Off Roading Jeep question

[DavidGardner]

Thinking of buying a Jeep Wrangler. Am going to look for late model used and need to know what to stay away from. Things such as what is better auto or stick-4 cyl or 6 cyl. Will be used mostly for highway with occaisional off road and forest service log roads. Will some times tow a small boat or utility trailer with camping gear.



Thanks in advance

 

[BK]

I've been looking at getting some sort thing in a Jeep for a 3rd vehicle (2nd 4x4) .



My conclusions are:

Jeep Wrangler = Fun, cool. .

but. .

not a great tow vehicle... mostly due to weight and wheelbase. So looking at the Cherokee's... prices are about the same and more room.



With a hardtop, roof rack and larger rear cargo area in the Cherokee's you maynot need to tow a trailer to go camping.

Plus if it's just you and another person... . you can fold down the rear seats for more room. . or during the worst rains have a place to retreat to if the tent floats away.



The Cherokee's have less driveshaft angle problems with moderate lifts than the Wranglers, due to the longer wheel base.



The I6 is the only way to go... . 4 banger. . ok, but doesnt have the low end torque that the I6 has... the I6 will outlast the truck if you take care if it, throw the 4 banger out at 100K. The late model I6 are Solid cast iron engines with Multi Port EFI!! In the Cherokee's the V8 is too much on the stock drive line... Nice that they squeazed the v8 in there for more power. . but they didnt to much else with the driveline that was designed around the I6.



transmission... . your choice. I enjoyed the control a stick gives you on the trail. but not having to feather the clutch/gas/handbrake all at the same time is nice too... really your choice. But it will be hard to find a stick in a Grand Cherokee... or basic Cherokee... more likely to find a stick in a Wrangler with the 4 banger.



Get the part time transfer case... 2hi,4hi,4low. . none of the fulltime 4x4 crap.



(STOCK suspension) The Cherokee ( most specifically the Grand Cherokee) has a much better highway ride. And me being 6ft tall, I didnt like the top of the windsheild being level with my eyes on the Wrangler.



In the Grand Cherokee's you can find 4 wheel disk brakes with all wheel antilock.





just some of my thoughts... ...



Bob

 

[KPhillips]

Certified Jeep-aholic here.....



no such thing as a bad jeep, I prefer the standard transmission to the aute, becuase U like the fact it gives me more control over the gearing... but some prefer auto trans becasue they don't have to mess with shifting, its handier on steep grades, etc.



I would prefer the 6 cylinder over the four, just because I like the extra hrorse power, but the 4 cylinders are ok, I guess, and they come with 4:10 gearing stock from the factory.....



If your boat or trailer is anything bigger than say a 16' aluminum boat, I would suggest getting a cherokee, r grand wagoneer, like said above, the wranglers weren't made for towing, the short wheelbase can be dangerous when towing a load... . plus the larger jeeps give you the ability to carry more passengers and/or equipment... .



My advise is to be very careful about buying any jeep product, there is a major issue with becoming an addict like myself, and once you start with the mods, its just like the Dodge CTD, you can't stop... . beware , but enjoy.....



kerryp

bastrop, tx.

 

[Mutch]

The 4. 0L I6 is a good engine. It's derived from the 258 CID (4. 2L) that I have in my CJ-7. I towed 4,000 lbs from RI to VA with it. I'm not saying that was smart or I'd do it again, but the engine will do it, even with 2. 73 gearing. I bought my dodge 2500 a month later



There is a huge difference between 96 (leaf sprung YJ) and 97 (coil sprung TJ). Get the TJ if you want late model, otherwise get a CJ. Real jeeps have round headlights. You can save a ton of money by getting a nice CJ 5 or 7 for less than $5k vs a TJ for $10k+. Really real jeeps have flat fenders, but they are harder to find.



My advice would be to get the TJ with the 6, man trans, and a dana 44 rear if it will see mostly highway use and if money isn't the driving factor. They do ride much smoother and quieter on road. If you need to tow any weight use your cummins.



Like KPhillips said, it's addictive. I'd buy one a week but my wife won't let me (at least until we have more room to store them!).

 

[KPhillips]

TJ's are a good jeep, unfortunately I had to trade mine in when I bought the Cummins (I needed it to tow my Scrambler), I do prefr round headlights to square, but I would buy a YJ for a good price.



The springs ons the YJs are wider than the CJ's and are also a little better in the ride compartment and for flexing, plus the YJ's are already injected, which will be beetter for mileage and any steep grades you may decide to play on, they stopped making the YJ in 95, there actually wasn't a '96 year model jeep ( a whole year that jeeps weren't produced ever since their introduction ).



The TJ was introduced in '97 with the coil spring suspension and it does ride very well on the road. I loved mine and still wish I had it. If you want to save yourself some time and want a good trail rig, look into buying the Rubicon Edition TJ which comes out shortly. It comes from the factory rigged with Dana 44 front and rear, factory air lockers, 4:1 gear reductin kit, 31" tires, body protection, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but its ready for the trail and the best part is its covered under warranty if any of those fun parts break



kerryp

bastrop, tx

 

[NVR FNSH]

I have a '79 CJ-7 with a 304 V8, T-18 and Currie 9" axles front & rear.



If I were buying something today I'd look for a BONE STOCK '87-

'95 Wrangler (YJ) with a 6 cylinder and 5spd. The YJ's have a better frame and springs. IMO it's a better foundation than a '76-'86 CJ for a 'toy' that sees a bit of pavement use.



Brian

 

[SS]

Gotta be 1991 or later 4. 0L - fuel injection is the only way to go. The 91-95 YJ's are a good base - a little bit of modification and they can make a darn good trail rig. Once the track bars are out of the way, they can be made to flex quite nicely. I've seen auto trans Jeeps make obstacles look easy, but I'd shy away from the stock 3-speed. It's not pleasant on the road and is a huge power suck (test drive both if you can. ) Some manual YJ's had an internal clutch slave cylinder that was prone to failure (and takes some work to replace. ) Later external slave cylinders can be retrofit with a new bell housing. No axle options.



The 97 and up TJ's are awesome! I hate 'em (I put a lot of work into my Jeep and now anybody that can afford a car payment and bigger tires is *almost* as good!) Opt for the Dana 44 rear if possible. If money's no object - that new Rubicon will definitely be the king of the hill - literally! KPhillips left out rear discs.



Not a great choice for towing, though - don't try anything bigger than a small boat. As mentioned earlier, the Cherokee is a good alternative (it's just not the same if you can't take the top off is it?) If I had to own only 1 vehicle, it would be a 4. 0L 4-speed auto Cherokee.



Check out "Jeep 4x4 Performance Handbook" by Jim Allen - great basics and lots of info. JEEP - Just Empty Every Pocket!

 

[78repowerwagon]

The 97 - newer ride the best. Definately get the 6cyl - it has tons more power, and gets better fuel mileage than the four. If you plan to tow, I recommend 3. 55's. Our 99 sahara with 4. 0HO 5 speed and 3. 73's gets 18mpg. The previous was a 94 4. 0HO 5 speed with 3. 08 gears and it would get over 20 but power when towing in od was definately less. It still had plenty of power pulling two quads, it just had to be downshifted on the hills where the 3. 73's pull in od.



Also, the 2000 and newer 4. 0s are gutless compared to 99 and older.

 

[Vaman]

Wrangler owner here... be careful which gear you get. Ours has some ridiculous gear. Off the top of my head I don't remember what it is... 3. 0? 3. 1? Maybe it's higher but I know it's low. We've got the I6 and, with those axles, that thing is the biggest dog I've ever driven... almost unsafe in my opinion. Not to mention that it has to be hard on the engine.



On the other side of the coin, it's a Jeep. It'll go anywhere... fantastically articulated suspension and very nimble. Go with the higher gear ratio option that they offer and the I6. Even with the gear issue, I really enjoy it.

 

[Karl2500]

I've found that if you are going used, the chances of finding a grocery getter, driven by a socker mom and never off road in a cherokee I had a 87 cherokee 4. 0 auto that was never off road when I bought it in '98. My '89 Commanche I bought new. It had the 5 speed and I loved that truck. it was quick, comfy, and it went almost anywhere.

 

[WKener]

Most of the problem points have been stated already, I just wanted to throw a couple more suggestions:



-Avoid the '87 model year Wrangler. It contained a mix-match of parts, and is notorious for having problems that are hard to diagnose. I am speaking from experience here. Mine was one real pain in the ***!!



-If you decided to go with a CJ, spend some extra time and look around for an '86. Why an '86? Because prior to that year, jeep had a contract with AMC for the rear axles, using the AMC 20, but it expired and Jeep used Dana 44's for that year only. Now if you find an '86, the first thing to do is look under the rear end, and if the 44 has been replaced, move on (lots of people would just take the axle out and resell). AMC 20 has a round diff housing, while the Dana 44 has squared off edges, very easy to tell the difference.



-Also, fuel injecting an older 258ci 4. 2 is fairly easy and straight forward. There are several TBI kits made for that engine, and have shown to work very well under poor conditions.



-The difference off the road between the '95 wrangler (YJ) and the '97 wrangler (TJ) is like night and day. A '97 TJ with a 2" coil spacer lift and 31" tires will out 'wheel' any '95 YJ with a 4" lift and 33's. No question about it! It's just a superior design. And the TJ's are available with the Dana 44 rearend, like others have stated already (that's what I would get if I were to buy another jeep).

 

[Diesel_Junkie]

The jeep i6 is the best gas motor ever made IMHO. Get a Tj if you can afford it. Dont get addicted though, this is what happened to mine.

 

[lgibson]

If you want a tow vehicle and a soft or no top of a Jeep try to find a Scrambler. It has a longer wheelbase and you can get a 304 V8. Raise it and put 35's under it and you are ready to go. If you want a stock Wrangler, get a TJ. Stock YJ's are not very off road friendly. No suspention flex. There are some things you can do to fix it though. I had a 75 CJ5 304. Now I have a 76 CJ5 with a 258 and a big 79 Cherokee. The Cherokee has 33 inch tires and all stock, no lift. I can put a tire on a 55 gal. drum and the other 3 tires still on the ground and no tire rub. It rides smoother than any Cadi. The thing evens turns sharper than my CJ's. But it does nickle and dime me and it only has 300,000 miles.

 

[wcjp]

Fuel injection is a beautiful thing. The 91+ YJ's came with fuel injection. As said previously, avoid the 87's. One could stretch that to include the 88's and thru mid 90'. In mid 90' they switched transmissions to the AX-15. A much stronger unit. 91-95 4. 0 5spd came with 3. 07 gears. The axles are a direct swap for a 4cyl equipped Jeep. The 4cyl came with 4. 10 gears. Wranglers in stock form were only rated to tow upto 2000pds. After modifying the suspension towing may not be the right thing todo. Hence my need for my CTD.



Cherokee's came with a similar drivetrain but lose the fun factor. Wranglers are way more nimble in the woods. The upcoming Rubicon is the first SWB(short wheelbase) Jeep to come with a 4spd auto. I prefer a stick for the compression braking. Some will say only buy ABS equipped or 95 and up. These vehicles came with stronger front U-joints. The older vehicles are easily upgraded.



1992 came with the current style of rollbar. A great improvement over previous generations. This was to accomodate the new rear shoulder seatbelts.



If you're only expecting minor modifications the TJ(97+) would be a great choice. Great ride and easily installed minor lifts. Serious lift height and cheaper prices can only be obtained with leaf springs. The coil springs get real expensive quick when going higher.



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