Most Miles on a Jeep Grand Cherokee?

[SC Maintenance]

Curios on who has run a high mileage GC, and what year / powertrain and what kind of repairs were needed at how many miles?

I had a 2002 GC Limited 4WD with the 4.7 standard - not HO. I had it for just under 200K. It had no major mechanical issues. It had a ton of electrical and other issues - the body trim was kind of falling off. Big one was the heater core failed - it was like 24 hours shop time to swap - so I didn't. The entire front suspension needed replacement - solid axle death wobble. I planned to fix it but life got in the way - sold it on Craigslist - fully disclosing every issue. Lots of folks still wanted it.

Its still one of the ones that got away. I really liked that car. But I don't see many on the road anymore - which is odd around here - no salt.

 

[fantastic]

My brother had one for short bit. I remember the V8 & really plush leather seats. I think the most comfortable leather seats I've ever sat in to be clear. Pretty sure I saw the odometer with around 190k. On another note he had a Durango that had a lot of electrical issues. I know I don't have much details. Although I like some of their vehicles I just steer clear of them.

 

[Slick3914]

A friend of mine had a 2004 4.7 with 265,000 miles when he got rid of it. It held up remarkably well, but burned a quart of oil per a tank of gas.

 

[tbm5690]

I drove a 2001 with the 4.7 in high school. My parents sold it at just under 200k, no major issues except at about 70k it needed a torque converter. Great power, comfy if not a little too plush, and I could rock 11 CDs at a time ready to play so that was great I remember being envious of the H.O. and Quadra-Drive models.

So far all comments have been WJs...I wonder if anyone here has/had a WK with high mileage? My buddy in high school drove a 2005 WK and I always felt it was inferior in quality to my WJ.

 

[ripcord]

My daughter's 2004 has the 4.0 and around 220k. It doesn't burn any oil but I should probably replace the rattly timing chain.

 

[Chris142]

My daughter's 2004 has the 4.0 and around 220k. It doesn't burn any oil but I should probably replace the rattly timing chain.

I have never seen a 4.0 with a timing chain so loose it rattles. It has a rubbing block to help keep the chain tight.

 

[clinebarger]

My mother had a '01 GC 4.7L 2WD Limited HO with near 300,000 miles. Couple ECM's, A few oil pressure switches & at the end the Hydraulic Cooling Fan controller which I hotwired to engage the fan 100% 'til she bought a new vehicle.

She gave in to my nephew & it didn't last 2 weeks before he got it hot & dropped a valve seat.

 

[ripcord]

I have never seen a 4.0 with a timing chain so loose it rattles. It has a rubbing block to help keep the chain tight.

Maybe it's got a bad wrist pin or piston skirt? It ticks/rattles at idle in the front of the engine. I've been ignoring it for a while. I need to put a timing light on it to see if the timing jumps around.

 

[Number_35]

Maybe it's got a bad wrist pin or piston skirt? It ticks/rattles at idle in the front of the engine. I've been ignoring it for a while. I need to put a timing light on it to see if the timing jumps around.

We used to "stack" the firing patterns of the cylinders on the scope - #1 on top, down to #4, #6, or #8.

If they didn't line up perfectly vertically, but rather formed a bit of an "S", that usually indicated a sloppy timing chain. Confirmation was when the engine was revved up, and the S straightened up into a vertical line as the slack came out of the chain.

 

[ripcord]

We used to "stack" the firing patterns of the cylinders on the scope - #1 on top, down to #4, #6, or #8.

If they didn't line up perfectly vertically, but rather formed a bit of an "S", that usually indicated a sloppy timing chain. Confirmation was when the engine was revved up, and the S straightened up into a vertical line as the slack came out of the chain.

Unfortunately my old Sun analyzer is out at the repairman, lol.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

2005 Jeep GC Laredo with the 3.7L. It has 200K on it. I've done general maintenance on it including front struts, brakes including calipers, heater core etc. Nothing major on the drivetrain other than rear spider gears to fix a clunking. It has been and continues to be a pretty good vehicle. The rust is going to be the death of this thing.

Just my $0.02

 

[Number_35]

Unfortunately my old Sun analyzer is out at the repairman, lol.

Sun was one of the big names back then for sure.

I think we had an Allen analyzer with a big monochrome screen. Green on black display perhaps. The monitor hung from an arm attached to a wheeled cabinet. I think the cabinet and tool tray were blue.

1980 was a few years ago ...

 

[ripcord]

Sun was one of the big names back then for sure.

I think we had an Allen analyzer with a big monochrome screen. Green on black display perhaps. The monitor hung from an arm attached to a wheeled cabinet. I think the cabinet and tool tray were blue.

1980 was a few years ago ...

My buddy from highschool has an extra fancy Sun machine in his transmission shop, complete with an IBM 286 and monochrome monitor. I didn't see it in it's usual spot the last time I was there, but he used it quite a bit to chase down drivability issues on pre-OBD stuff that people would drag in to his shop.

 

[doublebase]

My son has a 2011 with the 3.6 Pentastar, it now has 140,000 on it. Knock on wood no engine/tranny problems yet. I have changed the plugs, that was a royal pain in the rear. The blend door passenger motor is broken. The radio cuts out - there is a solder fix but I haven’t done it yet. The rear left axle boot is torn…he’s driven with that for 40k mikes now…probably change it soon. Tires, brakes, fluid changes. That’s about it. I see a lot of these Grand Cherokees now with higher mileage and minimal major problems. They’re not too bad.

 

[KCJeep]

My 04 Laredo only had 147k on it when I sold it but the drivetrain was rock solid as was most of the rest of the vehicle. I grew weary of the electrical bugs some of which had been repaired multiple times already. (Driver’s door wiring, RR tail light).

Had it 7 years and still miss it once in awhile.

 

[doublebase]

My 04 Laredo only had 147k on it when I sold it but the drivetrain was rock solid as was most of the rest of the vehicle. I grew weary of the electrical bugs some of which had been repaired multiple times already. (Driver’s door wiring, RR tail light).

Had it 7 years and still miss it once in awhile.

That’s right, I forgot about the driver’s door wiring issues. I repaired mine, not a big deal but a little tight…added a couple inches of wire so it wouldn’t happen again. So far so good.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Curios on who has run a high mileage GC, and what year / powertrain and what kind of repairs were needed at how many miles?

I had a 2002 GC Limited 4WD with the 4.7 standard - not HO. I had it for just under 200K. It had no major mechanical issues. It had a ton of electrical and other issues - the body trim was kind of falling off. Big one was the heater core failed - it was like 24 hours shop time to swap - so I didn't. The entire front suspension needed replacement - solid axle death wobble. I planned to fix it but life got in the way - sold it on Craigslist - fully disclosing every issue. Lots of folks still wanted it.

Its still one of the ones that got away. I really liked that car. But I don't see many on the road anymore - which is odd around here - no salt.

 

[Jetronic]

My buddy from highschool has an extra fancy Sun machine in his transmission shop, complete with an IBM 286 and monochrome monitor. I didn't see it in it's usual spot the last time I was there, but he used it quite a bit to chase down drivability issues on pre-OBD stuff that people would drag in to his shop.

we had one of those at the dealership aswell. Only used to test for emissions in the end.

 

[SC Maintenance]

My 04 Laredo only had 147k on it when I sold it but the drivetrain was rock solid as was most of the rest of the vehicle. I grew weary of the electrical bugs some of which had been repaired multiple times already. (Driver’s door wiring, RR tail light).

Had it 7 years and still miss it once in awhile.

My 2002 had the continuosly variable HVAC fan and they didn't put a large enough heat sink or big enough wires. Mine melted the connector. I soldered in some heavier wires and that lessened the heat.

Anyway not long after Chrysler published a TSB on this, and you could order the "upgrade kit" for like $30. I figured I would be getting a new connector so I ordered one. It showed up with 3 lengths of heavier wire and 6 crimp connectors.

 

[meep]

I had a 2008 RWD 3.7.

Seating and ergo was great. WA580 may be one of the best transmissions ever produced. In stock form, in handled very well. I eventually had a 2” lift and slightly larger tires on it. Even as 2WD, it did trails nicely. Headlights were one of the best halogen units I’ve owned. Got around just fine with the 3.7, and mpg was 18-22 or so.

Negatives. Body flexed more than it should. It creaked as the road undulated beneath it. The doors would creek as I ambled up a curb. My AC was not super strong. It seemed to me the hot/cold blend door didnt go all the way cold. I tried to recalibrate it and it helped a little but not much. Engine made knocking sounds if it get hot, like rod knock if towing in the highway. Didnt like that.

There was something weird in mine. Totally repeatable, cruise at 45 on a specific stretch of road and it would slow down and slow down, as the engine started working harder and harder, and then something would “free up” and it would shoot forward. Every single time. And then approaching a stop, it would all but stall, and then lurch forward, not what you want as approaching a stop in traffic. It did that twice a month. No errors or codes. Replaced a few sensors, cleaned the tps (nice design, it didnt need cleaning). Sold it kinda young (80k? I don’t recall). It wasn’t a bad vehicle.

What was the larger one on the WK platform? Big square thing? Loved the looks of that. I loved the looks of it enough that I would have risked repeats of these nuisances to drive one of them. Commander?

Also had a 93ZJ. Sold with over 250k on them. It barely ran at that age. I loved that thing. AW4 trans was solid. Engine leaked everything it could, probably even brake fluid, along with the blinker fluid, at the block/head surface. I was probably the 5th owner…