9th Jan 2011, 17:40

I love my Cherokee Sport (Sept 2000, but 2001 model, 6 cyl 4x4)

It has been very reliable, now with 216,000km on it, maybe about 150,000 miles. So far, I have had to replace the sump, front and rear main seals, and do the occasional bushing in the front suspension. The Jeep has zero rust, original shocks and muffler (despite Canadian driving).

I did have the driver's door speaker stop working, it's a well known complaint, and all it is is a broken wire. Fixed it myself. Jeeps need an alignment now and then especially if you drive them through streams and over fields and whatever. The front tires crabbing is a common complain because of that. The answer may be to raise the tire pressures to 33 lb/sq in or a little more. 30 lb/sq in doesn't cut it. I just put new snow tires on and immediately had to increase the pressures to 36.

I also had a problem driving in Florida where I visit in winter, and the problem probably was the 15% ethanol in the fuel. On a hot day the Jeep would not restart easily, and would stumble and generally run badly after restarting. The "check number three spark plug" code always came up. I see above that a heat shield is recommended for that plug. I haven't done it, because It doesn't happen here in Canada, not warm enough?, or maybe because we don't use ethanol in my area.

Gas mileage isn't great, but I'm retired and have slowed down since I sold the Porsche. I notice a big difference since I started idling along at 55 on my beautiful drive into town, and I can see the scenery better. I now can get 360 miles per tank if I don't let my wife drive. She drives like a cop, all accelerator and brake. (Her dad was a cop).

This vehicle is 11 years old, and is my primary vehicle. I plan for it to do me another 5 or more years of hauling trailers and boats and going hunting and generally having a good time. I love my Jeep, but I would like to re-do the interior with new seats and carpet. It's not bad, but I like to treat my Jeep nearly as well as I treat my wife.

Ps. I ran a 92 Cherokee Sport for ten years before this one. It too was a great vehicle, but the floors rusted out. I sold it with 250,000km (150,000m) on it after the floors had been fixed for the third time. The only thing Chrysler has done for the Jeep line is to make them rustproof, but thanks for it anyway.

And finally, why did Chrysler buy Jeep, a company with a prestigious brand of off-road vehicles and a loyal customer base, if it didn't plan to keep on making Jeeps? The Expedition looks right to me, but the GC looks like a Chrysler Minivan. And don't mention those little pissant tin boxes they sell now in the same breath as my Cherokee.

Rankjo.

18th Aug 2011, 16:45

Hard start, after warm up and sitting a short while. You stated the injectors were cleaned. Does it have a rich burning gasoline smell from the exhaust when this happens? Was the injector rail removed from the vehicle? My guess is it was on vehicle cleaning.

I have been there and done it. Check fuel pressure to see if it is dropping off. The best way I found to do it was pull the rail and check for a leaking injector. It drips fuel into cylinder while sitting after hot, result hard start cylinder overloaded with too much fuel, i.e. same as being flooded out.

You will hear bad plugs, bad fuel pump, bad CPS (crankshaft or camshaft), bad coil pack, bad 02 sensor, and so on.

It is common to find one or more leaky injectors when this happens.