Nissan R51 to Jeep WJ

[jsean]

Times are crazy as a lot of you have already pointed out in your threads over here. My original plan was to ride out this insanely hot used car market for a few years in my 2011 R51 Pathy (just over 110k miles). I’m the 2nd owner - first owners clearly didn’t take much care washing the vehicle but made sure all the maintenance was taken care of. Being on the shore of Lake Erie, that resulted in rust. I did strip the frame and cross members as best as I could and coated it in POR15. But suspension components fasteners are a BEAR on this thing. Outside of the cat heat shield rattle, no issues on it.
I bought the Pathy 2 years ago below KBB having had to fix the ac compressor and switched out the radiator myself along with fluids and such. But with the prices right now, I might actually be able to make a small profit despite adding 14,000 miles. I struggle getting rid of it because it’s been very reliable and is a pretty decent long distance hauler.

Things changed recently when a friend of a friend reached out saying he wants to get rid of his ‘04 JGC with the V8 engine. It’s got 140k miles and I believe he’s the 3rd owner. Claims to not have much in the way of rust, but that’s subjective here in the rust belt. He’s willing to cut me a deal for $1,500 to get rid of it. That in itself tempts me to buy it, but I only get 2 parking spots at the apt complex.

My thought was sell the Pathy at “market” price which is nuts, take the small profit and get the JGC assuming it doesn’t have a ton of rust or major issues and ride out this market. Sell it off later and buy me a less rust/no rust SUv from out west when the used car market cools down.

What do the gurus here think? Bad idea going to a Chrysler/Stellantis product? I’ve heard good things of the 4.0 6 cyl but am clueless on the 4.7 V8.

Thoughts, feedback, advice, opinions would be greatly welcomed!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The high output 4.7 is pretty impressive for power. Chrysler tried to make a more powerful version of the Ford modular and they succeeded in more powerful but they were definitely problematic. The water pump impellers fail causing the engine to overheat. Unfortunately, the instant the engine overheats it will do any combination of .... blowing a head gasket, cracking a head, dropping a valve seat and valve. The towing packages have a hydraulic cooling fan driven off of the power steering pump that can be problematic as well.

Of course the typical electrical gremlins of the DCX era.

The 5 speed auto trans is actually really good in them.

I would do it just to get some extra $$$ laying around. But I would also expect something that won't touch the Frontier based Pathfinder for reliability.

 

[jsean]

Thanks for the response! Is the water pump replacement something that I can tackle at home or is it an expensive shop only kind of repair? Are the aftermarket water pumps better than the factory ones?

I don’t know if it’s got the tow package - do the hydraulic fans fail gradually or is it a no notice catastrophic failure kind of thing?

I read about the blend door actuator being a common problem. Are there any other major electrical glitches to watch out for?

I agree with your assessment though - would be nice to have the $$$s available for use on other things.

 

[AZjeff]

I might be wrong on the years but those were available with either true 4wd or awd. I almost bought one with awd but a tight circle on a dry parking lot produced bucking and disturbing noises so I passed. Jeep guys will know.

 

[meep]

I had a 3.7 ’08 2wd. I’m a bit of a mixed bag over it. In stock form, ergonomics, handling, hvac, radio, were all excellent. For people that just want a good driving, easy to live with suv, it checked all the boxes well. great for city and highway driving both.

as @Miller88 said, I’ll agree 100%. It won’t be quite as well-sorted as the nissan, the nag1/w580 transmission is fantastic, but I might add, you might get bitten by the Jeep thing, which makes up for some number of transgressions.

here are the things which irritated me in mine.
- chassis flex. The drivers door would quietly creak as the body twisted on regular roads. It would creak audibly as one tire crawled up a curb.
- fuel rail leak one day at the pressure test valve, which somehow resolved itself a week later.
- A-pillar would visually flex if the front doors were opened and made to stop themselves. Granted, they are some big front doors.
- mine never left me stranded or didn’t start. But it would nearly stall, then lurch in revs, which while inching in traffic required one to catch it with the brakes. It did it often. No codes. Replaced several sensors, cleaned TB and TB servo and TPS.

i added a 2” lift and found it very capable off road, even as a 2WD. It was a fun vehicle for sure. The alignment tech noted these were not given as many adjustment points to work with, and the typical 2” lift was a pain unless the kit included adjustable hardware. They got it right, still (yay Firestone), and it was a pleasure to drive. However, mild lift and mild tire size increase dropped mpg by 3, and the transmission became very shifty after that - it always wanted the next gear a little too soon. It was clear to me that it was well-engineered for its original configuration.

we traded ours around 60k after the fuel rail episode. I became irritated with it. I still see it around with rocker rails, mild push bar, lift, and auxiliary lighting. It’s clearly still out there doing it’s thing.

 

[PimTac]

Why does he want to get rid of the Jeep?

My vote is to keep the Pathfinder. You know what you own now versus getting a “deal” on a unknown.

 

[JimPghPA]

I would go onto some of the Jeep online forums and kick that idea around for some informed information regarding problems that year and model with that number of miles may have. Old Jeeps can be a nice vehicle to have, or they can be a real big money pit. It varies a lot depending on the model, year, powertrain combination (engine and trany), miles, and in your case area regarding rust.

Seriously, put the details out there on some Jeep forums, and see what people who have owned that exact same vehicle say regarding cost of owning one (how much maintenace to expect).

The forums that are visited by many people who have Jeeps are where your question belongs. And give them details. The better informed they are about what you are looking at, the better they can give you correct information.

 

[jsean]

I might be wrong on the years but those were available with either true 4wd or awd. I almost bought one with awd but a tight circle on a dry parking lot produced bucking and disturbing noises so I passed. Jeep guys will know.

Good to know. It’s got the basic awd system - if I end up getting it, I’ll do the figure 8/tight circle in a parking lot

 

[jsean]

Why does he want to get rid of the Jeep?

Him and his wife got new Buicks (the encore GX and an Envision), so the Jeep’s taking up their parking space. It’s been barely driven the last year is what he said since they got their new vehicles.

 

[jsean]

I would go onto some of the Jeep online forums and kick that idea around for some informed information regarding problems that year and model with that number of miles may have. Old Jeeps can be a nice vehicle to have, or they can be a real big money pit. It varies a lot depending on the model, year, powertrain combination (engine and trany), miles, and in your case area regarding rust.

Seriously, put the details out there on some Jeep forums, and see what people who have owned that exact same vehicle say regarding cost of owning one (how much maintenace to expect).

The forums that are visited by many people who have Jeeps are where your question belongs. And give them details. The better informed they are about what you are looking at, the better they can give you correct information.

Great idea. I’ll cross post on a JGC forum asking about user feedback. Looking through some of the older threads here, folks either love them or hate them.

I’ll be keeping it at most for 2 years/14k miles (I the hopes that the car market becomes normal by then). As long as it’ll last through that, I’ll be ahead. Whether it will actually make it that long without becoming a money pit is what I’m pondering/trying to learn more about.

 

[KCJeep]

For such a short term ownership plan it's probably a good buy IMO, provided it's been reasonably maintained and not overheated, EVER. The second one is a biggy on the V8.

 

[skrypj]

I was looking at WJ's as an offroad rig and, as mentioned, the issue with the V8 seemed to be losing a head gasket. Even one overheat event and it could be done.

I really wanted one though. They are very capable in stock form offroad. A set of tires and lift and they can do some crazy stuff.

The only other issue I heard of was the rear aluminum D44 axle housing cracking but not sure that would be an issue for a street driven one.

 

[jsean]

Yeah it’s going to be street driven. I rarely tow and even then it’s been sub 2,500lbs thus far.

The guy claims it burns a quart of oil about every 3k miles and that the radiator has a leak. Says it went past normal operating temp so he poured some of radiator leak fix stuff and it’s been running fine since. Says there’s minimal rust and I can come take a look at it if I want. That leak fix stuff bothers me though. What do you guys think? Take it for a TD and see if it’s overheating and/or leaking or not?

 

[jsean]

For such a short term ownership plan it's probably a good buy IMO, provided it's been reasonably maintained and not overheated, EVER. The second one is a biggy on the V8.

I’ve been reading online more about the overheat issue. Is going over normal temp also considered overheating for the V8? The dude said he never let it get past 3/4th of the way.

 

[Nick1994]

Yeah it’s going to be street driven. I rarely tow and even then it’s been sub 2,500lbs thus far.

The guy claims it burns a quart of oil about every 3k miles and that the radiator has a leak. Says it went past normal operating temp so he poured some of radiator leak fix stuff and it’s been running fine since. Says there’s minimal rust and I can come take a look at it if I want. That leak fix stuff bothers me though. What do you guys think? Take it for a TD and see if it’s overheating and/or leaking or not?

I was on board until this.

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