Practically Classics Forum

My Cherokee is one of the first in the UK and is 1993 on a K the number plate is K ***ACK. Kack.
The engine is in line 6 4 litre. The engine appears to be robust and smooth and 180bhp. The 4 wheel drive is part time with a rear limited slip differential. Drum rear brakes and disks up front. Automatic.

The car is fully loaded and has a compass and outside temp gauge but no time clock strangely. I suspect the original radio had a clock. The air con is very good. Fan noisy though.

In comparison to a Range Rover performance wise. On the road it's about the same and off road the Range Rover is better.

What goes wrong. I paid £1500 ten years ago. And the car has been reliable. Sort of.
The rear axle had an additive for the LSD. This additive wears out every year.
The near side front door hinge broke away from the A post.
The roof lining has sagged.
The ECU died.
The wire for no 5 injector broke.
Ignition coil and plugs leads died.
wheel cylinder leaked.
torque convertor bolts came loose.
Number lamp plastic cover turned manky and fell apart.
The clear coat is peeling.
suspect build quality. The dash is particularly bad and made from rubbish. The electrical switch gear is tat.

Australian versions of the 6 cylinder engine are not very good. My aussie mate lives a100 miles from nowhere and drives flat out. So he wreaks all car engines. 40c most days.

Apart from that its been a good old bus. Value now I guess £500. 15mpg. 20 on a run. Try hard enough and 10mpg will result. Lpg differcult due to small boot.

As a Range Rover alternative the Cherokee is not quite as good but cheaper. Parts are not cheap. Rust happens.
I like the ride height not too tall but enough to get a good view
2500 miles a year. 25000 in ten years. Good caravan tow car. Mot wise apart from blown bulbs and a leaky exhaust it passes. Grease nipples on front suspension. Doesn't use oil or water at 117k miles.

Would I buy another. No. There are much better estate cars such as 245 volvo and W123 or W124 Merc. A A60 Farina Estate is also on my list.

I have no knowledge of the diesel version apart from the engine is not that good and expensive trouble has occured.


Bob.

I have two Jeeps powered by that engine here in Abu Dhabi. I drive them hard for long periods of time in temperatures of 45C (and sometimes higher). The engines are absolutely bombproof - one has 270,000 km on it, all of it in this country.

One of the reasons I chose the jeep was that engine is known to be robust. I can't stand fragile engines.
I was surprised when the man from down under said that they have had trouble. It's probably the lager they drink.

I reckon touch wood my jeep will last another ten years £1500 purchase price over 20 years is no money at all. When it dies I will just scrap it.

Nine time Jeep owner here. Three of them have been XJ's like your's. Bulletproof, though the Mkii is preferable as it has less rust issues.

The later ones had a better dash as well. My dash creaks the binnacle cover for speedo has gone a funny shape and the wood trim is falling off.

The wood trim is real wood. But somehow jeep have made it look like plastic.

I keep a wary eye on the rust front on my Jeep. The hinge broke not because of rust but because of door slammers

Although it likes a lot of petrol. The robustness of the mechanics means no expensive problems. Which offsets the cost of petrol plus I only do 2500 miles a year in it.

With diesels in general if the engine gives trouble which they do esp common rail then all the money saved on fuel is long gone. A Ford tech guy told me that £2000 to fix common rail is not unknown. I use less petrol than that in the Jeep in a year.

I looked at one diesel Jeep 1997. And engine bay had orange silicon gasket goo finger prints every where and the engine sounded like a bag of spanners. Exit stage left. Quick run.


The Cherokee XJ is a good buy at the right price. £1000 will buy a very good one. They wear the miles well. Range Rover is better though.

There are Jeep breakers in the UK
My ECU was £83 second hand. However some parts are very scarce and Jeep parts can be expensive. A number plate lamp assemble is £26 +vat. Its not well made neither.

The tail gate is plastic like a Renault Espace. In cold temps the tailgate gas struts are week but fine in the summer.

I have yet to spend a grand on an XJ. All three of mine were.... a lot less. And all in great shape. Can be had all day, every day off the bay/autotrader/gumtree for under £1k.

Don't bother with the 2.5 VM diesel XJ's. Ticking Timebomb. If (WHEN) they overheat they warp the heads and it's game over.

The CRD 2.7 engine is a better version, but it's in the WJ Grand Cherokee's.

£1k puts you into WJ territory, a much more refined upgrade to the XJ. Or it's older version, the ZJ.

But if you want an XJ (i still do), look for a multiport LPG converted 4.0L "facelift" (97->) one.

you need a '95 model so you can drive around pretending you are an episode of bugs

I always think that with cars like this that its best to buy a good one with no faults. I would rather pay a £100 more for a proper job. If my jeep does last 20 years of my ownership then the extra £5 a year in depreciation is not a problem.

Locally a nice 1998 Cherokee XJ sold for £850.
We have a local 4x4 training centre and they use Cherokee he buys dogs for £300. Which go wrong and he just buys a
another dog.

Bob

There is an issue with the very last XJ/ZJ/WJ engines due to cracking of cylinder heads - there is a telltale casting number on the head which is something like 0331. - a search on google for the details will throw it up.

The 1999 onwards versions of the engine (used in the WJ Grand Cherokee and the contemporary Wrangler) have a much better design of inlet manifold which is smoother and flows a lot more air. I have fitted one to my 1996 ZJ Grand Cherokee, along with a tubular exhaust manifold and the throttle body from a Chevy V8 - the increase in power is noticeable, even on 19 year old engine with 270,000 km on it.

That engine used to tick when run on modern 10W40 oils (it sounded like a busted hydraulic tappet). Since switching to a good quality 20W50 it has quietened down again and is running like a dream

My Jeeps torque convertor to flex plate bolts came loose which made a clanking noise at idle. It made my imagination run riot for a few minutes until I realised what was wrong.

I am on Mobil 1. The tappets are not overly noisy and can't be heard when driving. On good smooth roads the plot rolls along quiet nicely. On the bumpy bits its not so good. Its capable off road. But on rough roads it bumps around a
bit.

If one doesn't do many miles like me 2500 then big engine cars have an advantage in that the engines tend not to be thrashed because 180bhp in 1750kg Jeep will get you nicked or smashed up. I rarely go past 2500 rpm. Get the revs up and Cherokees are quick enough for its dynamics.
The speed limiter is set at 119mph. I wouldn't want to go that fast I think it would be dangerous.

Bob