A bit of advice,please.

OK,I've pulled the trigger on buying a DD/ beater. 1999 Cherokee XJ. 178K miles, automatic, 2WD. Drives fine, good brakes, goes straight, pulls hard when you hit the gas, no strange noises. All the windows work, AC blows cold, no unpleasant stuff at all. I figure at 1900.00 if it burns down tomorrow I can be OK. What transmission service, if any, might be suggested? I intend to flush the cooling system, tune up, oil change, etc., but what else should I consider? Lot's of miles, but runs great. Thanks.

You pretty much nailed everything i'd do.

Might drain/fill trans and diff while you're in there.

Inspect the front end, if it's on original OEM stuff up there, the infamous "Death Wobble" is probably likely to start in the near future. I'm now @ 188k miles on my 00 XJ, and it's starting to get the wobble.

Any rust? Front footwells and in front of/under the rear seats like to rust. I think the later ones are not as prone to it as the pre-'97s. I think that's a fair price. I paid $1300 for my '91 2 door 2wd 5 speed with 225k and rust (like a LOT more than the dealer let on - sneaky bastage).

Do you have any pichers?

No pictures yet. It's a Florida truck,no rust.

I'd do a filter and fluid change, then in a few months, do a drain and re-fill (there's a drain plug). Those transmission are indestructible.

If it seems the transmission has never been serviced, it may be better to let sleeping dogs lie. While it goes against my desire to maintain things, every time I've done a simple fluid changes to an old automatic transmission, it made it worse. It's as if the new fluid loosened up internal crud that was otherwise not doing any harm and made the whole thing fubar. I've heard from a few sources that the worst thing you can do to an old and neglected American A/T is change the fluid.

I'd proceed with caution.

Unless the fluid is black tar or full of glitter, drop the pan and do fluid/filter.

Does it matter that it is a Japanese unit? (Aisin)

The Aisin transmission is practically indestructible. Change the fluid and filter, and you might want to replace the throttle position sensor, if it goes belly up the transmission won't shift correctly.

As far as the motor, the 4.0 is tough as nails. They do have a bad habit of the cooling system getting nasty rusty if the coolant breaks down so I'd say drain and refill the cooling system and throw a thermostat at it too. If it's bad rusty already, replace the water pump; the stamped steel vane will just rust away. Be sure to get the correct rotation pump!

The exhaust manifolds will crack and don't typically weld well even though they are tubing, not cast. Banks makes an improved design that's not as prone to cracking and is cheaper than the stock piece.

The brakes are adequate at best, don't expect wondrous things from them.

This.

http://pettycashracing.wordpress.com/

'mudge said it all. That combo is one of the most long-lived combos in history.

would any of you indulge my laziness not searching and give me the skinny on this "death wobble"? I recently picked up a 98 limited in very similar condition.

I'm curious as well.

Lift? Tire size?
Go put a new steering stabilizer on it before you do anything else.
It is a bit complicated, so knowing the lift and tire size are critical.

The death wobble, as often as not, is caused by a worn or loose front panhard bar at the body end. The dif is free to move sideways in the body, and it gets to jumping forth and back sometimes. Kinda scary.

Streetwiseguy wrote: The death wobble, as often as not, is caused by a worn or loose front panhard bar at the body end. The dif is free to move sideways in the body, and it gets to jumping forth and back sometimes. Kinda scary.

Yes, but it can also be the geometry caused the the kinda odd triangle caused by a lifted front suspension. The drag link goes to the RT knuckle, but the tie rod attaches to the LT knuckle and the drag link, NOT the RT knuckle. It all depends. Before you go doing anything, make sure all your bushings and the steering damper are in good shape.