Jeep Grand Cherokee WG/WJ (1994-2004)

Purchased for 20k at 3 years old ex lease. From 60k odd original price. I’ve owned since 2006. In 12 years and endless family holidays deep into the bush through water up to 700-800mm steep rock crawls, with diff hits, sill touches and now big tyres, long range tank, raised suspension, under body protection upgrades, diff reduction lockers, all work is done in the driveway at home, I’m no mechanic but YouTube is my friend. Cheap parts, heaps of after market parts and options, cheap proper scan tools etc made this car the best 4wd I’ve ever had....Read more

The WJ/WG Grand Cherokee is probably the most versatile family 4x4 on the market, ever. Seriously.
Before I tell you why let me make one thing clear....
If you maintain them properly, they will last a lifetime.
99% of the Jeep haters have never owned one, or owned one with a checkered past/didn't maintain them correctly.
Jeeps are horribly expensive if you only go to the dealer for maintenance and repairs, but are probably the cheapest car to live with if you do it yourself.
Parts are ridiculously cheap online, even genuine from the USA (f...Read more

I purchased the JGC LTD in 2014 with an apparent engine ticking noise, 147,00km on the clock and the body and interior in perfect condition. The ticking noise cost $4700 (Full reco engine)
Now with all the bits fixed its great to drive on long trips.
What was fixed, All by me, I'm a qualified Mechanic:
Engine, the tick was a knock, spun main bearing - engine replaced
Dual heater blend doors replaced - full dash out
Steering box reco - too much free play
Drivers side door mirror - someone screwed a bolt through the wiring harness
Passenger side door mirror - wiring was disconnected
Radiator - dual core full welded alloy replacement
Tail gate and rear window struts - replaced new ...Read more

I bought a Jeep and for the last couple of years it has been very hard to get the remote control to work so I sent it in to the local Jeep dealership for repair and they charged me over $700.00 but when I got the Jeep back it was the same as it was before I sent it in for repair. I decided to contact the head office in Sydney of the company who repaired the Jeep and a woman who told me she was one of the owners of the business told me to take it somewhere else and get it fixed. I would tell anyone who is thinking of buying a Jeep don't bother b...Read more

Providing services were done on time, and even the Jeeps that were neglected are reliable.
The 4.0 ltr you should get around 11 to 12 ltrs per 100 k's (inline 6 cyl Hemispherical)
In town. 14 to 16 ltrs p/100/k
V8 expect 11/13 lp100k hwy.
13/16 around town. (Yes a little thirsty but. There is almost 2 metric tonne of car..)
Parts are easy to obtain n are reasonable priced . Melbourne Bris & Hervey Bay have new and used parts.
Always make sure the tyre profile is exact on the front n rear. Dont replace just the fronts. Or rears.
The...Read more

Jgc owners need to keep up their maintenence and be very resourceful.i have owned my 99 jgc for five years and have had to fix or replace lots of issues and i now know my jgc inside and out.i keep hearing that to replace parts are hard to get to and a pain.replacing fan relay is located behind the Rhs driving light.cam angle sensor is accessible from inside on top of transmission mound.the death wobbles can b avoided by replacing worn and damaged parts before they get to that stage.yes it's a big issue but not if you are aware of the problems.j...Read more

Car is basically very nice to cruise long distances as 4.7 motor is very smooth. Cruise control is easy to use. Seats are comfy and have two automated positions for different drivers at the touch of a button.
Rear end suspension is a little floaty.
On the beach = no worries however scuffs a little on deeper sections of sand and you need to engage low before entering as it needs to be engaged while moving forward slowly.
Economy well its a v8.
Bought at 130k now at 160k and death wobble has appeared so rating may go up/down depending if its ...Read more

. I purchased my WG overland as a 3year old car with 30k on the clock from a dealer. Initially was a work vehicle with annual holidays in the bush with 3 kids, dog and all the luggage. As an all round multi purpose family vehicle it excelled in every aspect with limited range when off-road towing and carrying extra fuel being my only gripe. 3 years into owning the jeep and one day the engine made horrible noises, long story short blew a sizeable chunk out of number one piston with the rest of the internals looking like new! After all theories e...Read more

The missus had our jeep from 20,000k (2003) and 12yrs later decided she wanted a "new" car so I brought her a Subaru (which she likes but says she misses the view from the jeep) I fully refused to trade the jeep in as it was/is a far better vehicle than my car (Top of the line Tickford V8). The only things I didn't like about the Jeep were exactly what my missus loved it for, for me it was just to American, Soft ride, comfortable cornering, smooth on bumps, traction control & and fine leather interior. (I like the interior) So on went the 2" li...Read more

I have typed about my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee before, It now has 283,000ks on it & still going strong. Many people complain about All Jeeps, well I tell you that they are Great. the Problem is Most don't service them enough, A good Jeep Must be looked after like your best friend. This being my second Jeep, So I feel I can make comments. The number one thing with the jeep is get good springs, good shockers, & also the steering dampener must be watched close, Cheap to replace, but a bugger if your broke down in the desert with the death wobble....Read more

My first jeep was a 1975 CJ5, three-speed manual, part time 4wd and was unstoppable. The next Jeep I had was a 1978 CJ7, this had a Chrysler 289 V8 which I did further work to and also altered the full time Quadratrack system to part time 4wd and put an overdrive in it. Absolutely awesome on the beach and anywhere off road.
Next Jeep I bought was a new 1995 XJ Cherokee Sport. Never did more than service it in the 90,000 k's I did in that with lots of off road and beach driving.

A few weeks ago I sold my BMW coupe and bought a 2002 WG Jeep C...Read more

I originally posted on this site about my nightmare Jeep experience about 3 years ago, and I still get a shudder when I occasionally think about my 1999 WJ JGC. I am now a dedicated Toyota man and will never change. Nothing has gone wrong in the 2 years I have owned the RAV4, the only money I have spent is for regular preventive maintenance…all new fluids, belts, hoses, plugs etc (just as I have done with all the used cars I have ever owned, not that it made any difference with the Jeep).
I would just like to point out how dangerous WJ Jeep Gr...Read more

I have had x2 of these WJ Grand Cherokees, both 4.7l v8.

First one was a 2003 Limited with the Quadra-Trac 4wd system (open diffs). I purchased it in 2007 with 70,000km . After being let go during the GFC I sold the Jeep with 140,000km a few years later.

During my time owning this vehicle I set it up for offroading with a total of 4" lift, 32" tall tyres, rear diff locker, etc. I travelled all over WA between Exmouth and Esperance. My wife and I found this Jeep to be extremely capable and reliable mechanically.

The only issues w...Read more

I still can't believe people are whinging about a car that was designed in the mid 90's and has stopped production in 2004. As good as 10-14 years old now. Like dljacko "I purchased this 2003 in sept 2012 and to date it has been on the road for approximately two weeks" [censored word removed] why did you buy that one. What do you expect fool. They are old and will require maintenance, which is obviously too much for people to grasp. I am not a mechanic and have been able to do all repairs and serving myself. Unless you buy a newish car that is...Read more

Due to the cost of towage and repairs I thought I should write a comment about our friends 2004 Grand Cherokee Jeep purchased for $21,000. They purchased the vehicle and a caravan in Brisbane with their dream of travelling around Australia. We decided to join them in our 2007 Jeep Commander having done extensive trips around and up and down Australia in the past 26 years in mostly Toyotas. The 1st part of our trip was from Brisbane to Weipa and their computer on the 2004 Grand Cherokee went into limp mode and closed down to a crawl approx 150ks...Read more

I purchased this 2003 in sept 2012 and to date it has been on the road for approximately two weeks. CRD injector pump $1300, oil filter complete $145, CRD pressure relief valve $440 and the list goes on. I am now considering wrecking the thing. I am lucky that I kept my 1991 Hilux diesel, it has done over 400,000km's and has never failed to start and has been very reliable on several round Australia trips and out-of-the-way places (this is why they keep their value).
They are called Grand Cherokee because everything costs you a grand. My niece...Read more

At $10,000 you can pick up a limited with around 120,000km's on the clock with all the bells and whistles. Compare this to a similar year LandCruiser which you would still pay $20g's for with twice the km's and none of the extra's.
Car drives well and have only had one major issue and that was the timing chain guides in the v8. This was due to a previous owner skipping on the services. Also found that previous mechanics had put wrong oil in the transfer case. I'm a mechanic by trade that quite honestly doesn't know a hell of a lot about Jeeps,...Read more

On the plus side the car was cheap low km's and in very good condition, however at 110,000km's the fan motor went, no big deal easy fix. The 4x4 system is good and works in most situation with out fail, quadratrack 2 is capable on sand, mud gravel and rocks, off road its great. However on road is a little different. The ride is bad, very wobbly even for a 4x4, the car rolls like a boat round even gentle corners and any bumps in the road send the car bouncing along, unfortunately the only way to improve this is with new suspension, an expensive ...Read more