looking to buy a grand cherokee 99-04 4x4 ,v-8 or v-6 ?
i want to get one with selec trac the part time transfer case model.what to look for,whats a good year to buy.any known common problems.im looking for a daily driver to take camping,and 4 wheelin around northern calif.i have 6k bucks as a budget,ive owned jeeps before cj-5,cj7 and a 67 wagoneer.in not new to jeep just new to cherokee,grand cherokee,and newer jeeps
keep in mind as u can read everywhere.. the motors have issues the v8's idk about any one else i had mine for 3 months and i need to tear motor apart due to burning coolant. idk if it the head gasket,the cyl.heads,or pistons/rings/block. so i am currently in the state of tear down. those are my 2c as my cuz has a 00 wj I6 and runs strong. no issues just over heating randomly....
When shopping for mine I specifically remember staying away from the '99 b/c it was the new model year and more prone to problems. Other than that just make sure you get what u want as far as features or trim.....wjjeeps.com has a lot of great info on all that
I believe the early ones had problems w/ warping break rotors. I'm not 100% sure on the year, but I THINK it was 99-02 that had problems there.
What are you looking for in the motor? Keeping it running for a long time or power. The V8 can make some decent power and can last a decent amount of time. However, I believe they have aluminum heads and cast iron block which can cause problems. The 4.0L I6 engine is pretty bullet proof. They are known to last a long time and rack up lots of miles. However, the 42RE tranny is the weak point and sometimes they have overheating problems.
Also check the blend doors in the Jeep. It was more common for the WJs with the electronic temp controls. The manual systems (only has 3 knobs to adjust) we less prone to blend door problems. If there's a blend door problem it will usually blow hot air out of the vents on one side and cold out the other.
selec trac, has 2wd, part time 4wd, full time 4wd and part time low range 4wd.
It is mainly on the 6 cyl versions. However, some V8s were made with it starting in the 2000 model year Jeeps. Not sure how many years that happened.
Selec trac is mainly in the Laredos. http://www.wjjeeps.com/tcases.htm
the 4.7l is a great motor... Yes I did get my jeep needing head gaskets but i have 182k on the clock on my 05 wk and i just slapped some head gaskets in and it has been running like a champ the last almost 20k miles I have put on it since purchase. Its slightly more underpowered in the wk but in the wj it really isnt a bad motor so long as you take care of it and are not letting it overheat.
As mentioned the blend doors are an expensive repair so if you go for a limited with automatic temperature control make sure to get the car warm and make sure all the functions of the hvac work on BOTH sides of the dash (driver and passanger).
the 4-leaker is a good motor just know unless you spend some coin having the valve cover gasket, commonly also leaking from the head gasket and 99.99% of the time leaking from the rear main seal your going to have a dirty engine
oh yes, and lastly going by the title of your thread, how much are you going to pay us for advise? ha ha.