Z-TARD Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 Just traded in my Eclipse on this today: 1998, 4.0 liter, 4WD. It's the cheapo version with manual windows and locks. It runs pretty strong, but smells like a dogs hind quarters for some reason. Looks like I'll have to invest in some heavy duty upholstery cleaner.... This may eventually spiral into it's own project, I've been thinking that a Mad Max inspired vehicle would be awesome for the commute to work every day. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 A buddy of mine has the Sahara edition, and he keeps threatening to pull all the carpet and coat the inside with roll on bed liner. Then he can just pull the drain plugs and hose it out when it needs to be cleaned. Also, it won't get moldy smelling when it gets wet and he has to leave the top up. From his experience with the jeep, watch for the exhaust manifold and the radiator. From what he has heard and seen on his, they are the most frequent problem areas. The aftermarket manifolds have flex joints in them to keep them from cracking from expansion the way the factory ones do. The radiators tend to leak around the seal on the plastic end tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Oops double post, I'll fix this one. Here's mine, see post below for details. The tires are about equivalent to a 31 X 13.50/15. They don't mess up the speedo very much and gearing remains fine. You can get a wheel with .75" more backspacing to tuck them under if you like the look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 Cangrats and welcome to the Jeep family. Some Jeep rules if you have never had one. If you see another Jeep, you should politely wave. If you see another Jeep upside down, you should help flip them over. If you see someone stuck, you should pull them out. Again, welcome! Wow, you got a manual 4.0, those are nearly impossible to find? Cherokee's didn't really come with the 4.0 and manual after '97. I have had one Wrangler and 2 Cherokee Sports. "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand." We have lifted all of them. The MAD MAX thing presets lots of problems and be prepared for a few surprises and some decent $ to do it right. That being said, it is tough to beat a Jeep off road. They have excellent approach and departure angles absent in most luxury SUV's. If you get some lockers you can go just about anywhere. The YJ had an ARB in the rear only. Open diffs in both the Cherokees. All of them have been a lot of fun. We just have the '01 Cherokee now with a Rusty's Off road long arm kt ~5" lift with 325/60/15 BFG AT KO's. We had the same tires son the YJ with a 4" lift. They fit with very little lift and I slid that thing sideways under acceleration a few times under heavy acceleration and the wide tires really make it more streetable, but be prepared to throw mud everywhere. Have fun an be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 Thanks Aaron. Maichor, that is a sweet looking XJ! The tranny on mine is an auto, but the door locks and windows are manual. When I got my Eclipse, I traded in my 89 Cherokee for it, and have pretty much hated life ever since. The Eclipse was a good car, but just not a Jeep. Not sure what the hell I was thinking. I was debating on getting either a Scion XB (Go ahead and flame me, it's OK ) or a post 94 Cherokee. I saw this 98 on Autotrader.com for $5995 and jumped on it. I haven't planned any serious mods for this one as of yet, since I use it for driving 90 miles round trip to work every day. I'll probably end up getting a 3" lift, 30" or 31" mud or A/T tires, and probably some evil looking home built bumpers. I have noticed one slight problem on this since I bought it, it tends to hickup or stutter when going up hills, occasionally accompanied by a clunking noise. I'm thinking it may have some transmission issues, but perhaps it could be as simple as needing new plugs/wires/distributor cap. I know the earlier cherokees had some transmission problems, but I was under the impression that the later models had been fixed. The trans fluid does smell a bit burnt, so i'll probably get it flushed this week. I'll do a tune up as well and see if the problem persists. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dot Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Hey Z-TARD: I had an ’88. Best Jeep I have ever had. So good the EX took on the way out. I have a Grand Cherokee LTD now… but it’s just not the same… too heavy. I wish you luck with yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted March 16, 2005 Author Share Posted March 16, 2005 I still miss my 89, this new one is pretty close though. I'm kinda bummed that the only gauges it has are fuel and speedo though. everything else is idiot lights. I miss my tach most of all. On a positive note, I did get to test out it's cargo carrying capacity a little today. I loaded it up with a drill press I got for free from my engine machinist. It was a hell of a lot easier to load than it would have been in the Eclipse. I've also noticed that when I'm driving on the freeway, I don't have Excursions and F-350's trying to change lanes over the top of my hood, which was a fairly common occurance when I had the mitsubishi. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 My Sport has a tach. I imagine they don't make 2 harnesses for the different models. So, I would bet that if you checked into getting a junkyard cluster with a tach it would be plug and play. I could be totally wrong, but maybe you could check it out on one of the Jeep forums. And, you may not be getting run over anymore, but it may take a while to learn how large the blind spot is below the passenger door! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted March 16, 2005 Author Share Posted March 16, 2005 I'll have to look into the Sport edition dash, It really sucks not having a tach, I feel like I'm driving a hyundai without it. I did a quick tune up on it tonight, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and air filter. No more stumbling going up hillls at all, and the gas mileage seems to have improved quite a bit. It was eating up gas at a fairly alarming rate, I could actually watch the needle move, but it seems much better now. I had used the Bosch platinum 4 plugs on my old jeep, and they made a huge improvement, and used them on this one with the same results. Jeep 4.0 engines like the platinum 4's a lot for some reason. I also took the time to crawl under it tonight and check all the motor and trans. mounts, drive shafts, etc. Everything appears to be in very solid condition. I cant wait to get some decent tires on this thing so I can take it out on some trails. Since my car payment is so low now, I can afford to spend a lot more on the Z now, and let's face it, thats the ultimate goal in most of our lives, right? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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