Nothing has gone wrong with this car so far.
This will be the third Jeep Cherokee I've owned. I still have the second one and my dad bought my first one.
In all three Jeeps I've had the 4.0 liter engine and I've been pleased every time. This engine responds extremely well and is very reliable.
In the last two Jeeps I had the 5 speed manual transmission. So I must add, for those who really like the driving experience, I highly recommend the 4.0 combined with the 5 speed manual. You won't believe what the 4.0 can really do unless you get the standard transmission paired up with it.
The only issue I've ever really had was the lack of comfort. But, because of the reliability, performance, and the fact that it's just so much fun to drive, I'll take a Jeep over a Cadillac any day!
Oh, by the way, my second Jeep is closing in on 300,000 miles.
OK, so I was wrong about the 4.0 being discontinued. What I really meant was the Jeep Cherokee. Anyway, it is now about a year after my purchase of my '98 and I finally ran into a problem that no mechanic can seem to help me with. When I take off after it's been sitting for a bit it cuts out and almost stalls, then after a bit it runs like a dream. It acts as if the fuel filter is plugged. I've taken it to a local Jeep dealer and had them run a diagnostic check. They told me everything was fine including the fuel filter/injectors, but, I need to give it a full tune up...DONE. Didn't help. So, I've been driving it with the problem and trying to convince myself I may be imagining things (which is hard to do when it sputters and lurches, throwing me back and forth in the drivers seat while everyone at the stop light is watching me and my Jeep dance the funky chicken through the intersection). Anyway, I took it to have new tires put on and I warned them of the problem so when they take it out for a test drive they're aware of it. The Jeep acted up on them (now I can relax...I'm not going insane after all) and they offered to take a look. The mechanic there ran some sea-foam (full strength fuel injector cleaner) and assured me that this fixed the problem. I was all excited and told him thank you many times. I then got into my beloved Jeep and started my merry way home. Guess what... It started again. So I ask you other Jeep fans, WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY JEEP??!! ANY suggestion would be helpful... other than selling it of course.
Audra.
It sounds like you have a fuel pump problem, with its electrical connection cutting out or weak.
It is possible that your issue might be related to the crank shaft positioning sensor. There have been issues relating to this sensor causing the vehicle to lose power or stall. It could simply be the connector to the sensor has loosened during regular "jeep" driving. If I remember correctly the sensor is on the top of the bell housing on the transmission, and can be tricky to get at.
I was having the same problem with my car. It was a gasget seal. Might want to have that checked.
The symptoms you are describing with your Jeep, may have an EXTREMELY simple cause: THE GAS CAP.
I'm not kidding. The Cherokee uses a special pressure vented gas cap. With age and temperature, the rubber in this cap can degrade, and it can cause hard starting and overall poor idling. Something as simple as getting a new (OEM) gas cap, can fix this.
A related cause: There's a seal on the gas tank, which seals the gas gauge sending unit. This seal can fail, making a vapor leak into the gas tank, causing the same symptoms as the gas cap problem above.
HOPE THIS HELPS!
I know I'm a bit late for this issue, but if someone else has this issue check your exhaust pipe right where it comes off the exhaust manifold to see if it is dented in. Or if the catalatic converter is plug.
Mine got dented by the front driveshaft one day upon the suspension compressing a little far.
Good luck.
LOVE my Jeep. 1998 Cherokee 171,000 miles.
I had a 1990 Jeep Cherokee with similar problems - it was, like an earlier comment said, the crank shaft position sensor.
Not too expensive to fix once we figured out what the problem was!!
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