I am the owner of a 1988 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer. I used to own a 91 but we parted when I bought a 95 Bronco. So for four years I tried to sell it and now I have a Cherokee again. Two days after I bought my new Cherokee I was driving to Reno NV from Boise ID in a move, not the smartest thing to do in a new to me used vehicle. The rear main started leaking AND the Tranny went out later in the trip. I got towed back to Boise. I went back to the car dealer not expecting much from a used car dealer. He replaced the tranny with a good used one with 60,000 on it, he replaced the rear main seal, the oil pan gasket in the process and the valve cover gasket all for $300 dollars his cost. I bet I never meet another used car dealer that honest in my life. He is a Jeep enthusiast. It must be a Jeep thing. I love my Cherokee.
-Happy in Nevada.
If anybody knows the answer to this: I am having a problem with my 1988 limited edition jeep cherokee's idle where it goes into a high idling and then seems to lock the brakes when you are driving. It also sometimes accelerates when you are not even on the gas pedal.
I have a 1988 Jeep Laredo I'm the original owner. 269439 satisfied miles are on it, the only major repair is the Peugeot tran, (ugh) got another from a junkyard (same type duh!!!) $500 and 400 for Labor. No upgrades at this time. My plan is to get 300000 miles or until the engine quits then I'll do a complete rebuild. For those interested there is a company in Florida that has (I believe) Chevy manual transmission with an adapter to replace the Peugeot, it requires the adapter and the drive shaft has to be shortened to fit it in, but it's stronger than the original. I'll be looking into this when I rebuild the Jeep. Yes I have a 1996 Cherokee also with 100,000 miles (SMILE) which my wife drives. This is a basic jeep with auto trans. I love it when I look in my garage and see TWO JEEPS. The 88 Jeep LOVES mud and so do I especially in the Texas clay soil. LOL. IT'S A JEEP THING.
I too have an 88 Jeep Cherokee, small world I guess. I love it to death, it's my first car and my dad hates it, but I'm' not complaining, at 80,000 miles its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I want to lift it and add tires, but cash is short these days. Redoing the sound system was a good move because it sounds great, next I want to add subs and an amp. As mentioned in other reviews I am very leery of gunning my tranny. I'm' wondering what I can replace it with. By the way, to whomever thought of changing the fuel injectors to improve starting I have only one thing to say, good call. Nobody before has given any good fix for that problem and I can't wait to try it.
Hey! I only have a 2wd Cherokee La 4.0 with 228 thousand miles. I didn't want any car payments, so decided I would keep it so I changed --- new timing chain, front seal, water pump, alt, new hoses, new rad, belt, trains lines, all in my back yard.
Before that I had a head and valve job done. The upholstery is next - did the head liner myself --- all for the love of my Jeep.
I own a 1988 Cherokee Pioneer with 228,000 original miles.
I have experienced most of the previously listed problems.
The transmission is a Peugeot BA10/5 five speed. and it has a 4.0 litre engine.
The axles are a Dana 30 front axle. Dana 35C rear (no C clips) The differential ratio is 3.07 in the rear unit.
Here's a list of the major repairs to date:
Front and rear main seals and transmission seals replaced.
Front wheel bearings replaced twice on each side. Shocks replaced. Front and rear wiper motors replaced. Blower motor
replaced twice. Clutch and slave cylinder replaced twice. Rear brake cylinders replaced. Alternator replaced twice. Water pump replaced four times.I'm on my third radiator. Third windshield is now cracked and ready for replacement. Radio replaced.Valve cover seal replaced three times. Bed liner has sagged. (Can't understand that after only 18 years.) Door hinges are worn (probably the pins) causing a misalignment which makes it necessary to slam them hard. This is fixable with new pins and possibly new hinge assemblies. High idle problem has been chronic, but I spray out the harness connectors with silicone and that solves it for a while. On my third set of tires. They are 15 inch 235's Michelin and rub against the frame when turning sharply. Battery replaced four times (it's cold here in Canada) Brake master cylinder replaced-I experienced a 90 percent failure with that-very exciting to drive.
What do I think of all this? I'm planning to rebuild my Cherokee and make it better. I feel it's the most practical vehicle I've ever owned and really winter-capable. You might say it's a Jeep thing.
I have a 1988 Cherokee Laredo with a manual transmission. It has about 177,000 miles. I recently replaced the power steering pump, sealed the valve cover, replaced U-joint, and replaced all the shocks. These repairs were done in a period of five weeks. My major pending repair is to fix the leaking brake (clutch) fluid. Unfortunately, I'm told that replacing the rusted leaking hose may entail replacing the slave cylinder, which is a $1000 job, because the hose make break off due to the rust. That's a very uneasy thought. Nevertheless, I intend on keeping my Jeep because it's a good-looking vehicle with a manual transmission. I prefer a manual transmission. In my family of five, we have two other Jeeps.
First off, I love my Jeep with all of my heart.
But she has been having trouble going over bumps. Every time she goes over big bumps, she will not stop shaking till I hit the brakes and bring her to a stop, then she is fine (like nothing ever happened). Also, I am hearing all of these clunking noises. It almost sounds like the marbles falling; but it only happens when I am idling her. Is this a trans problem.
Just a side note, I found that replacing the original (and broken) locks with Ford locks worked perfectly.
Owner of a 1988 cherokee laredo 4.0liter. for marble sounds, mine runs very hot and burns the spark plugs, replace them frequently, that sound is the valves from misproper firing of the fuel air ratio, check gaps (.88mm or 35") secondly, everyone go out and replace you hot air choke tube, everyone says you don't need it, but I have found the truck runs much better since I have, Finally, check your fuel injectors!!! They are old and worn out!!! Have them cleaned, and not with fuel addititives (well you can try that), take them out and clean and replace the o rings on each (you can replace if desired, this will be much better), she'll purr like a kitten!
Last summer I bought a red 1988 Cherokee Laredo 4WD 4-door with 104K miles on it. It's an inline-6 with manual transmission, and I drove it all winter long in Massachusetts with no problems. It always starts easily and I regularly drive down to NYC on the weekends. The mileage is up to 122K now, and even though all my friends keep telling me to get rid of it, I won't because I think it is a great vehicle with a lot of miles left on it. The paint is old and faded so it doesn't look like much, but the engine is strong and the interior is in good condition.
So far I've added a radio/CD player, and replaced the catalytic converter and muffler (it passed inspection!), the starter, and the ignition switch. Right now it's at the mechanic's getting a new clutch, new clutch master cylinder, and a new rear seal to stop an oil leak I've had for weeks.
The heat only works when I'm moving (broken blower fan??), but other than that, I have no complaints about it. I love my old jeep and can't think of any reason to get a new car!
However, anybody have any ideas on how to improve the gas mileage?
My wife and I just bought a used 1988 Jeep Grand Cherokee, in-line 6 cylinder, automatic trans, 4x4, 190,000 aproximate miles.. After about a week of owning it, it started to stall while driving. Most times it will start and drive just fine, until it's turned off for refueling or just parked for work. When we try to start it back up it will not start. However if we let it sit for periods of time, it'll crank right up with no problems. We've had 3 different garages look at it and none of them can tell us what the problem is! Please help! I've bought the Haynes book for repairs and have gone thru the maintenance. The refusing to start when we need it to persists. This is our only means of transportation..
Hi I own a 88' jeep Cherokee Larado and I have had it for about a year and I love it to death, but it has a a lot of problems...alternater, starter, battery, terminals, radiator...etc. And though I am treating it better than the last owner by improving it, it still seems like I fix one thing and then something new will go out. it's been a toss up of a hassle and a blast. I will admit that it is kick ass off roading.. and I wouldn't trade it for anything, so in the long run its worth the fixing because other wise you would feel lost without your JEEP!
Ang.
I've had an 88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer for 6 years now. It is closing in on 200,000 miles. I had been debating on whether or not to let it rest and just get a new car. I do love it. I do feel the Jeep thing. After reading these posts, I am asking myself why in the world did I start considering a new car. I am ready to buy the aftermarket cup holder and keep on making improvements in my old jeep.
I drive an 88 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer 4 liter stright 6 manual transmision I've owned it for 16 months I've rebuilt the slave cylinder, replaced the rear wheel bearings, where it was necessary to incorporate a 40lb. dent puller attac hed to a length of 1-1/2" sch.40pipe welded to the bearing. A few bangs and a bag of dry ice on the shaft with a bit of bearing grease put me back on the road. I don't know if it was the easy solution but it was fun! Sometimes it miss-fires at accending speed ranges and requires shifting gears to alleviate the problem. It also has the aforementioned high idle or run on problem. an intermittent problem is no start/full-crank/good battery/fuel injected/pressure OK/starts when pushed? go ta lovem!
I have the same problem as one of you. I own a 1988 jeep Cherokee in line 6. I have owned it from it's birth and it now has 265,000 miles. I love it! But, it sometimes will not start for no apparent reason. It seems to start every morning, but when I make a stop for gas, shopping, or work it sometimes doesn't start. If I let it sit for 25 to 30 minutes, it starts! Does anyone have any ideas? My husband thinks it may have something to do with the computer. We know it's not the neutral safety switch, although we have that problem as well. We left it with the mechanic for 2 weeks, but it never had the problem, even though he drove it everyday. Help!
Kathy.