Jeep Grand Cherokee

[AFRaven]

Im not a huge Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep fan, so I would go with a Blazer if I were in the market for an SUV. In my experience, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles have been subpar.

In the first Caravan that our family purchased, the tranny blew after a whopping 3 weeks of use. Then it blew again 2 months later. Thank god it was under warranty. The car died after 110k miles, depite regular oil changes (3000 miles), and manufacturer's suggested tune ups.

In the second Caravan we got, the power window motors blew at least, without exaggeration, 6 times. The AC compressor two times, and the motor was on its last legs at about 145k miles.

The last van we had was a Town and Country. It held up relatively nicely, with fairly minor problems. The main issue being that the whole fuel level sensor assembly had to be replaced. Personally, I think the mechanic ripped us off on that one.

You may ask yourself, why buy Chryslers if you have problems with them. A person in my family works for Chrysler so we get a form of discount.

This person in my family, who also gets discounts wanted to purchase a pickup truck. Easy, some say, he would go with a Dodge for the discount. On the contrary, he went with a Ford F-250. I think that is saying something.

Other people have had better luck with Chryslers than us, I will readily admit. Just go with whichever feels the best to you, suits your needs, and is in the best condition (if buying used).

[AFRaven]

Originally posted by Heat
The one that I'm mostly worried about is the liberty... so far it seems to be the weakest link, but that's just from what I read about it, so you descide for yourself. Either way the liberty is the uglyest suv right after the aztek by pontiac.

Sorry I didn't include this in my other post, but I thought it would be too Off-Topic for the same post. Heat, this Spring, I was in rock-crawling country USA. Most people that go on the annual Jeep safaris there drive Wranglers or completely custom made crawlers. Now, more to the point, many people were simply amazed by the stock performance of the Jeep Liberty. Admittingly, it simply cannot outperform a Wrangler in the off-road sense, but it truely did hold it's ground.

Second off, I can think of a few other ugly SUVs to add to the list, in order of ugliness.

1. Pontiac Aztek (Looks like a Dustbuster that is smiling at me)
2. Hummer H2 (Looks like a dumpster)
3. Honda Element (Rubik's Cube, enough said)
4. Isuzu V-Cros (Reminds me of a grasshopper for some reason)
5. Ford Explorer Sport-Trac (Half-assed pickup)
6. Jeep Liberty (Only when it has the bar lights and the "Off-Road" package)

[p8ntball1016]

http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=ugly_cars

[AutoMaggot]

I've owned two Grand Cherokees, a ZJ (1995 - older body) and a WJ (2001 - newer body). My old one was an I6 4.0 with the slec-trac 4WD. I gave it two years of pure hell past 150,000 miles and it was running strong and fierce. I don't think I had any complaints about that one... it was a solid car.

I have an '01 now and I still like it... it has a more refined feel than the 95 and the I6 is still under the hood and going smoothly. It gives you adequate passing power, but a bit more juice would be nice. That's my only real complaint. The new 4.7 engine is supposed to take care of that, and I guess the Hemi is gonna be dropped in the next line of Grands... so that should be interesting.

I've had no problems with either vehicle.

[Lohman446]

Two things I suggest in a Jeep - steer away from Quadra Trac, insist on Selec-Trac four wheel drive (even though it is the "lesser" of the options).

The 4.0 I6 motor is just about indestructible, it is the better of the motors offered. Also I replace a whole lot less transmissions in ones with the 6 compared to the 8 - though driving habits obviously have some effect (yeh, I have a clue what I'm talking about, I manage a repair shop). Frankly though I do not replace a lot of Jeep motors period, the transmissions are an issue. Also watch for issues in the front and rear differentials (noise) this is a consideration. You're looking at fairly new vehicles (it seems) so luck has a lot to do with it - most everything you should be looking at should have some warranty left. As for cat. converters, yes Chrysler has a problem - the warranty, I beleive, is 8 years and 80K miles on the converter.

That being said I got hold of one of the 4.7 V8s with select trac. The first time I stomped the gas on it I put the thing sideways... awesome amount of power.

All of that said, drive a Jeep, the ride has improved remarkably over the years, but they are still designed for off road use more than most sport utility vehicles and do not offer the ride that the Explorers/Blazer/Trailblazer offer. It really depends what you want in a vehicle.

[bornl33t]

a few more things that poped into my mind

The grand cherokee altho it doesn't have a manual option, does come standart with full lockers. REALLY NICE!! Even though it's kinda a wishy washy diff lock something around 70-30 or 80-20 the cherokee doesn't even have this!!!

The tranny's the jeeps come with are very well built, a local friend has a 89 jeep cherokee with 230k miles on it and it's still on the first tranny, and from what I can tell it's the same one my 98 has.

Owners of the H2's are lovingly called the short bus kids. cause the canary yellow H2's are VERY similar to the short busses you see at school.

And generally I agree with who ever doesn't like dodge, their trucks don't hold their resale for a reason... but jeep technically isn't made by dodge. While infact the plant was bought out by chrysler dodge, jeep are still being made by this plant and the workings are still the same as they were before they were bought out. Infact the only changes are cosmetics, interior mostly. I may be wrong but I remember someone telling me that when jeep was bought out part or the buyout agreement included that Jeeps would still be made and manufactured by Jeep, only with the dodge chysler lable. Which is why you see The 5 star chysler symbol everywhere, but it's still called a jeep and not a "Grand Moutain Goat" or whatever.

[Lohman446]

So I suppose the 318 and 360 (98 only) that made it into the Jeeps were flucs of nature. Jeep has taken a hit to the off road image since the Chrysler buy out, the redesigns have made them less rugged of a vehicle, however, they have also made them more road friendly.

The exception, I'm sorry, the Jeep Rubicon is awesome, nearly as good as some of the custom built rock climbers.

[PyRo]

Don't grand cherokees use mercedes transmissions? I remember my friend was changing his teachers tranny fluid once and was looking high and low for a filter and finally got it from a mercedes dealer.

[AutoMaggot]

'04 Grands were redesigned by Daimler.

[joez]

grand cherokee is made for a smoother ride then the cherokee. IF you look under the rear fenders of these two you'll see the cherokee has leaf springs and the grand cherokee has 4 wheel independant suspension. What's the difference? leaf springs = rougher ride...like a truck

no, grand cherokees are still solid axle all around, they have the same 5-link in the front that the cherokee has and a rear 4 link instead of the leaf springs.

The grand cherokee altho it doesn't have a manual option, does come standart with full lockers. REALLY NICE!! Even though it's kinda a wishy washy diff lock something around 70-30 or 80-20 the cherokee doesn't even have this!!!

dont mean to pick on you, but once again, no. it has quadra drive, which is more of a handicap than a help. it is a traction control system that uses braking and a limited slip in the center diff to differentiate power to other wheels. by the time it starts to work, you are already stuck. the rubicon has the selectable lockers front and rear. this means that no matter what power is split 25/25/25/25. when fully locked (on any vehicle) it is impossible to drive on pavement, this is why people with streetable trail rigs dont have spools up front. you cant turn.

as it was already stated, if you are going to buy one, get the I-6 and the selectrac. the selectrac actually locks the center diff, and this will help more than the big brother traction control system, and has proven to be more reliable. the 4.0 is a great motor, not uncommon to hit 200K with them. the only things to watch for are rear main seal leaks and transmissions. chrysler has not been able to build a quality auto since the TF727. the 4.0 puts less stress on the drivetrain components then the v-8 does, not to mention you are less inclined to use the skinny.

if buying a used one, make sure to run a carfax, since these vehicles are unibody, it doesnt take much to throw them out of whack. make sure all doors close properly, all body pannels are strait, and get the carfax on it. if it was involved in even a minor accident, run hard, run far.

leave it to jeep to build a unibody 4x4 and call it an off-road vehicle.

[PyRo]

Oh god. Mine was hit upfront before I got it. This car should have been a total loss, he guy spend $4k at some lousy shop, would have cost him $12 or so at a decent place to get it done right but he just wanted it together to fix it.

Anyway, every body panel, headlight, bumper, grill etc up front is off. I forget the name of the damn part right now, ill get it in a minute, but it was cracked should have been replaced but nope, they just welded it. Front end doesn't hold fluid, literally runs out, needs an inner seal and a couple other parts up there. Drivers door I don't know what they did, it was hacked so bad I had to get a new door and install it right. Still a little off but much better, drivers rear door is just a little off.
I don't know how bad it was hit, must have been bad though, front driveshaft ripped out, all the bolts were broken off. Should have cost the guy $12k to fix the thing, but he paid $4k at some nasty place. I fixed it up, and i'm selling it for what I paid for it plus the parts and its actually a fair price and a half decent truck now.

Don't buy a burgandy grand cherokee in glen cove


There is another grand thats been sitting at a gas station wrecked up front for a while, its not too badley damaged, maybie I should slap a new bumper and quarter on it and sell it

[bornl33t]

Originally posted by Heat
the grand cherokee is made for a smoother ride then the cherokee. IF you look under the rear fenders of these two you'll see the cherokee has leaf springs and the grand cherokee has 4 wheel independant suspension. What's the difference? leaf springs = rougher ride...like a truck
independant suspension = smoother ride, more things to go wrong

Jeeps are truly some of the last true sport utility vehicles out there. While the cherokee has a sturdier design both can be taken off road with easy. The one that I'm mostly worried about is the liberty... so far it seems to be the weakest link, but that's just from what I read about it, so you descide for yourself. Either way the liberty is the uglyest suv right after the aztek by pontiac.

for more questions and answer I would recomend you check out the Jeep Forums.

kids, this is why crack is bad for you.....

what I meant was 4 wheel springs, not independant suspension, and not full lockers, but front to rear lockers. that better?

[joez]

what I meant was 4 wheel springs, not independant suspension, and not full lockers, but front to rear lockers. that better?

closer, but still not quite. i think you have the rubicon on your mind. that has selectable front and rear lockers, actuated by air pressure via a compressor. the grand has quadra drive, which is traction control, it uses open diffs and the brakes to slow down spinning tires and put more power the tires with more traction. at least in theory it does that. it is good for the snow and general street driving, but not in an off-camber situation. pull 2 tires off the ground with no momentum and you are done.

and yes, crack is bad for you

[hitech]

Well, I have a '96 Grand Cherokee with 120k miles. The A/C leaks, I've replaced the water pump and the transmission just went out (replaced with a "used" transmission). I should have had the tanny replaced when it was under warranty, but the symptoms didn't reappear. My Chrysler certified mechanic buddy told me what to say to get them to replace it (there was a service bulletin), but I never did. I'll let you decide if that is too much to have gone wrong in 120k miles.

I have the V8 model and by brother has the I6. He gets a few mpg more than me, but I don't think it is worth it. I have noticeably more power in all RPM ranges. He thinks the V8 isn't worth it, so it's a personal preference issue. I like mine, but I'll like it more when the tranny works properly again. But the current issues are probably a lack of knowledge on the installers (me) part.

[Clare]

I have a '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee (I6) and it's alright, in my opinion. I'm a bit anxious to trade it in for a different SUV, though.