1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 Liter

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1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 Liter. In 1998, this was the king of SUVs combining unbelievable performance, then the fact that this is still a Jeep and can go off road unlike its "posh" competitors. Today with 500HP $100K SUVs on the market, this Jeep still holds its own quite well in performance and will still off-road better than any other performance SUV. What is even more unique about these is the fact its a one year only vehicle. These were only offered in 1998, never again. No other SUV has this claim and probably never will again. This is what brought this vehicle to my attention. I am not a big SUV fan, but this is one that does put a smile on my face. The factory sound of one of these is very impressive and you would swear it has some aftermarket exhaust system on it. No it does not as these are stock muscle Jeeps. Line up against just about any high performance vehicle from Porsche to Mercedes and from 0-60, you will make them question why they own what they do. I don't care what it is, this can run with it in that arena. Then pull off road, put the Quadratrac with real front and rear track lock HD Dana differentials in low and climb a hill as steep as gravity allows while they are on the street crying in your dust. There are so many positive claims on these 5.9 Jeeps on the net, you may already know all this info. These vehicles were found one way. Loaded with all the good stuff as shown in the photos. There were 14K total of these total. 300 had sun roof deletes. This one has the sunroof. The only option was the skid plates/tow hooks/trailer package that was pretty rare and more money. This has that too!

This particular example is even more rare as its white. I do not know how many are white, but I would say less than 2K are that. It is the most desired too. This one has 58K miles and has been a weekend vehicle for many years. Being in the care of collectors, its not your typical example by a long margin. Although it has relatively high miles at 58K in my book, it will look drive and appear to be a 10K mile vehicle in show condition. It really is that nice in every aspect. You may search your life through to no avail to find a better example no matter what to odometer says. This vehicle has never been off roaded, towed anything, no kids in it, no smoking in it, no eating in it. It has lived in the Dallas are since new. The entire vehicle is mint as the photos show and always kept to a high detail and a driving icon then of course garaged all the time. 100% original paint and 100% guaranteed too! There are no flaws to mention other than one small "ping" in the windshield. Very small and insignificant but there to stay unless the windshield is replaced. Not worth it even to me. All else is perfect. No dings, no dents, no scrapes and even the driver seat will pass for a 5-10K well cared for example. This Jeep was waxed all the time, covered in the garage ye see in the photos all the time, and has been climate controlled with a dozen other rare collectors cars. It is quite well preserved in other words.

This particular one has 3 minor upgrades that were not cheap. The large 17x8" 3 piece wheels and QUALITY Goodyear RSA tires are one. This was a great addition to looks, not to mention handling. For me, I am always scared to put an SUV on its roof in an abrupt maneuver. The original wheels were way too small, narrow and had an even more narrow offset. Not only were they ugly for a vehicle like this, they did not give me a good feel and were a major weak point in every manner. These 3 piece 17x8s offer a wider stance with a more positive offset which make it handle better and have more street stability. A major improvement that changes everything on one of these for the better. Cost about 3K for the package. I expect "0" return on it and the tires have about 200 miles on them. The next is the K&N intake system. This is a larger unit that allows more air and the use of a K&N filter. Good for a few ponies. The next is the Jet-Module performance chip. Supposed to be good for power too. Have no clue what it gave but runs a good bit better than without it. All stock wheels and tires, and intake of course are still with it and there are no other mods.

This 5.9 Jeep is currently for sale as you may be coming from Ebay. It is 100% turn key, needs nothing and should need nothing until 100K miles+. All recommended service is done and all 4 rotors and pads are NEW and Chrysler factory originals and as mentioned the Goodyear RSA 17" tires have about 200 miles on them. I am accepting offers on it from 4/10/06 to 5/1/06 here and on Ebay. It will be sold to the highest offer at the end. I will also end my bids early for 16K now. Call or email me asap if you are in the game as the last 3 cars I ran, ended early and one exceeded the original "buy it now" by a large margin to my pleasant surprise. I am sad to see this go, but I cannot keep everything and I really do not use this much. I am consolidating a few cars into one more expense and collectable classic. For the money, It will be nothing like this I can assure you.

You can email me at Cadillacman@mcsmk8.com

Click here for My Home Page

You can email me at Cadillacman@mcsmk8.com

Click here for My Home Page

Article Text from 1998

The '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4WD with the 5.9-liter V8 engine may look like a traditional SUV, but it sounds like a hot rod. The 245 horsepower engine delivers 345 pound-feet of torque, sports car acceleration, broad smiles from the driver, and stares of amazement from other motorists. The lumpy exhaust rumble is reminiscent of the mighty sixties Chrysler muscle cars, and the 5.9 Limited is the quickest, most powerful Jeep product ever. This Grand Cherokee really shines on the highway, but it's still a rugged performer off-road with its full-time Quadra-Trac four-wheel-drive. The strong performance is complemented by a very luxurious, all-leather interior (not just leather seating surfaces). The front seats are heated, there's a power sunroof, a premium sound system with the best steering wheel controls in the world, and all the expected power options. With black pearl paint, dark tinted windows, and stylish 16-inch aluminum wheels, the Grand Cherokee looks very contemporary even though it has been around for several years. All this luxury and performance doesn't come cheap--the price on the test car was just short of forty thousand dollars. The '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited isn't the newest, or most technically advanced SUV on the market, and they're certainly not giving them away, but it really got to us on an emotional level. It's a super comfortable, super-charged all-weather, go-anywhere car with a very high smiles-per-mile rating.

This below taken from the Web. Many thanks to the Author!

5.9/5.2 comparison

Note that when new one would normally would have paid close to if not
exactly straight invoice (and not sticker) price. Note that the 5.9
Limited includes all of the extra cost options shown above for the regular
Limited, which is why they were included for comparison. Now if you think
$2K is a lot JUST for the 5.9 engine, you should know that for the extra
$2 grand you get many more things than just that engine! Here is a summary
of all the differences between the 5.2 Limited and the 5.9 Limited:

Mechanical Differences:

-The 245 HP 345 lb-ft 5.9L (360) engine, of course!
-150amp high output alternator (others get only 138amp or 117amp)
-Electric 2-speed engine cooling fan (saves ~20HP)
-Extra Heavy Duty 46RE auto transmission
-High strength front driveshaft
-2.75" low restriction stainless exhaust w/3" chrome rolled oval tip

Interior Differences:

-10 speaker sound system with rear upper sound bar
-180-watt stereo amplifier (vs. 120-watt max. in Limited)
-Full 100% leather (not just leather trimmed) seats
-Leather center console cover
-Leather shifter handle
-Leather parking brake handle
-Leather transfer case handle
-Leather door panels
-Fold down rear seat center armrest (leather)
-Wood trim around the shifter handle
-All wood trim is Birdseye maple

Exterior Differences:

-Unique 5-spoke Ultrastar 16" wheels
-Pinstripe delete
-Unique hood with functional cooling louvers
-Unique chrome exterior badging
-Unique low restriction wire mesh grille for more engine cooling
-Unique molded lower rocker panels
-Special new design low profile roof rack (doesn't rattle!)

All of the above items are only available with and are in fact STANDARD on
the 5.9 Limited. Personally I think the 5.9 Limited is a BARGAIN at only
$2K more than the standard 5.2 Limited.

Performance:

The 5.9 Limited was advertised as the "Worlds fastest sport utility
vehicle" in advertisements that Jeep ran during 1998, and that was borne
out by testing. A 1998 press release by Chrysler stated the following:

-----

The following is a summary of changes to Chrysler's engines for 1998:

In the 5.9L V-8 engine (Grand Cherokee, Dakota and Ram pick-up, and Ram
van), a new camshaft adds up to 15 bhp and the torque curve is widened to
provide more responsive performance in the normal driving range for all
models. In addition, specific to the Grand Cherokee, 15 degrees more spark
advance (which requires premium fuel) and a 25 percent reduction in
backpressure makes a total increase of 25 bhp over the current 5.2L
engine. The cooling fan motor is now electric, eliminating a power drain
of up to 20 bhp.

-----

The performance increases of the greater spark advance and electric fan
are some of the main reasons the 5.9 Limited performed so much better than
the other Chrysler trucks with 5.9L engines. The magazine test results
were impressive:

1998 Jeep 5.9 Limited (Motor Trend Jan/98):
0-50 - 4.90 sec.
0-60 - 6.80 sec.
0-70 - 9.20 sec.
60-0 Braking - 126.00 ft.
1/4 Mile - 15.20 sec.
Slalom - 58.40 mph
Skidpad - 0.74 g

For comparison, here is what a standard 5.2L Grand Cherokee would do:

1995 Orvis 5.2L (Motor Trend Jun/95):
0-60 - 8.30 sec.
60-0 Braking - 126.00 ft.
1/4 Mile - 16.40 sec.
Slalom - 54.90 mph
Skidpad - 0.75 g

Even newer SUVs like the BMW X5 and Mercedes AMG ML55 have had problems
bettering the performance mark set by the 5.9 Limited:

2000 AMG ML55 5.5L (Car & Driver Dec/99):
0-50 - 5.20 sec.
0-60 - 6.80 sec.
0-70 - 8.90 sec.
70-0 Braking - 181.00 ft.
1/4 Mile - 15.30 sec.
Skidpad - 0.74 g

2000 BMW X5 4.4i (Motor Trend Jan/00):
0-60 - 7.50
1/4 Mile - 15.80

As you can see, the 5.9 Limited can still hold claim to being among the
fastest SUVs in the world, if not THE fastest. It is also quite rare. I
spoke with the Chrysler customer service department, and found out some
interesting production figures straight from the factory:

5.9 Limited w/Federal Emissions: 10,051
5.9 Limited w/CA Emissions: 4,235
---------------------------------------------
1998 5.9 Limited Total: 14,286
1998 Laredo/Limited (exc. 5.9) Total: 233,086
---------------------------------------------
Total 1998 Grand Cherokee production: 247,372

Note: CA emissions is required in other states including ME/MA/NY and VT.

Even though the California emissions models are more rare, they wouldn't
be as desirable as the Federal emission versions due to slightly more
restrictive emissions controls.