as a Cherokee/Taco alternative that will see soft roading/recce, be used to tow in the 4500-5500 lb range and see some camping duty
as a Cherokee/Taco alternative that will see soft roading/recce, be used to tow in the 4500-5500 lb range and see some camping duty
My wife used to have a 1997 2WD model. Two weak points worth noting:
The engines from that time (not sure when they changed) required taking the intake manifold apart to change the spark plugs. And the intake manifold was held together by Allen head bolts that collected water and rusted until you couldn't turn them.
The rear suspension bushings tend to fail, causing it to feel like a giant hand has grabbed the back of the truck and started shaking it. Aftermarket poly bushings will fix this.
On the older ones:
Worst......turning.....radius.....EVER
When I was a valet in college (mid '90s), we had a lot of them. They were about the only vehicle that couldn't make a u-turn on the wide road, we had to k-turn. Royal PITA on a busy road.
You actually don't need to take the intake apart to change plugs, you use a long extension and if your pathy has the stock tool kit in the back you it came with a long tube of a spark plug socket and a turn bar. The older trucks us the VG30E which is a great motor as long as you keep the timing belt changed. The later VQ motors pack much more pep, still a great motor no more timing belt. Here in KY rust is an issue, I've seen frame rust through, I've seen control arms just about disintegrate, making for scary torsion spring work.
I'm looking at 2001 and later versions with the 3.5L VQ (sorry I should have noted that)
Strut front suspension. I'd avoid them for that reason alone if I planned to do any offroading with them.
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