....I looked at a Larado, Limited, and overland Editions(i liove the freedom edition) I find if you are going off road all the other grand cherokees lack what i personally was looking for...QUADRA DRIVE...Its kinda goofey that the only put it on the LIMITED OVERLAND and pre 03 LIMITED 4X4...other wise if its a laredo(im assuming a 98 is there the most popular trim) the 4wd is goofey b/c its a spider system prolly much like the x's where if there is no traction on two wheels it just swithces and spins the other two like a / right front and left rear and then if that slips \ the opposite which is ghey in the mud b/c i took and overland and it went through all the crap i put it in and i noticed the two solid axels and quarda drive worked great...b/c whith only one wheel on dryl and i was able to pull the car out where as the other cherokee's i have seen needed to be pulled out b/c there 4wd just dug them deeper....I like grand cherokkees the european console is my favorite thing i wish they put the shifter in the console on explorer like they do jeeps....i have had friends who have had them for 5 + years a 99 and one had a 96 and they where problem free the 96 was a Lerado TSI V6 4.0 it was great...the 99 was the new 5.6L (or something) high output and they where great just remeber its a chrysler and the interior is plastic hell and alot of the trim will fade and crack...so dont expect ther interior to take alot of abuse jeeps seem not to ware well interior wise(grand cherokees at least)...get one but get quadra drive for serios off roading if not lil light wheelin is good for lerado's... just my .o2

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

I've had two: a 98 5.9 Limited and my current 01 Limited w/ the 4.7L and Quadra Drive. I'd recommend you check out www.nagca.com for lots of great advice and resources. Don't bother with JeepsUnlimited.

1998 was by far the best year for the ZJ as they had most of the bugs worked out by then. You didn't mention any specifics regarding the vehicle, but the engines available were the 4.0 I6 (Laredo, SE, TSi, Limited), 5.2L V8 (Laredo, SE, TSi, Limited) and 5.9L V8 (5.9 Limited only). They're all good engines, but the 4.0 is especially durable. They have been known to last for 300K+ miles with just normal maintenance. The transmissions, on the other hand, are a different story. Expect about 100K out of them, sometimes less (but you're coming from an A4LD Explorer, so you know the pain). The 5.9 Ltd had the beefer 46RH trans, but it's still not bulletproof. For that, you'd need the 4.0L and the AW4 trans, only available on the very early (and very coveted) 93s (and of course the Cherokees).

The 5.9 Limited is a hell of a nice ride, but it can be troublesome. Common weak points were the front and rear diffs (my rear diff was rebuilt at 43K miles - aluminum D44 and 330 lb-ft of torque=WTF was Chrysler thinking?), Viscous Coupling on the Quadra Trac (NP249) transfer case, front CV joints and trans (as noted). This was simply too much engine for this drivetrain. The 5.2, unfortunately, has many of the same issues. If you're going to buy one with a V8, make sure the diffs have either been replaced/rebuilt or are not whining. Check the viscous coupling by performing tight figure-eights in a parking lot. If you get a lot of binding, jerking and wheel hopping, the VC is on its way out.

If you want a truly capable off roading rig, the transfer case to look for is Selec-Trac (NP247), which gives you the option of 2WD, 4WD High, 4WD Full Time and 4WD Low. Unfortunately, they only came attached to the 4.0L. People have swapped them into V8 models though. People have also swapped in the Command-Trac (NP242) transfer case, which is 2WD, 4WD H and 4WD L (and damn durable too).

The WJ (99+) is a whole different rig, but there's no way you're going to find one for $5,300. That's actually a pretty good price for a 98. Post up some more specs on it like mileage, engine and transfer case. They're good vehicles. Oh, and pull off those nerfs and get some rock sliders.


Mike

 

[Capman2k]

It's got a 4.0... Still waiting on the guy's dad to put it up for sale...