Cherokee guys, need some help

WilberM3 wrote: your 2000 does not have a vacuum axle disconnect. that was pre-91. i'd guess your tcase is fine as well, though at that age its worth changing all the fluids as they likely havent been done more than once if ever. the 4wd engagement is like strizzo said basically a synchronized manual transmission. its possible that one of the linkages between the 4wd handle and the transfer case's engagement lever is bent and therefore not long enough to fully engage the teeth. but like i said a fluid change could help a rough engagement too.

Would it be possible to pull the lever back too far? I can kindof feel two catch points in the area of 4wd high. The first one, and then i can pull back another half inch or so. I pulled it to the second point both times it happened, but i'm not sure my girlfriend would have had the strength to do that, so she probably just put it to the first one.

A fluid change is probably a good idea. The truck seems to have been very well maintained (owned by the owner of Ludwig Motorsports in Louisville, a Haltech dealer), but i know his wife was the one driving it, so who knows when it was last done.

I'll call my buddy at Tires Plus and see what they would charge for that. Trans fluid changes are one of those things that i REALLY hate doing.

Thanks!

trans. and tcase will be separate drain and fills. tcase is probably gear oil rather than ATF. 175k is probably a good time to change it anyways.

if the linkage is bent or has otherwise been messed with, you might be pulling it back into nearly neutral to the point it can pop out of high range and into neutral. the little notch in the slot should be stopping the lever at the 4hi detent, but if its not, you could be pulling it back too far. to select 4lo, you should need to push slightly forward and right, then back.

Strizzo wrote: trans. and tcase will be separate drain and fills. tcase is probably gear oil rather than ATF. 175k is probably a good time to change it anyways. if the linkage is bent or has otherwise been messed with, you might be pulling it back into nearly neutral to the point it can pop out of high range and into neutral. the little notch in the slot should be stopping the lever at the 4hi detent, but if its not, you could be pulling it back too far. to select 4lo, you should need to push slightly forward and right, then back.

Yeah, i figure i'll just have them both flushed. It shifts fine, but i'd rather do it now so i know it's done.

I can get it into 4lo, and i drove it around the parking lot REAL slow in all the snow and slush and it seemed to work fine. I have a feeling i'm just pulling the lever too hard. Will investigate this week. She's got it today and tomorrow til late, so it'll probably be thursday or so.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Hey, what and how much fluid does the trans, front diff, rear diff, and t-case take, respectively?

the transfer case uses dexron III ATF, i'd get 2 quarts for it, actually i'd get like 6 to have on hand, as power steering, trans, and tcase all use it. its super easy to change. there's just 2 fill and drain bolts (some are huge like 32mm others may be smaller, check to make sure youve got the right size first). take out the fill, then take out the drain, put it back in and fill to the bottom of the fill hole. done.

the axles are usually around 1.5-2 quarts each. 75/90 gear oil.

trans i believe involves dropping the pan (some may have had a drain plug), at which point you should put a new filter in there too. i havent been a big fan of trans flush machines though i'd love to have curtis' input on that. you check the trans fluid while idling, in neutral, on flat ground.

your manual may say what type and quantity to use too.

Cool, thanks. No manual though. I need to get one.

If you're looking for an original owners manual that came in the glove box let me know. We still have a great condition one from our 1995 XJ-R! :)

I'll sell it cheap, $10 to help fund our $2011 Challenge budget! It is a collectors item. haha

miatame wrote: If you're looking for an original owners manual that came in the glove box let me know. We still have a great condition one from our 1995 XJ-R! :) I'll sell it cheap, $10 to help fund our $2011 Challenge budget! It is a collectors item. haha

I may take you up on that. I have to see if there were any major changes between then and 2000, though. I know the heads are different, but i'm not sure about the rest. If it were ME driving it, i wouldn't care and i'd just get yours. But if she has to look in the manual for any reason, i'd rather she have one that matches her car 100%, rather than say... 80%.

But if it IS the same, i'll take it. Shoot me a message.

I bet there are a lot of differences in the manual from '95 to '00. I know the bottom end, transfer case, transmission, and axles are the same though.

Turns out it was just my fault for trying to he-man the selector. The first "click" is where it needs to go, and it works fine.

What should i be showing for oil pressure at warm idle on this thing? I'm showing about 25psi. Will hit 40-50psi under acceleration and cruising.

What sort of MPG should i be getting? We're seeing about 15mpg, pretty much no matter how it's driven. Highway, around town, doesn't matter. No check engine lights are on, and the light DOES work.

My '98 got about 18 mpg with mostly highway miles on 87 octane.

I guess i won't worry, then. Haven't had a "mostly highway" tank yet.

HalfTrac, Lord of the FWD deathbox wrote: What should i be showing for oil pressure at warm idle on this thing? I'm showing about 25psi. Will hit 40-50psi under acceleration and cruising.

My wife's Cherokee ('91 w/ about 180k on it) shows about 60psi when the oil is cold, otherwise similar to what you're seeing.

HalfTrac, Lord of the FWD deathbox wrote: What sort of MPG should i be getting? We're seeing about 15mpg, pretty much no matter how it's driven. Highway, around town, doesn't matter. No check engine lights are on, and the light DOES work.

We're seeing 18-22 depending on how we use it, but then again we don't get that much stop and go traffic out here.

HalfTrac, Lord of the FWD deathbox wrote: Turns out it was just my fault for trying to he-man the selector. The first "click" is where it needs to go, and it works fine. What should i be showing for oil pressure at warm idle on this thing? I'm showing about 25psi. Will hit 40-50psi under acceleration and cruising. What sort of MPG should i be getting? We're seeing about 15mpg, pretty much no matter how it's driven. Highway, around town, doesn't matter. No check engine lights are on, and the light DOES work.

Oil pressure is good. MPG is about normal.