Hi guys, newbie here:
Im going to look at a 1998 Grand Cherokee limited V8 for my son's first car...I was wondering:
Is this a good 1st car and good year/engine as far as reliability?
my other choice would be a '94 4runner (gasket issue already fixed by dealer)..

Thanks for your input

 

Depends on mileage and how used it is.The 98 limited had 2 different v8s the 5.2 which is common and the 5.9 that is 98 only.If you can post some pictures of it.

 

its the 5.2, 132k miles $2,500..going to see it today ..any last thoughts??

 

If it runs and drives good it should be ok.

 

Are ALL VC going to fail with time? or not necessarily ??

 

The only thing I would say is a v8 is a lot of grunt for a first car. You'd like something slow if you could, teenagers get pretty strange ideas when they get out of sight. Nothing wrong with a Toyota and as I recall the 4 runners are pretty slow and very reliable.

 

I love Jeeps and Im leaning towards this GC..going to see it today...
any more thoughts on the 5.2l ??

 

Yeah, me too. Well chances are at 17 years old it's not as racy as it once was so MAYBE that will keep the speed down. Although come to think of it I used to do burn outs in my moms Nissan Sentra and that thing was no speed demon.

 

..besides we're gonna put some 33s + lift on it..that should slow it down a bit lol

 

Well....we went to see the GC and lots of rust and fixes were needed!
I guess the search continues...will look for a straight 6 :
any particular years I should look for??
Thanks for your help

 

We got an XJ because the GC transmissions are reputed to be not so good (learned that here, I think ....).

 

..So after reading this forum I basically came to the conclusion that the best affordable/ reliable ZJ would be a 96-98 inline 6 WITH the Selec-Trac transfer case
correct???

 

The 96-98 have driver and passenger side airbags and some better interior features then the 93-95 ZJs. I have a 95 ZJ with the I6 and 231 transfercase. It has been one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned. The Laredo trim has less electronic gadgets than the Limited to fail.

 

XJ, ZJ, and WJ are all fine models to look for as long as they are rust free.

Assuming it's rust free, the XJ's used the most reliable engine (4.0's can be found in all three) and transmission (rare 93 4.0 ZJ's had the AW4 transmission) of the bunch, but I'd trust them all if they're cared for--the V8's aren't unreliable by any stretch.

The viscous coupler 249 gets poo-poo'd a lot, but it is a fantastic transfer case especially for a DD--the viscous coupler isn't very expensive or difficult to deal with considering it has a pretty good lifespan.

In a WJ, the 4.7 V8 might actually be the better choice because of a better transmission and because the 4.0 can feel a little too sluggish pushing the weight of the WJ around (though you might WANT that considering a teen is getting it).

Only let your son have a 5.9 ZJ if he respects it enough to take good care of it and to avoid killing himself in it. They're quite powerful, fast, and only 15k were made.

 

I wouldn't recommend the 4.7 V8 for a teenager. It's not a terrible engine, but it won't handle the abuse a 4.0 or 5.2 can. Run it low on oil a few times and you're looking for an engine.