DD Cherokee info wanted...

[Berne]

I'm on a quest to find a daily driver.....

I'm currently looking into the feasability of putting together a late 80's cherokee as a daily driver....
mostly, because there has been one parked in my yard for better than a year now....and well.....possesion is 9/10ths right??
its a late 80's, whichever option package came w/ the black paint w/ the gay gold stripes and gold wheels.....but it is also leather....and was overall in pretty decent shape before it got parked at my house...

anyway, a couple questions...
first, on a mostly hi-way cruise, what sorta milage will a decent running 4.0L get??
how swap-able is the 4.0l???....if I find a mid 90's HO motor, will it bolt right in...how about a 4.0 out of a YJ, or a TJ, or a Grand chero??....are any of them better or worse....do they all use the same computer and wiring??...and all bolt up to the same tranny??
this one is an automatic......what tranny is it, and is it any good?

any other general thoughts about making a stock-ish late 80's XJ a daily driver?? just looking for input, as I don't think I've ever even driven one of these, much less considered actually having one.....but I need something to drive, and could maybe put this together for fairly cheap...

thanks guys.....

--B

 

[Littlexj]

When I had 31's and 3.55 gears in my 91 xj I would get around 17 mpg and every once in a while I'd get up to 22 mpg.

 

[FiFo]

I used to get 19-20 mpg in my wife’s DD Cherokee. I don’t know how easy the swap from a none-HO to a HO motor would be, though I can’t imagine it would be very hard. Don’t really think it would be worth the effort though since what you got makes 177 HP and a HO is 190 HP. Seams like a lot of work for 13 HP. The tranny is an Aisin AW4 which will take just about anything you can through at it and ask for more. Parts for a Cherokee are usually fairly cheap so it shouldn’t cost you too much to get it running.

One thing, what every you do take a look under it and see if you have a Dana 44, there only found in late 80s Cherokees, usually 87 but sometimes 88 or 89. If your lucky enough to have one Olympic sales them for $700, you can usually find them on craigslist for $400-500. If nothing else it might be worth parting out.

 

[redyj1]

the swap from renix 4.0 to a h.o. is a pretty complicated, if you dicede to do so, you will need both wiring harnesses , but the h.o. will bolt into stock motor mounts fine, if you decede to do the swap, and are concerned about mpg, and off road strength, swap in the ax-15 tranny also, if i were you, i would sell your rig and buy a 91 or up with the 5 speed and np 231 t-case with an chrysler 8.25 rear axle

 

[boise49ers]

Here is mine

You can see it is Very Trail worthy, but I drive it to work every day.
If you go to the signature link at the bottom of the post that site has
all the build up info. There is an upgrade link showing different builds and
ideas I have used. Have fun !

 

[Berne]

Thanks for the info guys...

but let me possibly clarify further...

I'm NOT looking for a rig with great off-road potential...

I need something to cruise up and down the hi-way back and forth to work to avoid continuing to pound these miles onto my tow rig...

and I'm not looking to swap in an HO motor to gain an extra 13 horse, I'm looking to swap ANY motor that is in decent shape and the right price into it, and if that motor happens to be an HO, is that feasable, or should I specifically be looking for an non-HO motor....
what if I get an HO long block, and use the intake/exhaust, sensors, computer etc from the non-HO original.....are the long blocks different??

--B

 

[MarcW]

mine rips up and down the highway just fine. i DD my cherokee on 31's, with 3.07's and a 5 speed. never checked milage, but its about 2x better than my old dodge that would get 8-9mpg :flipoff:

 

[redyj1]

dont do the ho upgrade, waste of time

 

[Avanteone]

If you need to swap the motor, either will bolt in place of it. The intakes are interchangable, etc.

J

 

[1982cj7]

The heads on later models are different, diff port shapes and sizes, so your intake might not seal right on a later head. Your throttle body will not bolt to a later intake either. The blocks are the same until the newest ones but should bolt in ok.

 

[KarlVP]

I had an 88 XJ that I kept stock for DD use.

It had 275,000 on the ticker. Leaked a little oil (rear main seal) I had problems with blowby, the CPS gave me trouble and the tranny was on it's way out. All easy fixes.

That being said, I drove it EVERYWHERE. From Virginia to New York and back several times, to Tennessee, New Hampshire. Everywhere. That thing kicked ass.