I have a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. It is the very basic model. I has no major interior options or accessories. However, as far as performance is concerned, my Cherokee is equipped with the 4.0 liter inline 6 cylinder engine, as well as four wheel drive.
I am very fond of my Jeep and I have made many aftermarket alterations to enhance its performance.
All of the interior carpet has been removed and replaced with a hard, black rubber mat. This one-piece mat has been crafted and positioned to fit the shape of the Jeep's floor panels, and it also extends into the tailgate.
My Cherokee is lifted with 2 inch Rancho suspension lift.
I have B.F. Goodrich Sport King Tires to improve off-road performance.
I have added a sound system to my Cherokee, including a Pioneer CD deck, with Fosgate 5.25's in the front doors. Rather than using the premade factory positions for 5.25's in the tailgate, I added two Pioneer 6x9 speakers in custom boxes in the back. Subwoofers are on the way.
All of these upgrades have added to create a fantastic Jeep, which I thoroughly enjoy driving on and off road. However, I cannot deny the fact that my Jeep has caused me many problems!
My 1988 Cherokee has a Peugeot BA10 5-speed manual transmission. This was arguably - if not certainly - the worst transmission Jeep ever used. It was only used for two years, before it was discontinued by Jeep. The transmission was completely shot. The only shop that would work on a Peugeot transmission was AAMCO. The complete rebuild totaled up to about $3,850. I should have just bought another Jeep. However, with 240,000 miles on it, a little wear and tear was expected. So I decided to cough up the money and see where my Jeep would take me.
After my transmission makeover, my Jeep was fine. She worked and ran like a beauty. The 4.0 liter was smooth and powerful and easily pushed my Jeep wherever she needed to go. Excellent off road performance, supplying plenty of torque as well as efficient and smooth highway performance with light to moderate engine noise at high speeds, are characteristic of the everyday perfomance of the fuel injected engine.
The transmission, when it is not broken, shifts smoothly and reasonably. Offroading is best in second gear. The optimum torque rating for the inline six is at 4,000 rpms. This can easily be attained in second gear to allow maximum power to be transmitted to the wheels in off road conditions.
The two inch lift comes in very handy off road. It is the opinion of this author, that the Cherokee's off road performance is best optimized with a suspension lift, at least 1.5 inches, but anywhere up to 4 inches. There are 6 inch lift kits available, but such a lift would make city and highway driving a little bit more challenging, but never-the-less it is still feasible.
As far as performance is concerned, my Jeep proffers superb performance on and off road - when it's working. About 12 months after I had the transmission rebuilt, I had problems shifting gears. I had a difficult time popping the gears into place, and an even more difficult time removing gears from their position. Sometimes, I would have to use two hands to pop the transmission out of gear and into neutral so that I could upshift. I speculated that it was a problem with the hydraulic clutch system. I was correct. Evidently, when AAMCO rebuilt my transmission the one part that they did not replace was the slave cylinder for the clutch, which subsequently broke and began leaking brake fluid. I would add dot 3 brake fluid into the hydraulic clutch reservior only to find that it would be near empty the following day. Obviously a leak somewhere in the hydraulics, and the slave cylinder is where it was leaking. I dropped the transmission, and replaced the damaged clutch cylinder with a new one. I also replaced the rear, driver's side wheel cylinder.
In addition to the problem with my hydraulic clutch system, I was losing most of the pressure in my braking system. I found this odd because I had done a complete brake job not more than 3 months prior.
Needless to say, all of these repairs left me quite perturbed and with an empty wallet. The fun never stops. Not long after I needed to replace the front passenger side hub and bearings. No parts shop carried this particular piece, so I had to buy it at full price from the factory. Ouch. I took this opportunity to do a front end job on my Cherokee as well. In addition to repacking the bearings, I replaced the upper and lower ball joints on both sides, as well as some other preventative maintenance work.
Confident that I had replaced or repaired everything that could go wrong with my Jeep, I was quite dismayed when my Jeep soon began leaking 3 quarts of oil every two days! Hence that statement - the fun never stops. I submitted my Jeep into a repair shop to have them replace the rear main seal between my prize 4.0 liter engine and my despised Peugeot 5-speed. The shop also replaced the front seal in my engine. This stopped most of the oil leak, but I was told not to drive my Cherokee at speeds greater than 60 mph or else the high pressure generated by the engine at such speeds would force oil through an already leaky valve cover gasket. An expensive problem, which I wanted to avoid. This made driving between 55 and 60 mph on the interstate a lovely task. I am replacing the valve cover gasket tommorrow. So, about $6,000 dollars later, I ask myself, "Was it worth it?" Undoubtably, Yes. I love my Jeep.
I love my Jeep. I admit I have paid a lot of money for repairs, but never-the-less, I love my Jeep. I love being able to tell people that I drive a Jeep. I love walking out from a store and into the parking lot, to find a beautiful white Jeep there waiting for me. It's a Jeep thing. You might understand - if you own one. Jeep is the pinacle of style and performance, the zenith of accuracy and precision. It is the apex, where agility and grace meet power and superb offroad handling.
Great review, yeah it is a Jeep thing, I had loved my same Jeep Cherokee 1988, for only a year when I got hit, and had to junk it. Then I thought I could save some dough with a smaller car, well I did especially with gas, but I missed my Jeep so much that, I sold the smaller Saturn and now I'm in the market for another Cherokee. I probably will buy a 90's Cherokee Laredo. It's a big shame that Chrysler will stop producing the Cherokee model. I will always own a Jeep, to go offroading, it is the best tool for that.
To all Jeep owners: Love your Jeep, and never sell it.
Owner of a 1989 Cherokee Pioneer 4X4 4.0 here...
195,000 miles and still going... It's definitely a JEEP thing. You either love them or hate them... looking to lift it up now. 4-wheelin in Florida...
Tim
Hey guy, I've got a 88 Cherokee Pioneer, love the thing, am in the same boat repair wise ($3500 and counting).
Rickey rivet.
Hey there!
I also have a 88 Cherokee with 192,000 miles and I just purchased it for $2,000 and I LOVE it. It runs perfect but tomorrow I'm dropping $1200 to have the engine rebuilt. I was told by a Jeep specialist that the auto transmission is basically bullet-proof so I should be good there.
Hey I got a 1988 jeep Cherokee pioneer and it needs help I love the thing, but some how the fan shaft slipped loose and tore through the radiator. my engine is great, but the transmission went on mine.
I own a 88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer and I love it just like everybody loves there Jeeps. I only had one problem with it, it only has 150,000 miles and the motor does not start. I went 4-wheeling well mudding and now she turns over, but doesn't start. I replaced the distributor cap, wires, plugs, and rotor. She still doesn't start that is my only problem. Other than that I really love it!!!
Liked the review, a question for someone who is venturing out to buy a used Cherokee for the first time, do your Cherokees break because you do a lot of 4 wheeling in them or they break just driving normal?
Curious Sam.
I have a 1988 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with about 211,000 miles on it. I love the thing. It has a standard transmission, 4-wheel drive, and has gone through about 4 alternators, it needs a new clutch and the transmission bearings need replacing. My dad hates it and doesn't feel it's worth having it so he's giving it to me if I can tear the engine out and replace the above mentioned items needing to be replaced. Who couldn't love their Jeep? Not Me.
2-27-03
12:17 p.m.
Waylon C.
I have a 1988 jeep pioneer with 179000 miles on it, I love it, it drives great I have had some work done like new starter water pump new plugs and wires, now I have a oil leak I was told it is coming from my rear main seal and the air doesn't work, but I still love. I want to get it lifted about 2inches and brush guard and BF Goodrich aggressive tire.
Cleveland Moorer.
Hi I own a Jeep Cherokee pioneer it is a 1988 model with a high output 4.0 liter straight six I am wondering what gears came stock with this model etc I am currently off-road it am am planning on putting a lift on it not sure how high probably 3 inches would like to know more like the best way to lift for stability and I am planning on running 33 inch skinny type mud tires. That is why I am wondering about the gears. I have placed third in barrels in my class with it and just want to go and have fun with my husband who owns a 1961 willy's and a 1983? cj10 also he has a 1984 Toyota(his Air Yota) he wheels and a 1980 Toyota service truck for work. I was just curious as to what power I have under my Jeep After all I love it and would not want to own another type of vehicle again It is A Jeep Thing! And We Do understand. I Hope that someone will be able to answer my?'s Thanks a fellow 4x4 Chic.
I have a jeep Cherokee and it has the same transmission as the 1988 it busted on me to so I went to a transmission shop and the wanted way more than I had so I went to a junk yard and bought the same transmission, but it too was busted, but to my surprise a five-speed transmission from a 1991 jeep Cherokee fit, but I had to alter the 4x4 linkage, but it fit with some trouble now my jeep is running great and the transmission is a lot less noise and it seems to have more power in second gear.
I own a 1988 cherokee, straight six, four wheel drive, automatic. It has 150000 miles on it and still runs good. It doesn't start very well even after I replaced the wires, distributor, starter, and battery, and then a fellow jeep owner told me that the older cherokees have that problem. It has a 3 inch lift with 31's on it. I have only had it a year and I have already spent about a thousand dollars on it not including the lift and tires. It is a great truck and I have owned many cherokees, but I think I am ready to move on.
I bought my 1988 cherokee three months ago, and have had a great time becoming a jeep owner. i have had to change the front and rear seal and pcv valves, but other than that I love my jeep. i plan to add a lift and tires soon, but until then I wiil continue to try to get stuck or find something to steep for my jeep. rookie jeep owner. n8.
My 1988 jeep Cherokee has over 200,000 miles and runs like champ. I've owned it for 15yrs and it's been the best vehicle I've ever owned. I rebuilt the engine at 160,000 miles to add some high performance parts. The engine was still in great shape internally. Added a 3"lift and 32" tires and it still handles great, with no problems. (32" tires will fit without rubbing if you use stock wheels) I've had the high idle problem back when it was under warranty and found it to be the 2 piece wiring harness, which was replaced at the dealer with the (1989 and up) 1 piece harness. Also if your older jeep is hard to start or cranks long before it starts, it is usually the fuel injectors. I replaced the original 17lb injectors with ford 19lb injectors and it now starts immediately and has a bit more performance. (91 and up jeeps also use 19lb injectors, but fords are cheaper) I bought mine from a junk yard and they work fine.
It's a jeep thing!
I have a 1988 Jeep Comanche and I want to put two 15"inch speakers in it, but I don't know how to fit it in the truck what can I do?