I’m on the verge of potentially buying a 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ, and while this model-year features a lot of things people like — like OBDII, a 29-spline Chrysler 8.25 axle, an airbag, and Chrysler fuel injection — it is also a bit of a nightmare when it comes to sourcing certain parts, as 1996 was a dreaded “transition model-year.” My 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ, too, was a “transition model-year,” not to OBD2 like the XJ, but rather from carbureted fuel delivery to fuel injection. As such, my YJ has special “one-year-only” parts that are also a nightmare to source. This concept of “transition model-years” is the bane of many car-lovers’ existence, and I’m here to commiserate.
We don’t really need to get into whether or not I — a recent father with obligations first and foremost to my wife and child — should be buying a two-door 1996 Jeep Cherokee 4×4 five-speed, because the answer is: Of course I should be — it’s the grail. Instead, I’d like to focus this blog on the dreaded single-model-year-only part.
In the case of the 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ, basically what happened was that lots of American cars saw significant technical changes beginning in the 1996 model-year, when OBDII was instituted. I know lots of folks like OBDII for diagnostic reasons, but I personally find it to be a pain in the buttocks over OBDI, specifically because of the extra “catalytic converter efficiency” O2 sensor. In any case, with this change to OBDII came a new electrical architecture, a new accessory drive, a unique ECU, and a bunch of stuff specific to only the 1996 Jeep.
In 1997, the XJ received a full refresh, but OBDII had been mandated for 1996, so Jeep had to make the transition a year before it was ready to release the updated, rounder XJ. That’s this one:
Though 1996 was the most popular year for the XJ — with over 280,000 sold — that’s only 10% of the XJ’s overall volume, and as such, parts availability isn’t great, since many of the other model-years shared parts with one another. What’s more, many parts actually changed during the 1996 model-year, as user Tim_MN points out in their comment on Jeep XJ forum NAXJA:
A large number of planned upgrades were implemented throughout the 1996 model year manufacturing. Older revisions were installed until the parts ran out, and the production line implemented the new revision parts in their place. Everything got used up, nothing got thrown out. Early 1996 were more like OBD-I until the parts ran out, and later 1996 were OBD-II. Lots of 1996 parts are unicorn parts that were only used for the 1996 model year,
“More like OBD-I,” doesn’t mean OBDI, to be clear. All 1996s had to be OBDII, but I think Tim_MN is saying that on some 1996 XJs some of the connectors/electrical bits are shared with the older OBDI cars.
Anyway, one of the biggest issues is the fuel pump, with Art Triggs writing on NAXJA:
Having been through a fuel tank replacement and fun with a 96 pump/regulator/sender, the complete pump/regulator/sender assembly is made of unobtanium, NO ONE near me had one, I salvaged a functional sender for parts from a wreck I bought.
Beware of the 1996 model year and your fuel pump. NO other year will fit and it isn’t produced by anyone. If it fails, it’s either have it rebuilt for $$, pray for a junked car that still has the fuel tank/pump (that works), or install and electric aftermarket pump.
I ended up putting a 97 fuel tank and sender unit in my 96 because I couldn’t find a good used fuel level sender (mine was horribly rusted) and it works fine after some wire and hose splicing, the fuel gauge is inaccurate though.
Yesterday I swapped in a 97+ plastic tank since the baffle/tray in my 96’s tank was loose(also wanted to lose weight). I had already upgraded the pump to a 255lph Walbro, so that along with the sender is available if someone is looking for a working used 96 setup.
Thankfully my transition cars are those where there is the early version that uses up stock from the previous model year and the second version uses the same stuff as the following year. But yeah it is weird that for example the window and door lock switches look identical and the plugs will interchange but they do not work the same.
The annoying instance is that on one of my other cars I went for the 03-05 version to avoid many of the unique to 02 parts and the one part I need for my car the 02 version is available in the aftermarket while the 03-05 is not and it is NLA from the mfg. I’m trying to decide between trying to make the 02 part work, making the 03-05 part for a platform mate work or a used unit.
96 gmt400’s have some interesting dash wiring. The ac control and blender panel is unique to 96 but looks identical to 97+. That has led to some head scratching.
Get used to it. Soon enough you’re going to be hearing a lot about terrible twos, adolescence and “how do I get this thirty year old out of my house”. Oddly all similar queries about Jeep ownership.
I had an early production Datsun 260Z, a car that was only sold in the US one year (longer overseas) and had completely different bumpers within that year (early were more like the 240, but with some impact dampers and rubber backing trim vs late that were bulky like the 280Z) and who knows what else. I had a voltage regulator go on it, so I had to take the train back and forth to school, then walk to the auto parts store, then over 4 miles to my house three times because it didn’t have one of the ones it was supposed to have in it for that year or model. (I forget which, but it was a Lucas unit! Much of the electrical system in that car was Lucas, not Hitachi. Why? Because f me, that’s why!) After the second one didn’t fit, I brought the old one with me and we located it in the catalog.
Sometimes those single-year parts are a good thing if you can find them. NA Miatas used a weird Panasonic stereo that’s almost, but not quite, DIN sized. That’s why aftermarket stereos rarely fit right in them. The situation is worse for ’94+ NA8 Miatas, as the center stack “tombstone” is different and none of the companies that make aftermarket double-DIN tombstones make them for NA8s. But, BUT, the “96 1/2” Miata actually had a different tombstone with a real double-DIN cutout that fits ’94-’96 cars. For ’97 they went back to the Panasonic stereo with the weird opening. I scored one from eBay shortly after I bought my car, so I was able to install a proper single-DIN stereo with a single-DIN storage cubby from an NB.