1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from North America - Comments

Brakes had freaky catastrphoic failure at about 38,000 miles. Total hydraulic shutdown and fried master cylinder. The dealer fixed this entirely under warranty.

Some CV joints, U-joints and ball joints, suspension bushings and steering shock have failed on the underside of the vehicle.

It has developed a nasty ticking sound, possibly requiring a costly tear-down for new lifters or other stuff.

Despite nearly 10 years of abuse from my family, this stripped-down Laredo has served us well. If you are looking for a perfect ownership experience, I suggest a Toyota Camry. But the beauty of the Grand Cherokee is that if you keep it up mechanically, it will get through snow, mud, cargo and towing tasks that would make the Camry wilt and die. You can kick it, ram it into things, drive it off embankments, and pull trees down. The '93 Grand Cherokee is, I have concluded, tough.

I'll describe the long and illustrious career of this vehicle with us. Delivered in September 1992, "greenie" was one of the earliest Grand Cherokees off the line. The V8 was not yet available, so this hunter green Laredo has the reliable I-6 and Selec-Trac, thank God. Otherwise it is basically a stripper, with A/C and power windows/locks and towing package the only options. These are the only options you need, anyway!

For the first 2.5 years or so, this thing was driven as a hard core commuter vehicle. It reached about 65,000 miles in that short time (by 1994). Then it was relegated to secondary status, with no regular driver until 1997 (when I got my license). So in that interval it basically sat outside for three years, getting about 5,000 miles per year in the winters. It was parked outside in Minnesota, I might add. Yuck.

My mom (its main driver up till then) said she generally found it pleasurable and "easy" to drive, but the primitive ABS brakes made her angry, as did the horrible, horrible fuel mileage.

Then I got ahold of this thing. You may recall that I believe in maintenance. Well, the first things I did were: to get a full brake job, take it to the dealer for the 90,000 mile service (including changing AT and diff fluids, tasks that the dealer seemed shocked to actually perform) and putting on a new set of Goodyear Wrangler AT's. As a side note, those tires were dangerously bad on rainy streets, but the winter traction was fine.

Anyway, I replaced some parts between 70,000 and 105,000 including the following: Motor mounts, battery, brake rotors and shoes. The exhaust by this time was looking sad, so following a friend's example, I got a Gibson adonized aluminum 2.5" cat-back exhaust. It's almost too loud, but this is not a luxury vehicle anyway, and the growl reinforces the feeling of power while giving some tangible reward for all that gas it burns. Generally it seems to get 13-17 MPG, several notches worse than our 1997 model.

The shocks also looked crummy at seven years of age, so I went with some Bilstein shocks. Initially these seemed way too firm (like the locked-up, crappy, stock ones I was replacing) but they wore in nicely, giving the laughable cliche of BMW-like handling. M3, eat my rust.

As someone else noted on this site, the Grand Cherokee is a pretty good candidate for audio upgrades. The Jeep Infinity system already has a good reputation. Since I had the cheapo base head unit and speakers, I did a little switching. New Pioneer 6.5 inch speakers were ordered for each door. As expected, the new speakers sound a hundred times better than the stock units, meshing well with the Pioneer exact-fit CD deck I installed. Great sound for $500; not too shabby!

The ride got a lot better once I replaced various suspension pieces including bushings, U-joints, ball joints and other stuff to cure various clunks under the front end. This thing has had a hard life.

Part of the reason we bought this thing was to haul a 2500 pound ski boat. This it has done at least 20 times, for a total of maybe 1000 miles' towing duty. It makes a good, stable match for a trailer of this size.

After I became the Jeep's new master, it endured 2 years of hard-charging commutes to high school on snowy winter parkways. You know, drifting sideways at 45 MPH with all four wheels spinning, just to avoid being late for school. It also committed various crimes including getting high-centered in an 8-foot wall of snow that I attempted to punch through. Note that my friend's K2500 Diesel Suburban had no problem in that endeavor. Oh well.

I've also gotten this thing stuck in the mud two or three times. Pure miracle is the only explanation I have for why I didn't slide off some muddy logging roads with oily, slippery dirt, rolling down into the trees. Once a local farmer had to tow me out. He said he was amazed that I made so far (3 miles?) up this swampy trail, to this day the finest mudding venue I have ever encountered.

Not to mention show. Jesus.

Another feat of abuse I just remembered was when my neighbors' big 100 year-old tree was blown down across our street. After some cursory planning, some rope was attached to my Jeep's towbar and threaded around the 3-foot trunk of this gigantic obstacle. In low range on flat pavement (hey, I kept the wheels straight at least), the Jeep slowly pulled this tree that must have weighed many thousands of pounds out of everybody's way. Not to mention the friction of the tree against the road surface! I didn't know whether it would hurt my truck, but I'm happy and impressed to say, "guess not."

Now it's close to the end of the Jeep's time with us. I just put some Pirelli Scorpions on it, which seem fantastic. The highway handling and balance seem better than ever (with all the new suspension parts, naturally) and there are no clunks from underneath. I just clicked off a 1500-mile trip at 75 MPH with no complaints whatsoever from this beast. Bravo.

So how to sum up this long, stupid review? Basically, I took it upon myself to see if I could break this thing. I drove it 112 MPH, I crashed it through trees, I got it stuck in the mud more than a couple times, made it my personal snow-sled, raised hell and caused chaos... all while keeping a reasonable eye on its mechanical condition. And you know what? It never shed a tear, blew a gasket, or anything. On top of that, its cost per mile (and per year) have been very low indeed.

So if you don't have a love/abuse relationship with your Jeep like I do, maybe you won't be as satisfied. But me and my Jeep, we understand each other... and that's really all you need to know.

No comment about the vehicle, just wanted to say that is the best review I have ever read on here! Well done!

Dave.

Loved your comments about your Jeep.

As a former English teacher, I would love to have more writers like you in class.

My brother also has a '93 jeep grand Cherokee. It is hunter green as well with the I-6 and select track transfer case. he and I have abused it a whole lot. We took it through two feet of snow when no one else could and took it mudding in a bean field when it was so muddy you would stand in it and sink. We have never had any unusual problems other than the left CV joint and starter around 180,000 miles. anyone else reading this comment, long live JEEP!!!

Mine had had the cv joints, fuel pump and hubs replaced at about 170000 miles. Other than that, it's gone through 4 members of my family. I've lifted it 4 inches, and put a big winch on the front of it. it's hit deer and pulled down trees, and I've loved every minute of it. Where it really excells is in the snow and ice. I'll keep it until the body rusts off of it, and then turn it into a mudbogger and keep running it.

Indeed a well written review. I may just go out and buy a Jeep!

I purchased my 1998 forest green ZJ from new in the April of '99. As with previous comments, this really is a love affair now.

I don't particularly enjoy driving all over the place, but the five-star cabin (which is immaculate), utter reliability (started every time through the 92404 miles) and distinctive hum make journeys a pleasure. (In truth, my HEMI Commander is even more pleasurable. Everyone should have one, by the way).

It is not as quick off the mark as three years' back - then the 4.0L was actually more like a sports car, but what does one expect? The gearboxes and (truck) engines are bullet-proof, which puts the American vehicle on a par with the soul-less Toyota competition.

I admit to having the off-road bug and must declare that the Grand's torquey prowess coupled with wonderful articulation on the trail (none of this IFS rubbish) is just, in a word, fab.

Costs? There are comments from complaining persons who state that things on their have ZJ failed. Well, one should look after one's vehicle properly and this means A.) choosing the right service bay and B.) paying good money for all recommendations at the 7500m service gaps so that, over time, any of a number of components will not conspire to let a Jeep fall apart.

In eight years, I have paid for a new power steering pump, manifold exhaust, Borla cat-back exhaust, rear and front discs, drive shaft boot split, transfer case seal, fuel pump injector seal, air-con re-gassed, new wiper blades, two cv joint gaitors, a new prop-shaft yoke and a new front diff (DANA crownwheel & pinion set and bearings).

I have chosen to add new American Racing wheels, an ARB bumper and WARN 9000 winch and an Old Man Emu suspension kit. I have added slightly bigger tires (diameter increase only 3%) with BF Goodrich All-Terrain. To British readers then, the Jeep must seem like Trigger's Broom.

I have been rear-ended by an old Honda Accord. I hardly felt the encroachment, but the Honda was a write-off.

Lastly, I have a TrailReady rear bumper. If somebody rears me again then the Honda episode will undoubtedly be repeated, unfortunately.

In summary, if my ZJ died I would source another with 50k miles or so. They do exist.

Yours etc..

Steven T.

I've owned my 93 for just over a year. The day after I bought it, I had to replace the alternator, (no big deal). Over the winter I replaced the thermostat. That's ALL! It has 283000 miles on it and uses no oil. It shows no sign of loss of performance and I am pleased with the gas mileage. I have owned many NEW cars over the years, but this Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo is by far my most favorite. The only thing with it now is that it cranks over a few times before starting when the engine is warm. I plan on replacing the cam sensor in the distributor. I hope that fixes that minor problem. I have read many negatives on this vehicle, maybe I lucked out and got an exceptional one.

I have a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Three owners into this vehicle (original owner, my parents then myself).

I have run into relatively no problems at all with it. Replaced the muffler with a magna flow exhaust, and brake pads here and there, but other than that, it produces all kinds of power and torque, and at its age still shocks me when I get the urge to take it off road, which is quite often with me.

With 202xxx miles on the original engine and transmission, I must say that I am overly impressed with the durability of this vehicle, and have thought many times of upgrading to a new Grand Cherokee after I finish my college career and have money once again.

I have laughed to myself as I read through several reviews complaining about the fuel mileage and horror stories of things falling apart... and I have to wonder to myself what kind of people are driving these vehicles. My 16 year old Jeep still averages 16-18 miles to the gallon, and that's pulling a large 8 mile long grade daily at 60mph.

All I can say to anyone that is interested in picking up a Jeep, is love it and take care of it. It's like any other car on the road. You love your vehicle and it will love you.