Manifold warped and snapped a bolt off just after warranty.
Brakes at 50K
New Shocks at 50k
Control arm Bushings around 60k.
New radiator at about 70k
New Water Pump around 80k.
New Exhaust and Cat at 95K
Windshield wiper mortar at 100k
New Plenum Box at around 110k. A plastic arm broke off clean that the vacuum operated push rod hooks to. The heat would not come out of the dash which is important in a soft top Jeep in Vermont.
While looking at the long list above I realize I have put some repair money into this thing. It has had mostly highway miles and rarely has gone over 60 miles at a time in the last 2 years. It has been paid off for 3 years and most of the repairs have happened after I paid it off. My Jeep still looks great. Very little rust which is good for Vermont. Every other year or so I buy 2 cans of rubberized undercoating and touch up the frame. Taken out of context these repairs look excessive. The plenum should have been a life timer I concede. But every thing else is a ware item meant to be replaced. Molly, my Jeep, is still a pretty strong runner and hasn't been to the doctor in about 7 months. Today she is getting a tune up and new tie rod ends and her third set of shocks. I paid 17k for it in '97 and can still get probably 6k for it today. I figure I have about 3k in repairs through the years. That puts me at about $2500/year over all cost with out oil and gas. $208.00 / month. NOT BAD AT ALL.
I have the exact same Jeep ('97, 2.5L...and so on)except I have and automatic transmission. I also have snapped 4 manifold bolts over a 4 year period. I thought I had snapped another one, and today my Jeep is at the garage. I got a call from the mechanic yesterday and he said the manifold is cracked. On top of that he informed me that the Jeep dealer, who had originally fixed the snapped bolts, didn't drill them out instead drilled another hole below them and added another bolt. I called the dealer and told them what the mechanic said, this was their response: "Chrysler considers the drilling of another hole as acceptable procedure." This is not the proper way to fix this problem. The stud should have been drilled out and re-tapped. This has also led to other problems... I keep fouling spark plugs! This is because the manifold is sucking in air and the vehicle is running to rich. Cost to fix it correctly $998
New exhaust and Catalytic converter at 27K...cost $420.
I also had to put in a new radiator at 45K...cost $522.
Control Arm Bushings at 53K...Cost $155.
New Catalytic converter at 75K...cost $300.
New Windshield wiper motor at 80K.....cost $80
New heater plenum box at 100K...cost $50
New transmission rear seal at 115K...cost $600
and of course the new manifold as I mentioned above at 120K...cost $320
I am amazed at the list of repairs....they are almost identical. I wonder if other people have had the same issues.
I am passing the Jeep on to my son who just turned 18. I have to admit the Jeep itself is in exellent condition and has no rust on it for being 9 years old. ( I bought it new in '96 and pd. $16,900) I just wish the mechanical portions were as reliable as the body!
Would I buy another Jeep today? NO
There are some other very nice 4x4's on the market today, I would not waste my money on Jeep.
Where is the wiper motor located in a 97 jeep tj sport? The motor blew...
There was a recall on the exhaust studs that would break on the TJ. However unfortunately when I got my 2.L, TJ the recall was up so I had to replace it. I have also had to replace the top part of the fuel sending unit, new power steering pump, waterpump, radiator, shocks, rims, steering stabilizer. It's a great vehicle so far. I have not had any problems.
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