Faults:

It is easier to list the things that have not gone wrong.

Engine coolant temperature sensor (one for the ECU and one for the gauge - both failed).

Oil pressure sending unit.

Crank position sensor (common problem).

Valve cover gasket.

Water pump.

Radiator.

Fan clutch.

Exhaust system.

Sway bar bushings.

Steering column bolts came unloose.

Power steering high pressure hose.

Front calipers.

Rear wheel cylinders.

Brake master cylinder.

Clutch.

Harmonic balance.

Wiper transmission.

Headliner.

Driver's seat.

Hatch struts.

Front and rear shocks replaced by previous owner, and need to be changed again soon.

Fuel pump with gauge sender.

Plastic heater hose valve delete.

Oil filter housing o-rings.

Crank case breather hoses.

General maintenance items such as:

Distributor cap.

Ignition wires and plugs.

Upper and lower hoses.

Heater hoses.

Transmission fluid and transfer case flush.

Front and rear axle fluid change.

Thermostat.

Belt.

Headlight.

License plate light bulb.

Hammered the cotter pin to the front axle nut tightly, to stop the crown cotter pin key from rattling on the axle nut.

Greased the 10 or so grease fittings (they are everywhere).

General Comments:

I have owned several SUVs, and I worked for several years as a mechanic, so I know my way around a vehicle.

The Cherokee I purchased was not taken care of as it should have been, but since it was only $400, I bought it. You will see the list of problems/repairs I have done and think I bought a lemon, when in reality most older SUVs will have a lot of issues when you buy them for under 1,000. I have owned several SUVs (1995 5 speed 3.0 4x4 and 1997 5 speed 3.4 4x4, a Pathfinder 3.0 5 speed 4x4, 1993 Suburban, 1993 Explorer 4.0 4x4, 1999 Blazer 4x4).

Where most SUVs fall short is their MPG and towing capacity. The Suburban was great, but had poor MPG and poor off road capabilities due to its weight. The 4Runner was excellent off road, but had horrible MPG. The Pathfinder was great off road and great MPG, but poor towing. The Cherokee is the only one that can give me 20 MPG highway, tow a car on a tow dolly (4,000lbs) easily, and is excellent off road. That is a lot to ask for out of a SUV. If I baby my Cherokee, I can get even better than 20 on the highway; my 3.4 4Runner struggled to get 16.

Next there is the replacement parts, which most Cherokees need a lot of love, but don't worry, it's so cheap if you do it yourself. I did my entire cooling system for $240 including the coolant! The fuel pump is easy and only $115. If you can't repair your Cherokee or have someone that doesn't mind doing it for cheap, I would not recommend them if you plan on taking it to the shop for everything; you're better off buying a new vehicle, because old vehicles need boat loads of money if you're paying people to keep them going.

Faults:

Melted light switch.

Cruise control dead.

Peeling roof.

Door panel buttons falling out or not working.

Inside door handle pulls out from the door.

Notorious Bendix 9 brake system (ABS) - one pump dead, right rear wheel not braking at all.

Handbrake out of order.

Engine cooling liquid - vanishing somewhere.

Engine seal leaking all over, from rear seal to power steering (previous owner used synthetic oil, which chewed all the gaskets).

Main lights, side indicators etc. working on some strange pattern.

Hazard light working only if the engine is running.

Horn spitting plastic and rust.

Speedometer not working.

Windshield fluid tank leaking - cracked.

Brake lights not working - switch on the brake pedal (worn out solder).

Vacuum bottle missing.

Exterior door handles brake off - bolts crack from rust deterioration.

Broken lock on center console.

Peeling window trim.

Rear wiper broken off - good for squirting cars behind you.

Rust, rust and more rust - rusty doors and entire floors with big holes hidden with carpet.

Leaking water on passenger side after each rain - fresh air vent seal leaking.

Fan blower motor rattling.

Muffler gasket leaking on engine - due to clogged muffler (and they say the engine won't start if you have clogged muffler).

General Comments:

Well it ain't all that black, since you can see what previous owners did to this Jeep, and still it will always turn on, even with rusty sparks - my mechanic still talks about this today when he saw how my Jeep ran on rusty sparks.

The previous owner did no maintenance as you can read in the fault list, and still the Cherokee XJ survived - it is just a legendary vehicle.

Had to rebuild all the wiring (the way I wanted to) and cut off useless items like cruise/night light switch/security/etc.

Fixed a lot of faults from above, mostly home made and even better than the original.

The faults still remaining are rust/air vent/Bendix 9 - just started out replacing the rust with new steel plates, and next is taking out the air vent, fixing the leak and rotor, and after that replacing the Bendix 9 with vacuum type brakes.

I even drove the Cherokee without engine oil for some time, and guess what, it still runs like a baby.

I just love it, from all that abuse before, it never let me down, not even on the snow/mud/rock or rain overflowing roads. It just keeps on going where all the fancy cars/SUVs always get stuck.

I'm just lucky the police didn't catch me yet, since in dense traffic or roundabout or road construction, I always find an alternate 4x4 route, from parks over embankments through road construction - the Jeep Cherokee XJ makes you feel special.

They don't make them as before, and I ain't giving this one up, no way.

The negative side is only vehicle registration and licensing fees in my country are 700EUR for 12 months. As for mileage, I use LPG so it's nothing really "for now at least".