awolbc

hey all,
I'm about to get a 97 Grand Cherokee "Orvis" edition.
it's fully loaded, with power roof, Quadra trac up country suspension, and all the rest. low k - 135000 and less that 5 grand, say 5 with taxes

I would like to ask of you all your impressions of this vehicle, all the pros and cons, what to watch out for, it really will not be hitting the bush to much .....but hey, it is a 4x4. mostly it will be pulling a small 73 boler trailer
thanks, and looking fwd to my time here.
Steve

CrazyWJ242

welcome to the board steve

a 97 ZJ is a very good jeep, and the Orvis has the upcountry suspsension, so long as its still in good shape it should ride real smooth. pretty much new A/T tires will get you going to most places you would want to go!

the only thing you should be aware of is the quadratrac system on some jeeps might be worn out, (typically around that mileage) i just puchased a jeep and the front and rear driveshafts are locked together, the down side to this is you'll get wheel hop when you make really tight turns, (front tires have to rotate faster than the back tires while makings sharp turns.

its a couple hundred dollars to repair the viscous coupling in the transfer case...

Test it out by taking some slow, really sharps turns, and feel for some wheel slip or binding in the driveline... anything feels odd, see if they'll repair it before you purchase it.

but other than that, their good vehicles, lots of potential if you do end up bringing it into the woods with the rest of us!

and welcome to the board!

awolbc

Thanks for that info, good to know. BCAA is doing a 184 point check Wed so we will look into that., but even if it develops it in the near future, a few hundred is not to bad, considering, I assume you talking a shop doing it.

I did take it for a drive, had not considered tight turns,
(its good practice regardless the vehicle)

actually the information display notes an upcoming service in 250k.
Any ideas on what that would include?
Steve

jeepadmin

So, did you ever land the deal Steve?

awolbc

No..
I had BCAA check it out and it had a few issues cosmetics and minor stuff I was not concerned about one expects this at that age,but there was an oil leak down below the cyl head and up top at valve covers
the lower one could have been valve covers (drivers side) but you would have to fix that 1st, then clean the engine and hope no more oil shows up, down below.

Rear diff cover leaking, axle bearing noisy, driveline noise from rear axle, wheel bearings, and 1 tire had a bulge and was cracking., brakes and rotors.
those were the major issues

I estimated 3 grand in repairs.
as I heard you need to replace all 4 tires not 1 or two, but that seems kinda stupid.

I told him to fix the oil leaks and I would do the brakes and tires.
he (the dealer) was prepared to replace two front tires that's it.
at 5 grand + 3 grand for repairs I felt I could do better.
but it really was a great looker, I'm not mechanically inclined, so would have to seek some out.

But I gotta tell ya, I do like the Jeeps.

beserkur

Keep looking,there a many great deals out there if you have the patience to look for 'em.
I think you made a good decision on not buying the one you were looking at,too many potential problems.
Just take your time and remember to get a good inspection before you buy,and Do take it for a test run on several types of terrain.

awolbc

Yea, I was thinking that and thanks for that vote of confidence.
I also ride a Vstar 1100 (MC) and being summer, albeit a wet one here in beautiful BC I can wait.
The Jeep would be nice to haul supplies for the trailer though.

I'm actually considering trading the bike in on a deal, I'm finding this Global warming is not conducive to two wheel riding.
I'll keep looking.

awolbc

Hey all: So I'm still looking, and came across the 2001 Grand Cherokee ltd, I like this vehicle, any one offer info on it, like trouble spots, things I might want to concern myself with.
Steve