School me on Jeep Cherokees

[ungeheuer]

I had a '94 XJ Cherokee Limited, 4x4, auto I6. Did 250,000 trouble free Kms all on LPG. No failures ever.  Nothing.  Beat the living crap out of it in the bush doing stuff it was never meant to do.  

IMO, absolutely dependable and unbreakable.  Except for the time I drowned it in a river  .

[brix821]

Expect to change electric window motors. CONSTANTLY.

Other than being really light on the rear and prone to skidding in the wet, they're uber solid.

They also have a particular smell that can only be described as the Cherokee smell. Every single one I've been in has it.

worst part of owning a jeep.....

[A.duc.H.duc.]

Reference above, '99 still has the old head design.

My mistake. However, '99s will have the low pinion front axle which is less desirable. If you need more details, the late head casting number is 0331, the head casting that you want is 0630.

[ducatiz]

I've been searching and it seems like VERY few of them were sold as stick -- or no one wants to sell theirs.

What about the I4 engine? is it any good?

[Howie]

I had the experience of driving one with a 4 banger, manual trans, 4 wheel drive.  To some it up in three words, SLOW AND CRUDE. 

[akmnstr]

My wife had one.  It was a 4X4 auto with an inline 6.  We got it at a government auction.  Being a former federal car it had no extra options. We were lucky it had a radio.  As I remember Consumer Report hated them.  Terrible reliability issues and poor fuel economy.  However, we did not have much trouble with ours.  It had hand crank windows so no problems with electric windows . 

[the_Journeyman]

I've also heard to avoid the I4.

JM

[Speedbag]

Had a '98 Wrangler with the I4. Wasn't bad if you never had to pass on the highway. 

I went to a '99 with a 4.0 the next year.

[Mother]

What about the I4 engine? is it any good?

It is a good little motor actually you just have to keep in mind it is trying to pull a 4k lb vehicle with full sized truck tires and zero aerodynamics

The best Cherokee version of the 2.5 had 130hp and 149lbs-ft...early to mid 90's

The worst Wrangler version of the 2.5 had 105hp and 130lbs-ft

by comparison

The 258 (both versions)I-6 ('71-'90) was 112hp and 210lbs-ft

The 242 (4.0 High Output) I-6 ('91-'06) was 190hp and 230lbs-ft

The 2.5 is simply a 258 with 2 cylinders chopped off

All those are great motors if you utilize common sense

I quantify my opinion as I have blown up all of them...some more than once

[ducatiz]

It is a good little motor actually you just have to keep in mind it is trying to pull a 4k lb vehicle with full sized truck tires and zero aerodynamics

The best Cherokee version of the 2.5 had 130hp and 149lbs-ft...early to mid 90's

The worst Wrangler version of the 2.5 had 105hp and 130lbs-ft

by comparison

The 258 (both versions)I-6 ('71-'90) was 112hp and 210lbs-ft

The 242 (4.0 High Output) I-6 ('91-'06) was 190hp and 230lbs-ft

The 2.5 is simply a 258 with 2 cylinders chopped off

All those are great motors if you utilize common sense

I quantify my opinion as I have blown up all of them...some more than once

What makes the HO models?  Supercharged?  Turbo? 

I don't need a speed demon, and if the I4 is good enough and can pull a class 1 hitch, then i am fine with it.

Are there overbore kits for the I4 or supercharger kits?

[cokey]

I would turbo it anyways.  Better gas mileage.

[ducatiz]

I would turbo it anyways.  Better gas mileage.

Turbo is far more complex to retrofit, unless someone has a kit. 

Supercharging is easier to retrofit.

[Kaveh]

What makes the HO models?  Supercharged?  Turbo? 

I don't need a speed demon, and if the I4 is good enough and can pull a class 1 hitch, then i am fine with it.

Are there overbore kits for the I4 or supercharger kits?

I used to own a 90 wrangler with the 2.5 4 banger.  The 'HO' in the 4.0 straight six stands for high output.  One big difference between that motor and the 4.2 six is that the HO is fuel injected and the 4.2 is carburated.  They make various fuel injection kits for the 4.2 (well they did 8-9 years ago when I kept up with jeeps).  The fuel injection kit reportedly is night and day with the added power.  I have driven both the 4.2 and the 4.0 wranglers, and the 4.2 was pretty much as slow as my 2.5.  The 4.0 was a great motor that had gobs of torque.

I'm not a jeep expert, and I am definitely not a Cherokee expert, but I was pretty enthusiastic about them in the mid-late 90's.  One thing to be aware of is that the Cherokee is uni-body construction, but it seems you are not intending to modify it or wheel it that much, so it might be a moot point.

[ducatiz]

I can't see them calling an FI motor high output unless its supercharged or turboed but then again, that's marketing.

[Speedbag]

http://www.avengersuperchargers.com/