5.9 Liter Jeep Cherokee opinions.

[redline_13000]

Im thinking about buying one of these in the near future. Has anyone owned or even driven one. Anything i should be aware of? What do you guys think about the styling?

[KoukiS14]

Cherokees are old school. They look ok to me, but damn with this current rise in gas pricing why on earth would you want a gas guzzler?

[4wheeldrift]

I've driven one, I really didn't like it much. TONS of body roll, very very unstable feeling in the corners. It was a massive, heavy tank of a vehicle, brakes were IMO adequate at best. Went through gas like it was going out of style. About the only thing it had going for it was a ton of power, and even that was watered down by the monstrous curb weight. But then again, I'm not a huge fan of SUVs so my view has a bit of bias.

[Weapon_R]

When we were test driving SUVs, the Cherokee was crossed off the list almost immediately. We compared the 4runner, QX4, and Cherokee LTD but the Cherokee seemed to be dragging along and sluggish at half throttle.

[Moe Man]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
When we were test driving SUVs, the Cherokee was crossed off the list almost immediately. We compared the 4runner, QX4, and Cherokee LTD but the Cherokee seemed to be dragging along and sluggish at half throttle.

sluggish lol in 98 that jeep was the fastest SUV out there :dunno:

[5.9 R/T]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
When we were test driving SUVs, the Cherokee was crossed off the list almost immediately. We compared the 4runner, QX4, and Cherokee LTD but the Cherokee seemed to be dragging along and sluggish at half throttle.

Haha, the 5.9 would destroy the Q and the 4, hell it would probably blow the doors off your teg too.

[Nix87]

Dont buy it...most unreliable pieces of garbage..I can tell ya that from experience got a nice fat pile of service records for that wreck. Stick with GM
Nick

[redline_13000]

Originally posted by 4wheeldrift
I've driven one, I really didn't like it much. TONS of body roll, very very unstable feeling in the corners. It was a massive, heavy tank of a vehicle, brakes were IMO adequate at best. Went through gas like it was going out of style. About the only thing it had going for it was a ton of power, and even that was watered down by the monstrous curb weight. But then again, I'm not a huge fan of SUVs so my view has a bit of bias.

Im used to the body roll and ridiculous gas mileage :) just need a change. Im sick of this Jimmy.


Originally posted by Weapon_R
When we were test driving SUVs, the Cherokee was crossed off the list almost immediately. We compared the 4runner, QX4, and Cherokee LTD but the Cherokee seemed to be dragging along and sluggish at half throttle.

Read a few places where it did 6.8 0-60, i dont think thats sluggish :dunno:

[Moe Man]

lol blow its doors off lolololol and pulling a boat behind it at the same time......

and i dont think the gas mileage is much different to a jimmy last time i seen it had 15 miles to the gallon

[5.9 R/T]

I've had two jeeps now, a cherokee 4L and now a GC ltd 318. I had no problems with the cherokee and I've yet to have a problem with the GC. As far as body roll and gas mileage goes, the body roll isn't bad on the GC, in fact it's better then a lot of SUV's out there. Gas mileage will always suck when you talk about full time four wheel drive and a large displacement V8, it will be worse then the 6 in your jimmy. I've always liked jeeps, and I'm glad I picked up the GC. It's like a big comfy couch with lots of room, has a decent ride, and just enough power.

[Nix87]

Buy a tahoe with the 5.7, 350. Good motor with TONS of torque.

Nick

[sillyd]

we have a 98 grand cherokee limited. no reliability/maintenance problems at all, handling is fairly good in dry (not a sports car, but not bad), shitloads of torque, amazing in winter can drive like's its dry roads, awesome 4x4 capability. and it's my fave for looks/styling and interior. it is a huge pig on gas though, just ridiculous

all around i really enjoy it, especially in winter

[itsnotaDUB]

my cherokee is ok for handeling, expected for a suv and the gas milage is also resonable the 5.9's are stupid quick and stand up to any 98' suv out there...

[5.9 R/T]

Originally posted by Nix87
Buy a tahoe with the 5.7, 350. Good motor with TONS of torque.

Nick

It would need all that tq to haul that extra 1000 lbs it has on the Jeep. Besides, the 5.9 Jeep only has 10 less hp and MORE tq then the same year Tahoe. Better exhaust tone too.

[Moe Man]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 5.9 R/T


It would need all that tq to haul that extra 1000 lbs it has on the Jeep. Besides, the 5.9 Jeep only has 10 less hp and MORE tq then the same year Tahoe. Better exhaust tone too. [/QUOT

you would never think a midsize would have more tq and hp then a fullsize

shows you dont fuk with jeep :guns:

[mykul2006]

The 5.9 does only get 17mpg on the highway but has alot going for it. It was made in limited numbers and has a great body style. Newer SUV's are curvy and feminine looking, not intimidating and if you look at the new models coming out in the light truck markets and suv markets, the style is going back to the boxer look. The new f-150, mustang or Grand Cherokees are great examples for 2005. The big block is a rare thing too, having the 360 always gets peoples attention and since such motors are becoming rare with gas prices and new trends in car design the 5.9 could become a collectable for motoring enthusiasts. With the engine producing 335 foot pounds of tourque at low RPM's in high range 4x4, the snap you get off the line is hard to beat and always impresses people. The sound is another thing that gets attention, it's a muscely vehicle that in years could be living in a catagory called Muscle SUV's. Now with it being almost 7 years old, I havent ever had anyone say they didnt like it and people always comment on the motor size and sound coming from the tail pipe. The only complaint I can make about my 5.9 is that it does burn a bit of gas and I think a little to much plastic was used on the dash, but its a minor complaint. I have a few friends with cars that are faster then my Jeep, but if it's icy out or there is snow on the ground then good night. Additionaly in 1998 It was the fastes SUV on the market, nothing touched it.

[NiteRider]

we are on our third jeep Ltd
we love them, they are very powerful/fast
the only thing i would replace our jeep with is a newer one with a hemi

[tc3]

I had a 98 5.9 ltd and a 2001 QX4.
Loved them both, The 5.9 is a rocket!!!
Way nicer interior than the reg Grands. And way more reliable, stronger eng and tranny.
Faster than the QX4 and way cheaper.
I have a 2002 Grand ltd, miss the torque, but not the premium fuel the 5.9 requires!!
For the buck....definately the nicest suv out there, BUT be forwarned...lots on gas!!!!!

BUT FUN!!!!!!!!!!

[tc3]

AND it'll beat any SUV out there!!! except modded or special SUVs eg AMG, porsche etc....

[5.9 R/T]

Unless you were chipped the 5.9 only takes regular. Also the 5.9LTD had the same interior as every other LTD.

[turbo'dGSR]

I think Jeeps are all around good trucks, I've driven one for years now and its held up to most of the beatings. Ive got a 4L, and its quite powerful and fast. Great in the snow and mud. Id say go for it:thumbsup:

[tc3]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T
Unless you were chipped the 5.9 only takes regular.


Also the 5.9LTD had the same interior as every other LTD.


The 98 5.9 grand cherokee ltd takes premium and...
No, The interior is different. I owned one.

[Moe Man]

ya it has an up graded speaker system 180watt infinity

thats all i think...........not sure about it taking premium

[tc3]

upgraded leather trim , wrinkled door inserts, steering wheel, rear headliner sound bar, etc... little things, . Outside trim, wheels, hood, grill.
Premium gas for sure...

[5.9 R/T]

Yes there was some flash added to the interior and exterior of the 5.9s but nothing that would qualify it as way nicer, but to each their own.

The Dakota R/T has the same engine with more power and takes regular. 245 vs 250hp, 335 vs 345tq. So if your owners manual told you to put premium in you got suckered.

[tc3]

I tried putting in Reg a couple times, but it knocks. Yes, I know the Dakota takes reg, But the cherokee won't let u.....
I don't know why some of u don't believe me or think i got 'suckered'...I did own one and the last time I looked, I didn't look that stupid....
Here's a 4x4 review link:
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/roadtests/131_9802_eval/index4.html

Just trying to help a guy out with some advice, It's a great truck.. And In my opinion the subtle interior changes make a big difference...go sit in each and u'll see for yourself.

[g-mcstud]

Jeeps are great. I bought my dad's 1995 LTD off him, and in the time that the both of us have had it, there has been no issues at all with it. They are powerful, and you really have a feel for the road when you drive one.

[iced_out_00]

IMO the new jeeps show why people's insurance is so high. First of all they have rims that are 3,600 a piece. (Foose Spank 6's) and yet they don't have lock nuts!? I don't exactly know why this is how it is but w/e, free rims for me!!

[tc3]

$3600 a piece for stock rims?!?! Aren't they only 18"...No stock rim is worth that much...24's, even 26's, aren't even that much nowadays.

[pippo]

I love my 5.9 Cherokee. It is really a street rocket and goes anywhere.

I bought it with 35,000 mis on it and now have 50,000. It uses about a quart of oil every 1500 mis. Does anyone know if this is normal? The previous owner said the Jeep agency says it is.

[4wheeldrift]

Thats an awful lot of oil consumption on a motor that new, but I don't know if thats normal for that motor or not.

[urabus]

I have a 92 cherokee 4.0 , no problems at all, its a tank, and was considering upgrading to a grand cherokee. I talked to a few people and everyone said to stay away, one of them was even a jeep service advisor :). I know a few people with grand cherokees and they all have problems.

You should be happy with it acceleration wise, my jeep hauls ass with only a 4.0.

cherokee=good
grand cherokee= not so good :)

[STONER1]

first off its not a 5.9 Cherokee big mistake its a GRAND Cherokee

and you dont buy a Jeep to handle the road or get good gas milage. So for those who think it has too much body roll and consumes too much gas are right and shouldnt have a Jeep, they should have a little puny soccer mom CRV, but if you want a capable 4X4 that can tow the boat to the lake every weekend and climb a mountain then the 5.9 is the way to go.

[ZorroAMG]

Thanks tips, I'm sure he new it was a grand cherokee..:rolleyes:

[jguitar40]

I got to agree with my 5.9 buds, even though i know that sounds bias. But for those of us that have taken care of our 5.9, I know we would all agree that this Zj is a badass. I mean it wasnt voted the best midsize suv in 98 bc it sucked. It has speed,class, and balls. I live in by South Padre Island Tx.....Ive taken that badboy on the highest n meanest sanddunes and nasty mud/clay pits..and its not let me down once. I did get stuck on hay stacks but that doesnt count...dont ask guys. =0) But as long as u take care of this truck...it will take care of you. Yeah gas gets us 5.9 owners..but if you get some extra stuff (top of the line tune up,K&N,MSD Ignition, etc) then it helps. But listen man...when u drive the badboy..you will definetly drive with pride. No doubt.

[Celica TVS3]

I've owned/drove 3 Jeep products: (all 4L)
1989 Commanche 350,000km+
1997 Grand Cherokee 200a
1998 Cherokee (Sold to TC3s brother)

They all have had many km put on them and little to no maintance problems.

[MarX]

Originally posted by pippo
I love my 5.9 Cherokee. It is really a street rocket and goes anywhere.

I bought it with 35,000 mis on it and now have 50,000. It uses about a quart of oil every 1500 mis. Does anyone know if this is normal? The previous owner said the Jeep agency says it is.

I'm not sure if this is a problem on the 9's as much as it is on the 4.0's but check your rear main seal for leaks, while you're at it you might as well check all places that oil goes through and there is a gasket or seal. If there is no oil leaking then its burning it so when you're driving do you ever get an oily film on your hatch glass? take it for a tuneup and run Seafoam through the TB as well as the tank. My 89 4.0 uses oil more than normal but that's is because of a blow-by problem as well as some gasket leaks.

As for the thread starter ask yourself if you really need the 5.9L or the grand Cherokee for that matter. Unless you're towing heavy duty stuff I wouldn't suggest getting the 5.9 because all it will lead to is higher insurance more expensive parts and more pain at the pump. Also with them getting rarer due to accidents one with low kms and good body will be hard to find for a decent price.

If you want to get a mid-size SUV that you will use for off-roading or stuff like that then look into the Cherokee as it has most of the main features without all the issues that the Grands had. Look into a post 91 pre 96 Limited trim level as they have the nicest interior and will have the HO engine (190hp vs 177 with the renix(pre 91) system) I don't find it sluggish or terrible on gas but it is definitely noticeable compared to a sport compact or a any higher power car, as for body roll it's an SUV you cant expect something with that high of a COG to handle like a Ferrari in the corners.

If you have more money to spend and don't wheel then look into the Jeep Commander as it is more suited to a highway vehicle/people carrier than an off-road rig with 7 seats as well as dual sunroofs in the rear.

Hope this helps your decision.

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T


Haha, the 5.9 would destroy the Q and the 4, hell it would probably blow the doors off your teg too.

:D

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by STONER1
first off its not a 5.9 Cherokee big mistake its a GRAND Cherokee

and you dont buy a Jeep to handle the road or get good gas milage. So for those who think it has too much body roll and consumes too much gas are right and shouldnt have a Jeep, they should have a little puny soccer mom CRV, but if you want a capable 4X4 that can tow the boat to the lake every weekend and climb a mountain then the 5.9 is the way to go.


:thumbsup:

Exactly, I have a 5.9 and I love it. I pull a boat and travel trailer and kick a lot of import ass with it.

It's slightly modded and it goes like stink.

[T-Dubbs]

ive got the newer 4.7 H.O( 02' grand cheroke limited) engine, and its a rocket for a suv, anyone who crossed that off there list is a fucking moron. the 4.7 is just as powerful or faster, and its a smaller engine...

u can get a fully loaded brand new jeep with a hemi for like 44k
for what u get for the price, You will NOT find a better SUV


"1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee is still clearly the quickest of the SUV pack, able to click off quarter-mile times of 15.8 seconds at 86 mph and accelerate 0-60 in 7.2 seconds,"-motor trend
and thats with the base 4.7 engine 235hp engine

the 4.7 H.O has 260 hp, and the 0-60 is 6.8

any other SUV that can compete is double the price....

[Toma]

And Vortech makes supercharger kit, add a small converter, and hello Mr. 12 second SUV ;)

[gpomp]

2003 CALLED, THEY WANT THEIR THREAD BACK

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by T-Dubbs
ive got the newer 4.7 H.O( 02' grand cheroke limited) engine, and its a rocket for a suv, anyone who crossed that off there list is a fucking moron. the 4.7 is just as powerful or faster, and its a smaller engine...

u can get a fully loaded brand new jeep with a hemi for like 44k
for what u get for the price, You will NOT find a better SUV


"1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee is still clearly the quickest of the SUV pack, able to click off quarter-mile times of 15.8 seconds at 86 mph and accelerate 0-60 in 7.2 seconds,"-motor trend
and thats with the base 4.7 engine 235hp engine

the 4.7 H.O has 260 hp, and the 0-60 is 6.8

any other SUV that can compete is double the price....


The 5.9 does 0-60 in under 6.8 and quarter miles in 15.2.

Pretty quick for a 4700 lb vehicle!! There is also much more "moddability" and aftermarket goodies for the 360 than the 4.7. There's no substitute for cubes

:D

[NewCents05]

well for those of you who think the jeep is slow here ya go

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4130294612178894788&q=street+racing

you can see how the A4 has to redline to even get close...
dont underestimate the power of a jeep...

[Darkane]

Haha one of my buddies had a 5.9L back in high school. The 360 has excellent low end and good gearing. When you have great torque and good gearing its going to be hard to beat. Lots of those other SUV's have a high final drive for fuel economy and dont have the torque to push it. The outcome is a 5speed auto and it drives the price up. food for thought.

[NewCents05]

Originally posted by 5.9 R/T
Unless you were chipped the 5.9 only takes regular. Also the 5.9LTD had the same interior as every other LTD.

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/98ZJ.html#gen2

takes premium and interior is slightly different like tc3 said

[00sir2]

I sold my 5.9 about 3 years ago and i completely regret it. I loved that thing and we had no problems with it... great sound system and lots of power. IMO the interior is alot nicer than the regular Limited and the seats are alot more comfortable. If you take care of it properly you shouldn't have many problems. Plus it's nice to blow the doors off the lil' ricers in an SUV.

[Car Fiend]

the 1999 WJ had mad recall problems including the gas tank vent hose and fuel pump seal.as well as electrical relay issues. the list goes on.
the 1998 ZJ 5.9 is a beast, its sounds fucking wicked with a cam in it. id love to get my hands on one. in the beginning when they were testing the vehicle, chrysler ran into quite a few cooling problems due to the mammoth engine. most of those problems were fixed by adding the vented louvers to the hood. as long as you keep your jeep maintained including differential services in the 4WD models you should be fine. fuel pumps go out on basically all the models, they are a fairly easy fix if you (1) know what your doing (2) have access to a lift.
i personally wouldnt suggest buying any first year jeep models. ie 1999 WJ. 2005 WK. 2006 XK. and so forth.

there's my two cents

[ecupip]

HAHAHA....well some people should do their research. You can run regular if you take it to the dealer and have them flash the pcm for regular otherwise the 5.9 limited had a high spark timing which required premium otherwise it would knock from hell if you use regular. It is written on the gas gauge and 2 stickers on the fuel filler Premium only! But who complains about gas and premium when you buy it for the performance reason. I hate when people complain about gas prices, buy a fkn hybrid and stay in the right lane then. Also why complain about regular and premium its .20 more wow once you get use to it that is your normal price so don't look at regular prices.

The 5.9 will dog anything out there besides the Porsche turbo and the new 6.1 SRT GC. It even smoked the M55 AMG and the BMW X5 4.4
They are collector vehicles since only 14,286 were ever produced
There were a lot of difference too:

Mechanical Differences:

-The 245 HP 345 lb-ft 5.9L (360) engine, of course!
-150amp high output alternator (others get only 138amp or 117amp)
-Electric 2-speed engine cooling fan (saves ~20HP)
-Extra Heavy Duty 46RE auto transmission
-High strength front driveshaft
-2.75" low restriction stainless exhaust w/3" chrome rolled oval tip

Interior Differences:

-10 speaker sound system with rear upper sound bar
-180-watt stereo amplifier (vs. 120-watt max. in Limited)
-Full 100% leather (not just leather trimmed) seats
-Leather center console cover
-Leather shifter handle
-Leather parking brake handle
-Leather transfer case handle
-Leather door panels
-Fold down rear seat center armrest (leather)
-Wood trim around the shifter handle
-All wood trim is birdseye maple

Exterior Differences:

-Unique 5-spoke Ultrastar 16" wheels
-Pinstripe delete
-Unique hood with functional cooling louvers
-Unique chrome exterior bagging
-Unique low restriction wire mesh grille for more engine cooling
-Unique molded lower rocker panels
-Special new design low profile roof rack (doesn't rattle!)

[TorqueDog]

I used to work for Chrysler. Grand Cherokee 5.9s were like our unicorns. They used to sell within days of us getting one on the lot. Very hard to come by, and very desirable.

I'd rock one in a second.

[ryder_23]

Originally posted by gpomp
2003 CALLED, THEY WANT THEIR THREAD BACK

hahaha, now its 07, WOW.