2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Landrover, Range Rover, Jeep or whatever - off-road or not, this is the one.

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:11 pm

Well (and this will jinx it) it has been 100% reliable thus far..........
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Sat Sep 08, 2012 8:23 pm

Time for another update:

The WJ's road manners have been improved dramatically by replacing the anti-roll bar drop links - a simple, cheap fix and I should have known that it would make a huge difference. It's still too soft really, especially at the rear, and would definitely benefit from some stiffer coil springs. At the moment, I'm just going to live with it as it's not meant to be a sports car, after all.

I've got some bits and bobs on order to fix a few "issues" - chiefly the broken heater blend door (a known weak spot) - and need to invest in a new set of tyres because I've had two fail on me in as many weeks. The first was when the valve came out and was easily fixed but the second, yesterday, could have been a lot more serious because it was a sidewall blowout on a different tyre. Thankfully it blew at walking pace in a car park in Dubai but 10 minutes earlier we had been doing 75mph on the motorway! Again, like most of the rubber on the car, they are clearly past their best despite being relatively new BF Goodrich and supposedly decent tyres. I'll get some slightly wider ones whilst at it.

Oh, and the latest plan: Jeep ZJ for offroad, this one for general use and sell the Lumina - and replace it with a Corvette (probably a 1990's C4 model). Whether or not that works out remains to be seen.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:48 pm

The offending tyre (screwdriver used to show where the failure was - it wasn't the cause!). It doesn't look too bad here but it was only at 1mph, not 70+

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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:04 pm

Small update: new tyres fitted and they seem much better than the old BF Goodrich ones. Quieter and better handling on road but not tried out off road (yet). I used Coopers because the ones on my ZJ were so good all round.

Then, just after paying out for the tyres, one front shock absorber blew all its oil out and started clonking. They're Bilsteins, supposedly decent ones, but were too soft in my opinion. I've replaced them with some generic heavy duty ones and the handling is better and the ride smoother - I guess the old ones were just knackered.

The Jeep is now officially for sale and I have a couple of interested prospective buyers. If/when it sells, it will be replaced with something better for off-road use.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:43 pm

I took this out for a (probably) final run in the desert. The new tyres and anti-roll bar links made a huge difference but it's still not a patch on the ZJ so it's going. Interestingly, I stopped off at the local pork shop to buy some bacon after the trip and when I came out I found a note on the door mirror asking if I wanted to sell it and giving me a number to ring. I do want to sell, did call and now the chap is having a think and says he'll get back to me soon.

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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:49 pm

Must get round to selling it.........

I had a weird episode with this a couple of days ago. A broken interior light flattened the battery and after I recharged it, it just would not start. It turned over fast enough but with no sign of firing. Remembering that the ECU on these can get its brains scrambled, I disconnected the terminals and touched the leads together to wipe the ECU's memory and after that it was fine. It's not just 800s that suffer from electrical strangeness
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:53 am

I've still got this - and it has been my daily transport for some time now. It's been running nicely with just routine servicing until yesterday when the water pump blew its seals on the way to Dubai. It has been recovered back to the garage and should be mobile again very soon. I've no idea how old the pump was but the car has done 223,000km and it could be the original.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by guru » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:57 pm

I've got to say since getting my WJ I seem to love it more and more. At first I though it would be a short term 'car fling' that I'd get bored of but recently I was offered sensible money for it and much to my surprise turned it down! Just love the way it goes and sounds. Mine it leaking coolant though but no idea where from as it only happens on very odd occasions. Other then that it's been very good, really came in to it's own this winter :)

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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:17 pm

If you look at the engine, there is a drain hole for the water pump which is on the top of the pump. This is almost always where they leak from when the seals start to go
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Richard Moss
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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:37 pm

The new water pump blew about 2 months later so had to be redone. Since then I have replace the steering damper, a couple of tie rod ends and both front CV joints.

I also seem to have found a buyer for it - or more to the point, he found me. When I went to collect it 2 days ago after having the new pump fitted, a German chap asked me if I wanted to sell. I said "possibly" and pretended not to have thought about it. He had a test drive and today said that he'd like to buy it - so there's just the final haggling to do.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Richard Moss
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Re: 2001 Grand Cherokee WJ V8

Post by Richard Moss » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:20 am

SOLD :)
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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