"99XJSport" (99xjsport)
12/20/2018 at 13:48 • Filed to: None
6
18|
"99XJSport" (99xjsport)
12/20/2018 at 13:48 • Filed to: None | 6
| 18 |
These XJs are some of the most highly regarded used vehicles out there, an illustrious legend carried on in the hushed, reverent whispers of its indestructibility, its mighty 4.0 that takes all comers. The Cherokee has earned its reputation, but there’s nothing like owning one to clear up some of the rosy-eyed awe of this heralded machine. Lets meet our hero.
Getting in
The Cherokee is the antithesis of the Tardis, in that it looks big on the outside but is hysterically small on the inside. It’s a practice in gymnastics to bend and grunt your way in, to fold your body into the flat, unsupportive seats, shoving your legs under a steering wheel that’s sits way too close, putting the latest airbag technology of this past century inches from your gut.
You sit legs out, knees slightly bent,
arm on the armrest and other arm resting on the door. Once you’re in, its ideal
for someone short, like the car is shrink-wrapped around you. It’s not horribly
uncomfortable, it has air conditioning after all, but you’ll have to get used
to climbing in and out of its cramped confines. I can’t exactly explain why, maybe its familiarity, but I have come to love
the Cherokee’s less than ergonomic
driving position.
How does it drive?
One thing I have noticed about XJs, a thought repeated on the more realistic threads, is that the manual is slower than the auto, and it truly is. The secret lies in the rear end, the 3.07 of the manual seems to dampen some of the potency of that 4.0; the auto uses a 3.55.
2 nd gear and reverse can be difficult, a common quirk of the AX15 manual, as is notchy shifting on winter days and an occasional reluctance for first. Nevertheless I feel like I should placate these observations in saying this is the first and only manual I have ever driven.
The 4.0 is a very chatty engine, and in coming from a relatively modern car to the Jeep, I had to grow used to its unusual and scary sounding ticks and clatter. Its very noisy from inside with a particularly loud resonance between 2500 and 3000 rpm and, while cold, the clutch fan emits a robust roar. It’s a classic and satisfying sound, from the whistling cooling fan to the deep burble of the exhaust.
At cruising speed, its actually decently quiet aside from the humming engine; the wind and engine noise do become loud enough for me to need to turn up the radio at any speed above 55, but this is a 20 year old jeep were talking about.
It rides like a cart, and any fantasies about carelessly careening over bumps in your invincible old Jeep come to end at the first road imperfection. The solid front axle slams into pavement changes with the violence of hitting a curb into a normal car, the rear axle hops and clunks over a hill, and the jeep thrashes from side to side if you turn off a steeply angle inclines; hold your coffee.
In terms of handling something this small and lithe has physics on its side, though this awkward box on wheels corners flatter and more composed than it has any right to. The steering is the heaviest of any car I have driven and is completely absent of any road feel whatsoever. It does, however, weight up nicely in corners giving you a gauge of when to back off. It’s direct and actually pretty quick when your tossing the Jeep into a turn, but retains that on-center play characteristic of these Cherokees, a thing I like to affectionately call Jeep-slop.
Its kind of a pain in the city, the Cherokee is best experienced on rural roads and it seems to like it better there anyway. The crashy suspension and slowness in downtown traffic becomes as tiresome to me as does the heat to that very warm-blooded straight six.
How does it off-road?
Its 2wd with an open diff, slick roads on rainy days are enough of a challenge. It’s too pretty for mud anyway.
How practical is it?
Not as bad as you might think. XJs in general are thirsty creatures, but “rowing your own” provides some financial relief as I get about 18 in mixed driving, expect 14-16 with an auto. It can seat five people on paper but realistically two adults in front and one tolerant child in the rear bench. The rear seat folds completely flat, impressive for a mid-eighties design, and it has a wide and tall hatch opening. The moveable roof racks are useful for wet things, such as kayaks, but if you’re on the shorter side getting stuff up there makes them more aesthetic in their purpose. My Jeep has a decent trailer hitch, but people don’t recommend pulling much with an XJ and, as such diminutive SUV I can see why. To make it short and sweet, a fully functioning XJ gets you and your crap where you need to go dry, non-sweaty and not entirely broke.
Is it reliable?
This is not simply a matter of yes and no, “Is it reliable” carries the baggage of whether you are reliable. Be prepared to get under the hood, be angry and heartbroken, unconcerned with unusual and/or expensive sounding noises. You will get your hands dirty and cut, your eyes will be salted in the mystery flecks that rain from underneath you Jeep as you neighbors look on to you, a yelling, violent and profane spawn of jeep ownership.
Humor aside, expect minor electrical issues such as with the power windows, front speakers, and power locks, the occasional bad engine sensor, and maybe some leaky door seals and disintegrating interior components.
Fortunately, parts are the cheapest of almost any car out there and replacing them, though arduous for those of us not mechanically inclined, is easier than in most other cars. There are many jeeps at junkyards and so many how-to videos and forum posts your being lazy if you don’t at least try. In this age of the Internet, there’s hardly any reason not to know something, a notion especially applicable to these XJs.
Theres no service oddities for these Jeeps either; for the most part its just changing the oil every 3 to 5k, perhaps with some zinc-additive to keep the cam shaft happy. Nothing on the Jeep requires any specialty tools, just time and a socket set.
I love my Cherokee, in spite of, and for all its faults. I have always wanted a Cherokee and driving mine this past year has been a dream come true, a priceless experience of getting to intimately know this singularly unique vehicle. There’s nothing quite like an XJ , and, if you’re willing to take its idiosyncrasies in stride, to take care of it, embrace its rough nature, I highly recommend one.
Here’s some more pictures for your time....
Just Jeepin'
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 14:52 |
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My hope is that I can at some point have a functional garage and a manual XJ to start doing some real wrenching. I have very few mechanical skills; I know practically nothing except that I’m unwilling to do anything serious in my mud/gravel driveway, especially given that my two primary seasons are “ muggy/mosquito-laden” and “ cold”. (Especially mosquitos. I have an acre of jungle, a ditch nearby, and the mosquitos are omnipresent.)
So, someday I want to learn more, but not until I can be quasi-comfortable while doing it. Unfortunately my LJ has taken its toll on my back, so by the time I have such a setup, I may no longer be able to do anything particularly toilsome.
Sovande
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 15:02 |
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No need to excuse the lack of comfort , awkward seating, uncomfortable plastic interior, terrible suspension, wind noise and engine noise as a result of its age, those were features when they were brand new as well .
RallyWrench
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 15:19 |
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This is what we call “Good Oppo”. Thanks, you’ve once again stoked my want for an XJ. My favorite automotive writer Peter Egan (as I recall, at least) once turned the phrase “damning with faint praise” to “praising with faint damn”, which sort of makes something endearing for its faults, like XJs.
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99XJSport
> Sovande
12/20/2018 at 15:53 |
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Haha, I bet the critics must have had fun with them. What I would give to buy one brand new
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99XJSport
> RallyWrench
12/20/2018 at 15:56 |
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Thanks, the XJ is beautifully flawed, I need to read more Egan
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99XJSport
> Just Jeepin'
12/20/2018 at 15:58 |
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An LJ and a an XJ would be a great pairing. I love those LJs
BarryDanger
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 15:58 |
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Awww I miss my 96 Classic 4x4 auto so much now! It felt downright speedy with the 4.0L (must have been the gearing - I didn’t know this was different!)
Ran like a top at 209K and was an absolute beast in the snow/off-road. I drove it interstate (600+mi) a few times and it was great on the highway despite the meh gas mileage. I always felt like it was a great urban assault vehicle as well with the size, torque and suspension travel - I beat on this thing only problem it ever gave me was the shifter - it would lock up or forget it was in park so i’d have to dick with it to make it start sometimes.
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Just Jeepin'
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 16:11 |
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I can’t ever really shut up about my LJ, so you can see/read a bit about it in my Jeep Experience series: https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/jeep-experience
I also assembled a series on Jeep trucks in preparation for the official Gladiator reveal. I still hope to do one more in the series for the military trucks over the years, but not sure if/when I’ll get to it.
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tag/history-of-jeep-trucks
M.T. Blake
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 16:13 |
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Having owned two, I would own a third, but when I was looking, I couldn’t find any clean ones that weren’t nearly $10,000. What did I do? I bought a more expensive, much newer, but with higher miles 11’ 4Runner. And you know what? I still want an XJ.
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99XJSport
> BarryDanger
12/20/2018 at 16:14 |
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That year classic is gorgeous, especially in that moss green or blue with the grey five spokes. The autos really do have some get up and go, the Renix Comanche I used to own hauled ass. The 4.0 HO in yours must have been a blast
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BarryDanger
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 16:22 |
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I realize now I had the sport - Just like this one . The classic with the green + weave wheels is top for me.
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Sovande
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 16:54 |
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I can almost guarantee that your low mileage example drives the same as they did brand new. Which is to say terribly. I drove a 1996 XJ from Chicago to Virginia. It had 4,000 miles on it at the start of the trip. If it was mine I would have sold it when I arrived in Virginia. Or set it on fire.
Tristan
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 18:01 |
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How tall are you? That seat is crazy close to the dash! I’m 6'7"... My XJ is snug.
Your description is pretty spot on. I disagree on calling it bad for Urban driving... It has fantastic visibility, a tight turning radius, it’ll scoot out of its own way quickly, and it’s small enough to park anywhere. I drove mine for a couple years when I lived in Minneapolis and it was a damn fine City car!
It’s also insanely easy to convert to 4x4, and even easier to add factory cruise control.
daveIT
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 18:03 |
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Just replaced my A/C compressor with a bypass pulley in my 2000 Classic . It had been making noise for awhile and finally gave up the ghost. I’ll replace it with one off one of my dad’s junkers. Mine has 250K and still runs like a champ. 4.0 is a great motor, even with half a million miles and 33" tires it’ll do a nice burnout haha. I’d say I wish I had a manual, but the auto in these is just tough as shit.
Gas mileage is shit though..especially with the lift & bigger tires. And I need to fix my windows again my driver one quit working ...the stupid wires that route through the wiring looms in the door frames keep breaking after a few years. This will be the 3rd time to fix them. The power door locks work when they want, I have one speaker that works 3% of the time and the stupid electronics in my power seat aren’t working. My dad won’t give me the spare door panels with crank windows he has...haha! He has a few parts XJs at his house ...4 junkers and one he drives!
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99XJSport
> Tristan
12/20/2018 at 19:07 |
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I’m about 5'2" haha, its
still tight in there
. Visibility is great, its strange to drive anything newer now with big thick pillars
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99XJSport
> daveIT
12/20/2018 at 19:11 |
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Lol those wiring looms. I haven’t gotten to mine yet (school/work) but my drivers door speaker is intermitt
ent, also no power locks here either.
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Tristan
> 99XJSport
12/20/2018 at 19:29 |
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Every time I get in my XJ I’m shocked at how dainty the pillars are.
Also, on your MPG point- I used to rarely break 13 mpg with 4.56 gears and 33s. After I ditched the AW4 and converted it to an AX-15 I easily get 15-17 mpg. It's still slow as molasses, but at least it drinks less.
Future Heap Owner
> 99XJSport
12/21/2018 at 01:36 |
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I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for writing it up.