Thought on jeep grand Cherokee?

[jeepasaurusrex]

If they only made 4runners like they used to.....

[thinkingman]

If they only made 4runners like they used to.....

Be thankful they don't.....
Back in the day, you didn't have to worry about wear parts on the 3.0l V6...you got a new engine somewhere around 70k.
If you wanted a 4wd system that would remotely compare to Jeep, you were out of luck....same with basics like 4wheel ABS.
I shopped the Toyota's against Jeep long and hard...couldn't justify the Toyota at all...overpriced and styling was really all it had going for it....Happy is correct, resale is much better....People will pay for the Toyota mystique.
I've owned two Toyotas and can't see what all the hoopla is about.

[jeepasaurusrex]

I agree with you. Just saying they have that crappy IFS under the front instead of a tried and true solid axle. Funny you see tons of stuff available to swap in a solid front, but nothing to swap IFS under a older rig.

I will still stick with my Jeeps though.

[jackelope]

I agree with you. Just saying they have that crappy IFS under the front instead of a tried and true solid axle. Funny you see tons of stuff available to swap in a solid front, but nothing to swap IFS under a older rig.

I will still stick with my Jeeps though.

How many people are SAS'ing vehicles for on road use??
It's all about ride quality now, and that's why IFS rules. Majority rules and majority could give 2 chits about off-road capability.
 

[jeepasaurusrex]

They can keep their car IFS system.... more junk to fail.

[FC]

I agree with you. Just saying they have that crappy IFS under the front instead of a tried and true solid axle.

What is it about the independent front end that you don't like? I have an ifs tacoma and it will climb chit I can't walk up! After years of working as a mechanic I've never had to repair one either, I have had to replace a handful of cv shafts but that is all. Compared to all the other stuff that I have had to fix on every other 4x out there INCLUDING JEEPS I am amazed by how infrequently they seem to need anything.

@thinkingman, we have had the discussion before but in case you have forgotten the "hoopla" about toyotas is that they rarely break. You seem to have had an extremely out of character series of breakages involving toyotas but this isn't typical. 4Runners have a high resale value for a good reason as do the tacomas.

[huntnphool]

 A friend of mine drives a tow truck for a living, he told me the car he tows the most is a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

[jeepasaurusrex]

IFS- too many moving weak parts. Very little wheel travel. Compared to a solid axle that has fewer moving parts, is structurally sounder, and will last a very long time. I see way too many IFS systems fail while out wheeling. They just don't hold up to the off road abuse and bigger tires.

[FC]

LOL...ifs has 2 additional moving parts...If we are comparing after effects of lift kits then that is a completely different story, if the factory geometry isn't kept in mind when the vehicle is lifted it will cause big problems. In the case of an IFS front end you must lower the diff(s) after lifting the truck or you create a bad angle on the cv shafts. With a solid axle you don't have the ability to change the relationship between hub and diff so you are unable to get into trouble there thus creating the myth that the system is better. IFS can only perform better offroad if properly implemented as you are better able to independently articulate tires and maintain more surface area of the tire in contact with the terrain.

[Miles]

Addicted is just waiting to kick down the door and come busting right in to this thread.

[jeepasaurusrex]

I see a lot of theory posted, but little real world use.

[magnanimous_j]

I would stay away from the Cherokee.

I worked in the car business for 5 or so years and have driven thousands of cars. We took in 4runners and Pathfinders with 300,000 plus miles in regularly, and they usually ran just fine.

I can't remember ever seeing a Grand Cherokee with more than 150k on it, and those ones were usually on their last legs.

[jackelope]

I see a lot of theory posted, but little real world use.

Lots of what theory? 4 wheeling/off road use is not real world use. It is go have fun on the weekends use that very few people on the grand scale partake in. I will share some opinion and a few facts from real world experience.
999 out of 1000 people could give 2 chits about 4 wheeling ability when it comes to buying a vehicle. I'd venture to say most on here would be included in that. I completely agree with you on the solid axle/off road ability but nobody cares how much articulation and travel and all that other wheeling mumbo-jumbo when it comes to real world use.  I can tell you beyond any shadow of a doubt from lots and lots of real world experience that we replace a hell of a lot more solid axle front end components in our trucks than we do in anything we work on IFS and not too many of them are lifted or have big tires, nevermind spend any time off road.  I am surrounded by Jeeps and Dodge trucks 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I would stay away from the Cherokee.

I worked in the car business for 5 or so years and have driven thousands of cars. We took in 4runners and Pathfinders with 300,000 plus miles in regularly, and they usually ran just fine.

I can't remember ever seeing a Grand Cherokee with more than 150k on it, and those ones were usually on their last legs.

I will tell you from being in the car business for +/- 15 years that I don't see anything "regularly" with 300k miles on the clock. There are plenty of Jeeps running around with +/-200k miles on them. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to say that most any 4.0L inline 6 cylinder Jeep will go 200k+ miles all day if it's taken care of.  If it's not taken care of, then it likely won't live that long.

Lastly there's big differences between a Cherokee, a 99-04 grand cherokee and a pre-98 grand cherokee.  If we're comparing or sharing input on a '04 Grand Cherokee, lets make sure we're talking apples to apples.
 

[Woodchuck]

  Well stated

[Happy Gilmore]

I think it is safe to say that Toyota's reputation for longevity in vehicles is a "little" better than Jeeps. Jeeps are obviously the off road kings but, they don't hold their value for a good reason.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/2620490141.html


http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/ctd/2578326465.html


Gotta admit, for the $5K in difference you can spend a lot of money repairing stuff that goes wrong and still have a few extra bucks to slap some mud tires on it?