1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 ZJ Bright Platinum

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited Description

Retired from an airline, sold the big house and downsized.....after all that was done mywife retired...One day she says, "Let's buy a motor home and see the USA!"I say, "You are crazy....we fly for free!"....but she is a smart woman and comes up with a winningargument...."But you can't see what's in between."So we bought a motorhome ( I included a picture to show how crazy I am).Now that we have the motorhome we need a car to pull behind it...I had one of these fantastic Jeeps nearly 20 years ago... so I went on a country wide search for another that hadnot been abused and finally found this one....AFTER I fixed everything ( I will explain later), she says, " Maybe you should find another vehicle to tow that is a little less "sporty " and has a rear entertainment (DVD) system for our son when we go exploring the area where we park the motorhome." Our son is 34 and has Down Syndrome. He travels everywhere with us.
Now you know the why so here is the what.
This 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited is the original high performance luxury muscle SUVpioneer. It is what you might call the "Grandfather" of the SRT-8. This setup was made only in 1998 and was limited to 14,286 units. The 5.9 had a hotter cam and an electric fan for cooling. It was available in only three colors; Deep Slate, Stone White and Bright Platinum. This one is Bright Platinum with charcoal gray leather. It was the SUV car of the year in 1998This model was unsurpassed until 2006 when the Grand Cherokee came out with the SRT-8 sporting a 6.1 Hemi with 420 hp and then the 2012 with 470 hp. BUT>>> the 5.9 was only 1.7 seconds slower in the quarter mileand .3 seconds FASTER in the figure 8 at .71 g's !!!!!!and only 1.9 seconds slower than the 470 hp in the 2012!!!My conclusion is that you will have to pay LOT more money to be a LITTLE faster and you're still not driving "classic" ( which is cheaper to insure).
Because it had more power and more torque (345 lbs) Jeep gave it a new transmission ( a 46RE which is essentially a beefed up TorqueFlite transmission and a Dana 44A rear end with a 3.73 ratio.QuadraTrac 4 wheel drive and Trac-Loc rear differential.Diskbrakes on all four corners reduced the stopping distance greatly.60 mph to 0 in 126 feet!
To make this model unique, Jeep factory installed these features:Higher output alternatorLow profile roof rackWood grain accentsFull calf leatherLarge chrome tailpipe and stainless exhaustUnique front grillUnique side rocker panelsFully functioning, heat extracting hood louversRear armrestHigher output (180 watts) Infinity stereo sound system with rear areaspeakers and speaker bar onceiling near rear hatchLeather wrapped steering wheel and emergency brake handleUnique leather door inserts and console coverUnique 5 starwheels
Now what I have done to it to prepare for reliable travel:
The rear end had the typical whine in it and it bothered me soI ended up replacing both axles and ALL the bearings and had the rear end set up by a pro that does work for the NASCAR circuit ( it is all factory original specs.)I didn't want to break down anywhere in strange area so while it was up on the lift it got new front axles, brake pads, rotors and calipers as necessary, also changed all the fluids. Saw a bad spot in the radiator and considered it a potential breakdown so I put a new radiator in it.When it was finally on the ground again I started on the interior.The sunroof motor was unresponsive so we took the headliner down and replaced the entire sunroof mechanism including the motor. Another friend installs new headliners for a living so he put in a new headliner for me.Some dash lights were out and the bulbs were no longer available so I converted most to LED (I have extras).New spark plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor, air and oil filtersLast week the alternator quit putting out so I put in a brand new (not a remanufactured) 136 amp alternator. Synthetic oil since I (and theprevious owner) owned it.Original owners manual and both original remotes (working).Everything works.Tires are good.It has a nick or two and a scratch or two. I tried to show in the pictures. I have a lot of pictures buteBay motors allows 24 max from direct input.Delivery can be a discussion. I am retired (from an airline).I sank a lot of money in this vehicle because I had one before and loved it. It is a unique and rare vehicle. It does not draw much attention ( except from the Jeep lovers who "know" what it is).There is even a club exclusively for the 1998 5.9 Limited Grand Cherokee.
09 Sept.2017 UPDATE The Motorhome is ready to go.I can't sell or advertise or deliver the Jeep if I am not here...and if I can't recover my expenses....I'll blame my wife.Iaccepted an offer of $7000.00 but the guy couldn't get a loan ... so that's the new price.
17 Sept.2017 UPDATE I accepted another offer from another Ebayer and never heard from him again. EBayfinally allowed me to close an unpaid buyer case.... so here it isrelisted.