Non-explorer question might buy jeep

[xitsmike]

These forums have been helpful in the past when i needed help with my 92 explorer. Now i have a question about a jeep i went to see today and was thinkin bout buying..

its a 95 grand cherokee Ltd 8 cyl - nice truck got a 3 inch lift and its sharp, 155k miles though. Anyway, i took it for a test drive and there is kind of a pinging i thought it was kind of knocking its kind of in between - might have been that it was a pinging but the engine is so deep sounding - but its when you open up the throttle a lot from any speed. If you're light on it u dont hear it and its more audible at higher rpms - but if ur maintaining speed u dont hear it.

I thought it sounded at first like a going bad lifter but then i thought it was predetonation and im pretty sure thats what it is now but what is it likely that this is being caused from. And they tell me they got the computer and timing checked and everythings good but obviously their not being totally forthcoming. Im not gonna be a sucker n get ripped off im just thinkin it can be a point to haggle on if it aint too serious but if its something like a bad lobe on the cam then i wouldnt take it at any price. if it might be a valve going bad then I could probly tackle that between me and my dad and take the truck for 3500. by the way, asking price was 4800 the guy offered 4k off the bat after i suggested 3. I said ima have a mechanic check it out if he wants anything more than 3. Sound like hes too quick to drop price? think i should just forget about this one?

thanks for any input
mike

 

[4.0L_4X4_Rob]

from the sounds of it that jeep has been driven hard. I wouldn't pay more than 3 for it, thats if the motor sounds as bad as i think it might

 

[xitsmike]

yea thats what i said to the guy, cus first sign was the fact that its got a 3 inch lift and its owned by a female (the guy is her uncle who i talked business with cus she knew nothing). So i said to him obviously it was driven hard by the prev owner who was male why else would it be lifted. Anyway, I just remembered that It did something weird when idling just after startup that id never seen...It would idle for like 10-15 seconds at normal rpm then drop down to like 500 as if it wanted to stall then come back up...it kept doin this in a cycle for like 4 or 5 minutes then stopped...dunno if this is related to the pinging or if maybe it gives a clue to what is causing the problem...

i would buy it for 3500 if i knew it was not something i had to take to an engine shop for...anything top end i could do myself. What are junkyards getting per cui nowadays? like 2$? cus i could drop an engine with help but only if i got this cheap