Jeep Wrangler owners...step in.

[laskt9]

Look underneath GOOD. Jeeps that have been driven through salt water will show excessive signs of rust.

Or have been driven in winter... Or driven anywhere.

They will also need brake lines and crank sensors. Guaranteed.

 

[Roadtrash]

My 97 TJ has a little over 140k and still rocks right along. Nothing special just a 4 liter with 5 speed. Guess I'll keep it till it dies and can't be fixed.

 

[The Big D]

UPDATED info re: Jeep Wrangler search

Much sound info was generated from my OP re: consideration of a Jeep Wrangler. In particular, rburg noted the benefits of the 3.6 engine.

New Corvette will be much delayed now. Since it won't be available 'til late spring, 2014, at the earliest, I decided to wait for the 2015 model. With that in mind, I just bought a new 2014 (yes, 2014) Wrangler.

It's sweet. Drove it home from the dealer just a bit ago. Drives like a dream...seriously. Best phone/audio interface I have ever experienced. 3.6 motor is more that expected. Ditto the 5-speed slushbox.

I dig it.

Be safe.

Just sold my Corvette in anticipation of the C7 convertibles that won't be availbale until this winter or early spring, 2014.

Need something fun to get me through the summer. Owned a '94 Wrangler for a couple years but sold it circa 2004. It was a fun/cool ride and now considering another to tide me over.

So...any special concerns, years to avoid, etc? I want this to be a low maintenance "beater," if you will.

Didn't wash the last one the entire time I owned it...and pulled the drain plugs so I could get through the summers with just a bikini top (on the car...not me!)

Your wisdom is appreciated...in advance.

Be safe.

 

[Cpo1944]

My grown son and I drove his Jeep from NC to CO to do the Alpine Loop & the Black Bear Pass. We had a great time and the Jeep never faltered anywhere on the mountains , HOWEVER it was a total dismal drive . The Poor very underpowered engine really struggles to maintain highway speed. If you
never drive it on the highway it`s ok , but high speed ,never, it`s just awful!!!
If I ever buy another -and I`ve had about 6 or 7 of them- It will have to have a better engine- maybe the new Diesel, of a modified V-8?

 

[The Big D]

Clarification/explanation.

Suspect your son's Jeep is pre-2012. That edition of your "Unlimited" Jeep has eighty (80!) less HP and 20# less torque. Plus, having driven a 4-door Wrangler it is noticeably less efficient than the 2-door versions.

Beileve me, even though my new Jeep had just 6 miles on the clock at delivery and thus couldn't be driven "hard," it has more than enough get up and go.

Be safe.

My grown son and I drove his Jeep from NC to CO to do the Alpine Loop & the Black Bear Pass. We had a great time and the Jeep never faltered anywhere on the mountains , HOWEVER it was a total dismal drive . The Poor very underpowered engine really struggles to maintain highway speed. If you
never drive it on the highway it`s ok , but high speed ,never, it`s just awful!!!
If I ever buy another -and I`ve had about 6 or 7 of them- It will have to have a better engine- maybe the new Diesel, of a modified V-8?

 

[1morethan8]

The main thing is to "Wave"!!
...it's a Jeep Thang!

 

[Cpo1944]

BigD, Your right it`s a 09 or 10or 11, I don`t remember which. Anyway several times during our tour -at pitch black night in the Rockies- He would remark to me as I was driving He thought I forgot I wasn`t driving my MB clk-430. I told him Every time I pressed the throttle I was painfully reminded I wasn't in my MB.
It`s kinda hard to go from high performance to no performance.
I`ll have to test drive one of the new ones, But I still have my doubts.
ON a side note I was impressed that most of those Goat Paths dirt trails that we drove showed up on his built in GPS.
If you havn`t been to the San Juans of Co. you should go they are breathtaking!!!

 

[BigBill]

I was a amc jeep mechanic in the 70's I prefer my '99 wrangler sport with the 4.0L inline six that actually came from the 50's scrambler straight six. The block is pretty much the same basic design. I orders my TJ W wrangler from the dealer with all the HD options, optional Dana 44 differential with 3:73 gears and posi rear. I have the larger Chrysler auto tranny without overdrive. The 30" tire and HD syspension with gas shocks(pkg). I got the mag wheels with both hard and soft top too. It just turned 100k. She is ready to build next spring. I figure to add a loc rite in the front diff. And a set of super swamped 32" 950 tires. And a snow plow.

I still liked my 80's CJ 7 but the 304 v8 with 4:27 gears with posi f&r loved gas stations too.

My best jeep ever is my cj 5 that I still plow with today. She has 5:38 gears and loc rites f&r.

You can have all the horse power up front but if you don't have two loc rites in the differentials there is only one front wheel and one rear wheel pulling it. I could Jack up three wheels off the ground and it will still move with loc rites.

Even my 80's CJ 7 with posi' s out pushed snow better than a 460 3/4ton Ford with open differentials. He left a big pile of snow in the street that my cj 7 pushed right thru it. It's all about traction not horsepower.

 

[S&WForty]

The main thing is to "Wave"!!
...it's a Jeep Thang!

My Comanche rarely gets any return waves. Must be a CJ/Wrangler thang. I don't even bother waving from my Grand Cherokee. LOL

Sounds like the pre-2012 V6 is as much a dog as the late 80s and early 90s 4 cylinders when weighed down with hardtops and automatics.

If I sought out a Wrangler, I'd take any 4.0L from the 90s.

 

[bdsorcic]

Find yourself nice CJ5 Renegade and enjoy the time with it... It is just ilke getting a smooth S&W baby chief!

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Here is a cell phone picture of my 1998 TJ-Wrangler. Itis a four cylinder and gets terrible gas milege but I like anyway! Have hard top, soft top, bikini top, zipper window door tops and sliding glass door tops.

Pictured with summer time wheels and tires.

 

[rburg]

Itis a four cylinder and gets terrible gas milege

My old (now deceased) gun show partner had a 4cyl. He was a county coroner in western KY and wanted a dependable all terrain vehicle to take him on business visits (dead folks who weren't considerate enough to die beside a major road). So at one of our gun shows he was complaining about the terrible fuel economy. Really, it wasn't any worse than what I'd been getting with a 6. So I told him people who buy the 4 shouldn't do it for the gas savings. They just want to go slower. And that's about all you can say over the differences between a 4 and a 6. The 4 goes even slower.

They stopped making V8 jeeps in 1980. I had one of those, too. The better solution was sticking a 360 out of a cherokee or truck into the CJ body. Everything just bolts up except the engine mounts. If you find a set out of a dead V8, those just bolt in and to the engine. Like a factory conversion kit. Its almost as if they realized the 6 was a dog and anyone with sense would pull a conversion.

 

[kisportolt]

welcome to the club! i own a 95 YJ 2.5l 5 speed that is right at 200k. I had been in the market to buy a toy vehicle (was mainly looking at side-by-sides) and I'd wanted a wrangler since before I could drive. Found that I could get two decent dirt bikes and my Jeep for cheaper than a used side-by-side, and have everything I needed to enjoy the trails. Wranglers are great vehicles with endless possibilities, though I don't think I'd take a 2014 in the backwoods just yet

 

[Bkreutz]

Mine's not a Wrangler (predates that by a couple of decades) but it's about as basic as transportation gets.

 

[Sven]

Yep, that's a very nice CJ2A -- with a Warn overdrive, yet! Had one with a Buick 198 V-6 w/ O/D for a while -- not near as nice as yours. Take it off-road much???

 

[Sven]

If I ever buy another -and I`ve had about 6 or 7 of them- It will have to have a better engine- maybe the new Diesel, of a modified V-8?

Don't need a modified V-8. A 5.7 hemi conversion works pretty well. It's a fairly easy conversion in a '06 or new Wrangler, but it's still do-able in an older one. Mine's a '97 and get 14 mpg around town and 17 to 18 on the highway -- and that's with 34" tires. How can you not like 345 hp???

C&L, what do you concider terrible gas mileage?

 

[Bkreutz]

Yep, that's a very nice CJ2A -- with a Warn overdrive, yet! Had one with a Buick 198 V-6 w/ O/D for a while -- not near as nice as yours. Take it off-road much???

Not a lot of opportunity in a metro area for off roading but next month I'm trailering it to Colorado to get together with a bunch of other flat fenders for a week of exploring the mountains. Get lots of looks from the modern machines when they see 20 of these crawling up a trail.

 

[Cpo1944]

Hi Bkreutz, Where are you going?
I hope you make it to the San Juans they are wonderful! Silverton and Ouray = great little towns to visit too.Every one brags about the Black Bear Pass and the scenery is spectacular but it`s not much of a 4 wheeling challenge.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

C&L, what do you concider terrible gas mileage?

About 15.7 - 16.0 mpg dropping to 15 pulling the trailer and four wheeler with a deer or two on it up and down the hills.

 

[Bkreutz]

Hi Bkreutz, Where are you going?
I hope you make it to the San Juans they are wonderful! Silverton and Ouray = great little towns to visit too.Every one brags about the Black Bear Pass and the scenery is spectacular but it`s not much of a 4 wheeling challenge.

To a friends ranch 2 ranges west of Colorado Springs. It's a yearly thing for a bunch of CJ2A restorers or enthusiasts, we talk all year on another forum and we started doing this about 5 years ago. Get quite a diverse group.