Things to know about 97-01 XJs...

[Sneedle Vision]

For any potential buyers of XJs out there(hint hint)...what are the pros and cons of the years?

For example: The 00's and 01's have the weak cylinder head casting that leads to cracking. 99 was the last year of the traditional plug and wires.

Is there anything to know regarding the 97's & 98's? Things to beware? Good things?

Share em here...be sure to include what year!

[dagr8tim]

When I was shopping for an XJ, the sweet spot was 97-99. They have the high pinion front diff.

[denverd1]

When I was shopping for an XJ, the sweet spot was 97-99. They have the high pinion front diff.

yep HP D30, updated interior, ignition system, decent head. Chry 8.25 in the back. Mine's a 98.

[Metlic53]

97 is the best!!! (only cuz i have one) :D
97-98 you'll be good, older ones are good too just look a little more square, i love my renix jeeps too, 87 and 90 and they run great

[Mudderoy]

99 was the first year they came with the curvy intakes, but the head ports on the 98 were larger. 99 would be my choice, just make sure it's a 8.25 rear end. 2nd choice would the 98, which is what I have. Well actually I have both. :D

[denverd1]

99 was the first year they came with the curvy intakes, but the head ports on the 98 were larger. 99 would be my choice, just make sure it's a 8.25 rear end. 2nd choice would the 98, which is what I have. Well actually I have both. :D

so Tony, would the best of both worlds be a 99' intake on a '98 head? been thinking about doing something to intake/throttle body/header once I get the mechanical stuff buttoned up. heard about newer intakes just wasn't sure which year. absolutely nothing aftermarket for these....

[Mudderoy]

so Tony, would the best of both worlds be a 99' intake on a '98 head? been thinking about doing something to intake/throttle body/header once I get the mechanical stuff buttoned up. heard about newer intakes just wasn't sure which year.

You know something doesn't sound right in my head. I know the 00-01 heads ports were smaller so it would heat up faster. Those are the same heads that tend to crack. I know they redesigned the intake because the smaller ports dropped the horse power and the new intake brought it back up.

I just can't remember about the head on the 99.

Okay here we go....
Year............Casting No
1987-90......2686
1991-95......7120
1996-99......0630
2000-06......0331

From Dino's site. So yeah the 99 is good because of the high flowing head and better intake. We'll one of the reasons.

[dagr8tim]

Year............Casting No
1987-90......2686
1991-95......7120
1996-99......0630
2000-06......0331

I thought I read somewhere that the 91-95 heads flow the best, the 99 intake flows the best, and the 97-98 exhaust manifold flows the best.

[Metlic53]

i could have swore i read in JP magazine that the 99+ intake actually doesnt flow better. Thats what stopped me from buying one.

[4.3LXJ]

No they flow better and equalize intake volume and velocity. What they said was that they didn't get any improvement in HP. But virtually everyone disagrees with that.

[Cheromaniac]

I thought I read somewhere that the 91-95 heads flow the best, the 99 intake flows the best, and the 97-98 exhaust manifold flows the best.

The '91-'95 heads (7120) and the '96-'99 heads (0630) flow equally as well. The '00-'01 heads (0331) tend to crack down the middle so they're the ones to avoid. Thereafter the heads were cast by a company in Brazil (TUPY) who reinforced them by adding extra material to that thin spot in the middle thus resolving the cracking problem. The improved '02-'06 heads will have TUPY stamped in the middle on the top side. Those heads give up a small amount of HP compared to the 7120 & 0630 castings but are better for emissions.
The best intake manifold is the curved runner '00+ version. The only '99 Jeep model to have this manifold was the WJ. The HP/TQ gain is only slight but since the airflow variation between runners is less than in the earlier log type unit, gas mileage and emissions are improved.
None of the stock tubular exhaust manifolds had any performance advantage, but the '00+ versions have expansion joints and are less crack prone. Unfortunately they only match with the '00+ heads so you can't bolt them onto earlier head castings. Many guys who've seen their '91-'99 exhaust manifolds crack (a frequent issue) just opted for an aftermarket performance item.
Finally the '96+ NVH blocks seem to be the best, but then all of the 4.0L blocks were good anyway so it wouldn't matter which one you have.

[msmoorenburg]

97+ from what I've seen have exhaust shields over the muffler so the passenger floors boards don't rust "as fast"

[Mudderoy]

I thought I read somewhere that the 91-95 heads flow the best, the 99 intake flows the best, and the 97-98 exhaust manifold flows the best.

Yeah I did too, on Dino's site. I have the 95 head and the 99+ intake. I also read that the difference between the 95 head and 98 head is almost nil.

[Mudderoy]

i could have swore i read in JP magazine that the 99+ intake actually doesnt flow better. Thats what stopped me from buying one.

I read that last night (again). It didn't flow better on the 1998 that they tested it on.

CORRECTION! Measured horse power went down! That doesn't mean, necessarily, that it wasn't flowing better.

[prerunner1982]

00-01 have the LOW pinion front axle.
Late 96-01 have 29 pinion rear Chry 8.25
00-01 has the NV3550 5 speed manual.

[Mudderoy]

00-01 have the LOW pinion front axle.
Late 96-01 have 29 pinion rear Chry 8.25
00-01 has the NV3550 5 speed manual.

hmmm trying to remember. I don't think the 96's had the 29 spline. And I think that the 97's were a mix of 96 and 97 parts, so you could get either a 27 spline or a 29 spline 8.25.

Nope I was wrong. 96 was mixed with 95 parts and 96.

[prerunner1982]

hmmm trying to remember. I don't think the 96's had the 29 spline. And I think that the 97's were a mix of 96 and 97 parts, so you could get either a 27 spline or a 29 spline 8.25.

Nope I was wrong. 96 was mixed with 95 parts and 96.

Nice try... occasionally I am right about something. Not often but sometimes. :P

[xjrev10]

I'll take a 01 XJ, with a HP30, C8.25, 1999 4.0, 2001 NV3550, in black or white or that tealish green color or red rock pearl or that other cool red color besides flame red.

[dagr8tim]

Honestly, how many of us are using this thread to make mental notes of the parts we want to swap from other gens of XJ's?

[xjrev10]

Honestly, how many of us are using this thread to make mental notes of the parts we want to swap from other gens of XJ's?

Haha that's funny. I didn't even think about it that way!

[denverd1]

Honestly, how many of us are using this thread to make mental notes of the parts we want to swap from other gens of XJ's?

ding ding!

[xjrev10]

I'll take a 01 XJ, with a HP30, C8.25, 1999 4.0, 2001 NV3550, in black or white or that tealish green color or red rock pearl or that other cool red color besides flame red.

Chili pepper red is what I was trying to think of. If anybody cared. :)

[denverd1]

CHILI PEPPER RED. Best shade of RED there is! Code: PEA at your local auto store FYI, which makes me think red rock PEARL isn't that far off... :rolleye0012:

[dagr8tim]

CHILI PEPPER RED. Best shade of RED there is! Code: PEA at your local paint store FYI, which makes me think red rock PEARL isn't that far off... :rolleye0012:

Can you get me the paint code for the dark green that had the sparkles in it? I want to paint the rest of my jeep to match the one fender.

[denverd1]

http://paintref.com/graphics/sample/wangler2013commandogreen.jpg
this one? doesn't look sparkly.. PGH

[denverd1]

http://www.wk2jeeps.com/images/2012_wk2_Black_Forest_Green_01.jpg
Black Forest Green PGZ

[dagr8tim]

http://paintref.com/graphics/sample/wangler2013commandogreen.jpg
this one? doesn't look sparkly.. PGH

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/5206_235637200130_4010711_n.jpg
98 XJ

EDIT: MOSS Green. I used the site you got the sample pic from to get what I needed.

[denverd1]

There you go. Why not paint it RED? Would surely run better. :rolleyes:

[dagr8tim]

There you go. Why not paint it RED? Would surely run better. :rolleyes:

Red doesn't do a thing for me. Kind of seems wrong to have a red Jeep.

[denverd1]

well sparkly surely doesn't seem right, but to each their own

[Carves]

For any potential buyers of XJs out there(hint hint)...what are the pros and cons of the years?

For example: The 00's and 01's have the weak cylinder head casting that leads to cracking. 99 was the last year of the traditional plug and wires.

Is there anything to know regarding the 97's & 98's? Things to beware? Good things?

Share em here...be sure to include what year!


Keeping in mind the limited options in models down here ....

When I went shopping - my priorities were ...

97+ for the crappy, plastic, easy clean interior and same dash as I was used to in the TJ,
No ABS nonsense,
8.25 diff ... a bit rare down here,
coil & dissy instead of the harder to source coilpack set up,
Plain ol $5 ign key instead of the overpriced electronic head one,

.... which put me in the aug 97 - mar 98 "export" Sport model category.

Seems I got the pre update, door hinge issues and the bodgy, grand cherokee, engine immobiliser system as a bonus ... :rolleyes: .. :smiley-laughing021:

[denverd1]

Seems I got the pre update, door hinge issues and the bodgy, grand cherokee, engine immobiliser system as a bonus ... :rolleyes: .. :smiley-laughing021:

tricked out! :rolleye0012: