Opinions on Jeep Cherokee

I am looking at two 1995 Jeep Cherokees
with 4.0 4x4, How reliable is it, i would like to hear all the pros and
cons.
Thanks for the help

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am looking at two 1995 Jeep Cherokees
> with 4.0 4x4, How reliable is it, i would like to hear all the pros and
> cons.
> Thanks for the help
>

My sister has a 96 Cherokee. It has nearly 300,000 miles on it and is still
going strong.
Repairs have been few and far between, and none serious, I think the worst
was a bad crank sensor around 200K.

[email protected] proclaimed:

> I am looking at two 1995 Jeep Cherokees
> with 4.0 4x4, How reliable is it, i would like to hear all the pros and
> cons.

The engine can easily go 200-300K miles with halfway decent care. For
some reason I've seen Cherokee owners complaining of worse gas mileage
than the same drivetrain in the Grand Cherokee. In the Grand, that
engine should get 20-21 mpg highway...dunno if aero or just driving
style. The low end torque makes it much quicker in traffic than the
horsepower would suggest.

Make sure the 4x4 stuff is all functional of course. Some common
problems with the 4.0:

o Exhaust manifold likes to crack. Replace with aftermarket or
newer factory--which costs more than a first class aftermarket.

o Crankshaft position sensor, more often just dirty connector than
actually being bad.

o Some of the factory catalysts are crap...any rattle, replace it.

o The valve cover gasket will leak and look like a rear main seal or
other engine leak. If the side of the block is wet, it is the
valve cover gasket. Some of the aluminum aftermarket ones leak
worse than factory.

o The serpentine belt should be changed roughly every 60K miles, but
it won't break anything if it goes out.

Check for any sign of overheating. The 4.0 has a very robust cooling
system if taken care of... never managed to get up to 210 on the guage
even crawling in Vegas summer traffic with the A/C on full.

If you buy a used one, probably a good idea to flush all fluids, being
sure to add any friction modifiers called for.

As to mileage, summer driving I measured my 96 automatic over a full tank at
28 mpg (US) highway at about 100 km per hr with a few stops for coffe and
for the wife to buy stuff. That's a 4 spd auto with lockup torque converter
.... 4th gear is is 0.75:1 and the axle is 3.55:1. And I'm gonna keep this
vehicle on the road as long as I possibly can ... it is by far the best all
round vehicle I have ever owned.

"Lon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:KjM_c.380802$%_6.91233@attbi_s01...
> [email protected] proclaimed:
>
> > I am looking at two 1995 Jeep Cherokees
> > with 4.0 4x4, How reliable is it, i would like to hear all the pros and
> > cons.
>
> The engine can easily go 200-300K miles with halfway decent care. For
> some reason I've seen Cherokee owners complaining of worse gas mileage
> than the same drivetrain in the Grand Cherokee. In the Grand, that
> engine should get 20-21 mpg highway...dunno if aero or just driving
> style. The low end torque makes it much quicker in traffic than the
> horsepower would suggest.
>
> Make sure the 4x4 stuff is all functional of course. Some common
> problems with the 4.0:
>
> o Exhaust manifold likes to crack. Replace with aftermarket or
> newer factory--which costs more than a first class aftermarket.
>
> o Crankshaft position sensor, more often just dirty connector than
> actually being bad.
>
> o Some of the factory catalysts are crap...any rattle, replace it.
>
> o The valve cover gasket will leak and look like a rear main seal or
> other engine leak. If the side of the block is wet, it is the
> valve cover gasket. Some of the aluminum aftermarket ones leak
> worse than factory.
>
> o The serpentine belt should be changed roughly every 60K miles, but
> it won't break anything if it goes out.
>
> Check for any sign of overheating. The 4.0 has a very robust cooling
> system if taken care of... never managed to get up to 210 on the guage
> even crawling in Vegas summer traffic with the A/C on full.
>
> If you buy a used one, probably a good idea to flush all fluids, being
> sure to add any friction modifiers called for.
>
>

Oops ... that seemed a bit high ... how about 24 mpg US (630 km/61 litres).

"Bowgus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> As to mileage, summer driving I measured my 96 automatic over a full tank
at
> 28 mpg (US) highway at about 100 km per hr with a few stops for coffe and
> for the wife to buy stuff. That's a 4 spd auto with lockup torque
converter
> ... 4th gear is is 0.75:1 and the axle is 3.55:1. And I'm gonna keep this
> vehicle on the road as long as I possibly can ... it is by far the best
all
> round vehicle I have ever owned.
>
> "Lon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:KjM_c.380802$%_6.91233@attbi_s01...
> > [email protected] proclaimed:
> >
> > > I am looking at two 1995 Jeep Cherokees
> > > with 4.0 4x4, How reliable is it, i would like to hear all the pros
and
> > > cons.
> >
> > The engine can easily go 200-300K miles with halfway decent care.
For
> > some reason I've seen Cherokee owners complaining of worse gas
mileage
> > than the same drivetrain in the Grand Cherokee. In the Grand, that
> > engine should get 20-21 mpg highway...dunno if aero or just driving
> > style. The low end torque makes it much quicker in traffic than the
> > horsepower would suggest.
> >
> > Make sure the 4x4 stuff is all functional of course. Some common
> > problems with the 4.0:
> >
> > o Exhaust manifold likes to crack. Replace with aftermarket or
> > newer factory--which costs more than a first class aftermarket.
> >
> > o Crankshaft position sensor, more often just dirty connector than
> > actually being bad.
> >
> > o Some of the factory catalysts are crap...any rattle, replace it.
> >
> > o The valve cover gasket will leak and look like a rear main seal or
> > other engine leak. If the side of the block is wet, it is the
> > valve cover gasket. Some of the aluminum aftermarket ones leak
> > worse than factory.
> >
> > o The serpentine belt should be changed roughly every 60K miles, but
> > it won't break anything if it goes out.
> >
> > Check for any sign of overheating. The 4.0 has a very robust cooling
> > system if taken care of... never managed to get up to 210 on the
guage
> > even crawling in Vegas summer traffic with the A/C on full.
> >
> > If you buy a used one, probably a good idea to flush all fluids,
being
> > sure to add any friction modifiers called for.
> >
> >
>
>

Thanks for all the information, i am going to call a local nissan dealer
monday and see if they still have a 95 Cherokee sport, green all power
with just over 43,000mi on it. After looking at alot of Jeeps today it's
hard to find a mid 90's with less than 100,000

Some advice ... take it or leave it ... if you're buying a used jeep from a
dealership, buy it from a reputable jeep dealership. My experience ...
between the time I agreed to purchase, and the time I took delivery, an
unknown to me cracked manifold was replaced ... what's that ...$500+ cdn?
Sure, they could have let it go, said ... hmm ... must have happened after
you drove it off the lot etc etc ... but they didn't. My opinion ... a
nissan dealership will be neither knowlegeable nor much caring when it comes
to the used jeeps on their lot (and to be fair, the same might also be said
about
jeep dealerships and used nissans).

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for all the information, i am going to call a local nissan dealer
> monday and see if they still have a 95 Cherokee sport, green all power
> with just over 43,000mi on it. After looking at alot of Jeeps today it's
> hard to find a mid 90's with less than 100,000
>

Well i found a clean 94 Cherokee Larado 4.0 6cly.with 85,000 everything
works, drives nice, all leather. Bought for $7200 out the door, did i do
good? I did read where a couple of people had there transission go out
on them at 60,000mi and lower & a couple of electrical problems, but 90%
loved there Jeep. Hope everything keeps working.