Life Expectancy Of A Cherokee

MichaelT

MichaelT

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Location
Charlotte
I am about to buy a 2000 Cherokee Sport 4x4 4.0. It is in great condition and runs great but the only thing is that it has 160,000 miles. It is bone stock and it will be kept that way and just on the road as a DD, so I say. For those of you that use cherokees for a DD how long are they lasting. And is the cost of maintenance high? Thanks -Mike
 
kind of a weird question. no real answer.

depends on a lot. the previous owners care of it. whats been done to it. etc etc.

but IMO....160K isnt a lot. i have owned and known MANY XJs to run for 200, 250 and some 300K

just kind of depends. buy it if the price is right and youve check it out
 
agreed, depends on the care taken as with most vehicles, but It's not uncommon for the XJs and ZJ's to run 250K plus. My '93 ZJ which has the same drivetrain ( I think the '00 xjs had an aw4 tranny) has 254K on it right now. Guy that runs the Gas station I stop at in the mornings has a late 80's xj with 325K+ on it.
 
Oh the price is right, and It is from a friends dad who is a dealer so I have no idea of the po's but it runs like a champ now.
 
Ive seen cherokees shit the bed at 160K, actually 115K before (my friends), but ive seen them with 400K on the org engine... All about the way it was taken care of, a compression test will let you in on the health of the engine. And see if you can't start it up cold. they have valve chatter issues, but usually it doesnt hurt the way they run once warmed up. Its honestly up in the air, if its healthy now, then take care of it, oil changes, fuel system services, etc. and it should last a good while.
 
I had a 89 Cherokee with 150k on the clock and it over heated from time to time. Thats bout it. My 96 Grand Cherokee has 170k miles and it is running great! If its the I6 you know those motors are great, yours has held up on your Wrangler right? Run synthetic oil and you will probably get more life out of it (it wouldnt hurt anything but your pockets a lil). Overall, like everyone else said, it depents on the PO. I thought you said this thing has 60k miles not 160k!! If the price is right, then why not.
 
My buddy had 330k on the clock and for the most part was running strong. The AW4 torque converter was starting to slip a little but otherwise ran like a champ.

I'd also like to add if the previous owner has been using dino oil the whole time, don't switch to synthetic oil. The i6 4.0 likes dino oil as it is. Just keep it changed regularly.
 
94blackyota said:
i had an 89 cherokee with 350k orig drivetrain and motor
Click to expand...

Those 89's were good!! The clear coat on the paint was garbage until 92 i think but i had the 2 door sport and that thing would go anywhere!
 
My cherokee did Badlands, Roush Creek, Paragon, Moab, sand dunes in New Mexico, just about everything.

Bought it at 90k and was completely used up by 150k with a three inch lift and 31 inch tires.

Bent both tubes of the rear axle, cracked the output of the transfercase. Wasted both front unit bearings and the associated front brake parts.

Biggest thing is I wasted the unibody. It would flex so bad you could not open the doors in off camber situations and it finally came to the point where the radiator would flex into the engine fan (!).

But, the motor and trans worked like a champ! I took the lift off, dropped in another rear, and sold it to someone that would be a little nicer to her and last I knew it had 220+k miles on it.


Bottom line: Stock, and mild wheeling, they last forever. Heavier tires and a lift start wearing on them unless you add in a bunch or reinforcements. My dad's still looks new after 120k miles - stock tires and mild offroading..
 
i have 2 XJs

the 88 is almost stock and pushin 197k ish. still picks em up and puts em down no prob.
the 99 has 117k and is very much not stock.

the I6 4.0 is one of the best motors as long as ya take care of em.

my 2 cents
 
Cherokee

My 88 has 254,000 miles. Engine overhaul at 220,000 due to the guy I bought it from not keeping up on oil changes. Radiator at 250,000. So its like anything else. Just depends on how there taken care of. But for the most part there 200,000 mile rides for sure.
 
Yeah I have a 4.0 in my TJ and that is the only thing that has not taken a :poop: on me. I appreciate the input guys but the day I was supposed to go drive it (I had only ridden in it before) it broke down so that kind of threw up a red flag, not sure what was wrong.
 
If your gonna beat on it then add some frame stiffiners
 
the 4.0 is a good motor, but I blew my first one at 180,000 replaced with a brand new factory motor and changed the oil every 2500 miles and it only lasted 30,000 miles and I put in a third one and when I sold it it had about 18,000 on running good, the cherokee it self is motified alot running 39 iroks and the style of driving like you stole it was run on it all the time. just my experience
 
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