Reliability Anxiety with Jeep

Hello,

First time to this group, so thank you for your time and help. I have a 97 Pathfinder with 190K on it. No problems, but time to get something new. I am considering the Commander versus getting another Pathfinder. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get more testimonials on long life of the Jeep product? All the high mileage claims always end up on the Japanese side...never hear much about Jeep. Net, if I am going to spend $35K, I plan on driving it to the ground like my Pathfinder, and not wondering when the nickel/diming begins.

Thanks!

Reply to
jhendo
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

I picked up my 95 Cherokee last october with just under 300,000 miles on it. :-o

So far, knock on wood, its been running OK.

I don't know how much of the Commander is new technology, but if it's inherited anything from its predecessors, it should live a long life!

One thing to consider: Which one has the better 4WD system?? (You *ARE* looking at a JEEP for it's 4WD capabilities, RIGHT?!?) ;-)

...

Reply to
Noneyabusiness

Well... I've got a 96 Cherokee with the 4.0 six. Up until about 275,000 miles I put in one water pump and one alternator, no other problems, at

275,000 the throwout bearing started squealing so it was replaced along with the clutch (which otherwise was working perfectly).

At about 300,000 one of the rod bearings started raising a fuss so I got a remanufactured engine put in, along with a new water pump and starter, and I have every intention of driving it another 300,000 miles.

Best car I've ever had... your mileage may vary!

Jeff DeWitt

jhendo wrote:

Reply to
Jeff DeWitt

Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

Jeff,

Thank for the words. It helps when you hear these type of testim> Well... I've got a 96 Cherokee with the 4.0 six. Up until about 275,000

Reply to
jhendo

Reply to
jhendo

The Commander will conquer any terrain that a vehicle of its size can.

It can easily and comfortably handle a roadtrip to Kansas in the winter and a forest road in the summer. However it is not a short wheelbase lifted and locked rock hopper.

You may try inquiring in the 'New Jeeps Forum" at:

formatting link

Reply to
billy ray

Jhendo,

I've never owned a car that Consumer Reports thought was 'reliable' but I don't have the problems I hear other people complain about and I think it is primarily related to how I care for my vehicles.

If you follow the "Severe Service" portion of the maintenance schedule you will incur small expenditures on a regular basis but avoid costly breakdowns and out of service inconveniences.

Using high quality components adds dependability also. I am a firm believer in 'semi-synthetic' or 'full synthetic' fluids wherever possible due to their inherently superior properties.

Are these 'synthetics' a requirement for longevity? NO, if you change all your fluids exactly on schedule and there and a number of Jeepers here that have never used anything besides dino juice in their 300k vehicles but then they will be the first to tell you that they change at 3k without fail. They will also tell you that they either do most of their own wrenching or rely on a trusted local "mechanic" and rely on a small number of local 'professional shops' for the specialized stuff.

If you ignore stuff till it breaks you pretty much deserve what you get.

(see definitions:)

formatting link

Reply to
billy ray

I thought the Armada more closely compares to the Commander...at any rate, I'd go with the Pathfinder. Since neither vehicle you mentioned is designed for serious offroading, I'm assuming it's use is primarily for street. Personally, I buy Jeeps because they are Jeeps and for their offroad prowess in SOME models, not necessarily for reliability. That said, the Jeep straight 6 has a history of longevity. Tales of 300k+ are common.

I've owned these similar vehicles for credibility reference:

95 XJ Cherokee 01 XJ Cherokee 89 Pathfinder 93 Pathfinder

...and these simply brand specific:

85 CJ7 86 CJ7 90 YJ Wrangler 99 TJ Wrangler Sahara 03 TJ Rubicon 03 Nissan Frontier S/C CC 4x4 04 Nissan Titan SE CC 4x4 06 Nissan Frontier Nismo CC 4x4

tw _____________________________________________________________________

2003 TJ Rubicon * 2001 XJ Sport * 1971 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco

"There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940

Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 > Hello,

Reply to
twaldron

jhendo,

I haven't abused the Jeep much, but I haven't babied it either... bet I'm one of the few people who know the 4.0 has a rev limiter!

Change the oil regularly and when you start noticing something change or odd noises deal with them right away instead of waiting until something really breaks.

I used Penzoil 10-40 and Fram filters. You will hear people say negitive things about both but I can't complain.

Jeff DeWitt

jhendo wrote:

Reply to
Jeff DeWitt

Just my 2 cents worth here, If you take care of them, they last no matter the miles.....

95 JGCL 210k+ (nothing major) 94 Saturn SL 230+ (nothing-except tires)

T.

Reply to
TM

I have 2 Cherokees, an 88 and an 87. The first with 320K km on it and the second with 385K. They still only use one liter of oil between oil changes and have lots of power left. We are hoping for 500K before rebuilding. Well the bodies will be dead on them before that likely. I am in the rust/salt belt.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Reply to
Mike Romain

Speaking about rust. I had my first frame weld job done recently to build up the frame behind the steering gear. How many frame buildups have you do in the rust belt up there?

Reply to
Peter Parker

LOL!

My CJ7's frame is 'all' a patch. The 88 XJ's floors are plywood.... I am retiring that one for parts to use on the 87 that still has floors.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06
formatting link
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)
Reply to
Mike Romain

LOL!!! Mike I knew you you had a glass transplant but WOW!. Yep. My first weld job and I found the crack during my scheduled grease job. I looked up and saw the gapping hole crack behind the steering box. Now it's all built up around it with 1/8 steel and done REAL NICE.... It's like war wounds and showing all your buddies.

I wasn't there when it was worked on and I was wondering what you use for welding gear. OC torch, MIG and a stick welder?

Reply to
Peter Parker

snipped-for-privacy@zero.com (Peter Parker) wrote in news:448c91c6 snipped-for-privacy@nntp2.nac.net:

I was at a Jeep Jamboree years back and broke a steering column mount on my Jeep, there were guys back in camp who welded broken stuff for folks at the rally. They parked several vehicles near eachother and used jumper cables to connect + to - to + to - until they had around 36 volts or more (can't recall how many vehicles?) then the last set of jumper cables were used, one to clamp to my Jeep for ground and the other to hold the welding rod. The welding rod was a peice of coat hangar, apparently the coating acts as flux for the weld?

Years later I sold that Jeep and the weld was still solid.

I guess if they needed to weld a heavier bit of metal they'd need more vehicles to increase voltage and heavier rod???

Reply to
XS11E

I love it! When you don't have what you need you make do with what you've got.

Reply to
Jeff DeWitt

Reply to
JeepGuyMike

"JeepGuyMike" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Both are incorrect as far as I can tell, the generally accepted origin of the word is "unknown" but there are lots of stories, here's one that dispels both of the above:

formatting link
The origin of the term jeep There are many stories about where the name "jeep" came from. The following two although they make for interesting and memorable stories, aren't quite accurate.

Probably the most popular notion has it that the vehicle bore the designation "GP" (for "General Purpose"), which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. R. Lee Ermey, on his television series Mail Call, disputes this, saying that the vehicle was designed for specific duties, was never referred to as "General Purpose," and that the name may have been derived from Ford's nomenclature referring to the vehicle as GP (G for government-use, and P to designate its 80-inch-wheelbase). "General purpose" does appear in connection with the vehicle in the WW2 TM 9-803 manual, which describes the vehicle as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaisance or command, and designated as 1/4-ton 4x4 Truck", and the vehicle is designated a "GP" in TM 9-2800, Standard Military Motor Vehicles, 1 September, 1943, but whether the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with either of these manuals is open to debate.

Many, including Ermey, claim that the more likely origin is a reference to a character from the Thimble Theater (Popeye) comic strip known as Eugene the Jeep. Eugene the Jeep was a dog-like character who could walk through walls and ceilings, climb trees, fly, and just about go anywhere it wanted; it is thought that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicle's versatility that they informally named it after the character.

The manuals quoted were published in 1943. The character of "Eugene the Jeep" was created in 1936. The first common use of the term "jeep" predates both of these by roughly 20 years. It was during World War I that soldiers used "jeep" as a slang word for new recruits as well as new, unproven vehicles. This is according to a history of the vehicle for an issue of the U.S. Army magazine, Quartermaster Review, which was written by Maj. E. P. Hogan. He went on to say that the slang word had these definitions as late as the start of World War II.

The term would eventually be used as slang to refer to an airplane, a tractor used for hauling heavy equipment, and an autogyro. When the first models of the jeep came to Camp Holabird for tests, the vehicle didn't have a name yet. Therefore the soldiers on the test project called it a jeep. Civilian engineers and test drivers who were at the camp during this time were not aware of the military slang term. They most likely were familiar with the character of Eugene the Jeep and therefore began to credit Eugene with the name. The vehicle had many other nicknames at this time such as Peep, Pygmy, and Blitz-Buggy although because of the Eugene association, Jeep stuck in people's minds better than any other term.

Words of the Fighting Forces by Clinton A. Sanders, a dictionary of military slang, published in 1942, in the library at The Pentagon gives the following definition:

Jeep: A four-wheel drive car of one-half to one-and-one-half ton capacity for reconnaissance or other army duty. A term applied to the bantam-cars, and occasionally to other motor vehicles (U.S.A.) in the Air Corps, the Link Trainer; in the armored forces, the 1/2 ton command car. Also referred to as "any small plane, helicopter, or gadget." The term went into widespread public use because of a syndicated news column written by Kathryn Hillyer who was working for the Washington Daily News. Hillyer had been assigned to cover a publicity stunt and Senate photo op where the jeep was presented to the public. The Army brought a jeep to the Capitol in order for it to climb the front steps of the building and show off the vehicle's power. When test driver Irving "Red" Housman was asked by a bystander "What is this thing?" he responded simply with "It's a jeep." Hillyer heard this and used the name in her column which was printed around the country.

Reply to
XS11E

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.