Jeep Charokee towing

[fortyfreak9]

I am looking at buying a 1990 Jeep Charokee 4.0L straight 6 4x4. I am really only going to be using in the winter and to tow my 18' bass boat. I have seen that the towing capacity its like 2500-5000 lbs, (cant remember exactly). I know that it CAN pull it, but with how much ease? I have had a few bad experiences with pulling the boat out of the water, or lack of pulling it out, anyone know what it can do? I think the boat, motor and gear/fuel should be under 2000 lbs.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I pull my 3500lb 20 footer with a grand cherokee 4.0, it's pretty sluggish on the road but pulling out of the ramps isn't a problem at all, I'm thinking the smaller Cherokee would be even better, I have upgraded to a Grand Cherokee V-8 it's way better, but not an option for the cherokee, both mine are 95 models.

 

[fortyfreak9]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I am worried about burning up the tranny, its a 4 speed auto. Did you have a tranny cooler or was it a 5 speed?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

If your rig is 2000# or less it will handle that load just fine. As for pulling out of the water, power still won't be a problem as that's what 4-low on the transfer case is for. If about 64:1 overall gear reduction can't get the boat out of the water you are stuck -- not that you have a lack of power.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I've heard so many complaints about Jeep transmission problems, but I'll tel you I haven't had not one single issue with either of my mine. I realy don't know the comparison between the Grand Cherokee and the Cherokee, also both mine do have factory coolers which are a must if your towing.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Chrysler/Jeep trannys are not the most durable on the planet but that doesn't mean they fail the minute you hook a trailer to it either. Whethr or not you tow in overdrive is part of the equation. Some trannys can handle that and some don't. Some drivers understand how to use overdrive without doing damage and some don't. Obviously load has a bearing on this as well but 2000# is not a heavy load for most any SUV of any size.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I used to have that exact same truck. At the time I had a 19' Citation cuddy boat. Figure somewhere around 2600-2700 lbs. It pulled that boat OK on the flat but struggled a bit in the hills. I had to watch the temperature gauge on the really hot days. Never had a problems with the trans.

Sold the Cheeroke and bought a Jeep Grand with a V-8. Much better pulling truck.

 

[Baylinercapri1987]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I used to tow my IO 17" Bayliner with a 1991 Cherokee 2wd 4.0 auto, it did perfect no problems. Had too much power, and enough brakes for hills, but kinda jarred the jeep around. It was smaller then the boat, and the jeep not being a full frame chassis (uni-body) is the only downfall. I had a nice U-haul bolt on hitch put on, installed by them for around $250 I think. I had the first year of the H.O engine, had about 20 more horsepower and a few more upgrades in 1991.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Factory Cherokee tow package (3.73 rear end, tranny cooler, full size spare) is rated at 2000 pounds for a straight hitch, 5000 pounds for a load distributing (equalizer) hitch.

I pulled my 2000 pound Bayliner (no trailer brakes) for 7 years with my 1993 Cherokee. No problem at all pulling. Problem with Cherokees is the rear brakes are NOTORIOUSLY weak. Stay a LONG way back, because you're going to be sliding up behind traffic with the fronts locked up if anything unexpected happens. Happened to me twice in the 7 years I pulled with mine. The rear brakes aren't strong enough to lock up the rear tires under load. Lots of people pull the piston out of the proportioning valve in an attempt to get more power to the rear brakes. Do a google search and you'll find all kinds of rear disc conversions for the Cherokee. This is from "fourwheeler.com":

Scrawny Stoppers
Weak link: Rear drum brakes
Models affected: All
What happens: XJs came equipped from the factory with front disc and rear drum brakes. Their performance was adequate if the vehicle remained stock, but larger tires and the addition of weighty bolt-ons caused their abilities to deteriorate in a big way.
Strong fix: Swap to rear disc brakes. One option is to install one of the kits offered by TeraFlex. They're available for XJs equipped with the Dana 35, Dana 44, or Corporate 8 1/2-inch axles. The bolt-on kits provide everything you'll need including brake lines, rotors, backing plates, calipers, pads, and hardware. They also utilize a drum-style parking brake that is said to provide outstanding holding power when compared to other disc-brake conversions. Another option is comparatively low-buck. Burnsville Off Road notes that for its customers whose rigs roll on Dana 35 or 44 rear axles, the company routinely replaces the drum brakes with rear disc brakes from a '95-'98 Grand Cherokee. These discs can also be found on some '94 Grand Cherokees as well.

If larger tires and off-road bolt ons cause stopping problems, you can imagine what an extra ton or so of boat does to your stopping power.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Chrysler/Jeep trannys are not the most durable on the planet but that doesn't mean they fail the minute you hook a trailer to it either. Whethr or not you tow in overdrive is part of the equation. Some trannys can handle that and some don't. Some drivers understand how to use overdrive without doing damage and some don't. Obviously load has a bearing on this as well but 2000# is not a heavy load for most any SUV of any size.

I totally agree, my 4.0 while cruising flat land in overdrive does have certain speed that it just doesn't like while towing, it's right around 50MPH when the overdrive just can't decide what it wants to do. Now some people would (my wife for one) be unaware of this and just cause a slow death of the tranny. You have to keep the fluid level correct, use the correct fluid (which is another big controversy) and know when not to use overdrive. I have 165,000 on the 4.0 all original engine and drive train, it's been a great vehicle, thats why I went ahead and bought another with a v-8 and going to give the 4.0 to my daughter who's soon to get her learners permit.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

To the original poster, yes the Cherokee will pull it but there are a couple of major things to be aware of:
1) the trailer MUST have brakes that work, the Cherokee's brakes are just adequate to stop the Jeep alone, on stock size tires. I pulled my 88 FW (3700-4000) with a 98 Grand Cherokee with 4 wheel disc brakes, when I first got it the trailer didn't have brakes and stopping was very difficult. Any panic stop and you're in trouble.
2) The Cherokee has weak rear leaf springs that will sag alot under load, you will either have to replace them with heavy duty units or use Air Lift airbags. I have the bags in the rear coils on my 98 and they work great.
3) The Cherokee's cooling system in certain years is not the best, you need to make sure the rad is clean and all components are functioning well.

And as a final note, the auto transmissions in the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee are totally different, the Cherokee uses an Aisan Warner (AW-4) trans made by Toyota which is very durable, the dealer I got my Jeep from only replaced 2 in all the years they were used! The Grands use a Chrysler trans which is more prone to problems, esp with leaking internal seals that cause delayed cold shifting. Some of them are fine and some have a lot of problems.

 

[fortyfreak9]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Thanks for all the replies from the sounds of it I should be fine, just don't drive like an idiot and don't expect to pull and stop as if I was in a 3/4 chevy. I know it has the Toyota tranny that the last guy posted about, does anyone know if it has a factory tranny cooler? Thank you.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Depends on whether it has the tow package or not. Look in front of the evaporator and see if you see one.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I know you mean condenser, the evap is inside.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I had a new 92 Cherokee it towed about 2,200 like it wasn't even there.
But it was by far the worse vehicle I had owned since 1978 ,all Toyotas.
from new leaky water pump,bad draft under the dash,passenger door hard to shut.A little later throbbing brakes,wipers sloppy,lock fell out of tailgate,FM side of radio quit.I had to show the dealer what the draft was after 3 tries on his part.Took me less than 5 minutes to find the problem.
Passenger door never did shut right. I traded it in at 28 months 30,000.
Think long and hard on the Cherokee then look in Consumer reports
Auto edition at the library.

 

[Floatsum]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

Love my '96 Cheri, but, I wouldn't pull a trailer much over a garden tractor's weight with it. Brakes sux. Even new.
Excellent on the beach/snow though. Main reason I keep it around.
Silverado is much better pulling a heavier load.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

On my Cherokee, the tranny cooler was DEFINITLY in front of the evaporator! In fact, it was about 4 feet in front of the evaporator!

Yep A70, meant condensor!!

 

[HappierWet]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

I am worried about burning up the tranny, its a 4 speed auto. Did you have a tranny cooler or was it a 5 speed?

Definitely use a trans cooler. You should have an AW4 trans with the 4.0, they seem to be a better trans than the a904 which were used mainly behind the 4 cylinder models. I've used mine to tow upto around 3500 lbs and the only problem has been getting stopped. Stay a LOOOONNNNG way back and watch for people pulling out in front of you...or other acts of stupidity. I actually had somebody pass me get in front and jam their brakes...I was NOT amused.

 

[electricjohn]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

My brother had engine cooling problems with his when he towed his boat or pop-up long distances. Temp would climb to about 220-230*. An external oil cooler helped a little. He never mentioned the brakes to me, so I quess he was happy with them. Both of his towables were in the 1500 lb range.

 

[nightstalker]

Re: Jeep Charokee towing

My son has a 2000 that he tows his 19' CC with. He is only 15 miles from the ramp and it's all flat. The Jeep does fine. Just take it easy, don't push it, and you should do alright.
Nightstalker