1st May 2007, 22:19

Check your sway bar end links. My 98 had this problem when I bought it and it was my way of negotiating a very good deal on it 3 years ago! It is a known problem. You can also check and make sure your shocks are tight as the upper bushings can get worn and clunk.

I love my 98 and happily got rid of my 2000 JGC lemon brake eater!

19th Jul 2007, 09:18

I own a 98 5.9L. I added a Cold Air package; it makes a very big difference in performance. Now if only the price of gas would go down, it would be great.

6th Aug 2007, 22:08

I have a 5.9 Limited as well... and love it. I bought it with 146,000 miles on it with the interior in mint condition, the body suffering only a few dings, and the engine and drivetrain in excellent shape (had my mechanic check it out first), and have had no problems apart from the "Service 4WD Switch" message that's reasonably common in 93-98 GCs (not a real problem as all ranges and gears still work perfectly, it's a sensor issue only).

The 5.9 Limited is luxurious, powerful, and every bit a serious Jeep once you get it off the pavement (I live in Colorado and we have a lot of terrific Jeep trails here). The fact that only 14,286 of them were produced (and surely there's been a fair degree of attrition even from that low number in the last 10 years) is just the icing on the cake. It's nice to be able to drive an uncommon version of a supremely common vehicle... good that the Jeep is somewhat rare, but better that it's still cheap to buy parts and such for it!

This is my third Grand Cherokee, and I have no regrets about buying the 5.9 Limited. It does enjoy the gasoline, but it's not my daily driver, so I don't mind too much. On my most recent off-roading adventure, I averaged 19.4 mpg for the 175-mile trip. Spending at least half the trip going downhill certainly helps.

6th Aug 2007, 22:57

Hey Guys,

I own a 59r myself and I love everything about it. Style, comfort, balls, off road ability all in 1 intense SUV I do however find that it runs too hot and makes me nervous in heavy stop and go traffic. I put a 180 degree thermostat in it, replaced the coolant sensor thanks to that damn alarm that is still going on, I flushed the old coolant out and replaced it fresh stuff, and it still is running hot (225) in traffic. This also causes transmission to shift hard while gear searching at low speeds. My AC heats up when I stop and idle too. A buddy with a 59r had his electric fan crap out out on him and they are VERY difficult to find and big money! I hope that's not the case with mine! Sounds like this is all pretty typical of this Jeep, but I was wondering if anyone had any success stories fixing these issues... Any ideas?

7th Aug 2007, 06:25

I bought a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited edition back in October and have driven it since without any problems. Just recently the headlights wouldn't turn off after shutting off the vehicle. My battery was drained, so when I went to jump-start it, there was a clicking coming from the fuses under the hood. It would start up when connected to the other vehicle, but would only run for 2-3 seconds before shutting off again. Any ideas or know-how would be much appreciated.

I want to get driving the Jeep again.

Thanks.

21st Aug 2007, 07:26

Hello all,

I too have a 5.9 Ltd, and just wanted to let you know that the electric fans are the same as a ford taurus from early 90's. 2-speed. I had to replace mine, and the yard had one for $20... Just unbolt the motor and put onto the jeep shroud. I can't remember if the wire matched in color, but you can figure that out.

16th Sep 2007, 01:56

Hi, I own a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd with the 5.9L loaded with ALL the options. I bought it in 1999 with 17,000 miles. I love this car, it now has 130,000 miles and have always maintained it (interior and exterior are almost perfect). About 2 years ago, I had trouble with the front wheels binding in turns. A national chain repair shop replaced the viscous coupler and it drove great again. Last June, a different shop from the same chain (we moved out of state) said it was making a sound, so they checked and said it needed to be replaced again. When we picked it up, the wheels were really binding - the tires dug holes in the parking lot. Now, 3 1/2 months later, the third shop (same chain) to work on it has replaced the viscous coupler again, but it is still binding. The differentials check out fine. They cannot figure out what is causing it. Does anyone know what could be causing it?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

21st Sep 2007, 15:18

To the person with the battery problem, I had the same thing happen to mine. The light wouldn't shut off; thought the lever was broke as it didn't click to turn off, eventually the problem just went away.

As for why your jeep died for 2-3 seconds after being started, it's because the computer in the 5.9 needs to reset itself and find idle and all of this other info.

I found the best way to deal with this in the morning on the way to work, is to jump it and keep the gas going to it, and after a few minutes it should hold the idle fine.

Now for my problem(s); heat fans kick off and on intermittently depending on speed (yeah that's right, my heater fans don't kick in unless I'm doing at least 30).

Also, what tranny will fit in my 5.9? I've heard of somebody pulling the rear end and tranny off an old Dodge or something, and they got way more power, as well. Would it be better and cheap to rebuild my engine, or by a crate 360 from mopar?

2nd Oct 2007, 00:14

Hi I have a jeep 5.9 too and it is the best! I would like to exchange it with the srt-8. I have had no problems with it. It runs very good.

28th Oct 2007, 09:24

I am considering getting a 5.9 very soon. I was wondering if anyone has had luck changing the exhaust manifolds for headers? Also, What is a good performance muffler?

4th Nov 2007, 23:17

For the overheating problem, I fixed this issue by simply replacing the old two rows radiator with a new three rows, all metal radiator from Radiator.com and 180 F thermostat. The Jeep now runs around 185F most of the time and no more overheating. We drove it through Vegas heat in the summer, through the grape vine at 90 mph, great, no overheating. Most people do not realize that radiators are only good for 10 years max.

Dr Mo.