94 Jeep Cherokee Sport
 

Thinking about picking one up. What kinda problems should I be looking for? Anything prone to failure on them that can be checked easily? What kind of cheap lift kits are out there for them nothing to crazy only a few inches so I can put some slightly bigger tires on it. Any help appreciated.

Thanks in Advance.

Berz out.

No matter what get the inline 6 4.0L, bullet proof engine with lots of aftermarket support (if its possible).

Also if you can, get a selec-trac all wheel drive transfercase (2wd, 4lo, 4 hi, neutral) as opposed to an 4 wheel drive all the time transfercase just because they take more abuse/are more reliable.

For cheap lifts either do a budget boost (solid plastic cups that space your coils out and cost maybe $100 for 4) or go to ironrockoffroad.com?

i've had a few different XJ cherokees over the years.

the more common problems are exhaust manifold cracking, track bar wearing, CPS sensor failing.

for lift, you can do a budget boost like dhillon09 mentioned if you want to keep it under 3" lift.

cheap lift:
coil spacers
tcase drop
track bar bracket
longer shackle,
add a leaf or bastard pack (s10 rear leafs mixed with XJ lefs)
relocate front brake lines
and new shocks
.... that will let you run 31x10.5 tires, but I would recomend different rims becasue of the high offset of the stock wheels which can cause tires to run on inner fenders.

I strongly suggest looking at rubicon express for the lift kit - if you're buying new, one of the best lift kit makers for jeeps. check out their RE6120 and RE6130, for the 2 decent basic lifts.

a good kit will come with:
lower 4link control arms (some more $$ come with uppers, and better yet, adjustable), new coils, shocks, new leaf springs, sway bar disco's, shackles, brake lines (maybe), track-bar

check out bb.bc4x4.com forum for information and their buy/sell section for used parts.

I'd recommend a ZJ over an XJ. Coils all the way round and much more capable out of the box.

You can't be serious... unless I'm missing something...

Having owned both an XJ and a ZJ, the XJ was HANDS DOWN a better vehicle, in every possible way.

As said before, the 4.0L motors are extremely reliable, fairly easy to work on, and parts are everywhere. Gas will also be better in an XJ, especially if you stay away from running mud tires on the street. There are so many different types of lifts for XJ's, your options really depend on budget. A simple 3" lift will let you run 31"x10 tires, without much rubbing. Only rubbing I had is when I had my steering wheel at full lock (like pulling into a pking space, etc). The lift kit I went with was this one, and loved it:
http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma...8&yr=1984-2001
It was amazing in the snow, and never ever let me down. As long as you keep up with regular maintenance, you should expect the same.

My ZJ was a disappointment. I bought this after having my XJ for a few years, thinking I was getting a luxury version of my XJ. Boy was I wrong. Not even close as reliable as my XJ. Check around online, and you'll see that both 6cyl and the 8cyl models don't exactly inspire confidence. Plus, proper lift kits are few and far between. Not saying they aren't out there, but start doing a little research, and you'll see why. My ZJ had the all time 4wd, which was great in the rain, but not so hot in the snow (compared to the XJ anyway), needless to say, this paired with the 8cyl made for TERRIBLE gas mileage.

As for shops, I cannot praise North Shore Off Road enough. Bought all my parts/supplies from them, great bunch of guys. Tell them you're on the BC4x4.com forum, and get a pretty decent discount.

Best thing to do is to look at both, and see which you like better. If you've been doing some research online already, you'll see that I'm not alone :)

Just my 2 cents... but talking about this makes me miss my XJ again :(

Just to add to what you've said, the ZJ had notoriously bad transmissions in the 5.9L (made in 1998 only) that commonly failed. Ontop of that, gas is horrible, and if I remember correctly mileage for the i6 and v8 were pretty similar due to the horrible aerodynamics of the thing lol.

Anyways, I suggest you sign up on this forum http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/

Wealth of knowledge, and they're pretty helpful guys (unless you ask them about street modifications lol). Ontop of that, the buy and sell forum is a goldmine of cheap parts, and for the most part, everyone deals with paypal so its pretty trustworthy (just ship to pt roberts). I've bought a lot of stuff for my WJ off there. I believe used auto parts are duty free, so all you pay is tax at the border, and that's only if they decide to charge you.

Bit of an aside, I don't know if the XJ came with a "tow package" but if it did, definitely look for that because a tow package usually comes with a rear hitch (recovery point if you get stuck) and they usually add a transmission fluid cooling system (a small rad up next to the main rad).

And just a word of advice, stay the fuck away from a guy named "KOLAK" whose a vendor on that forum, bastard never sorted out my electric cutout that failed. :argue: Everyone on that forum rides his e-penis, but his stuff is usually overpriced and he's a bit of a douche.


Anyways, here's a good thread that discuss lifts/xj's in general
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/x...v2-0-a-983075/

Some build logs for ideas
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f271/

Goodluck. Everyone asked me why I bought a jeep (and some still do) ... once you start driving it in screwed up weather/trails/backroads you start to fall in love :)

^^ one more zj's suck and xj's rule

totally different build quality, go ask a chrysler mechanic which one he would rather own haha

I've owned, lifted, wheeled and maintained both over long periods of time.
The best bang for buck setup with a touch of class and comfort is gonna be the 4.0l ZJ add 5.2l ZJ springs giving a 2 inch lift, slight fender trimming, 32x11.5 tires, pull the sway bars, get V8 track bar build a bumper add a winch and you'd be amazed at the ability, reliability, comfort and where it will take you.
If you want to spend a bit more money get the selectable Tcase out of an earlier XJ swap the input shafts and shift linkage and now you're not stuck with full time 4wd. This can be done for under $200 if you have the mechanical ability to do the work yourself.
If your comfortable doing all the work yourself and sourcing used parts you can have all this done easily for under $3000 and be hard pressed to find a better performing truck for the money. The last one I built in this manner was done for under $1500 but I started with a $500 ZJ needing wheel bearings and a water pump.

Awesome guys! I got the 4.0L its Auto with the 2H 4H 4L lever. Took out for a couple trails today and it worked flawless. Can't wait to get a bit of a lift and some bigger tires on it.

What offset rims, if I were to upgrade would you recommend with larger tires?

Thanks again!

Berz out.

You can run the stock wheels with 31 inch 10.5 wide tires and a 2 inch lift. When turning full stop to stop it might rub on the front links a little but there should be steering stop adjusters on the knuckles spin them out a touch to eliminate that. If its a 2door you have plenty of room for fender trimming and then you can put some 33's under it with the same lift.

Hey berz, I don't know if this will help you much but if it does,

I'm lowering my WJ soon with eibachs. You can have my stockers for free and they should be good for around a 2 inch lift if you're interested? Nice way to get you started atleast, and when you get bored of it upgrade. Stock shocks should be fine. Not too sure about what to do for the leafsprings though, you could have some badass rake lol

31x10.5 tires with a 2" lift? And you had no rubbing? I wish that were the case with my XJ. I had a 3.5" lift, and suffered from minor rubbing issues. Full steering lock, and the odd time out on the trail. I had my 31's on my stock wheels, which I'm sure helped. No way 33's will fit with a 2" lift.

If you were to rock a simple 2" lift, a good, zero issue tire size would be 30x9.5 IMO

If you're planning on doing some regular wheeling, and enjoying some of the more gnarly trails, rocker guards are a MUST thanks to the unibody of the Cherokee. These things will pay for themseleves over and over again. Trust me. For example: http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...y_Code=xj_skid

Another good idea is to make sure you have a front recovery point (rear too if yours doesn't already have a hitch). Proper tow hooks, or a front mount hitch. Again, worth every penny when you need help!

Enjoy your XJ! Let's see some pics!

Dhillon that would be sweet man appreciate it! I guess I could just throw some lifting blocks on the leafs in the back to get a couple inches?

Spoon Fed how much $$ do those rocker guards usually run for? I'll upload some pics after this weekend. I'm gonna Rhino Line the jeep for a new "paint" job :)

One more question. When installing trail lights on the roof, where and how is the best place to run the wires and how do you prevent leaking?

I got a lot of learning to do with this new platform lol. Oh and fuck me it costs me over 100$ to fill the fucking gas tank today!!!! Godamn it! haha

Berz out.

Yeah no problems man I have no use for them. I contemplated for about 2 years, and now I'm finally taking the plunge and lowering my WJ and I ordered staggered srt8 rims :) Different strokes for different folks I guess. I have no idea when I'll finally get around to lowering my WJ (gotta save up for rubber now) but when I do I'll send you a PM.

I'm not too sure about lifting blocks on leaf springs but that should work. Never really dealt with leaf spring type suspension to be honest

Yes, that's one option, and also the cheapest. A 'one better' option is to add a leaf to the exisiting leaf spring pack.

Those rocker guards can run you all kinds of pricing. It really depends on the quality, brand, material used, etc etc. The ones in the link I posted are a good set. Rusty's is a well known name, and their products are good. Price for them is on that page. There are even guys out there who can scratch build you a set. Check out BC4x4.com as a start, because they're local. Also try calling North Shore Off Road and see what they recommend. (Don't forget to say you're on the bc4x4 forum to score a discount) EDIT: I believe you're out in the valley, so Sport Trucks Unlimited in Langley is your better bet. Same company, and saves you a drive to the north shore.

As for the roof lights, I always planned on adding lights to my surco roof rack/basket, but ran into the same issue. So I just added a set to my bumper and called it a day :D lol

Gas was a whore. Even back when I had my jeep, it was below a $1 a litre, and it hurt. Especially when I switched to mud tires. Ugh. Stick to all-terrains if you plan on street driving it a lot!

Yea I'm gonna keep my Sunfire (no laughing) for daily driving cuz I figure the amount I save on Gas will pay for the insurance for both vehicles so no biggie there. Sad times we live in!

When you say add a leaf do you mean just get an overload leaf or something and add that to the leaf pack?

Berz out.

holy shit, how big is the tank on an xj? it costs me $70-80ish to fill the tank on my 4runner!

Gas tank is 76 liters.... fucking beast!

Berz out.

Isn't your truck carb-ed?

Propane that bitch! $60 cents/liter of propane, gets slightly less MPG than conventional gas.

I love my 98 4L I6 XJ. My mother owned it since 2001, we have put about 280ooo on the motor since we bought it. It worked very well in our -60 temps in northern Alberta... if you remembered to plug in the block heater and oil pan heater. It worked awesome in deep clay/mud, hood high snow, drifting on dirt roads and traveling the ice roads on our way to my hockey games or to work.

The only things i have really replaced were the oil pump, upstream O2 sensor, punctured rad and a filing TPS a few months back. Most often thing to replace was the PCV valve (every 30 000 or so). These motors are good for up to 400ooo with regular maintenance. For the reliability and off road capability, I give it a 10/10 and will always be a Jeep lover :). If any problems arise give me a PM, and ill try to help you out

if your looking for aftermarket rims to fit 31's, go with 15x8 with 3.5" backspacing. stock backspacing is 5.25" if i remeber correct.

my 93 XJ has a 3.5" lift on stock rims and 30x9.5" tires in the first pic. same lift with different rims 15x8 4" backspacing i think, might have been 3.5" but dont remember exactly.

my lift was mostly skyjacker. coils, coil spacer, longer lower control arms, add a leaf in rear springs, longer shackles, JKS sway bar disconects, and rubicon express 1600 track bar. worked good when i went 4 wheeling, but it was my daily so I didnt take it out on the trail much before I sold it.

Also XJs seem to generate alot of heat under the hood, I had overheating issues a few different times, lots of people use lebaron hood vents to get better airflow in the engine bay.


http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4281/vics93xjwk2.jpg

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/8...enterlines.jpg

I'm looking for some 15x8 with a 3.5 or 4" backspacing if anyone has a set let me know please.

Here El Jeepo is the day I bought it. Bit of rust here and there but overall not bad for $1500. Came with a remote starter, Full Stereo, and a brand new set of snow tires too.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...f&id=522510553

Didn't like the color and wanted to take care of the rust so I wire brushed all the rust off and then went to Cambodian Tire. They had a sale on cans of Undercoating for $2.50 per can so I bought 10 cans. Turns out the coverage with undercoating is a hell of a lot better than spray paint. I only used 3.5 cans to paint the entire jeep.

I added a leaf in the rear already but haven't done anything to the front yet.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...2&id=522510553

If someone would hurry up and give me their old Front Suspension that would be great ;) haha
My Jeep looks like a Mercenary Vehicle now with the flat black undercoating paintjob and tinted windows. As soon as I find some rims I'll slap some better tires on the bitch and start really having fun.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...e&id=522510553


Berz out.

Is a transfer case drop just as simple as sticking spacers under the T-Case? Does it really make that big of a difference?

Berz out.

nice job on the undercoating as paint, looks good and will probably last the life of the jeep!

for the tcase spacers, yep longer bolts and small piece of steel or alumn that is inserted between the tcase skid plate and the unibody "frame". there are 2 bolts on each side. first link below gives you good idea/

tcase spacer is usually needed for a 3" lift, and it does make a difference in that the driveline has less chance of binding and you blowing the d-shaft u-joint or the pinion on rear axle. some people dont need them depending on the type of lift they have, but it varies alot.
the best thing is to get a SYE for the tcase and CV driveshaft. much more $$ but if your putting on a large lift 4" or more it should be on the parts list.

example: Jeep Horizons :: Jeep Transfer Case Drop Made Easy

some people just use a chunk of 1" steel with holes drilled

here is a good selection: Search Results by 4 Wheel Drive Hardware