jbefumo
06-13-2010, 06:18 PM
A friend recently gave me a '97 Grand Cherokee with 130k on it.
Overall, it's in pretty decent shape (see
http://www.rootwerx.com/Jeep). It had been sitting for two years, and
his recollection was that before he laid it up, a Jeep dealer had told
him it needed work in the front and rear axles (front worse), for a
total of about $1100.00. My thought is that if a dealer (and one in
Southampton at that) was quoting that price, I'd probably be looking
at maybe two or three hundred in parts.
Drove it a very limited distance (< 1/4 mile) to a local mechanic. One thing we noticed is that when you put it in reverse (Full time mode), the engine revs momentarily, then it seems to engage with a bang, before it moves. It
doesn;'t do this in forward. My friend things it's probably the transmission, but I would think it would do it both forward and reverse if that were the case, or would it, necessarily?
In any case, we're going to put it on the lift, drop the trans pan,
and see what might or might not be floating around in there.
So, since neither of us are really savvy when it comes to
transmissions, transfer boxes, or differentials, what would really be
helpful is any advice as to how to go about diagnosing what's going on
with it. i.e,: if it does x, y, and z when in 2-wheel mode, and only
z when in Full-time 4wd, and x when in part-time mode, then it's
probably _____.
Ultimately, I will definitely bring it to someone who knows what
they're doing before I start replacing parts, however, I want to first
determine if I can drive it the 50 miles or so to the nearest expert
without risking additional damage, or if I' should bite the bullet and
trailer it there.
Thanks in advance,
Joe
Overall, it's in pretty decent shape (see
http://www.rootwerx.com/Jeep). It had been sitting for two years, and
his recollection was that before he laid it up, a Jeep dealer had told
him it needed work in the front and rear axles (front worse), for a
total of about $1100.00. My thought is that if a dealer (and one in
Southampton at that) was quoting that price, I'd probably be looking
at maybe two or three hundred in parts.
Drove it a very limited distance (< 1/4 mile) to a local mechanic. One thing we noticed is that when you put it in reverse (Full time mode), the engine revs momentarily, then it seems to engage with a bang, before it moves. It
doesn;'t do this in forward. My friend things it's probably the transmission, but I would think it would do it both forward and reverse if that were the case, or would it, necessarily?
In any case, we're going to put it on the lift, drop the trans pan,
and see what might or might not be floating around in there.
So, since neither of us are really savvy when it comes to
transmissions, transfer boxes, or differentials, what would really be
helpful is any advice as to how to go about diagnosing what's going on
with it. i.e,: if it does x, y, and z when in 2-wheel mode, and only
z when in Full-time 4wd, and x when in part-time mode, then it's
probably _____.
Ultimately, I will definitely bring it to someone who knows what
they're doing before I start replacing parts, however, I want to first
determine if I can drive it the 50 miles or so to the nearest expert
without risking additional damage, or if I' should bite the bullet and
trailer it there.
Thanks in advance,
Joe