Jeep Cherokee newbie

[irish sean]

Hi all, and greetings from the Emerald Isle.
First post here,and I am looking for advice.I am looking at buying a Jeep Cherokee,to replace my now very aging 1984 Gwagon.Nuts you might say?Proably very true,but unfortuneatly the old beastie is suffering from Tin worm terminally,and the parts prices are killing me.Nor can I afford a relatively new one either.8k euros for a 1987 mod to replace the style I have. So I should get about 4k for mine anyway.
Been down the land rover,range rover line...NEVER AGAIN!!Would rather cut my knees off with a rusty box cutter blade.
So next stop is the Jeep Cherokee. Thing is;they are pretty common over here usually the 2.5 TD version,or the 4.0 litre gas engine.Now I know as much about the Cherokee as I do about nuke physics which is next to nothing.

So could you good folks point me in the right direction for what to look out for on the 4 litre straight six,tranny,gearbox body,etc.
Bearing in mind that we are also talking RIGHT HAND DRIVE vechicles in my part of the olde worlde.Would that make much of a difference if I wanted to customise the rig later with suspension lifts or change the fuel system back to a carb system.?
Much obliged and looking forward to much learning info
Regds
Irish Sean

[dopod]

The RHD shouldn't make a difference for lifting it. idk about putting a carb on it though(why??).

as for the best cherokee...out of the older styles the 96 is the best. out of the newer styles 97-99 are the best.

engine: get the 4.0, you can't go wrong with it. Lasts forever and it's got the juice.

axles: Get the chry-co 8.25 rear axle (has a flat bottom, the other option was a dana 35 which is round). Front axle should be a high pinion dana 30, which is in all of them made in 99 or before.

tranny: Both auto and manual trannys are solid, chose whichever you like to drive more.

t-cases: there are two. np231 and np242. the 231 is stronger and has more after market support, but the 242 has a full time 4x4 option that is much better for on road driving. Either one is a good choice, it just depends how much you're going to modify and wheel it. 231 if you're going extreme, or either one if not.

also the 4 door and 2 door are the same length, only difference is that the 4 door is stronger, slightly heavier and has more doors.

I'm sure I forgot some stuff but someone else will fill in the gaps

[irish sean]

Thanks Dopod.
Forgot to ask,how are the Cherokees on rust in that age bracket?And if so where does it start up or are there paticular points I should critically check ?[IE screwdriver test]
The Carb idea.Well,one I am not paticulllary enarmourd with little black boxes controlling everything,I have a tool kit [hammer,saw,screwdriver ]so I would assume a carb would be easier to fix in the wilds than a balky microchip.

Saw that this guy did it to his jeep www.m1911.org/cherokee_mods.htm.
seems like a good idea?
Regds

[TMCXJ]

I'd trust the chip over the carb. And living in Ireland, if not near heavy salt sea spray, you won't likely encounter rust. That seems reserved unto the snowbelt, which is not just coincidentally the rustbelt, of northern North America (particularly U.S., it seems).

Lovely island you've got there. My father's family came from County Mayo. Welcome to the World of Jeeps!!!