I want to end up with a Cherokee, (or Grand, Grand-Limited), with 35" tires; Rubicon capable.

What would be my best choice (year/engine) to look for that can be modified the easiest/cheapest; and be most RELIABLE with BEST GAS MILEAGE.

I am tempted towards a '99 with Select-Trac "II", (as opposed to the original Select-Trac). I understand that possibly offers the best (no wheel spin) traction ???

Is that true ??? And if that is true, would it be true that I would not need to spend extra to get "lockers" ???


Question: I understand that it may only have been available in '99 with a V8 engine ??? (4.7 or 5.2 ???)

How bout 2000; was Select-Trac II available with the 4.0L

Question ... I have heard conflicting stories about which provides better gas mileage between the 4.0 and 4.7-V8

What about the differences between Cherokee, Grand/Limited; or even just the Laredo ... is there any differences there with engines/transmission options ???

In other words ... WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IF I HAVE UNLIMITED OPTIONS (I mean, like everything is available on e-bay, I simply have to keep watching -- AND TAKE CHANCES)

Idealy I will find something (like maybe '99) that is already lifted ... but if I can't I am asking if one is possibly easier/more reliable to add later.

THANK YOU ... I am very "confused" right now and afraid I will make a BIG mistake.

I simply don't know what model, year, engine, transmission to look for. (eyes are open now for '99 Grand Cherokee Limited with 4.7 and Select-Track II, but as explained above ... is that a mistake ???)

FINALLY ... IF I see one for sale ALREADY lifted; what precautions do I need to look for.

What are the best-brands of lifts ???

And HOW MUCH (minimum) LIFT do I need for 35" tires ???

THANK YOU

JoePhoto5@hotmail.com .... (916) 821-8821

Why a Cherokee or other unibodied vehicle???? Obviously, you can buy 'em cheap! But, is this the best vehicle for offroad????? If you have ever done any serious offroad rockcrawling type trails, the body will twist and bend while traversing obstacles . . . even in a Wrangler. It would be best to have a real frame under your rig's body. The thing about Cherokees is that the wheel wells are very small; you need to raise the body A LOT, just to clear the 35" tires. I would suggest either buying a new Wrangler Unlimited (to provide the cargo area) or pickup truck. Forget about building a Cherokee and all the headaches! Or, you can wait until this fall and purchase a 4-door Wrangler Unlimited. Just my opinion, but Cherokees or similar Jeeps and other SUV's are not designed for regular offroad use; just in a few short years of trail use, you will realize that you have wasted the money you spent building a SUV for trail use. Most Jeep rear axles can NOT support 35" tires. Just to run 35" tires, you'll need to make serious modifications to the steering assembly, gears, driveshafts, brakes and the already mentioned suspension and rear axle. It's really expensive! Depending on your mechanical skills, you can plan easily on spending ten to thirty thousand building a Jeep properly for 35" tires! My best advice is to recommend strongly buying a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and be satisfied with 31" tires, and leave the built-Jeeps to the "gearheads" and well healed four wheelers!

I can't answer most of your questions but I'll comment.
First thing is, If you're concerned about gas mileage, forget about it. Second, I agree with Fred! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

They are some good points made above I just want to clear up the cherokee/grand/limited question.

A Jeep Cherokee and a Jeep Grand Cherokee are not the same vehicle. The Cherokee stopped production in 02 or 03, to be replaced by the Liberty. The two vehicles share plenty of parts including motors, axles, and transmissions. There are many different trim levels on the full line of Jeeps(Cherokee, Wranglers, Liberty, Grand Cherokee) Lorado, Limited, Classic, Sport and they mean different things. Do a little digging on the internet and you can find a breakdown of the different trim levels, but for the most part there are little differences.

IÆm no expert or gearhead, but I hate to see your plans crushed so quickly by the previous posts, that's a wife's job to crush your hopes and dreams. Your plans of running Rubicon are lofty, but if you put a lot of thought and research into it you can build a Cherokee or any SUV or truck to do whatever you want. Take your time, research, obviously youÆve found this site, read old posts, and the tech pages.

Good luck

If you want something Rubicon capable, and have unlimited funding/time, get a mid 90's pre OBD2 4.0 Cherokee.

If you want strength and reliability to run 35's without breaking, you will be replacing all the axles and driveshaft. 35" tires are the limit for the dana 30 and chrys. 8.25 axle, I don't think a dana 30 can be considered rugged and reliable with 35s. If you were to get a dana 35 rear end, you'd be limited to 33" tires.

Also if you want to crawl nice and slow and still be able to drive on the street you will probably want a 4:1 transfer case. Atlas would be my #1 choice, but you could get the 4:1 kit for a 231 or just get the Rubicon 241 case.

As mentioned above you will also need some type of frame strengtheners or you will have a twisted jeep after a long hard run.

Since you will be replacing so many parts and modifying the uni-body, just get a low cost jeep with a good engine and transmission and not too much rust.

Close, the last year of the Cherokee Sport in the US was 2001, the Liberty was the marketed replacement (functional I question the capability of the Liberty, but thatÆs another discussion I am not trying to start here). An interesting side note though, I read that the Liberty is actually badged as the Cherokee Sport in the UK and outside North America.

Sean

I think it is better to purchase a Jeep only if you can inspect and drive the rig before making any deal. Typically, buying an "already" lifted Jeep is almost always the wrong thing to do. If you have no experience in building Jeeps, I would recommend strongly against purchasing an "already" lifted Jeep. It's common for four wheelers to attempt to build their own Jeeps with little mechanical skills and knowledge. They either run out of money, screw things up badly, or have patched-up their damaged rigs.
Trail rigs are a money pit; someone else's rig is a deeper money pit! That is why I recommended buying a new Rubicon; it's difficult to ignore the offroad capability of the Rubicon for only about $25,000. You'll probably spend more building a trail rig or repairing an "already" built rig.
Jeep 4WD systems appear confusing. I'll limited the discussion to newer Jeeps.
The basic Jeep Transfer case is the command trac w/ the NV231; this is a good offroad t-case. The new 07 Wrangler and the Liberty have command trac with NV241 t-case; it's the same t-case that comes in the Rubicon without the 4:1 low range, and is a little more HD than the NV231.
Select trac with NV242 is the popular t-case in many Cherokees and G. Cherokees, and is available in the Liberty. It basically has four options: Normal 2-wheel drive, full time all wheel drive, and part time high range and part time low range.
Quadra trac I with NV140 is a simple full time all wheel drive. This is not an offroad 4WD system. Quadra trac II with the NV245 has full time four wheel drive and a typical non-Rubicon low range. The Quadra Drive II with the NV245 is a full time four wheel drive with Jeep's new ELSD available in the Commander and G.Cherokee.
The NV231, NV241 and the NV242 t-cases are your best offroad Jeep t-cases, and, of course, the Rock trac with NV2410R t-case in the Rubicon has the added option of the 4:1 low range.
To recapitulate; buying an e-Jeep is just wrong! If you're not a mechanic, only buy a stock Jeep. Automatic transmissions are dawgs on the highway, but will make you look like a pro when four wheeling on the trail. Quadra trac and Quadra drive transfer cases are not "trail worthy". 35" or larger tires under a Jeep is better done under a Wrangler. Laredo is not a Jeep model, but a trim package. Cherokees and G. Cherokees are light duty rigs, and are not easily modified for serious trail use. Most Jeeps come equipped with marginal axles; 35" or greater tires will require installing stouter axles: installing new axles and taller tires will open a can of worms in regard to other modifications required to safely drive down the highway.
Lockers, that is another post. Basically, a means to acheive true four wheel drive if you install a locker in both front and rear axles. Limited slip differentials are not lockers, and are not effective offroad. Lockers can be automatic (always "on") or selectable types. Detroit, ARB, OX, Eaton, Aussie and Auburn are commonly used brands, some of these manufacturers also sell LSD's. Generally speaking, only install lockers after upgrading your axles. Rubicons have selectable lockers already installed. May Dana 44 Jeep axles have a limited slip Differential, trac loc. Quadra Drive II "transfer cases" depend on new electronic devices to control wheel spin; it isn't exactly proven offroad technology and is only available in the Commander and G. Cherokee.
Any trail rig will be a money pit. Serious four wheeling is an expensive sport. The upgrades and up-keep/repairs are a constant drain, financially. Take a good, long look at this sport before you dive in!
Keep It Simple, buy a stock rig and modify it only after you have some experience offroad and have learned what modifications you'll need to do for the type of four wheeling you'll enjoy doing. Jeeps are "built" specifically for a particular four wheeling application: be it rocky trails, sand dunes, muddy trails, mud holes, swamps and river crossings, tundra, ice-pack . . . you name the venue, most likely there has been a Jeep built to traverse it. There are two types of Jeeps, Wranglers for offroad use, and the other models for highway use (regardless of what Sunder says about his friend that jumps his G. Cherokee over sand dunes <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />)!

Well said Fred! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

They can really. It only crabs now and the rear subfram is broken in 3 places. But hey, it still has good working AC <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

cherokees did end in 02 but the librity was out before that.I also read the librity was called a cherokee but that was in japan.Either way you can build a cherokee to handle off road quite well,but it is easier and cheaper to do it with a full framed vehicle.