97 Cherokee refresh

Our daily driver is a pretty loaded black 97 Cherokee Country that we ordered new. It has 135,000 miles now and is starting to get kinda old. It's been well cared for, but it has never felt as good as the 87 Cherokee it replaced. A lot more road, engine and gear noise and just kind of cheap feeling. Now that it's getting older, all the little things are piling up and really bugging me. We can't afford to replace it, so I want to get it back to at least where it was when new or maybe better. I still love the styling and would like to save it and you sure can't beat it in the snow....

Edited by Rogue401 - Mar/08/2014 at 5:45pm

I'm going through a similar project with my 4x4 94 grand cherokee with 190K. I bought it 6 years ago. It had been well cared for, but most everything was wearing out. The list is longer than I care to list lol, and nearly identical to yours. Add falling headliner, rattling cat converter.... But I got if for almost nothing, put a few hundred $$$ worth of parts in to get it back on the road and have been driving/restoring it since. I plan to keep it long term and continue fixing things as I go. The leaking air conditioner compressor is next on the list for this weekend.

I have yet to figure out the vibration/noise issue. I get a vibration at very, very low speed and a noise at a certain load around 65mph. I've replaced the front drive shaft, both front bearings. No change. All of my tie rod ends are shot. Still goes down the road strait, but there's a lot of play in the wheel. Could be that, or maybe the rear shaft out of balance? More time and parts will tell. The rear bearings are worn and what gives me most of my road noise. Those are a common issue for Jeeps and other brands with high miles. Someday I'll get those done.

I now have a set of new blistein shocks and OME HD springs to put in when time and weather permit. The old ones are shot. I've kidded by wife that my Jeep sits and looks more like an eagle wagon. Her minivan sits higher. The HD version springs with shocks is supposed to give a superb ride according to reviews. It will also return the 1.75" lost to sag and add an additional 2-2.5" of lift. That plus replacing the worn 27" tires with 30" should give it back the stance it should have.

Weather seals.... definitely. I replaced mine two weeks ago. Takes care of a bad draft that robs your heat or AC. Might have reduced the road noise just a tad, but it does help noise in a different way. I don't have to have the fan turned up as high to get he same results in the cabin.... so I don't have to turn the radio up so high to hear it..... quieter all around in that situation. And the rear door doesn't rattle against the latch.

Plenty more parts to talk about, but I guess the bottom line is how much do you want to put in to it? Transmissions will normally need work some time after 180K. I've spent about $2500 over the past couple years putting things right and will spend about that much more to finish all the mechanicals and interior bits. Making it pretty is a different story. Should you take that much and buy a newer one in better condition? Couple of pics of mine, maybe a nice 20 footer.

For some odd reason it likes to break something every time I visit Freecat1's place. Not figure out that one either. I didn't leave any part behind last time did I FC?  :)

I don't know how it is in TX, but it would be illegal in New York because you can't swap in an older motor and you would have to keep all the OBD1 or 2 electronics or it won't pass inspection.