Thread: Jeep Grand Cherokee Install

thx...I'm fabricating a trim ring that will glue to the leather and make it look nicer. It took guts and many many beers from my other "hobby"... my home bar....

I'll be getting a grand cherokee soon, so i'm just curious as to how well the a/c works now. Where does the air come from, now that theres no center vent? Did you redirect it elsewhere? Did you just completly take out the stock computer to put the a/c controls in, or did you move the stock computer elsewhere? And when you mentioned the angle of the screen...did you angle it towards you, or is it just facing straight? Sorry for all the questions, but you have a very nice looking install. You also have a nice looking bar, reminds me of a project i did a while ago. (Pic included) I would love to see a pic of the carputer under the seats when you have a chance.

And on a side note, how do you like your jeep? I've been looking around for a good deal, but have only found deals with 130,000 miles on them. I'm not too sure how reliable these jeeps are, i've read mixed reviews. And is yours the v8 model? How's the gas mileage? Well thanks for reading my long post.

where to start on my grand cherokee...
Well, I suppose I'd have to say that I LOVE my truck. It's the only vehicle that I've had for more than 3 years and I'm not planning on selling it anytime soon. I just rolled over 130K and it still rides good as new. I have the 5.2 Limited 4x4. It gets horrible gas mileage (17-20mpg on the highway) but it pulls my 20' boat like there's nothing behind it. I have the limited so there's lots of bells and whistles which directly correlates to lots of bells and whistles that can (read: will) break. I have heated seats, heated mirrors, and a fully automatic rear view mirror that darkens when headlights hit it... that are all broken. I haven't really delved too much into why they're broken because I live in Southwest Florida (don't need heated seats too often) and I have tinted windows (don't need the auto mirror).

The A/C works just as well as it did before, the air is just forced through the other vents. I left the stock computer out and haven't done anything with it, although I'm toying with the idea of replacing it in the glovebox. It WAS nice to get a heads up when the coolant level was low or a taillight was out. Jeep was smart enough to angle the stock radio slightly towards the driver, so there was no need to angle the screen, just mount it flush with the existing dash. I'll take pix of the cpu when it's done, it's kinda ugly right now and I'm building a thin cover for it.

Back to the Jeep:
I've had to replace the entire A/C system bit by bit.
CV joints (normal for a vehicle with over 100K on it)
Entire brake system because some idiot in a Jiffy Lube topped off my brake fluid with motor oil
Radiator

Really the only thing that "failed" on me was the A/C. The rest is either not the fault of the Jeep or is normal wear and tear. The 99 Jeep GCs had some major transmission problems so you should make sure to look into that if you go with that year. Hope all this helped.

1995 Grand Laredo: All bells and whistles except heated seats and climate control. 5.2 V8, Auto, 140,000, I have to replace the evaporator for the AC unit (takes 2 bottles of coolant per summer), and the tranny has started "holding" in second gear a little longer than normal but some tranny conditioner took care of that for now.

Overall the Jeep runs strong. It is my wifes daily driver. 15 mpg around town and 21 hwy. I did out run my buddy in his '01 Mustang GT in the 1/8th. The auto helped out.

I have a 96 Limited 5.2 w/ 148,000. I got it from my brother who was running into some probs with oil pressure. I replaced the oil pump and cleaned the pan and it has been great so far. Also had to replace carrier bearings in the rear diff for a noise. Shocks, brakes, tires and general TLC and it is now ready for the CarPC installation. Now that it is "sorted out", it has been a great truck and is great for trailering and snow.

I am putting in a Shuttle 2.4 p4/ 1 gig Corsair / 802.11b / toslink audio in & out / XMToslink / Delorme GPS / Ease OBD2 / Armen's dash receiver with Starvision monitor / 400 watt invertor (until better is available) / Gyration keyboard & mouse / maybe Interlink touchpad (if drivers are available for XPPro) / rear camera

I am currently working on the Starvision into the digitalww dash receiver. Then the rest of install.

my 1996 jeep is approaching 130k miles and is still running strong...except for a leaky exhaust manifold *grrr*

my last jeep was a 1988 cherokee, i got rid of it 3 years ago...it had 383,000 miles....i kid you not

so has anyone else tried this setup on the 93-98 zj grand cherokees?

Ive got a 98 5.9L GC that i want to install an dvd monitor in the dash, but cant find a head unit to work. the overhang of the dash prevents most of them from fitting.

how hard would it be to install a 2 din head unit in our 1.5 din stock areas? if i have to lose the vents that fine. any other options?

hey bro i was wondering how u installed the head unit into the climate controll spot. wouls you mind telling me how u did and maybe showing what u had to fab to fit it in there. i would really appreciate it...

nice work

I miss my jeep.... sorta