Ricer Rob

I'm in the market for a jeep wrangler or possibly an older CJ
to drive around for the summer to pull my jetski and be my DD. The only problem is I'm more of an import guy and don't know alot about jeeps.. I'm doing my own research on the side but is there anything I should know or should be looking for when buying a wrangler?

CivicDuty

You can never go wrong with jeep's 4.0 straight six. Wranglers are very reliable, even beyond 100k+ miles.

Mongoose87

Well, Make sure you get an inline 6, the 4 cylinders are anemic and you'll get better mileage with a 6. The 6cyl in the CJ is pretty anemic as well as it comes with a tiny carb. Also try to find one with a Dana 44 in the rear, the Dana 35c is junk (came on YJ and TJ Jeeps standard), it was an option on most year Jeeps. I'm not certain about what kind of axles came in the CJ's. The Dana 30 that came in the front is a decent axle but will break when wheeled with big tires if you aren't careful. They all leak oil at the rear main seal. The tubs on CJs are very prone to rust. They will bounce you all over the place, get used to it. They are noisy, get used to it. Other Jeeps will wave at you, wave back. Hardtops are nice but inconvienant, attempting to take one off by yourself can result in a trip to the hospital. The soft tops dry rot and come apart like any other convertible top. the snap system on the CJ soft top will leak water and air. You'll fall in love with it.

JDM74

I hope you don't drive a long way because Wranglers and CJ's suck on gas mileage. How much are you willing to spend?

Ricer Rob

Gas doesn't bother me too much, the gas mileage cant be worse than the huge ass 4x4 chevy v8 i've been driving around . I'm looking to keep it under 10k.. prefferably around 5 or 6 ish.

Common sense will tell you the jeeps aren't going to be a cushy ride or quiet, but I don't plan on driving my grandma around in it and the ride can't be worse than my high school saturn slammed on ebay coilovers lol.

I'm looking at a 95 right now for a decent price but a friend of mine was telling me not to buy the "square headlight" wranglers, he said hes heard bad things.. is that true?

mysteryguest

I had one I bought new in '97. Wrangler Sahara with the 4.0/5sp.
I towed a lightweight drag boat with it here and there. 31X10.50 BFG A/T's fit without any lift and filled the wheelwells out nicely. The front rubbed the swaybar if you turned as sharp as it would turn, IIRC.
As far as troubles go, the exhaust manifold was replaced under warranty as was an idler pulley and a seal on the transfer case.
I would recommend that body style, (TJ), over the YJ, (square headlights), or the CJ if you plan on driving it any distance. Simply due to the soft top on the TJ being way simpler and quieter than the YJ. Nothing against the YJ or CJ, but I have taken the same 8 hour road trip in a CJ 5, a YJ, and a TJ. The TJ has the features and comfort to make that long of a trip tolerable.

I never did any serious off-roading so I cannot comment on that. Used it as a driver and tow vehicle once in a while for fun at times. Gas mileage was around 15 mpg. Also, it ran 16.80 in the quarter mile. I ran it as a joke once, it's on video somewhere in my house.

I'll have another one one day. I miss that Jeep.

Mongoose87

Nothing really bad about them except that some Jeep people dislike them because of their square headlights. That and they have the same issues other American vehicles from that era have, A gigantic amount of vacuum lines and wiring issues.

You can find a TJ (97?-05?) for about $6k if you look for a while. I bought my 98 TJ for $6,000, it's got the 4.0L w/ a 5speed, dana 44 rear with a Detroit locker and Rockcrusher cover, 1/4" thick steel rocker gaurds, aftrmarket rear bumper with oversize tire carrier, 4.5" Rubicon Express lift, 1" body lift, Bomb Proof 1" lift Motor Mounts. All that sitting on 36.5" IROKS with about 80% tread left. Had 105,000 miles on it at the time and I get about 13 MPG.

RwwT

(TJ)Coils > Leafs(YJ) As far as riding less like a covered wagon.

4.0L 6 cyl > 2.5L 4 cyl As stated above slightly better on gas.

(6 Banger) Ax-15 > Ax-5 (4 banger) Transmission

(TJ) Tops > Tops (YJ)

(YJ) Square > Round (TJ) Headlights

Any Jeep with chrome shit is gay.

The1amradio

I had an 87 Wrangler (YJ) with a 4 banger, 3" lift, and 32's. It got around 11mpg city but was surprisingly not under powered, though I never towed anything with it. For 5-6k you can now pick up a stocker TJ 4.0/5spd with <120k and for a Wrangler, that's really nothing. I had 160k on mine when I sold it but it never missed a beat. The TJ's are definitely nicer for daily driving... more amenities and a smoother ride.

Mongoose87

Agreed.