Hello all, Heres my delima, Ive been looking for a XJ for several months now and Im tired of looking, ive come across a 97 and a 00, Are there any "flaws" with the 97 models to watch out for? I know of the "overheating" and "cracked head" issue with the 00-01 models. Im just weighing my options between the year models. Thanks for any help

 

i would take the 97, but thats with no facts just my opinion if it helps at all

 

more options it has = more possible flaws. also the more addons that have been done such as alarms and such, the more possible flaws. I have my 97 and I love it. it's the first year of the 29 spline Chrystler 8 1/4 rear end, and the first year of the new body style. However my friend has the 98 and for some reason he has had nothing but electrical problems. And all the sensors are the same as my 97 except they have a slightly different plug on them and cost twice as much.

in 99 they started upgrading the emissions stuff, costing the engine horsepower and gas mileage, which is why they changed the intake to try to get some of that power back. in 00 they started using the aluminum heads, low pinion front axle (less clearance, worse driveshaft angle), I think 2 or 3 catalytic converters, coil packs instead of a distributor. Personally, if I were going to buy another jeep. I'd look for either a 97, or an older renix.

 

Hey thanks for the info! I hope I didnt just slap the hornets nest with my question, I just found the "best years for cherokee" thread in the tech section and pretty much found my answer. Thanks again

 

Get the 97. Fewer issues than the 00. I think you'll end up liking it better.

 

Now i do agree with the 97 being better and you can swap in an intake from a 01 for more perfomance. But ive had no issuses with my 01, granted it only has 84k miles on it though.

 

i had the same dilemma. except mine was an '01 with 122k miles vs a '97 with 197k miles. i went after the '97. like someone already said, the newer it is, the more fancy electronics it has.
but there is a downfall. the 1st part of '97 had electrical issues. i have one of those. nothing major. just you might have to rewire some of your little accessories. i've already had to redo the interior lights, radio harness, and still gotta redo the rear wipers, blower motor wiring and some other minor things.

 

All Cherokees are good, I would not hesitate to buy any year.

Some are indeed better than others, but overall you really can't go wrong if you take your time and check each truck over. Just go with the truck that is in better condition.

 

The 00 has cylinder head issues and a low pinion front axle. The 97 has a high pinion reverse cut gears stronger front axle and less issues with cracking the cylinder head. I would go for the 97 if you plan on wheeling it on a regular bassis.

 

This thread makes my feel happy I have a 97.

 

97, better axle better head. just make sure the 97 has an 8.25 rear end out back dana 35s are trash

 

damn look at that, I didn't know there were that many differences. I'm glad I've got a '97 too!

For reference, I have the following electrical problems.

1) occasionally the window switches for my passengers won't work until I push down on the trim panel surround my switches...swear it fixes it everytime.

2) occasionally the gauges randomly go flat, all of them, nothing... But if I reach through the steering wheel and pop the dash with the palm of my hand I'm good to go. the gauges pop on and its usually fine for the rest of the drive.

 

Sounds like the normal quirks of a used car.

 

I have had the same exact issues in my '99. I replaced the master window switch with a brand new one off EBAY, now all window switches work all the time.

The second issue is caused by corrosion on the instrument panel connector. It will usually go away if you bang on the dash. If it happens a lot, you can disconnect the instrument panel, remove any corrosion from the plug, grease it with dialectric grease, and reconnect. That should solve the problem.

 

Wheres that info located?