Sitting Grand Cherokee
 

I volunteer at my city parks and they have small in-pound lot and in there is a 1999-2004 Grand Cherokee Laredo sitting in it. My boss said that he might be able to pull some strings to get me it. Now here comes the questions; if I can take it, what should fluids would need to be changed to run at optimal performance, what is the average fuel economy (it has the 4.0l), is it easy to hotwire or should I get a locksmith to make up a key and if it doesn't run how much should I expect to get for scrap from it?

One of the windows was shimed up and the door hindge was broke so I was able to get into the car. The interor is okay, but smells girly. There is a picture on the dash from Dec. 2011 so I dont think it had been there for any more then a year and a half. The engine compartment is semi clean for a sitting car and it looks like it has aftermarket speakers in the back but I didnt have too much time to inspect it. The tires don't look to be dry-rotted too much.

Any help is appreciated!

Here are a few comments & opinions:

• A vehicle that's been sitting unattended for a while often develops issues - some aren't that easy to see. If you're "automotive handy", you can often look after these things, but if not, all these issues will suck the money out of you when you need to use a garage. There can be some serious issues like rust & seals. If you're in a rust prone area, you should look very closely at that jeep model - there are a lot of cavities that will cultivate rust.
• You'll likely need a safety inspection on a vehicle like this before you can register it for use on the road - this can be costly. When you do a title search (also some fee attached to this), look for liens, etc.
• The 4 liter engine is a gas guzzler and has it's own set of issues. One specific issue that you want to look at would be the rear-main oil seal. If there's oil dripping at the back of the engine (between the engine & transmission), don't take the jeep. Replacing the RMS is time consuming and therefore costly (the seal itself is cheap). Also, look at the front, that seal often goes as well. If you can't start it, don't take it. You can find out the real year from the VIN
• Scrap value is whatever your local auto salvage yards will give you for the vehicle. Often, you'll get nothing if you can't drive it there and a couple of hundred if you can. Check locally and see.
• Electric windows aren't hard to work on, but you need to have a bit of trouble shooting and mechanical experience to take the door apart for the needed repairs. If you need the guts of the door, you'll need some cash - you could be into the drive motor, the various rails & rollers, and the cable/gear box (this is often part of the electric motor - I've found if you need any of these parts, it's often best to get all the inter related guts. If the door hinges are broken, I'd be looking for a scrap yard door complete with everything, including the hinges.
• If it's an All-Wheel-Drive, you're likely to run into issues with the viscous coupling (this allows you to use 4wd on the highway without detrimental steering problems).
• Old rubber isn't a real confidence builder for safety. If there are any cracks or checks on the rubber, you'll need new tires before you'll get a safety permit to register the car.
• If you have no keys, you'll need an auto locksmith to give you some feedback on the cost of getting some. There's a security system on these cars, not complex, but you may need to change some pieces to be able to create new keys.
• In addition, there are a whole lot of other things to look at, like brakes, emergency brake cable (often seized), front hubs, and many other parts that just happen to seize up on you when the car's been sitting - it was left behind and never picked up for some reason.

Do a bit of research on what it may cost you to get this car running and registered, then look up the book value of the car - you might find that it would cost you more up front than the car's worth.

It has been forgotten about, there is also a Buick and a old boat. I'll see if I have enough time tomorrow to pull it out of the lot to look at it more in depth. I was hoping in a perfect world that it would run perfect and that it would get good gas mileage but I guess not. I am pretty "automotive handy", but I don't want this to be a very expensive project either. If not, I can always just sell the parts on ebay or something.

Take the boat, tow it with the Jeep, if the Jeep works out in your favor.

The boat is a piece of crap but I sure hope the jeeps good! :)

Oh haha. Well take the boat trailer.

And if the jeep doesn't work, you can use it as an anchor :)

Yeah that would be one fancy anchor! I'm pretty sure that there are bullet holes in the boat. I'll get some pictures to show how bad it is.

Quick question, if I put the transfer case in neutral but the transmission is still in park could I be able to push it out?

It should allow both drive shafts to free-wheel at the t-case. If you have an All-Wheel-Drive transfer case (contains a viscous coupling allowing for safe steering in 4wd on the highway), then I'm not sure, but try it, what do you have to lose? Put a chain on it & give it a good pull with your pickup.