Any Jeepers in here?

[Hookeye]

Jeeps are still cheaper (and a better overall deal) than girlfriends.

Somebody will buy your Jeep.

 

[Porky]

Jeeps and guns, nothing better. 1968 CJ5 V6. Spring event would be fun

 

[Hookeye]

Dauntless is cool

 

[Hookeye]

Just changed rotors and pads on front of my ZJ, replaced broken rear stud and rotated tires.

Need 2 new tires for the front and a replacement hatch (rusted) from Pic a Part and she's ready to haul deer

 

[Caleb]

Where can I go to find the best deal on jeeps? I've thought about trading in my 2005 ford focus...

 

[Hookeye]

Saw a few over in Fairmount

J&S Motors - Fairmount, Indiana - Corvettes

http://www.traderwheelsanddeals.com/browse.aspx?AdName=ZI9411567D

 

[Twentyfootdaredevil]

Where can I go to find the best deal on jeeps? I've thought about trading in my 2005 ford focus...

Stock jeeps or built jeeps?

Stock=Craigslist

Built= Tennessee Offroad, Hardline Crawlers or Pirate 4X4.

 

[Caleb]

Stock jeeps or built jeeps?

Stock=Craigslist

Built= Tennessee Offroad, Hardline Crawlers or Pirate 4X4.

Whichever I can get with my 2005 ford focus

 

[lovemachine]

Good luck.

Wranglers are friggin' expensive...

 

[jeremy]

Whichever I can get with my 2005 ford focus

Wait till November thru about February for the better deals on Wranglers...

 

[terrehautian]

Or you could get a Cherokee. Cheaper to buy and fix, and they are numerous. Check out Jeep Forum - Jeep Enthusiast Network or North American XJ Association to see what is available.

 

[Caleb]

How does offroading ability differ between cherokee vs wrangler?

 

[jd4320t]

How does offroading ability differ between cherokee vs wrangler?

Good question. I've wondered this before. I also wonder how many parts they share.

 

[terrehautian]

From my limited knowledge.

TJ's are about as wide as an XJ, but JK's are wider then TJ's. TJ's, JK's, and YJ's are shorter, but the top noise is there at highway speeds. Comparing TJ's to XJ's, they share the same engine for the most part (either the 2.5 4 cyc or the 4.0 inline 6), but suspension parts might be different. JK's have 3.8 v6 engines. I like TJ's for being able to take the top and doors off easily, but I love XJ's for cargo holding ability. Off road, beside the shorter wheel base, about the only advantage TJ's have over XJ's is the automatic transmissions. For down hill sections, the TJ's have a 1st gear while XJ's have 1-2 gear (meaning more braking down hill for XJs). Also off road, TJ's do have a bit more ground clearence, but I would off road an XJ and have a TJ for summer cruising. That being said, TJ's were produced from 97-05. XJ's were produced from 1984 to 2001. 2000 and 2001 XJ's with the 4.0 have the 0331 head that was prone to cracking if they got too hot. 98-99 is widely accepted as the best years for the XJ's. The aftermarket stuff for suspension (lift kits) is pretty big for both the Wrangler and XJ's.

 

[Caleb]

From my limited knowledge.

TJ's are about as wide as an XJ, but JK's are wider then TJ's. TJ's, JK's, and YJ's are shorter, but the top noise is there at highway speeds. Comparing TJ's to XJ's, they share the same engine for the most part (either the 2.5 4 cyc or the 4.0 inline 6), but suspension parts might be different. JK's have 3.8 v6 engines. I like TJ's for being able to take the top and doors off easily, but I love XJ's for cargo holding ability. Off road, beside the shorter wheel base, about the only advantage TJ's have over XJ's is the automatic transmissions. For down hill sections, the TJ's have a 1st gear while XJ's have 1-2 gear (meaning more braking down hill for XJs). Also off road, TJ's do have a bit more ground clearence, but I would off road an XJ and have a TJ for summer cruising. That being said, TJ's were produced from 97-05. XJ's were produced from 1984 to 2001. 2000 and 2001 XJ's with the 4.0 have the 0331 head that was prone to cracking if they got too hot. 98-99 is widely accepted as the best years for the XJ's. The aftermarket stuff for suspension (lift kits) is pretty big for both the Wrangler and XJ's.

what does xj, tj, jk all mean?

 

[Hookeye]

XJ's have coil springs in front, leaf rear.
Wranglers run coils on both ends after '95 (that the last yr of the YJ- square lights and leaf springs front and rear).
To clear bigger tires on an XJ (or ZJ), one needs to do more lift and or hacking than what would be needed on a Wrangler.
Older inline 6's had crappy crank sensors and exhaust manifolds (cracked).
3.55 gears common to many XJ's.........31" tires and 5" of lift make it a streetable/wheelable combo. I ran mine for years, with no front or rear swaybars.
That might freak some people out............but I didn't think it any big deal, not after many yrs of driving CJ5's.
On an XJ you're gonna need 3" min to clear 31's with trimming, and at 3" you'll need new lower control arms.
I bashed my fenderwells at 3" of lift so put spacers in to get them to 5". Lots better.

 

[Hookeye]

what does xj, tj, jk all mean?

Just model designations.

CJ= Willys and AMC era open top (Wrangler style) Jeeps
XJ= small bodied Cherokee
MJ=Comanche pickup
TJ= coil spring late 90's era Wrangler
JK= new style Wrangler
ZJ= Grand Cherokee 93-98
WJ= newer GC

There are a few others too

 

[kludge]

Not (quite) a complete list...

MA - Willy's SWB 4x4 built under government contract
MB - Quickly replace the MA and was used throughout W.W.II
M38A1 - Military version of the CJ-5
M170 - Military CJ-6 with wider passenger door opening for ambulance duty
GPW - Willy's MB built by Ford
CJ-2A - Civilian version of the MB identified by it's split windshield
CJ-3A - Updated version identified by it's single pane windshield
CJ-3B - High hood version of 3A to fit taller OHV engine
CJ-5 - Early years were 81" wheelbase, later years were 84" wheelbase, built until 1984
CJ-6 - Stretch version of the CJ-5 with a 101" wheelbase
CJ-7 - Similar to late CJ-5 but with 94" wheelbase
CJ-8 - (1983 - 1986) - Called the Scrambler, only ~25,000 of these 104" wheelbase were made
CJ-10 - Rare in the United States, this is a heavy duty truck, used as commercial airplane tugs, etc.
DJ - Postal Jeep, usually 2WD
MJ - (1986 - 1992) - Jeep Comanchee pickup truck
SJ - (1962 - 1992) - Early full size Wagoneers, Grand Wagoneer, and Cherokees
VJ - (1949 - 1951 & 1967 - 1973) - Jeepster and Jeep Commando (C101/C104)
XJ - (1984 - 2001) - Cherokee unibody construction
KJ - (2002-2007) Liberty, replaced the Cherokee, round headlights, IFS
KK - (2008-presesnt) Liberty, boxy shape square headlights, IFS
YJ - (1987 - 1996) - Wrangler, 94" wheelbase leaf spring suspension with square headlights, replaced the CJ-7.
ZJ - (1993 - 1998) - Grand Cherokee, unibody construction, coil springs front and rear. Replaced the full-size Grand Wagoneer.
TJ - (1997 - 2006) - Wrangler with 94" wheelbase, round headlights and quadracoil suspension
LJ - A long wheelbase TJ
KJ - (2007-present) The new Wrangler 2 door and 4-door versions.
WJ - (1999 - 2004) - Grand Cherokee unibody construction, quadracoil suspension
WK - (2005 - 2010) - Grand Cherokee, IFS front axle.
WK2 - (2011 - present) - Grand Cherokee, IFs front axle.
XK - (2006-2010) Commander
MK49 - Compass
MK74 - Patriot

 

[kludge]

How does offroading ability differ between cherokee vs wrangler?

XJ's have coil springs in front, leaf rear.
Wranglers run coils on both ends after '95 (that the last yr of the YJ- square lights and leaf springs front and rear).
To clear bigger tires on an XJ (or ZJ), one needs to do more lift and or hacking than what would be needed on a Wrangler.
Older inline 6's had crappy crank sensors and exhaust manifolds (cracked).
3.55 gears common to many XJ's.........31" tires and 5" of lift make it a streetable/wheelable combo. I ran mine for years, with no front or rear swaybars.
That might freak some people out............but I didn't think it any big deal, not after many yrs of driving CJ5's.
On an XJ you're gonna need 3" min to clear 31's with trimming, and at 3" you'll need new lower control arms.
I bashed my fenderwells at 3" of lift so put spacers in to get them to 5". Lots better.

I run 31" on the stock 15x7" steel wheels on a 99 XJ and they fit, flex, and tuck nicely. No fender trimming. I rub and little on the LCA on very tight turns. Lower control arms are stock, no change needed. I did have to drop my transfer case 1" because of a vibration though.

With less backspacing on the wheel, yes your tires will hit the fenders.

3" and 31" tires is about the max you can go on a XJ without a lot of expense. This is a very streetable/wheelable combination up to the point that doesn't freak out the wife.

33" tires would need ~4.5" - 5" of lift and lots of fender trimming. And I would just pony up for the long-arm suspension at this point, and a slip-yoke eliminator. You're also going to have to regear at this point, which probably means new carriers too.

My 99 XJ is best of all worlds in the XJ arena, IMO... It's the last year for the high-pinion Dana 30 which is right on par strength-wise with the TJ Rubicon low-pinion Dana 44 (same u-joints and axle shaft diameter). In 2000 the XJ was using the low-pinion Dana 30 from the TJ It's also got the late 90's head (this changed mid-1999 model year to smaller exhaust valves to heat up the cat faster, or something like that, and is also notorious for cracking, so check the casting number on the head!!!). It was also the first year for the new intake manifold and better flowing intake runners for a few more HP. By this time Chrysler had all but abandoned the Dana 35 in the XJ, so I have the Chrysler 8.25" and the later 29-spline version, which was used on the Ram 1500 and will take much more abuse than the D35.

With these mods (3" and 31" tires) the XJ will be a similar off road performer than a stock YJ or TJ Wrangler on 31" tires (you'll need some lift to run 31" tires on a YJ) and will be more comfortable on the highway. In some case with the extra 10" of wheel base it performs better.

I have a welded rear differential, and I have a lot more traction than useable ground clearance. I plan to put in a selectable locker (OX or ARB) to get the street manners back since it's my daily drivers and is very hard on tires.

With the going price of used Cherokees compared to Wranglers there is HUGE bang for the buck potential if you don't mind cutting sheet metal... but bigger than 33" on a YJ and 35" on a TJ, you'll be doing trimming there too in many cases.

If you've got the money, I would just Pony Up for the new JK Wrangler Rubicon... it's the best off-road package ever put out by Jeep, IMO... 4" lift, tube fenders, and 37" tires, heavy duty 4:1 tansfer case, REAL Dana 44's (slightly larger ring gear than a standard D44) and it will run with anything out there that still resembles a stock-bodied Jeep.

If you can't afford that then the TJ (make sure to get one with the rear Dana 44 at least and not one with the crap-tacular Dana 35). The TJ Rubicon gets you front and rear "Dana 44's" (yes, "Dana 44's" in quote marks). Why they never used the high pinion Dana 30 in the YJ and TJ Wranglers is beyond comprehension.

I would personally avoid the YJ Wrangler... unless you're just planning on swapping out the front and rear axles or stick to 31" tires. Dana 35 rear end and low-pinion Dana 30 front with small u-joints and marginal transmissions.

It wasn't called the "Yuppie Jeep" for nothing.

 

[RandallX]

i have an 01 TJ. 3.75 inch lift, warn bumbers and body guards. BDS pro comp suspension. full bestop interior. dana axles..more to come.