My boss is coming by tomorrow and he wants me to look over a 1990 Jeep Cherokke for him. Apparently it has the inline 6 cylinder 4.0 liter motor, is there anything in particular I should look out for on this model? Anything they are prone to doing or inherent problems? Thanks I really appreciate any input.

I have a 90 Xj eith a 4.0 and a 5 spd.

It has been a good daily driver.
Common issues :D
Sagging head liner and peeling clear coat

Just had to replace my fuel pump.
If the pump makes alot of noise replace it. It will fail and it will probably fail on the frreway like it did on me.

They always seem to know the best/worst times to take a crap don't they?:D

Not true. Noisy fuel pump does not mean it's about to fail. Mine has always made noise. I had it replaced about a year and a half ago by the dealer. (still under warranty) The new one was louder than the old one. The high pitched whine you hear just means it's on.

RR3

On the engine, older 4.0's frequently have bad blowby problems and leaks at the rear main seal, I'd definitely check for signs of that. The 4.0 is a good engine, try getting on it a little, if its in good shape it should feel pretty strong. The 5-spd trannys sometimes have problems popping out of gear, especially in 1st and 3rd. All XJs are prone to cooling problems, especially pre-92s, so check for signs of past overheating, but if its okay so far its no problem to upgrade the cooling system. Stock u-joints are weak, you might look at that, but no biggie to upgrade. If its been used hard the unibody is prone to cracking, one common place is around the top of the hatch and another is down low in front of the doors. They're prone to leaking inside and rusting the floorboard under the carpet, especially on the passenger side, it would be good to pull the carpet and check for rust or at least look underneath for any rusted-through spots. And then there's the peeling paint problem mentioned above.

That's all I can think of. They're great vehicles, even if they have one or two or the problems mentioned above.

Along with the above mentioned, here's some more to ponder on.

Upper door hinges, they're thick metal welded to thin sheet metal, some models tend to pull away some, also check up and down play on doors, hinges used a rollpin, which have been known to wear.
Auto? Make sure shifter positively engages from reverse to park. sometimes have to apply just a little more effort to the lockout button on handle.
Low whine in rear axle is common, comes from factory with this sometimes annoying problen, ask a dealer what has been done to correct this.

I have a 84 XJ, VERY dependable, couple friends have 89-92 models, very satisfied owners, they're the ones who mentioned above items.
GOODLUCK :smokin: :usa:

look for cracked exhaust manifolds, and leaky injectors, if it has ABS, that is a bad thing back then, other than he will have 297 joints in the front axle.

Originally posted by RR3
Not true. Noisy fuel pump does not mean it's about to fail. Mine has always made noise. I had it replaced about a year and a half ago by the dealer. (still under warranty) The new one was louder than the old one. The high pitched whine you hear just means it's on.

RR3 yes, but, when they go from a slightly annoying buzz/whine to 5 times as loud as they were earlier, there is something wrong.

I own a 1990 Pioneer. All of the above apply. I would like to add the following:

Check all the door seals. Especially the rear hatch. My pass. side door and rear hatch were both leaking a little B4 I rolled it. Now they are worse. The rear cargo area carpet got ripped out when I installed my Tuffy drawer. The carpet was soaked and was hiding a little bit of rust. The rear hatch is only fiberglass so I would also look it over for cracks at the hinges. The pass. door hinges are also failing at the welds.

If blowby is a prob. the air box will have lots of oil on the filter and down the rear of the box. Still need to fix mine 'cause it's starting to leak fumes into the cab from the engine comartment.

If you aren't sure if it has ever been seriously wheeled look at the rear gas tank. Pull down the cheesy black plastic skid and check the tank itself. Any dents?

The seatbelt clips are notorious for failure. Mostly the driver's. I just robbed the rear driver side cuz my legs are so long I never let anyone sit behind me anyway. Couldn't find any in the 'yard.

Hope some of this helps. If not, here's the standard smile, :flipoff2: . Later ;) :p .

Check the floor for rust holes and rear cargo area because the roofs and back windows like to leak.

hey 1990JeepXJ, take the bad seatbelt to the dealer and they have to replace it FREE. (Been there Done that.)

Thanks hybrid. I'll try to find the old 'belt parts and return them to the dealer today. Let you know.

Update. Took the old seat belt clip to the dealership to see if they would replace it for nothing. They looked at me like I was smoking something. Oh well. It was worth a try. So what kind of circumstances did the other dealership replace/warranty yours?

Recently I took out the rear cargo carpet to tie in some hold-downs, and I noticed a rust hole where the gas fill tube is. I can see daylight from the inside. so what I did temporarily was wash the area down, sprayed the area with an antirust, then sprayed some rubberized undercoating.
Just another place to check for rust. :emb:

On the seatbelt... I took it in to the dealer raising HE!! about the gastank leaking after they claimed to have replaced the oring -(recal repair - was still failing emmition test). I asked them to check on the replacement cost for the drivers side seatbelt while it was in. They replaced the thing no charge, said they were required to no charge and I wasn't about to argue. My guess- If anyone was hurt because a seatbelt failed it'd be one he!! of a easy law suit - cheaper to replace a safety device.