I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
(mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
off-road package or towing package.

What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?

Cheers, y'all.

--
Brian Heller

It is easier to tame wild beasts
than to conquer the human mind.

 

Congrats!

Lots of folks here have Cherokees, myself included.

I would recommend driving it for a while before lifting as it is a very
capable vehicle right out of the box. We take ours back into the bush
so deep ATV'ers think there must be some new back trail in they don't
know about.... :-)

That said you can get inexpensive 1.5 or 2" spacer lifts for them or get
into spring replacement and new frame parts to go up over 3".

Nothing really to watch out for. The engines have the odd known quirks
so if anything is acting strange, likely someone here has seen it or
heard about it.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Brian wrote:
>
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.

 

Congrats!

Lots of folks here have Cherokees, myself included.

I would recommend driving it for a while before lifting as it is a very
capable vehicle right out of the box. We take ours back into the bush
so deep ATV'ers think there must be some new back trail in they don't
know about.... :-)

That said you can get inexpensive 1.5 or 2" spacer lifts for them or get
into spring replacement and new frame parts to go up over 3".

Nothing really to watch out for. The engines have the odd known quirks
so if anything is acting strange, likely someone here has seen it or
heard about it.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Brian wrote:
>
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.

 

Congrats!

Lots of folks here have Cherokees, myself included.

I would recommend driving it for a while before lifting as it is a very
capable vehicle right out of the box. We take ours back into the bush
so deep ATV'ers think there must be some new back trail in they don't
know about.... :-)

That said you can get inexpensive 1.5 or 2" spacer lifts for them or get
into spring replacement and new frame parts to go up over 3".

Nothing really to watch out for. The engines have the odd known quirks
so if anything is acting strange, likely someone here has seen it or
heard about it.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Brian wrote:
>
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.

 

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004, Brian wrote:

> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.

I bought a `96 Cherokee Sport this past summer. 4.0, Auto, 83K miles. I
miss the map lights that my `89 had and I find that the Chrysler steering
isn't as comfortable as the older system was, but the seats are more
comfy. And how much did not including dome light switches in the rear
doors save them per unit, I wonder?


> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?

4WheelDrive publishes an XJ-specific catalogue. Try
<URL:http://www.4wd.com/cherokee> or call them at 1-800-333-5535. Others
here will help you with questions about lifts and tires, that's out of my
league.

I haven't found many quirks on my `96 yet, but the `89 had a few: The CPS
would get confuzzled a couple of times a year, generally following oil
changes. The symptom was always a no-start, no spark, no fuel.
Unplugging the connector at the firewall and reconnecting it always reset
it. The Crankcase venting system had to be kept clean or it would blow
oil out of the valve cover gasket, a well-known problem. Around 170K
miles the fuel pump will give up the ghost, if it can manage it it will do
so in the high-speed lane at rush hour. And then there's the usual set of
complaints about the front axle not locking in to 4WD or refusing to
unlock from 4WD Part Time. It is mostly a vacuum problem.

Others have noted here that the floor pan is a rust magnet, and a sales
guy at a catalogue call center was telling me the other day that his `96
auto trans oil lines broke in the rubber hose section, and advised
eyeballing mine for leaks.

Oh, and eventually your headliner will fall down. Foam rot. You can
repair it, but it is messy, smelly and involves the 3M spray glue that
says "Not for repairing headliners".

Good luck!

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

 

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004, Brian wrote:

> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.

I bought a `96 Cherokee Sport this past summer. 4.0, Auto, 83K miles. I
miss the map lights that my `89 had and I find that the Chrysler steering
isn't as comfortable as the older system was, but the seats are more
comfy. And how much did not including dome light switches in the rear
doors save them per unit, I wonder?


> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?

4WheelDrive publishes an XJ-specific catalogue. Try
<URL:http://www.4wd.com/cherokee> or call them at 1-800-333-5535. Others
here will help you with questions about lifts and tires, that's out of my
league.

I haven't found many quirks on my `96 yet, but the `89 had a few: The CPS
would get confuzzled a couple of times a year, generally following oil
changes. The symptom was always a no-start, no spark, no fuel.
Unplugging the connector at the firewall and reconnecting it always reset
it. The Crankcase venting system had to be kept clean or it would blow
oil out of the valve cover gasket, a well-known problem. Around 170K
miles the fuel pump will give up the ghost, if it can manage it it will do
so in the high-speed lane at rush hour. And then there's the usual set of
complaints about the front axle not locking in to 4WD or refusing to
unlock from 4WD Part Time. It is mostly a vacuum problem.

Others have noted here that the floor pan is a rust magnet, and a sales
guy at a catalogue call center was telling me the other day that his `96
auto trans oil lines broke in the rubber hose section, and advised
eyeballing mine for leaks.

Oh, and eventually your headliner will fall down. Foam rot. You can
repair it, but it is messy, smelly and involves the 3M spray glue that
says "Not for repairing headliners".

Good luck!

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

 

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004, Brian wrote:

> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.

I bought a `96 Cherokee Sport this past summer. 4.0, Auto, 83K miles. I
miss the map lights that my `89 had and I find that the Chrysler steering
isn't as comfortable as the older system was, but the seats are more
comfy. And how much did not including dome light switches in the rear
doors save them per unit, I wonder?


> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?

4WheelDrive publishes an XJ-specific catalogue. Try
<URL:http://www.4wd.com/cherokee> or call them at 1-800-333-5535. Others
here will help you with questions about lifts and tires, that's out of my
league.

I haven't found many quirks on my `96 yet, but the `89 had a few: The CPS
would get confuzzled a couple of times a year, generally following oil
changes. The symptom was always a no-start, no spark, no fuel.
Unplugging the connector at the firewall and reconnecting it always reset
it. The Crankcase venting system had to be kept clean or it would blow
oil out of the valve cover gasket, a well-known problem. Around 170K
miles the fuel pump will give up the ghost, if it can manage it it will do
so in the high-speed lane at rush hour. And then there's the usual set of
complaints about the front axle not locking in to 4WD or refusing to
unlock from 4WD Part Time. It is mostly a vacuum problem.

Others have noted here that the floor pan is a rust magnet, and a sales
guy at a catalogue call center was telling me the other day that his `96
auto trans oil lines broke in the rubber hose section, and advised
eyeballing mine for leaks.

Oh, and eventually your headliner will fall down. Foam rot. You can
repair it, but it is messy, smelly and involves the 3M spray glue that
says "Not for repairing headliners".

Good luck!

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

 

You have found one good resource (here), and also these guys can keep you
pretty busy, especially their forum (http://www.naxja.org)



"Brian" <b_heller@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:b_heller-268D28.15383027112004@news.verizon.net...
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.

 

You have found one good resource (here), and also these guys can keep you
pretty busy, especially their forum (http://www.naxja.org)



"Brian" <b_heller@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:b_heller-268D28.15383027112004@news.verizon.net...
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.

 

You have found one good resource (here), and also these guys can keep you
pretty busy, especially their forum (http://www.naxja.org)



"Brian" <b_heller@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:b_heller-268D28.15383027112004@news.verizon.net...
> I've been coveting Jeeps for about 10 years, and I finally got one
> (mostly because my good'ol '91 Cavalier has blown its second head gasket
> and costs more to fix than it's worth - 182K miles on the factory
> clutch, BTW). It's not the Wrangler I wanted, but it's a Jeep. I just
> picked up a '96 Cherokee Country, 4.0 auto, AC, with 115K miles. No
> off-road package or towing package.
>
> What are the best resources for XJ owners? What's the best place to pick
> up a relatively inexpensive mild lift? What do I need to look out for?
>
> Cheers, y'all.
>
> --
> Brian Heller
>
> It is easier to tame wild beasts
> than to conquer the human mind.