The Cheap Jeep: $300 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4

So I may have bought $300 Jeep tonight. I'd been planning on getting something that needed little to no work to drive while I have the Riv's engine torn apart in the coming weeks and thus scouring all the options when I came across the listing for this Jeep for $350. Ostensibly all that was wrong with it was a dead battery and a transmission that slipped a bit in first. Got there and the starter appears to be dead too. Still- $300 for a shockingly rust-free (not completely, but very very little) 20-year-old Jeep with a dirty but otherwise also surprisingly good interior? I think I can handle that.

Will take pictures tomorrow when it's light out. Already have the replacement starter, will probably see about swapping that in tomorrow afternoon and seeing if I can get the engine started...

Hmm, your last "cheap" jeep worked out well... ;-)

dculberson wrote: Hmm, your last "cheap" jeep worked out well... ;-)

Yeah, the first words out of SWMBO's mouth when I mentioned I was going out to look at it was, "ANOTHER Jeep??? Is it going to be a POS too?" to which I replied, "It's $300- so yeah, quite possibly- but it's also a 'real' Jeep and close to 1/10th the price the forking Patriot was..."

It quite certainly does have the potential to be another money pit- but if it gets to looking like that will be the case I'll turn around and ditch it. With so little in it, I could likely pull and sell a few things and scrap the rest and still break even. Hell, I could probably do nothing but detail the thing and MAYBE install the new starter so a buyer could hear it run and sell it for twice what I have in it.

But, hopefully I'll be able to get it back drivable fairly cheaply- there's a good chance that us having a more offroad-capable SUV will be helpful going forward and while the Grand Cherokee isn't a rock-crawler like some Jeeps it's far more capable of offroading than the accursed Patriot...

I have been working through a 1995 Jeep Cherokee, so if you have any questions just hit me up. Getting it to run is about the only hurdle you really have. Once running, they vibrate, leak, squeal, grind, smoke...but just keep running. Not sure about transmissions, but swapping in a replacement can't be that hard.

In reply to pinchvalve:

Thanks! I'm hoping it's just a matter of a filter change & flush, and maybe a solenoid. Honestly as long as it doesn't slip too badly I may not bother beyond that- don't particularly want to have to pull a tranny at the moment, and wouldn't really consider it until after the Challenge. As long as it can get me around town when it's not practical to take the bike or scooter, I'll be happy until after the Challenge and I can take care of the rest.

I admire your enthusiasm for these sorts of challenges. I wonder why you keep inflicting them on yourself. Good luck with the Jeep!

Heh. In this case, I was looking for something to be able to drive while the Riv was down while I go over the engine before the Challenge- the plan had been to pick up something with the money from selling the Patriot that didn't need much work and I could hopefully turn around and sell for about what I had in it after the Riv was back drivable.

In my extreme low-budget searching I came across the listing for this and decided to check it out. Ostensibly the starter should be the only major thing it needs (and probably a tire or two) to use it as I want if the transmission isn't slipping too badly. It was also an appealing option because we're exploring trying to buy some land in a vacation spot nearby on which to build a vacation cabin, and at the moment getting around where it is located really requires a more serious 4wd vehicle. So if I can check off all the boxes for $500 or so and potentially even have something that I can drive as a beater/hauler for a while I'll call that a win. It's also nice because there are TONS (literally and figuratively) of Grand Cherokees in the local salvage yards to pull parts from unlike the much harder to come by Patriot.

Hopefully it doesn't bite me in the ass nearly as badly as the Patriot did!

"Probably a tire or two" - but being AWD don't the tires all need to match and be the same diameter (and thus the same age)?

Or am I wrong about these being AWD?

Check the front diff, transfer case and front driveshaft out. Alot of transmission problems in these are actually the transfer case. My former co worker got bit in the ass by that on a cheap grand cherokee.

In reply to dculberson:

It is 4WD, but not full-time. If I'm going to be keeping and using it longer-term and taking advantage of its 4WD capabilities I'll need to be pickier about the tires, but for the moment just having the same size tires should be good enough. Right now one side has on/off-road tires, the other standard all-season road tires (one of which has a modest leak it seems)- I have a lead on a couple of cheap used on/off-road tires that should work to balance things out for the time being.

You are so much more optimistic than me when it comes to CL POS cars. BTW, if you decide to get rid of this one, let me know

In reply to eastsidemav:

Eh, I did learn a bit from the last time and did a bit more thorough of a checking underneath it- but at the same time a $300 price tag makes a whoooole lot of concerns not matter as much. Ironically the last two $300 (I think it was $300, may have been $250 in the case of the Blazer...) vehicles I've bought have been far less of a pain in the ass than the $2000 one was.

I'll definitely let you know if I decide to get rid of it.

$300 Jeep? If it runs and gets you around for a few months that's a huge steal!

Now I'm doing image searches for Geo Metro's with all-terrain tires. This is probably some kind of illness.

Despite having to crawl around under the Jeep in the driveway an hour or so after it had rained to do so, I got the new starter installed and the oil changed (had plenty of oil, but it was clearly NOT new and I always figure it's smart to change the oil on a car I've just bought...). With the new starter installed and the battery connections cleaned and tightened up, the engine fired up without having to make a full rotation. I have the front end up on jack stands so I couldn't try moving it at all, but the fact that it runs well as far as I can tell is definitely promising.

I did unfortunately discover one problem spot while working on jacking it up- the rocker under the driver's side door, where you usually jack up a vehicle from or put a jack stand, is pretty much completely rusted out. The other side looks to be fine- it's just that one spot. It doesn't look to be a major problem though, and unless it looks like I'll be keeping this thing long-term I'll probably not bother with trying to clean it up and weld in metal to reinforce it.

Took the time to take a few quick pictures of the Jeep and toss them up on Photobucket: The Cheap Jeep Photobucket

Also included in that are screenshots of the LetGo listing for the Jeep, included as an illustration of how NOT to try and sell a vehicle. It was ONLY listed on LetGo that I've seen, and the picture I uploaded is the only one that was on the listing. The interior and exterior are both in pretty good shape- the only rust I've found on the body is the obvious spot under the rear window and a few small scratches around the driver's door handle. Honestly it's possible that the starter wasn't bad and the battery just wasn't hooked up tight. So.... with like and HOUR of washing the exterior and cleaning out the interior and putting a bit into getting it so any buyer could hear it run the seller could easily have asked and probably gotten twice what I got it for. Not that I'm complaining of course- it obviously seems to have worked out well for me.

So far, things that I know need/should be done:

1. As previously mentioned, the tires on the right and left side are completely different, and the one on the back right goes flat in a few hours. The driver's side tires are 235/75/R15 on/off-road tires, and the passenger side are 235/70/R15 all-seasons. There's a pair of 235/75/R15 on/off-road tires with about 80% tread for sale nearby pretty cheap that I'm looking into getting- otherwise looking at the pictures from the nearest u-pull-it most of the Grand Cherokees there have the on/off-road tires so I could just grab two from there.
2. Gas struts for the rear liftgate are shot. Almost pulled the trigger on ordering new ones from Amazon yesterday, but held off and am now thinking I'll try and find a better pair at the junkyard. $8 for a pair vs. $20 is something I can deal with.
3. I think I remember the seller saying something about the gas gauge not working, and it so far has just been showing pretty much empty. Will see what happens after filling it up. Apparently Jeeps are notorious for the connections oxidizing, so I may have to pull the cluster and clean them up.
4. Headliner is sagging over the driver's head. Will probably just staple/tack it up initially and decide later if I want to pull it and replace the material.
5. Radio is not getting any channels- guessing somehow the antenna isn't hooked up. Otherwise I'll happily throw one of the old DIN units I have lying around into it. Haven't tried tracking down a cassette tape (or adapter) or CD to try out in it.
6. Need to at minimum sand down and primer the rust spot on the liftgate. To do it right I should pull the window and take care of the rust that doubtless exists under the window trim, but don't think I'll go that far just yet. Alternatively, I could just grab a non-rusty liftgate off a Jeep in the junkyard (though getting one the same color may be difficult- though there is one that's the right color & trim but there's not a picture of the back...)
7. The outer housing of the rear shocks (the hollow tube part) is pretty badly rusted. Shocks themselves seem to be working fine though. If I find a newer-looking set in the junkyard I may grab them to swap over.
8. I don't think the Jeep has a tow hitch, though I'm not 100% certain of this. If it doesn't, will try and grab one from the junkyard.
9. Driver's rear taillight housing is slightly broken- may as well grab a good one from the junkyard. Likewise the driver's headlight seems to work intermittently and there's clearly moisture in the housing- again, something I can grab a new one of.
10. Center console lid is broken.

Ashyukun wrote: 3. I think I remember the seller saying something about the gas gauge not working, and it so far has just been showing pretty much empty. Will see what happens after filling it up. Apparently Jeeps are notorious for the connections oxidizing, so I may have to pull the cluster and clean them up.

On an almost relevant note, a company I worked for had a '97 that I drove a bunch. Rushing to the Louisville airport one day, I got stuck on the side of I-64 because despite the gas gauge reading 1/4 tank, there wasn't a drop of fuel to be found in there. It was basically brand new at the time and apparently it was a "known issue" to the service dept of our friendly neighborhood Plymouth/Jeep dealer.

Jeep is now registered and plated, so I can now legally have it out on the road. Now I just have to make sure it's safe to do so...

Unfortunately the cheap tires nearby sold- guess I should have tried to buy them last night. Oh, well.

Oops, I screwed up and accidentally messed up what this post originally was.

Is it inside of the age range of the gas tank fire recall? If so, I'd think you could get a hitch installed for free at the Jeep dealer.

Edit: Yup, Jeep Recall

In reply to eastsidemav:

Oooh, that's a nice find! I'll hold off on getting the hitch and see about taking it in to the dealership once I have it drivable. Thanks!

Went out to the junkyard today to grab the things needed to get the Jeep on the road. Came back with two wheels/tires (one tire is quite good, the other is questionable but no moreso IMO than one of the ones on it now so it will do for the time being), 2 good tailgate gas struts, a single-DIN adapter plate, and a number of assorted screws and lug nuts.

Won't likely have ANY time tomorrow to change the trans filter or put the new tires/wheels on it, but hopefully will be able to on Tuesday.

A note on the pet hair. A pumice stone works wonders on pet hair. Just angle it at 45 degrees or so and pull towards you. I also had my shopvac running to help assist in pulling the hair up. It made my life so much easier with detailing.

So, after getting home later than usual last night I still opted to tackle some of the work on the Jeep in hopes of having it mobile. I did make progress, but it's still not going anywhere yet.

Got the junkyard tailgate gas struts installed, and those work perfectly. Not in the grand scheme of things that crucial, but does make it more usable.

Next up was dropping the transmission pan and changing the filter. That went reasonably well, though there was a LOT of crap on the magnet. There's a decent chance the transmission isn't in the best of shape... but we'll have to see how it works once I get it filled back up with fluid. However, I'm guessing that I should be keeping an eye out for either a cheap transmission from a Jeep being parted out or that I should be looking to make another trip up to the junkyard to pull one myself...

Yeaaaah.... not ideal by any stretch, but we'll see how it does until I can get a replacement one.

Ironically, having to replace the transmission SHOULD be a much more annoying thing than any of the work I had to do on the Jeep- but frankly while it will doubtless be a lot of work, I'm not THAT pissed about this.

Is the bellhousing separate or part of the transmission case on a Grand Cherokee?

In reply to eastsidemav:

It's all one piece on the automatics...