Jeep Cherokee XJ

[ztc92]

Forgot to mention my own XJ experience. My wife got her grandparents 1996 XJ with 76,000 miles almost 10 years ago and it served as her daily driver until last year. We still have it and I have aspirations of building it into a trail rig in the next few years even as time and money allow. I really wanted to get a side by side to explore fire roads and do light off roading but the more I thought about it, the more I’ve realized the XJ can do most anything I want to do and it comes fully enclosed with heat and AC!

 

[IH8Cali]

and it comes fully enclosed with heat and AC!

This is why I'll never own a sxs. I pass all these people bombing off the mountain looking like they're coming back from Thunderdome, and I'm just toolin' along with the AC on, radio at a reasonable volume, enjoying a beverage.

 

[Highvoltage1]

I have a 94, it’s teal and the color embarrasses my kids lol. I got it with 82k on the odometer, it’s got 94k now. I completely upgraded all the suspension parts and bushings. It has a pieced together 2” suspension lift and 30” tires. Does everything I need it to do, no special racks or bumpers. I am going to put a hitch on at some point though. Only real maintenance has been a water pump, brakes and rotors. I think you did well on the find. If I was doing things all over I would have bought a 3.5” rubicon express lift, 31” tires and sye and been done. I only went 2” because I don’t want the slip yoke eliminator.

 

[xsn10s]

I'm sure you could fit 31" tires and keep the stock suspension by installing the Bushwacker fender flares. I have them on my XJ with 4.5" lift and 33's. Going stock you won't need to do a sye eliminator and keep the stock suspension geometry.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

If it’s your daily, one of the best upgrades you can do for cost vs benefit is increased power to the headlights via an upgraded wiring harness. This will also allow you to run more powerful headlights in the future. There are tons of explanations about it on Cherokee Forums, but to get started check out post #25 here:

H4 Conversion - Jeep Cherokee Forum

Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go here - H4 Conversion - I decided to finally get some brighter headlights. I got the ones in the picture below. These ones have the h4 bulb and then below it, a smaller blue bulb (just cause I like the look). Curious though, just want...

www.cherokeeforum.com

I did this upgrade, totally worth it. The stock headlamps and wiring are garbage. I put 55/100w bulbs in mine and now the high beams are so bright that I'll never need any additional lighting.

 

[Billy Goat]

I did this upgrade, totally worth it. The stock headlamps and wiring are garbage. I put 55/100w bulbs in mine and now the high beams are so bright that I'll never need any additional lighting.

Make sure you adjust your headlights. Those damn things tend to Carolina squat as it is, then upgraded lights just blind the incoming vehicle.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Make sure you adjust your headlights. Those damn things tend to Carolina squat as it is, then upgraded lights just blind the incoming vehicle.

Yeah this is on my to do list but the Jeep isn't my daily driver so its been a little neglected recently. The packaging on the bulbs I got said "off road use only" and are so bright that I haven't been using the high beams in normal night driving situations where other traffic is present for that exact reason.

 

[JBrew]

I have an 01' with 1" lift and 31x10.50's. Steel winch bumper w winch and a light bar. It does about everything I could ask out of it. I wish I could justify getting rid of the Rough Country suspension, but other than that, the only issue is I sometimes have to put it in neutral for it to crank. Somebody above mentioned some kind of sensor.

 

[turbobrick]

I have an 01' with 1" lift and 31x10.50's. Steel winch bumper w winch and a light bar. It does about everything I could ask out of it. I wish I could justify getting rid of the Rough Country suspension, but other than that, the only issue is I sometimes have to put it in neutral for it to crank. Somebody above mentioned some kind of sensor.

You’re going to want to replace that neutral safety switch before it totally strands you. They can be almost impossible to remove, not something I want to do in the field on a hunt.

 

[JBrew]

You’re going to want to replace that neutral safety switch before it totally strands you. They can be almost impossible to remove, not something I want to do in the field on a hunt.

Thank you...appreciate that info

 

[Stumpy208]

I got one that I've been using for 8 years now. It's taken me everywhere I've wanted to go throughout Idaho and has never left me stranded anywhere either.

If you lift it over 3 inches get a long arm lift kit, a slip yoke eliminator kit, and sway bar quick disconnects. I went through ujoints like crazy until I upgraded my drive shafts. Be sure to air down too. You'd be surprised to see how much more capable the rig is with less than 15psi in the tires (you can go even less with beadlocks)

The extra articulation I have with my long arm kit and sway bar disconnects has saved me from rolling down the side of the mountain multiple times so it's been well worth the added cost.

Here's some pics of the storage area showing a deer will fit in there even when the back is full of tools and recovery gear.

 

[black dawg]

To the OP.

One thing to check on these is that a lot of times the springs are so sagged out that the bumpstops come into play even on minor bumps, creating poor ride quality.

 

[Yellowknife]

I've owned several. Generally they are high maintenance rigs... build quality isn't great! Best for people with a garage to tinker in. Drove one to 185k, but needed an engine replacement to do it. Door hinges started to tear off both sides at 160k and apparently it's so common that Mopar made a repair kit. Replaced countless seals, sensors, alternators, thermostats, starter, radiator, brakes.... Couldn't stray far from a tool box once they hit 100k miles.

The boxy shape is fantastic for camping out of though, and my wife and I did countless trips in them. Drove a red one from Alaska to Colorado to Maine, rough camping the whole way. Then drove it to Yellowknife in the NWT in the middle of January. Left me stranded at -30F on that one.

I've never driven a lifted one that I really liked as a daily driver. It's tough to raise the front without the steering getting sloppy, and it's even tougher to raise the rear very far without making it rough and causing vibration. Those springs back there are pretty short. Modifications can quickly cascade out of hand as one mod just requires another.

The other thing is that sound insulation is very much 1980's style. With aggressive tires, you will absolutely hear it. And they aren't exactly over powered, so I thought they worked best when kept fairly light.

 

[black dawg]

I've owned several. Generally they are high maintenance rigs... build quality isn't great! Best for people with a garage to tinker in. Drove one to 185k, but needed an engine replacement to do it. Door hinges started to tear off both sides at 160k and apparently it's so common that Mopar made a repair kit. Replaced countless seals, sensors, alternators, thermostats, starter, radiator, brakes.... Couldn't stray far from a tool box once they hit 100k miles.

The boxy shape is fantastic for camping out of though, and my wife and I did countless trips in them. Drove a red one from Alaska to Colorado to Maine, rough camping the whole way. Then drove it to Yellowknife in the NWT in the middle of January. Left me stranded at -30F on that one.

I've never driven a lifted one that I really liked as a daily driver. It's tough to raise the front without the steering getting sloppy, and it's even tougher to raise the rear very far without making it rough and causing vibration. Those springs back there are pretty short. Modifications can quickly cascade out of hand as one mod just requires another.

The other thing is that sound insulation is very much 1980's style. With aggressive tires, you will absolutely hear it. And they aren't exactly over powered, so I thought they worked best when kept fairly light.

These where super popular around here for many years for mail delivery. Saw many go 4-500k with original drivetrain other than brakes and u joints. Water pumps were pretty common as well as rear main seals if they cared about leaks. Always seemed far more reliable than expected to me.