2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 Clean Up Oil

[JeepWJ19]

I've got a 2.5" lift, 3-4" Zone Off-road extended swaybar links, Bilstein 5100 shocks, and a double cardan driveshaft. I have 31.5" tires on it.

If your son's driveshaft has a rzeppa joint driveshaft, it will fail in short order after you lift it. But don't worry about that, I've already got a write-up for it over on JeepForum.

Let me know when you start thinking about lifts. There's a lot more to it then slapping spacers or bigger springs in it

 

[IndyFan]

Originally Posted by JeepWJ19
I've got a 2.5" lift, 3-4" Zone Off-road extended swaybar links, Bilstein 5100 shocks, and a double cardan driveshaft. I have 31.5" tires on it.

If your son's driveshaft has a rzeppa joint driveshaft, it will fail in short order after you lift it. But don't worry about that, I've already got a write-up for it over on JeepForum.

Let me know when you start thinking about lifts. There's a lot more to it then slapping spacers or bigger springs in it

Thanks! Yeah, we'll need to know about that stuff. He's going to keep it as is until he pays it off, then the mods begin. He's looking at the Old Man Emu lift, which is a very mild lift (1.5) and leans toward a softer ride, which he likes. Their shocks have a good rep in the Wrangler and Toyota world. He is more into trail riding/overlanding than hard core off road, but who knows, that could change once he's behind the wheel. He told me he'd use my JL or JK if he wanted to go for the harder stuff. I told him, "In your dreams."

I'd love to see some pics of your Jeep. I'm sure you have some on JeepForum. Is your username there the same?

What does a good drive shaft cost? I don't know much about the joints, but my JK has done well with a 2" lift and 33's for many, many miles of off-roading. Maybe the Wrangler has better joints?

 

[JeepWJ19]

Originally Posted by IndyFan


Thanks! Yeah, we'll need to know about that stuff. He's going to keep it as is until he pays it off, then the mods begin. He's looking at the Old Man Emu lift, which is a very mild lift (1.5) and leans toward a softer ride, which he likes. Their shocks have a good rep in the Wrangler and Toyota world. He is more into trail riding/overlanding than hard core off road, but who knows, that could change once he's behind the wheel. He told me he'd use my JL or JK if he wanted to go for the harder stuff. I told him, "In your dreams."

I'd love to see some pics of your Jeep. I'm sure you have some on JeepForum. Is your username there the same?

What does a good drive shaft cost? I don't know much about the joints, but my JK has done well with a 2" lift and 33's for many, many miles of off-roading. Maybe the Wrangler has better joints?


It's all in the tire. My BF Goodrich KOs and these AT/MT tires I have on now are absolutely harsh rides because they are E rating.

You really start to get the headaches at 4"+ lift. It's really when you should have long arms.

At 1.5" your son is going to barely notice it's lifted but it's up to you guys.

Yeah I have pictures of my Jeep floating around. I tried to post one but I can't figure out how to post pictures from my phone. I always get to the point where it's uploaded but I see nowhere to attach it, lol.

My username on JeepForum is: wjjeep19

When I lifted my jeep, my rzeppa joint failed a year later. Turns out the WJ limited 4.7 247 Jeep's had the desired driveshaft (double cardan) and the yoke it uses on the transfer case end swaps right into the 242 transfer case

. Cost me $50 for the driveshaft and yoke at a junkyard, and $120 for new Spicer 1310X sealed heavy duty ujoints and balancing.

I pretty advise people when upgrading their WJ driveshaft to avoid buying new ones from companies, because it's relatively expensive and it's all the same as the junkyard one you'll find (as long as it's not bent). The important factor is the ujoints.

I'll see if I can post pictures later

 

[ka9mnx]

I just don't understand the plans to modify a vehicle that hasn't been driven yet. Lifting and bigger tires invites a whole new world of problems.

 

[KCJeep]

Wow you found a peach! If my 04 had been in that kind of condition I'd still be driving it despite the wife's objections.

I agree with ka9mnx, be very careful lifting. It is staggering how many "Jeep problem" threads on Jeep Forum start with "right after I installed my lift". Death wobble issues especially.

Mine was totally stock with General AT's and it was an animal off the pavement. Lifting is more about looks than anything for most folks.

 

[IndyFan]

I've got lots of experience with lifted Wranglers, so I'm not too worried. Besides, 1.5 or 2 inches is very mild, as are 31" tires. However, it is enough to give a modest increase mainly in breakover angle and in approach/departure. I've seen ZR2's doing some pretty hard stuff on 31s and the lift/tires would give the WJ noticably more capability. It doesn't need more. I don't want to see the weight climb and it won't have a winch. The bigger, taller, and heavier, the more stress on components, the better the odds something breaks, and the more tractive force it takes to move or get unstuck. Besides, the hard core wheeling will be left up to my 18 JL.

My 08 JK is a closer example of what we're trying to do. It has a 2" lift and 33's, which was modest for a Rubicon. It started out with 32's from the factory. That mild lift and tire upgrade made a significant difference on the trails. It still does very well as a daily driver and didn't lose much in ride/handling or power, which is at a premium with the 3.8. It didn't gain much weight, either.

On the WJ, the more aggressive KO2 or Duratrac tread will give a pretty significant increase in trail ability over the stock street tires, as well. I've done Moab in the JK stock and again with the mild lift and tires, and the difference was surprising. Stock, it did very well, but was all over the skid plates. On the very same trails with the lift/tires, I bumped the gas tank skid plate only once, and it was because I made the wrong decision on the line I took.

My son likes the way we did the JK, and likes the slightly more aggressive stance, but he doesn't want to break his Jeep. The JL, on the other hand, gained about 3 or 3.5 inches of lift and is running 35" KO2's. I gave it a helluva workout in Moab in October doing stuff the Cherokee could only do with radical upgrades. (Honestly, though, I would have left the JL stock on 33's if it weren't for my wife. She drove a lifted JK with 35's and became obsessed with doing that with the JL.) Really, though, both my son and I prefer more of an overlanding style of off-roading, going long distances on less extreme trails, as opposed to crawling for hours over a short distance made up of very difficult obstacles. I like the vehicles to maintain a good ride and road manners.

As far as modding goes, it is a Jeep thing. This kid has spent much of his life watching his dad's JK continually change with modifications. He saw the JL come in and immediately get major modifications and upgrades. It would be shocking to me if he didn't want to modify it. What he has, though, is more patience than me. He's happy to run it as-is and wear out the current tires before doing anything major. He's content to make it better in its current form with fluid changes, treatment of the underside to prevent corrosion, tuning up the engine, which btw, I think is still on the original spark plugs. When cold, it has a rough idle. I think a tune up, starting with plugs/wires will take care of some of this. So, the mods right now are just future dreams and plans. We've got plenty of work to do now, starting with getting rid of those obnoxious side steps and adding front molded splash guards. Btw, here are my Wranglers, just for reference. The focus (obsession) with both has been to increase capability but keep weight and stress on components at a minimum.

 

[IndyFan]

Btw, I just ran the WJ around in the snow a little bit. The Quadratrac II works really nicely. It is pretty quick to detect slippage and engage the front axle. It felt very sure footed.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Check and possibly change the fluids associated with that tranny and rear-end. I just did mine finally, at 100K. I waited too long, but luckily, no consequences occurred, other than the electronic dash switch stopped working last year and that got replaced under the vehicle.

 

[DoubleWasp]

There are only three problems people ever have with lifting a WJ:

1. Going too high with the wrong components

2. Wanting a "cheap" lift.

3. Expecting old tired parts will hold up with a lift.

When lifting an old truck, any wearable component needs to be upgraded or replaced.

When I did my 3" lift, I went with 5100 shocks, long arms, full length springs (no spacers) DC front driveshaft, Bilstein stabilizer, JKS heavy duty track bar, stabilizer links, drop pitman, and drop track bar mount, and Johnny Joints with oversized bolts.

A lot of people cried, "Overkill!" when I did mine, because most people literally just toss in spacers and shrug.

When I first drove my truck after getting the alignment done, first thing I did was hit a bunch of potholes and "road features". Not a hint of death wobble. Hit the highway and got her up to 90mph. No weird vibes, steering, anything. Handling? She slices a corner WAY better than stock.

Forget how many miles since I did that. Still complimented by other WJ owners as the "best lifted WJ" they ever rode in.

 

[tiger862]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
There are only three problems people ever have with lifting a WJ:

1. Going too high with the wrong components

2. Wanting a "cheap" lift.

3. Expecting old tired parts will hold up with a lift.

When lifting an old truck, any wearable component needs to be upgraded or replaced.

When I did my 3" lift, I went with 5100 shocks, long arms, full length springs (no spacers) DC front driveshaft, Bilstein stabilizer, JKS heavy duty track bar, stabilizer links, drop pitman, and drop track bar mount, and Johnny Joints with oversized bolts.

A lot of people cried, "Overkill!" when I did mine, because most people literally just toss in spacers and shrug.

When I first drove my truck after getting the alignment done, first thing I did was hit a bunch of potholes and "road features". Not a hint of death wobble. Hit the highway and got her up to 90mph. No weird vibes, steering, anything. Handling? She slices a corner WAY better than stock.

Forget how many miles since I did that. Still complimented by other WJ owners as the "best lifted WJ" they ever rode in.

That is why I won't do lifts anymore as people want a lift kit and no suspension upgrades . They always claim I was to expensive but I just tell them there lifes are on my shoulders and I won't short cut. Seemed for awhile always came back with problem from these kits.

 

[JeepWJ19]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
There are only three problems people ever have with lifting a WJ:

1. Going too high with the wrong components

2. Wanting a "cheap" lift.

3. Expecting old tired parts will hold up with a lift.

When lifting an old truck, any wearable component needs to be upgraded or replaced.

When I did my 3" lift, I went with 5100 shocks, long arms, full length springs (no spacers) DC front driveshaft, Bilstein stabilizer, JKS heavy duty track bar, stabilizer links, drop pitman, and drop track bar mount, and Johnny Joints with oversized bolts.

A lot of people cried, "Overkill!" when I did mine, because most people literally just toss in spacers and shrug.

When I first drove my truck after getting the alignment done, first thing I did was hit a bunch of potholes and "road features". Not a hint of death wobble. Hit the highway and got her up to 90mph. No weird vibes, steering, anything. Handling? She slices a corner WAY better than stock.

Forget how many miles since I did that. Still complimented by other WJ owners as the "best lifted WJ" they ever rode in.


Hmmmm long arms with a 3" lift? We need you on JeepForum. We have had many discussion's on LA with 3" lift. I think with a 3" lift adjustable short arms are fine. It's over that where you really want long arms.

Put me in the camp that I thought I just needed spacers and shocks hahaha. You described me to a 'T'. I went to install my 2.5" spacers and the coil spring towers in the front were so rusted out, they came out with the springs

. So I had to order new spring perches.

Then I needed to replace all 8 coil spring isolators.

Then I tried to go with the cheap shock route until they blew in a year. So I had to get 5100s.

Then I needed 3-4" zone rear sway bar links.

Then my rzeppa joint went kaboom a year later

I still have the stock trackbar. It has been fine and I've just dealt with having an off-center axle. I was researching hard in the adjustable trackbars and came down to Zone Offroad's and JKS. The problem I was reading was that zone off-road said that my lift height isn't enough for theirs and so it could hit my diff.And then I've been reading JKS had some bad QA with their bushings on their adjustable trackbars.

 

[HowAboutThis]

The death, or life, of an engine with 150k+ was determined in the first 150k. I'd run cheap synthetic (think Supertech, NAPA on sale, QSUD, etc). If there are "gunk" issues inside it, more than oil will be needed.

 

[DoubleWasp]

I don't think LA is necessary with a 3" lift. I just knew I wasn't going to get any bull with LA. My lift in general has been completely no bull. I just hop in and drive anywhere. Long highway, grocery store, washboard roads, mud, deep in the sticks, no problem. Drives better than stock. Few people can say the same of a lifted Jeep. Even my girl will drive it.

I know a lot of people with "compromised" lifts. Did not want.

 

[IndyFan]

We got into the WJ a little bit yesterday and found some good things. First, the coolant was the correct Mopar HOAT and is in good shape, testing to the top of the gauge, which was -45 degrees and I can't remember the top mark for the hot end of the scale, but it was good and it looks clean. I'm still going to swap it out, but probably not flush it. There is no oil seepage anywhere on the engine. Not even the valve cover gasket area. The only baked/caked oil was around the filler where the quickie lube or garage techs spilled when filling and didn't wipe it up. The owner said she religiously changed oil every 3k. If you met her, you'd believe everything she does is by the book, including things that probably bug her neighbors, Lol! The tranny fluid looked descent but was a little low, so I topped it a bit with some Castrol ATF+4 that I had laying around left over from the JK's T-case fill. The differentials appear to have no seeping. The power steering fluid and brake fluid looked good, too. I think the T-case will be the most in need of a change, so that's coming. We replaced the air filter with a Fram Ultra. The old one was not horrible, but certainly past the point where I would have changed it, so the change was good.

All the lift talk is funny and tells me there are some who don't really get the Jeep thing, but it is true that lifts can be badly done and cause more trouble than they are worth. DoubleWasp shows that it can be done well, but what he did was way beyond what my son wants to do, and he won't be doing it for good while. Old Man Emu certainly isn't cheap. They engineer very good suspensions across a wide variety of makes and models all over the world. Theirs consists of full length springs (soft ride) high quality monotube shocks, and a new sway bar. The driveline angle increase is minimal, but he may still elect to upgrade the rear drive shaft. It depends on the shape it is in. This lift will hardly change the driving and handling characteristics, but typically they make the ride more compliant and give him room for a slighty larger and more aggressive tire. It should be a very nice setup for a WJ.

Ok, so next Saturday will be a big WJ work day for him. We'll be changing fluid in both differentials and the transfer case, replacing the worn hood struts, and replacing spark plugs and, if needed, any ignition coils that have any cracking or that don't look good. We'll look at the transmission fluid/filter a week or so later and the coolant when warmer weather returns. At that point, it will just be a few convenience items like installing a 12v plug in the rear, for which it should already be pre-wired, floor liners, some minor underbody rust treatment, front splash guards, and maybe a new audio unit with Android Auto. I did order some Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 for the next oil change, along with a Fram XG16 filter. We'll probaboy go to an XG8 later, but I want to see how tight it is in the filter area before going with a larger one.

Since we've been looking at these, I've noticed they are still everywhere and most of them look like they are in pretty good shape. That's pretty impressive for the average age being 16 or 17 years.

 

[IndyFan]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
I don't think LA is necessary with a 3" lift. I just knew I wasn't going to get any bull with LA. My lift in general has been completely no bull. I just hop in and drive anywhere. Long highway, grocery store, washboard roads, mud, deep in the sticks, no problem. Drives better than stock. Few people can say the same of a lifted Jeep. Even my girl will drive it.

I know a lot of people with "compromised" lifts. Did not want.


Post a pic. I'd love to see that Jeep!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I get the "lift thing" with the Wrangler, but not the (Grand) Cherokee. Just my personal taste.

Now speaking of Fiat Chrysler, I don;t get the Wrangler pickup thing either. What Fiat should have done is go hard into the pickup segment and reintroduced the Jeep Commanche..... taking on the new Ford Ranger and the Chevrolet Colorado.

 

[IndyFan]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
I get the "lift thing" with the Wrangler, but not the (Grand) Cherokee. Just my personal taste.

Now speaking of Fiat Chrysler, I don;t get the Wrangler pickup thing either. What Fiat should have done is go hard into the pickup segment and reintroduced the Jeep Commanche..... taking on the new Ford Ranger and the Chevrolet Colorado.


Actually, there is intel that suggests they are planning a new Dakota, as well.

 

[JeepWJ19]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
I get the "lift thing" with the Wrangler, but not the (Grand) Cherokee. Just my personal taste.

Now speaking of Fiat Chrysler, I don;t get the Wrangler pickup thing either. What Fiat should have done is go hard into the pickup segment and reintroduced the Jeep Commanche..... taking on the new Ford Ranger and the Chevrolet Colorado.


The lifted Grand Cherokee is nice because not everyone and their cousin has one lifted. It's different instead of the run-of-the-mill Wranglers all running a 2-3" lift with 35s. That's just my .02¢ though.

 

[JeepWJ19]

Sorry for the late reply. Here are some photos of my jeep.
Again:

• 2.5" Lift all the way around
• 245/75/R16 Fierce Attitude M/T tires
• 3-4" Zone Offroad Rear Swaybar Links
• Bilstein 5100 series shocks
• 20% tint on the front driver and passenger windows to match the privacy window tint on the rear windows
• Bought a 2004 laredo grille, had the inner painted black, the outer painted my jeep color
• Rzeppa front driveshaft to double cardan driveshaft conversion
• Fawke's Fab recovery and bull bar relocation kit

 

[sooners2win]

Love my 2004 with a 4.0, I think the straight 6 is hard to beat.