Hello all.
I've been a Toyota 4Runner (1st generation) man for a long time, but good used parts seem to be harder to find....and my wife wants a rig with airbags. We decided on the Cherokee because we figured it would be good for a camping/moderate trail wheeling rig. And here in Colorado they are plentiful, so parts should not be an issue. I dont know anything about them other than my friend has a '98 and has never had any major problems with it. All the ones i have looked at are automatics. We found a couple of Cherokee Classics that we like. How easy are these to mod with mild body/suspension lift? Anything in particular to look out for when testing them out? Weak points? Lots of aftermarket parts?

Thanks in advance,
shagster

weak point is the unibody construction and dana 35 rear ends. Keep a look out for the chrysler rear instead. they are way stronger than the dana 35 and bu tnot as good as the dana 44, which don't happen often in newer cherokees.The way to tell is part of the pumpkin on the crysler rear sticks out below the cover whearas the d35 don't.
As far as mods go there are tons out there but you can't do a body lift due to the unibody construction.Alot if not all performance mods are BS unless you have a high poewered jeep engine that your running at high revs most of the time.

Welcome to the Cherokee. I love my '99. Definitely go for one with the 4.0L in it. Manual transmissions are out there, but they are hard to find, at least around Connecticut and Mass, it was about 150 to 1 when I was looking on auto trader a couple years back when I bought mine. Definitely hold out for one with the Chrysler 8.25" rear end, it can also be identified by 3" axle tubes, the Dana 35 has 2.7" tubes. The Chrysler isn't a bad axle if you don't abuse it, I have heard of guys running 35's with no issue, but personally I would stay around a 31" tire if you must lift it and you will do fine. On the front end, if you get one '97 to 99' it will have a reverse cut Dana 30, which will be mildly stronger than a standard cut Dana 30 in the '00 and '01. It will also give you a better drive shaft angle, due to the high pinion, if you do lift it. If you do lift it you will want to consider a Slip Yoke Eliminator if you go over 3" of lift, so I have read. Personally with the price of gas right now, I wouldn't lift it until you have driven it around a few months. I love the way mine drives and its all stock, there have been a few times I would have liked a more aggressive tire, but so far its done me well. I heard something about the head changing in 99 too, but I never really figured out when it changed, but the new design is a little more restrictive in an attempt to increase combustion and decrease emissions. And I believe the Æ00 and Æ01 switched to ignition coil packs, instead of one coil and a distributor. Personally I would look for one with the NP 231J transfercase over the NP242, but then I donÆt like all wheel drive, I prefer a standard transmission and transfercase. The gears will really be your limiting factor for tire size and lift if you so choose, the manual trans, 6 cyl came with 3.07:1 gears, and the auto came with 3.54:1. Expect to do the front wheel bearings around 100K miles, and the cooling systems have a tendency to build up rust if they arenÆt properly maintained. There are tons of parts out there for most any mod you want to make. I too would stay away from all the hype power adder parts, they just donÆt help in the useable power band, I vary rarely take it over 3000 RPM. Anyway thatÆs all I can think of off the top of my head, do a google search, there are a ton of sites out there.

Sean

I appreciate all the valuable info. I did some searching and found that most people rated it highly. I also read some disturbing posts on Edmunds forum about starting/stalliing problems due to computer/distributer/park sensor issues. Common? That and brake problems (which i can deal with). I was thinking of a mild lift and 31 tires. It's cool that there are so many aftermarket parts too. No luck finding a manual though. Thanks again.

How many times have you hit your head getting into the Cherokee?

Took me awhile after driving a 1st gen 4Runner to get used to the low roof. I've had 2 cherokees since and they;re both still running strong. Bendy has 308,000 miles now on the factory motor and trans.

Don't worry about the Edmunds reviews. Those folks never even lift the hood of thier Jeeps.
Pack every single electrical connection you can find (spark plug wires too)with dielectric grease and you'll be fine. I had to tape some of the connections shut with rescue silicone tape. They rattle loose and mechanics love to break off the little lock tabs.
The radiator on those is a bit finicky. I'd replace your coolant now and every two years after that. Plan on buying a new radiator about every 10 years.

Brakes are pretty standard. Rotors are cheap at around $20, just get new ones. Complelely remove the piston and clean behind it. They store rust and crud and love to bind up right after you just replaced the pads. Must be the thicker pads drive them into the crud.