'99 to 04' WJ Jeep Grand Cherokees - Aged Luxury

It's no secret that some of our favorite daily drivers are the '99-'04 WJ Grand Cherokees. And now with prices on decent used vehicles dipping below $5,000, it's almost criminal how inexpensive it is to roll in all-wheel-drive comfort.

So when this author's brother wanted a vehicle to augment his family's fleet, a 4.0L-equipped WJ seemed to fit the bill. While a 4.7L is nice and a Limited gets you the leather and options, the 4.0L Laredo can scrape at 20 mpg on the highway and still offers acceptable performance. However, no model is without its weaknesses and problem areas as the miles pass. And whether Limited or Laredo, the WJ is no exception.

Hot spots, checking, cracks, and rusted vanes are things to watch out for with the stock brake system. This vehicle's shocks were also pretty sloppy, resulting in a lot of body lean and roll.

With the front shafts out, Rindone popped off our knuckles and pressed some new Crown ball joints into the Dana 30 front axle. While most of the Dana 30s we've run into are fine, it's always worth checking for unit bearing and ball joint play in any used vehicle.

We enlisted the help of John Rindone of Meineke Car Care Center in Webster, Massachusetts, to diagnose, repair, and upgrade some of these deficiencies inherent in most WJs. Rindone is a veteran ASE tech with a passion for off-roading and heads a very competent crew. Spinning wrenches and dealing with our WJ's rusted bolts didn't phase them at all. And if we decide to add a lift or some other off-road gear down the road, Rindone's Meineke is also a full-on Performance Center that can handle the install-no sweat.

WJs and ZJs have CV joints in the front axleshafts, not U-joints like XJs and TJs. It's a real pain because the boots can crack or get torn, allowing water, debris, and road salt to ruin the CV. We ordered full replacement CV and shaft assemblies as well as new unit bearings. Unlike a lot of the cheap overseas stuff we've encountered, the Crown shafts were way nice, with a black-oxide protective coating and quality machining and workmanship.

While not just a WJ problem, check the exhaust system on any vehicle, especially if they salt the roads in the winter. The casing of this factory muffler was rotten. Take it as an opportunity to upgrade to an after-cat exhaust for a little more power and mileage.

Many WJs exhibit a rear end clunk over bumps and rough terrain. The rear suspension uses a wishbone, upper control-arm assembly with a ball-joint-type mount to the rear axle. Most often, the clunk is from the ball joints wearing out. Crown carries replacement ball joints for the suspension components, if needed (ours was OK).

For our replacement parts, we visited Crown Automotive in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Crown's catalog of replacements parts is just plain massive. While they don't sell direct, the company's Web site lists dozens of distributors. Its top-shelf stuff is built to last longer than the OE parts. Finally, because we were committed to diving into each problem area, we opted for a major upgrade to the brake system, shocks, and air intake with parts from EBC Brakes, Edelbrock, and K&N Performance. So check out how we turned a stock WJ into a boulevard bomber that stops, handles, and rides better than a new Jeep at a fraction of the cost.

Another area of drivetrain noise can be the front driveshaft. This is especially true on 4.7L Quadra-Drive models. The front driveshaft's CV joints seem to wear a bit faster than regular U-joints or Double Cardan-equipped shafts. Crown carries replacement parts. Also note the weeping pinion seal. We'll deal with that later if and when we re-gear for larger tires.	We noticed the front tires were wearing a little funny, so we threw the Jeep on Meineke's alignment rack. Both the ball joints and the unit bearings were hammered, so we couldn't properly align the Jeep. We had to go into the front axle anyway because the axleshaft CJ boots were torn and leaking.	One item we're sticklers for is a cold-air intake, especially for the 4.0L engine. We've found the K&N FIPK really wakes this engine up. On paper, they're usually good for 5 hp and at least 1 mpg, but in real life, it's a difference you can feel from the driver seat and that you'll notice at the fuel pump. The WJ FIPK took a leisurely 20 minutes to install.
Before buttoning up the front axle, we took a quantum leap forward with the brake system and installed a pair of EBC Brakes Ultimax BlackDash slotted rotors and ultrahigh-friction Yellow Grade pads on the front. The EBC catalog listed two pad applications for a WJ, so we ordered both for the sake of the story. Our '00 WJ used the PN DP41312R pads on the left. The other pads (PN DP41664R) are on the right.	One of our favorite things in the Crown catalog is its Complete Tune Up kit, available for virtually any Jeep made from '41-and-later. It includes everything you see here: spark plugs, an OE-fit fuel filter, an oil filter, and an air filter. Our '00 has a coil-on-plug ignition, but for models that require it, the tune-up kit includes factory-fit plug wires. It's always a good idea to perform a full tune up on any used-vehicle purchase.	Hands down, our favorite performance shocks on a daily driver are the Edelbrock Performer IAS monotubes. They're a major upgrade over the factory stuff. The shocks have an internal inertia valve that automatically responds to terrain to deliver either soft or firm shock valving. The shocks virtually eliminated body roll on this vehicle, allowing much flatter cornering and sportier handling without any penalty in the slow-speed ride comfort.
Out back, we installed a set of the Ultimax BlackDash slotted rotors and the company's Greenstuff 7000-series ultralow dust pads. We're not exaggerating in any way when we say the difference in brake feel and power compared with the stock pads and rotors is mind bending. Even with the new EBC pads not yet bedded into the rotors, the WJ hauled itself to a stop hard enough to put your face into the steering wheel.	Even though this WJ only had about 100,000 miles on the ticker, the rear axle seals were leaking. Dana 35 axletubes are really weak and flexible. Even on a stock vehicle, the flexing can accelerate seal wear. The WJ Dana 35 is not a C-clip type, so to replace the seals, you've got to remove the bearings from the shafts like on a Ford 9-inch. We pulled the rear shafts and pressed on some rear bearings with seals from Crown.	Finally, for the bonehead move of the century, this author ordered rims with the wrong bolt pattern, and there was no time before hitting the presses to swap them out. So we can't show you the money shot of the new Pro Comp Xtreme Alloy Series 8089 wheels wrapped with silky-smooth, long-wearing Toyo H/T Open Country tires. Regardless, the black center and accents really complement the lines of the WJ, and we know from experience what a quiet, well-performing tire Toyo makes. In the meantime, Hazel will write "WJ bolt pattern is 5x5, not 5x4.5" 1,000 times on Cappa's white board.