Another Side Project, Anyone like Jeeps?

revhead347

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Jun 14, 2004
9,202
1,732
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Acworth, GA
#1
Anyone here into Jeeps?

I just spent the day sweating my testes red trailering a friends Jeep from downtown to my house in the sticks. First of all, I would like to start by complaining about Uhaul's astronomical price hike on car haulers from $29.99/day to $55.xx/day. My friend is leaving the country in a few weeks, and wants to get rid of this Jeep, and I offered to sell it for him. It recently developed a nasty overheating problem, which is why I had to trailer it here. It overheats after about 5 minutes. Hopefully it's just a busted thermostat and nothing more sinister. Needs a few more touch up things, like some trim pieces, and getting the AC to work. It's a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4cyl, automatic.....ah, red. I know, not exactly the most desirable Jeep ever made. I'm still surprised how much value these TJs retain.

Kurt
 

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#2
I am wanting to pick up a 97-99 Cherokee to replace our ZX2 to have a 4 door 4x4 that can haul a trailer. Mostly need another 4 door as a ZX2 and a baby seat (when time comes) will not work for us. FUggin zx2 seats require you to have 3-4 arms/hands to access the rear seat.

The wife wants a Toyota FJ Cruiser (I would like that too), but if our Fusion is not paid for when time comes to actually pull the trigger we are getting the Cherokee with cash and waiting on the Yota. Then either keep the jeep for a fun toy or sell to help fund a vett (C5 zo6 or C6).

Hope its a quick fix, I know the 00-01 4.0 I6 had a head cracking/overheating issue.
 
#4
revhead347 said:
Pretty much anything Chrysler has some sort of issue. I know a few people who love those Grand Cherokees for towing trailers.

Kurt
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when they killed the 4.0 and went with all dodge designed and produced parts jeep died too IMHO.

The 4.0 and auto is a really rock solid combo. Its same type of trans used in the auto supra's of the day. IIRC it was called an AW4, if that is the auto the 4 popper has that should be good to go. The 4.0 was underpowered in the heavier grand (designed by dodge as a dodge product after they took over jeep) and caused issues.
 
#5
My 94 Wrangler is why I haven't been on here in four months. Sold the turbo kit I gave up on over the winter / spring to get it after realizing it wouldn't be worth trying to make it emissions legal for tail pipe test. BUT... I love that Wrangler. Nothing like driving with the top and doors off, seeing a small opening in the trees on the side of the road and seeing what I can get myself into.. and out of. 4.0, 5 speed, 5 inches of lift and 33 inch tires gets me pretty far. That being said, after letting my car sit for a while I got the bug again and now Im acquiring the parts for my new forced induction project, which was what I originally wanted to do anyway before the turbo kit was purchased. Another nice thing about being a jeep owner is the camaraderie among all wrangler owners. I must get a dozen waves or more a day and people always stop if youre stopped to talk Jeep. Better than the air of competition you get from other Stang owners around here. Everyones always riding your butt, trying to pass you with lack of regard for their life or other people on the roads lives and acting like their trying to win a race only they know about. Gets real annoying when youre trying to drive home and some punks in a V6 with a mock dual setup and fart pipes on the end are riding your ass and then passing you and almost clipping your bumper so they can "win." .... Rant over... Back to the original topic, TJ jeeps are WAY over priced, but thats more or less the same for all Wranglers. Cherokees and Grand cherokees are a dime a dozen around here. At least ten or more on C-list for 1500 and under. Wish mine was auto, strangely enough. Much easier to ride treacherous trails in my opinion.
 
#6
blksn955.o said:
I am wanting to pick up a 97-99 Cherokee to replace our ZX2 to have a 4 door 4x4 that can haul a trailer.
Click to expand...

That's a good choice and it can be made even better if you add a few performance parts and rebuild the 4.0 engine into a 4.6 stroker. For hauling a trailer, you're better off with the extra towing capacity of the AW4 4-speed auto tranny rather than a manual. Just add an extra tranny fluid cooler.
I have a '92 Jeep XJ with a 4.6 stroker, AX15 5-speed manual tranny, and it's great fun to drive. You can find out more at Dino's Jeep Tricks (yes, it's mine :D)
 
#7
That's cool. Well, I took it for a long drive the other day, and it's showing all the typical signs of a blown head gasket, so that's going to be a project. I know I haven't been on here in a few days. I'm taking my first traffic ticket to jury trial, and it's being a real pita. The prosecution has really f'd me, and we haven't even started. I've been up till 1am every night I've been home researching motions.

Kurt
 
#8
Finally got this Jeep all worked out. It ended up having a multitude of problems, including a bad water pump, a filthy radiator, a bad thermostat, and curiously, a bent exhaust valve. I ended up doing a full tune up and changing the head gasket, and it still ran a little rough. The owner said it had always ran rough. I couldn't find anything wrong with the ignition system, so I ran a compression test, and found that the #4 cylinder had almost no compression. I remember not seeing anything wrong with the cylinder when I had the head off, so I pulled the cylinder head again, and checked it. Couldn't visually see anything wrong. So I took the valve springs off, and when I rotated the exhaust valve, I could see it would gap a little bit. No sign of impact on the piston whatsoever, and nothing visually wrong with the valve seat. So I bought a new valve, and ground the seat with just regular valve grinding compound. I put it back together, and the #4 cylinder ended up having the highest compression on the engine, and now it runs perfectly smooth. The only thing I can think of is, that Chrysler installed a defective valve when they built the engine.

The wife and I spent 4 hours on Tuesday cleaning the filthy interior. I took it for a long test drive yesterday, and it seems to be running tip top. Just need to give it a wash and a wax, and it's ready to go on sale. I've never owned a rag top, nor have any desire to. What is the best cleaner to use on the plastic windows?

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Recovered money
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A sign of Chrysler quality. Something here does not belong.
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Kurt
 
#13
BlackVert said:
ouch. never mind, unless you want to trade that for my mustang.
Click to expand...

Wish it were mine to trade, because I would definately go for that. In face the temptation is killing me because I'm already in possession of a signed title for this thing. The prices on these things vary wildly. If it had the 6cyl and a 5spd, it would be $10K easy. KBB 'fair' value shows it at $6900, but I honestly think it qualifies as a 'good' at $7700. I know the KBB doesn't mean much, but I've seen people ask for higher with a lot higher miles than this one has. I kind of decided on that price because of the light body damage. I'll throw it out there and see what I get. If I don't get any takers, I'll relist it at a lower price.

Kurt
 
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