money911

Hey everyone, im new here and have done a lot of searching about buying a used jeep grand cherokee. However everyone i have talked to or every where that i have searched says something different. So i am basically looking for a jeep grand cherokee 1998-and up. i am working on a limited budget and i am not sure whether i want to go with a i6 or v8. I want to do some light off road, maybe a 4 inch lift, bumper, lights, cb, etc. So can some one tell me what i should look for in the different years and what i should stay away from. I have found some nice (to me) 1998 and 1999 grand cherokees but some have 128k on them and some have 88k on them but some people say to stay away from the 1999-2001. so if anyone could give me some advice it would be much appreciated.

thanks james

djlarroc

I have been doing a lot of research on these as well. Why do you want a 98?

93-95 had the old interior. You want a 96-98. Get the 5.2. The 4.0 is great for the xj, but I think too underpowered for the zj. Plus the 5.2 will have better gearing. If you can, stick to Laredo. Limiteds will have the full time 4wd (249 transfer case) which are not as good as the 242 tcase. You can tell the difference because the 249 only has 4hi, N, 4lo. The 242 has 2wd, 4hi full time/part time, N, 4lo.

The 99+ is different body style, engine, transission... everything.

As far as mileage, either engine is pretty good, but the zj's had bad trannies. All but the 93s. But those are pretty rare.

money911

well 98 mainly because i see a lot of issues with the 99 and ups and wanted to find something with the lowest miles as possible. Do you or anyone else have any better suggestions? i am not stuck on anything particular. thanks for the reply. how bad are the trannies and what should i look out for? should i look for something newer?

morando6784

I just picked up a 98 a few months back, needed a tranny. I just found a decent used one two days ago. Every jeep getting parted out either had no tranny or had a blown one. The one i got came from a 98 with 126k and when the guy got it out he found it had been rebuilt already as well. So would say the tranny prob is bad on these. But I've only got $675 dumped into mine so far, that jeep and tranny, I'm not to concerned

dave1123

I bought my first jeep last July. It is a 97 Grand Cherokee Laredo (ZJ) with a 4.0 inline 6 with 185K miles on it. It has 3.73 gears and a factory tow package. After 2 months, the tranny started slipping on takeoff, so I had it checked out. It was well worn, but the thing that killed it was debris in the cooling lines that overheated the converter and just cooked the rest of it. I knew nothing about an electronic shifted trans so I took it to a national trans shop. $3000 later, I got it back. I haven't had any trouble since. The engine still has 45 lbs oil pressure cold, 40 hot, 180 lbs compression and starts reliably at -30 F. I am in love with this vehicle and only wish I had bought one sooner. It also has the 242 transfer case which some people say isn't as strong as they like, but I like it because it gives you the 2wd option and I don't plan on beating on it.

If I had to do it over again, I would still buy it, but I would have had the trans done by a friend or a small local shop. I paid $1500 for the jeep and have another $3000 in the tranny. Do the math. I can't sell it for what I have into it.

Also, if you want to do extensive suspension mods to it, you'd be better off with a Cherokee rather than a Grand.





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gclrick

I bought my 98 GCL about 6 months ago. 128k miles. I have done a major tune up on it, replaced water pump, and all fluids. Every single optionon it works, down to the auto dimming drivers side mirror. It is a 4l with quadra-trac, meaning full time 4wd. (249 tc) Although my viscous coupling is still good, it is supposively the weak link in these cases. When it goes, and it will from what i have read, i will do the 249-242 swap, the 242 does not have the vc. I even get 16mpg city. Use this website to aid in your search. you will learn what to look for when buying. These guys on here are jeep guru's, for the most part
Good luck with the search

money911

yeah i figured not every single jeep was a lemon in these years, there are two that i have my eye on right now, i found a 1998 grand cherokee with 88k for about $4500 and a 1999 grand cherokee with 128k with a 4" bds lift and wrangler wheels and tires for about $5500. so the great debate i suppose but my main issue right now is getting rid of my 2001 dakota sport.

Bustedback

I picked up my 95ZJ about six months ago. It had 156k on the clock when I bought it, and now has 172k on it. I've tuned it up, replaced the injectors with 703s, replaced the heater and radiator hoses, replaced a leaky valve cover gasket, crank sensor, upper and lower front control arms, lower rear control arms, removed the Tereflex spacer lift, replaced clouded headlamp assemblies, and had the front end aligned. Sure, I did a lot of work to my ZJ in a short time, but it didn't really cost me that much and the ZJ with a 4.o is very easy to work on. I love the way my ZJ drives and makes me feel. I took my folks up to snow country to visit a sick relative, and never felt safer on icy roads. I love my Jeep.

1sckrs

I say go zj i have a 93 with the 5.2 l v8 and love it .

ArmyVet717

My 96 ZJ Laredo has the 249...

ArmyVet717

My 96 has 250k on the 5.2L. Trans was just serviced and is in great condition. I have put $2k into it mainly because the previous owner replaced the rear axle with one from the junkyard and never, never checjed to make site it had fluid or anything. It was rebuilt, left front axle replaced, trans cooler lines, and trans pan gasket. I have had this thing 3 months, and Monday it goes in for ball joints, possible tie rods, and an Np249 swap. Also getting a tune up in the next few weeks since he neglected this poor thing.

ArmyVet717

My ZJ now has the 242 in it. Now the tough part is getting the linkage right so that it goes into all gears.

RaiderMike67

I have a 97 GCL that had 84,000 miles when I bought it just under two years ago. The AC/Heater fan didn't work when I got it but I "fixed" it lol and hasn't been a problem since. So far I've been pretty lucky although it's due for some new brakes.

ArmyVet717

Not bad! I have sunk a lot in this thing so far... How it's worth it in the end.

RaiderMike67

Not bad! I have sunk a lot in this thing so far... How it's worth it in the end.
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'96 GC ZJ, 5.2L, 250K miles and counting
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Well thats a LOT more mileage then I have so I guess the law of averages would call for a few more repairs! LOL

I think I got lucky, only 7,000 a year average on the odometer and seems to have been very, very gently used. I found the original window sticker in the glove box! WOW! I paid about 10% of the original MSRP!