10th Nov 2011, 00:48
Hi All. I bought a new 4 litre Grand Cherokee in 2000. It was the best vehicle I have ever owned.
It did die the same death as the above mentioned. It started losing coolant about a year ago. It was slow, so I didn't think much of it. It started with the noisy lifters, and progressively got noisier. The day it died, it ran as good as the day I bought it. The last week of its life, it was quite noisy, and after it quit, I removed the rocker cover and noticed Prestone coming through the lifter push rods when I turned it over. It had 355 000 kms on it, so I figure it did good.
Hindsight 20/20, the Prestone leak was internal, so when you notice your coolant level indicator once a week going off, you might want to check into head gasket or maybe a cracked head. I'm sure it's a little cheaper fix than replacing the engine. In my case I don't think it's worth rebuilding a motor with over 300k, so I am trying to find a newer engine. No luck yet, but if I keep looking, I'm sure I will find one.
Good luck everyone, and I'm not kidding when I say it was the best vehicle I ever owned.
Thanks, Steve.
5th Jan 2012, 09:43
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 160,000 miles.
It's amazing to look at all the comments about the same issues. I currently am getting ready to replace the water pump. I have replaced the fan, fan clutch, fan relay, radiator and other smaller parts. It really gets under your skin. I can say one thing for sure. This might not fix my problems, but I'm going to do it anyways.
Out of all the posts, I've notice that the main theme is not that the 2000 JGC 4.0 has its problems, it's that regardless we'll attempt to fix them. Many may have no choice, as in my situation, but I think deep down we want our Jeeps running, not running fluid. Despite all the problems, it is still one of the best I have owned. I'd be even incline to say that if I had a little extra cash, I'd buy another one, even if it was leaking.
7th Mar 2012, 18:55
March 7, 2012.
I have a 2000 Jeep GC. I bought it 3 months ago. It has 166000 miles and my motor went. I bought a motor out of a junkyard for 1272.00 (the motor had 102000 miles on it).
This is stupid. I also own a Dodge Ramcharger; it's a 1991 with almost 300000 miles on it. I trust it more than my Jeep. I love Jeeps, but I'm starting to wonder.
9th Jul 2012, 18:53
What your Jeep might be doing is burning your coolant. The only way you can tell if it doing this, is by looking at your exhaust when you turn it on. If it is, your smoke will look like it is blue. Replace your head seals if this happens, or just add more coolant when needed if you don't wanna spend any money.
15th Jul 2012, 03:35
When your water pump failed, did you experience no heat in the cabin coming out of the vents when you turned on the heat? And did your car overheat at the same time?
29th Sep 2012, 02:27
I've had so many of these problems with my Jeep.
I bought it used from the Jeep dealership with 27,000 miles, and right at 50,000 miles (after my warranty expired), here’s the problems I’ve had. Almost all electrical.
First the Jeep started overheating, so I pulled into the closest auto repair shop. The Goodyear shop told me, after paying them a $90.00 diagnostic fee, that the radiator fan was blown, and that I had to buy a whole new fan assembly. They said that labor involved taking off the bumper to replace the assembly for a total charge of $1,200.00.
I didn’t take them up on their offer and instead drove to the nearest grocery store and bought an extension cord (to use the wire) and a household light switch. I connected the battery directly to the fan to test it, and the fan worked. So I used the switch and some electrical tape to manually turn the fan on and off until I got home. Keeping the fan on kept it from overheating. Not glamorous, but at least I wasn’t stranded.
My 17 year old nephew (a car buff) came over and discovered that it was a $50 radiator fan relay. I’ve since had to replace the fan relay 4 times. So many times that I’ve cut a hole out below the passenger side headlight for easy access. Now anytime it goes out, I simply go the local auto part store and get it replaced for free with the lifetime warranty.
Then my passenger side window motor stopped working, then a week later the driver's side window motor stopped also. I paid $450.00 to get the driver's side fixed. Still waiting to get the passenger side fixed.
I’ve had to replace the water pump twice. Thank goodness I could use the warranty for the 2nd time. Just the pump, not labor.
My back hatch won’t lock, so anyone can enter the car at any time.
I have to keep a supply of brake light bulbs in the car along with a screw driver, because they blow all the time. I’ve been stopped by the police at least 3 times for a blown brake light bulb… and that’s with me trying to keep on top of it.
I just replaced the back brake light assembly, because it burned out.
My parking brake stopped working.
Now my oil gauge will sometimes go to zero when the car idles, which looks like it’s the oil pressure sending unit.
And to top things off, the transmission won’t go into higher gears unless the RPMs get way high. It looks like another electrical sensor problem. I was actually reading that if the gas tank is low, it will mess with the transmission sensor and cause this.
I’ve owned a lot of cars, and have always taken really good care of them. This is the most problematic car I’ve ever owned. Which is a shame, because I really like the look and feel of the car.
25th Oct 2012, 20:54
Hi, all Jeep goers, I have a 99 Grand Cherokee and the pressure gauge is at 80 at all times. What do I replace so that I know it'll work properly again? Feel free to contact me by email kylehingtgen@gmail.com.
25th Oct 2011, 19:40
The radiator on these Jeeps has a plastic housing at the hose connection. The plastic part is known for cracking or forming small holes, which are not easily seen in the beginning, until things get worse from steam pressure. Just repaired one today. I'm trying to save the radiator by cold welding plastic on the inside of the radiator neck and on the outside to form a sandwich. Waiting for it to cure to test the results.