1994 JEEP CHEROKEE 4.0 LIMITED

SORN or spend? The spectre of the Jeep’s MoT cast a shadow deeper than the mud ruts I beached it on in February. Driving it to Burghley House was easily the nicest place I’ve taken it to; it was the first car meet of sorts it had ever seen and was the first chance I’d had to catch up with my colleagues since lockdown began.

It’s not that the Jeep doesn’t like working – it’s just that it needs work. The downpipe is now bellowing at megaphone volume (it reverberated off the walls driving through Stamford), I still haven’t replaced the two front facelifted ‘snowflake’ wheels with the correct ‘lattice’ type (they popped out of their bead in February) and the diff’ is beginning to groan ominously, despite me checking and topping up the levels with religious zeal.

I entered its VIN into a Stateside factory checker – it’s hit and miss whether cars the Cherokee’s age were recorded – and brought up a build sheet. At least I know the back axle has the correct 75W-140 fluid in it now; Towing Package cars had an extra cooler for the gearbox and a limited-slip ‘Trak-Lok’ rear end. That M361 NKL carries on despite my maintenance regime is telling. It had a new radiator recently but still runs hot at idle.

I still have some missing interior trim around the tailgate to track down; it also needs another ABS reluctor/tone ring on the drivers’ side which has cracked (again) and noone wants the job.

Still, I managed a so-called ‘best extra urban’ economy record on the way back from Burghley of 23mpg, despite the best efforts of the door seals. I can at least take solace in that, I suppose.