1999-2004 Grand Cherokee

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I"m looking for an older Grande Cherokee, probably with 100,000 or more miles. What engine has the best chance for longevity, the 4.0 six or the 4.7 V-8. Thanks.
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The 4.0 engine that has had the cylinder replaced with a TUPY head is probably the most reliable. The late 90s-early 2000s 4.0 engines had a tendency to crack the head.
 
I have over 200,000 miles on my 4.7. This thing still runs like new. I pull down better mpg then the 4.0 guys. Though I am not knocking the 4.0. They are a stout engine that I wouldn't discount. If I were you I'd look at the over all condition of the WJ and take whatever engine happens to be in it as long as it's running good.
 
My oh my. Where to start. Someone else will chime in with better specifics, but:

4.0 had a head that was too porous, and also pistons that lost their skirts. There is a way to find out if an engine had either. Avoid those two engines, and you'll be fine. My 00 4.0 WJ has 252k miles on it.

4.7 suffered from dropping valve seats. Some say this only happened under overheating, but I've heard of these events happening out of nowhere.

Transmissions were neither the best or the worst.

Replace the upper control arm bushings on the axle side. Factory pieces are garbage. Factory style replacements are garbage. I've destroyed a new set of them from only 2 days in the bush.

Iron Rock Off-road sells some serious duty versions, but I went with Johnny Joints.
 
The Hydraulic Cooling Fan found on some of the 4.7L can be fun when they act up.....You can't buy the PWM Spool Valve separately!!

PCM failures....Very common.

Oil Pressure sending units leaking.

Aluminum center section Dana 44.....Seen many of these with problems!

My mother had a 2wd 2001 Grand Cherokee Limited with a 4.7L/545RFE, Other than the Hydraulic cooling fan & 2 PCM failures....It was reliable for 200K. It was given to my sister & didn't last a month because it drank oil....Always did but got worse as miles accumulated.
 
That era grand cherokee is one of the worst ever produced. As a jeep owner I would not own one. The 99-01 six cylinder has head cracking problems. They also may break a piston for no obvious reason.
The piston problems went into the 04 year or so.

Hopefully being around 15+ years has weeded out the troubled ones.

The 4.7 has valve seat problems. There is no such thing as a good used 4.7.

Blend doors,leaking evaporators are common with both engines.
 
Do you hate life?

Those things were crap from the dealers lot. I can't imagine two decades later they aged like a fine wine. Although you may hear several whines from the transmission!

Stick to a nice (and equally cheap) late model with warranty or the wrangler/Cherokee. Grand had too many electronics to trust Chrysler with.

They needed federal bailout money for a reason... you're looking to buy that reason.
 
For the 15 years my sister drove 2 XJ's (an '88 and a '99) every parts request was followed by the counterman asking, "That's a Cherokee NOT a Grand Cherokee, right?"
I'd confirm it was a Cherokee and they always exhaled a sigh of relief. Then they'd mention how bad GC's were.

Don't touch it.
 
Originally Posted by Kira
For the 15 years my sister drove 2 XJ's (an '88 and a '99) every parts request was followed by the counterman asking, "That's a Cherokee NOT a Grand Cherokee, right?"
I'd confirm it was a Cherokee and they always exhaled a sigh of relief. Then they'd mention how bad GC's were.

Don't touch it.

LoL! I agree with them.
 
Originally Posted by Blkstanger
I have over 200,000 miles on my 4.7. This thing still runs like new. I pull down better mpg then the 4.0 guys. Though I am not knocking the 4.0. They are a stout engine that I wouldn't discount. If I were you I'd look at the over all condition of the WJ and take whatever engine happens to be in it as long as it's running good.


Better a 4.0 than a 5.2 ...

Oh you're talking 99-04. Well having owned a 2000 GC that had the transmission replaed under warranty at something like 45,000 miles I can say it was a pretty-looking and comfortable garbage can. Sort of like a Cadillac. Had the 4.0. The Laredo had the different color lower side moulding; some preferred that, some preferred the Limited. I liked the Laredo with every option.
 
If you still have your heart set on a grand find a 98 or older with the 4.0. This era of the 4.0 is the one that became famous for reliability. At least when you get fed up with the grands problems the engine won't be one of them. A wrangler owner will buy the grand as a donor for his engine swap into his wrangler.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
If you still have your heart set on a grand find a 98 or older with the 4.0. This era of the 4.0 is the one that became famous for reliability. At least when you get fed up with the grands problems the engine won't be one of them. A wrangler owner will buy the grand as a donor for his engine swap into his wrangler.



This.

Having worked on several Jeeps over the years I would try to find a good condition ZJ (1993-1998) with the 4.0L. Probably the best Grand Cherokee ever made, and still a very comfortable and capable vehicle. Or I'd look for a Cherokee XJ.
 
Surprised at all the hate for these but admittedly the early years were problematic. I drove one for 7 years and it was a good Jeep, like all my others have been. Not a Corolla by any means but hardly the spawn of [censored] either.

The newest of these are now 15 years old so age is catching up with them but I still see them EVERYWHERE they can't be that bad.

My suggestion would be an 03 or 04 Laredo with the I-6 and Selec Trac, the lowest miles you can find and this is HUGE check for prior maintenance. Many of the WJs were sold to non-Jeep soccer mom types and they did not know how (or care to) maintain one. Ask about tranny service, when you get a blank stare you'll know that differentials and transfer cases were for sure never done either. Not good.
 
Out of those 2 engine choices, the 4.0.

I wouldn't get either, to be honest and I have one of them. Bought a 99 GC 4.0 with 80-something K miles and now it's at 252K-ish. Poor transmission, poor cooling system, poor quality of parts overall. I think my blower motor was wired in reverse from the factory. Now the AC compressor locks on at times even though the cabin switch is off.

I used to think it'd make life interesting and perhaps even fun to do some repairs on a vehicle once in awhile. Yeah, that enthusiasm died many repairs ago with this vehicle. That said, the engine even with a crack-prone head hasn't died yet and still runs smooth, and despite being hit by 4 cars over its lifetime, it's still kicking. In the end, I've certainly got my money's worth and more out of it.

Go with XJ if you have to have a Jeep.
 
There is a lot of WJ hate that exist for no tangible reason. If we're going to get into it, there isn't anything that jeep has made that didn't have issues of some sort. Even some of the most legendary Jeeps are legendary for rusting out pretty much just from looking at them.

within the wide world of jeeps, you are going to find people who are a little extreme about their preference of Jeep you are going to find XJ people who usually hate anything that is not an XJ, people who have stick shift Jeeps that universally hate any jeep that ever came with an automatic, and a WJ gets the nasty spot light thrown on it because it was considered to be the beginning of the end for the so-called pure Jeep.

Even when I go into the bush with other Jeep people, and I am able to keep up with everything that there are wranglers are doing, I still get told how my truck is actually just a minivan.

Off road trucks has become as much about image, preference, and concept as it has actual function. When I really load up the gear and have to take one of my four wheel drive diesel Rams, I get nothing but fist pumps and thumbs up. I find this extremely odd because my WJ when it was bone stock would run circles around either of my Rams with the WJ set in 2 wheel drive high.

I chose a WJ over and XJ or a Wrangler because it is distinctly more versatile, and definitely more comfortable while giving up little against either of those trucks. it's also a good deal easier to find a WJ at a reasonable price than it is either of the other trucks. in the quarter million miles of this trucks life, I have been given no reason at all to regret my purchase. Naturally, the Chrysler transmission needed to be rebuilt at about the 210,000 mile mark, but otherwise has had no major issues.
 
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