I'm looking to buy my first Jeep Cherokee in the next month or two,and I have seen a few that caught my eye.I was just wondering if any of you could give some advice to an XJ newbie on things to look out for? In case it helps,the 2 I've been really interested are a 1993 and a 1997.

Thanks....

 

I personally like the body style of the 93 and they have less computers then the 97 but both years are food just make sure they are not rusty

 

It really depends on what you want to do with it.

I wanted one that I could build into a rig that would be comfortable as a daily driver, but capable of good performance on the trails.
I just picked up my first XJ right before X-Mas.

I did a lot of research and decided that I wanted to go with a 97+ (after they gave the interior a more modern design)

In that span the most desirable years are 98-99… the 97 had 3 different revisions to the wiring harness so that could cause you a little bit of a headache when chasing down electrical problems or replacing electrical parts.

2000-2001 had weak head castings that can cause the head to crack.
I wound up getting a sweet deal on a very clean 2001, but it didn’t have the 0331 head so I think I’ll be ok.

Here are some links that are posted at the top of this section in the “helpful links” thread. They are a good place to start and helped me understand the differences in the years and how the XJ evolved over the life of its model run.


http://www.oramagazine.com/pastissue...rticle=finesse
http://www.oramagazine.com/pastIssue...rticle=finesse
http://www.oramagazine.com/pastIssue...rticle=finesse
http://www.oramagazine.com/pastIssue...rticle=finesse

 

Go with 1997, it is stronger and safer.... What if someone pulled out in front of you and your 7 year old sister/wife/gf/grandma/etc was sitting in the passenger seat and had no airbag ? Oh wait this is before drivers airbag too, so you would both die, or would live on without a face and paralyzed.

 

The 93 already sold,but I found a really clean,low mileage 99....I hope this one pans out for me.

 

Make sure it doesn't have ignition coil(switched to this later 99), that means it has the 0331 heads. Not that it's a bad thing, but they definently are in no way better than the pre 99 heads.

 

Dont go confusing him, you will rarely find an 99 with 0331 in fact i haven't seen one. Dont pass up on a jeep because of a 0331 head its a bad design but with love and attention to your heating system you can reduce the chances. Flush your radiator, change your water pump and fan clutch and replace your thermostat with a 180. It will be the best 100 bucks youve spent if you own a 00' or 01' then at least you cant blame it on the cooling system because high temps are the main cause of cracking and simply keep an eye on your coolant weekly. The first sign is mysterious coolant loss. Just catch before you your rebuilding your engine.

 

I think the head casting issue is overrated as I've overheated my jeep when the radiator went, no problems. Just make sure it has the 4.0 and 4wd : )

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info!