ATTENTION, Jeep-freaks! (3 Viewers)

[gopherblue]

@AfterTheFact

 

[tabletalker7]

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-reliable-is-the-jeep-wrangler/ it appears that after the Fiat purchase of Chrysler things went south for Jeep. A Google search will show you the current JL model Wrangler is the subject of multiple class action lawsuits. My advice would be to buy a used JK (2007-2018) or a 2005 or 2006 TJ. When Daimler owned Chrysler they cared, and even before that purchase of Chrysler happened there was a lot of "sharing" between the two companies. My 2006 TJ has the AMG 4 liter straight 6 and the Mercedes-Benz 6 speed stick, and it is great and I love it. I also work with a few guys who traded their TJs in for the new JL, and they regret it.

 

[Meddler2]

So newer JL are model years 2018-present.
You might consider looking at buying from Enterprise. You can get newer models with some miles but save a bundle.

 

[GenghisKhan]

My username on most other sites starts with JEEP.

I sold my 2005 TJ Rubicon a few years back and regret it. It had a long list of top brand upgrades. Local guy that bought it still has it and it still looks super nice. I should buy it back lol.

I'd be looking for a 2005/2006 Rubicon. Those are the last 2 years for the rock solid TJ. Stay away from the JK 2007 to 2018. (Well, long time Jeepers are biased against the JK. If you do find a JK, 2012+ was better than 07 to '11.)

Sometimes you can find a good deal on a used Wrangler that already has a 4" lift, 35s, winch, and other upgrades.

Main thing: get someone who knows Jeeps to go inspect a few with you. When I found my used 05 Rubicon it was 8 years old and underneath was like new due to quality undercoating. Other Jeeps of the same year were starting to rust on the frame. One or two of the same year had a crazy amount of rust.

(Canada uses a lot of salt on the winter roads. Plus living by the ocean doesnt help. Our vehicles rust a lot and pretty quick. This may be less of an issue in parts of the US).

Good luck on the search. Jumping in a Jeep and taking off with no top is so fun. For either a drive in the woods, fishing trip, or relaxing Sunday drive to get ice cream or even go hunting for antiques. (Ok I guess I'm getting old lol).

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

My username on most other sites starts with JEEP.

I sold my 2005 TJ Rubicon a few years back and regret it. It had a long list of top brand upgrades. Local guy that bought it still has it and it still looks super nice. I should buy it back lol.

I'd be looking for a 2005/2006 Rubicon. Those are the last 2 years for the rock solid TJ. Stay away from the JK 2007 to 2018. (Well, long time Jeepers are biased against the JK. If you do find a JK, 2012+ was better than 07 to '11.)

Sometimes you can find a good deal on a used Wrangler that already has a 4" lift, 35s, winch, and other upgrades.

Main thing: get someone who knows Jeeps to go inspect a few with you. When I found my used 05 Rubicon it was 8 years old and underneath was like new due to quality undercoating. Other Jeeps of the same year were starting to rust on the frame. One or two of the same year had a crazy amount of rust.

(Canada uses a lot of salt on the winter roads. Plus living by the ocean doesnt help. Our vehicles rust a lot and pretty quick. This may be less of an issue in parts of the US).

Good luck on the search. Jumping in a Jeep and taking off with no top is so fun. For either a drive in the woods, fishing trip, or relaxing Sunday drive to get ice cream or even go hunting for antiques. (Ok I guess I'm getting old lol).

I’m sure you probably showed me yours in the past when I first joined but... pics? We need pics!

 

[GenghisKhan]

I just scrolled through all pics in my cloud and they're not there .
I hope they're on my external hard drives.
But I did find this random pic.
Go get it Mel!

 

[GenghisKhan]

'Murica!

 

[Saoliver]

I just scrolled through all pics in my cloud and they're not there .
I hope they're on my external hard drives.
But I did find this random pic.
Go get it Mel!

View attachment 468471

Seattle Road Warrior @liftapint !

 

[liftapint]

This just means I am going to have to sell a TON of my chips

now I MUST have a Jeep!!!

 

[Saoliver]

This just means I am going to have to sell a TON of my chips

now I MUST have a Jeep!!!

Dibs!

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

I vote for a TJ with the 4.0L too. Can't go wrong there! My Cherokee is my first Jeep, and I just hit 7 years with it. It's awesome, but I've got the itch to replace it with an LJ one of these days so I can take the top off.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

My wife and I drove the Alpine Loop in southwest Colorado a few years ago and it was so cool.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

My wife and I drove the Alpine Loop in southwest Colorado a few years ago and it was so cool.

View attachment 468478

Full traction 4 link. Excellent choice

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

Full traction 4 link. Excellent choice

I like it but those arms are really heavy! The bushings at the frame are blasted out and need replaced. I emailed Full Traction to see what size I need and if they can sell me a new set. It depends because they've changed it over the years. So I have to take it apart, measure them, put it back together, order them, and do it again.

When I swapped the front axle, one of the bolts through the massive heim joint on one of the lower arms had completely seized inside it. I cut it out and took it to a machine shop to see if they could press the bolt out of the joint, no luck. Tried High Country Performance and 4WP and neither had a heim that big to replace it with. Finally found one at CrawlerTech. The Full Traction kit is seriously overbuilt.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

The shovel on my roof rack has only been off twice - both times to help a JK that was stuck in the snow and didn't have a shovel.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

The shovel on my roof rack has only been off twice - both times to help a JK that was stuck in the snow and didn't have a shovel.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

We were in Ouray the day before I took that picture on Engineer Pass. While walking around I picked up the local paper for tourists and looked at the calendar part. It said the next day was the start of Sheep Days on Engineer Pass, and shepherds would be bringing their flocks together up there for this annual event. The next day we get to the pass and I'm taking that picture and looking at the scenery and... what's that sound?? Look down in the valley and there are hundreds of sheep down there baaing. It was a trip. We had to drive slowly through the herd because they were all over the road and had no interest in moving. Never know what you're going to see out there on the trails.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

We were in Ouray the day before I took that picture on Engineer Pass. While walking around I picked up the local paper for tourists and looked at the calendar part. It said the next day was the start of Sheep Days on Engineer Pass, and shepherds would be bringing their flocks together up there for this annual event. The next day we get to the pass and I'm taking that picture and looking at the scenery and... what's that sound?? Look down in the valley and there are hundreds of sheep down there baaing. It was a trip. We had to drive slowly through the herd because they were all over the road and had no interest in moving. Never know what you're going to see out there on the trails.

Have you hit black bear pass yet?

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

Have you hit black bear pass yet?

Not yet, but it's on my list. I had to go to Telluride for work 3 times last fall and it was just sitting there calling to me, lol.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

Have you hit black bear pass yet?

Have you run it? It looks like a pretty good pucker factor. Have you seen the video on youtube of the old guy driving it while his wife freaks out? That'd be my wife if I made her do that one.

Found the video for those who haven't seen it:

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Have you run it? It looks like a pretty good pucker factor. Have you seen the video on youtube of the old guy driving it while his wife freaks out? That'd be my wife if I made her do that one.

I actually haven’t. I was supposed to hit it with the JCR guys a while back. (If you’ve seen their black bear video they are wearing my gear haha). Buddy got married that week and I was in it so it never worked out. Been meaning to for a while now. I think it was closed a lot last year too.

That video is funny as hell. I think there’s really only one section that you need to be super cautious on. Doesn’t get more gorgeous than that view.

Edit: my wife can’t handle the trails either

 

[Saoliver]

Have you run it? It looks like a pretty good pucker factor. Have you seen the video on youtube of the old guy driving it while his wife freaks out? That'd be my wife if I made her do that one.

Found the video for those who haven't seen it:

The soundtrack really makes the video.

 

[GenghisKhan]

Found my Jeep pics. (Along with tons of pics of now gone chippies.)

Black 98 TJ was my 1st Jeep. It already had all those stickers I just left em.

"Impact Orange" 05 Rubicon was my 2nd Wrangler. Used to hate orange but fell in love with the color after finding this one.
That one was built with quality parts where you need it. Not just tires and stickers lol.

Reason for buying used:
Previous owner installed $10K+ in upgrades, and sold me the Jeep for about $2K more than stock ones cause he needed money asap.

I only sold it cause a local business owner made me weekly increasing offers until I gave in. I made a profit after using it for 4-5 years!

It had:
-Rough Country 4" lift w/adjustable front & rear track bars
-Rough Country Performance 2.2 series shock absorbers
-Rough Country Performance 2.2 series steering stabilizer
-RockHard4X4 rear bumper & tire carrier w/frame tie-ins
-Toyo Open Country 35" tires (Everyone up here loved these!!!!)
-American Racing AR172 Baja wheels
-Titan 12,000 lb winch with wireless, dashmount, and corded controls
-Spooled 3/8 synthetic line
-On Board Air (Arb High Output Compressor (this was great to have)
-Savvy Off Road Gas Tank Skid Plate
-JKS 1" motor mounts
-JKS 1.25" body lift
-Kilby steering box skid plate
-Jeep Medic Fabrication Engine skid plate
-Omix-Ada Heavy Duty Differential skid plate
-Old Man Emu (ARB) Rear track bar relocation bracket
-Flex-A-Lite Black Magic Extreme 485 electric fan w/variable speed control kit
-B&M Supercooler for automatic transmission
-AutoMeter Transmission temperature gauge
-Transfer case shifter bracket
-JKS Quicker Disconnects

The one thing I would never go without on a Jeep again is onboard air! That thing came in handy every single Jeep run. Summer, winter, for myself, to help others...

 

[12thMan]

I have always LOVED those 80s/90s square cherokees. I think they look so damn good lifted, one of those has always been on my wish lists for a fun woods rig.

I’ve never been a huge Jeep fan (other than my grandpas restored 49’ Willy) but I do respect the hell out of the wranglers for how capable they are.

We bought a new Fourrunner for my wifes daily at the beginning of this year and I just finished up putting a lift on it in my garage. She is now fully rated to get over the curbs at the alderwood mall, it looks SICK (a white TRD on a mild lift with 34s, I don’t care if there are 6 billion of them on the road I still love it), and it has reawakened my modding bug for off-road. I have an s10 with 33s that we take out shooting/light 4 wheeling but now I’m thinking I need to stop making things faster and go back to making things bigger and then get them dirty.

This thread may be the tipping point, I’ve been on craigslist for the past ten minutes thinking about this thread and “just looking” for a Cherokee.

 

[AfterTheFact]

2017 JK Willys just tripped 14,000 miles ( yeah I hardly drive it) I’ve taken it to Carolina beach, wher you can still drive on the beach, a few times for their “Go Topless” event. Also been to some family land in Bat Cave, NC where you need 4x4 to get in and out. It’s great fun I just don’t get to use it much. I shined it up this morning and took the top off. We have a four month old golden puppy so I’m not sure I want to take her out with the doors off....yet.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Found my Jeep pics. (Along with tons of pics of now gone chippies.)

Black 98 TJ was my 1st Jeep. It already had all those stickers I just left em.

"Impact Orange" 05 Rubicon was my 2nd Wrangler. Used to hate orange but fell in love with the color after finding this one.
That one was built with quality parts where you need it. Not just tires and stickers lol.

Reason for buying used:
Previous owner installed $10K+ in upgrades, and sold me the Jeep for about $2K more than stock ones cause he needed money asap.

I only sold it cause a local business owner made me weekly increasing offers until I gave in. I made a profit after using it for 4-5 years!

It had:
-Rough Country 4" lift w/adjustable front & rear track bars
-Rough Country Performance 2.2 series shock absorbers
-Rough Country Performance 2.2 series steering stabilizer
-RockHard4X4 rear bumper & tire carrier w/frame tie-ins
-Toyo Open Country 35" tires (Everyone up here loved these!!!!)
-American Racing AR172 Baja wheels
-Titan 12,000 lb winch with wireless, dashmount, and corded controls
-Spooled 3/8 synthetic line
-On Board Air (Arb High Output Compressor (this was great to have)
-Savvy Off Road Gas Tank Skid Plate
-JKS 1" motor mounts
-JKS 1.25" body lift
-Kilby steering box skid plate
-Jeep Medic Fabrication Engine skid plate
-Omix-Ada Heavy Duty Differential skid plate
-Old Man Emu (ARB) Rear track bar relocation bracket
-Flex-A-Lite Black Magic Extreme 485 electric fan w/variable speed control kit
-B&M Supercooler for automatic transmission
-AutoMeter Transmission temperature gauge
-Transfer case shifter bracket
-JKS Quicker Disconnects

The one thing I would never go without on a Jeep again is onboard air! That thing came in handy every single Jeep run. Summer, winter, for myself, to help others...

+1 for OBA. Love that orange Rubi Rene. I miss it for you.

I have always LOVED those 80s/90s square cherokees. I think they look so damn good lifted, one of those has always been on my wish lists for a fun woods rig.

I’ve never been a huge Jeep fan (other than my grandpas restored 49’ Willy) but I do respect the hell out of the wranglers for how capable they are.

We bought a new Fourrunner for my wifes daily at the beginning of this year and I just finished up putting a lift on it in my garage. She is now fully rated to get over the curbs at the alderwood mall, it looks SICK (a white TRD on a mild lift with 34s, I don’t care if there are 6 billion of them on the road I still love it), and it has reawakened my modding bug for off-road. I have an s10 with 33s that we take out shooting/light 4 wheeling but now I’m thinking I need to stop making things faster and go back to making things bigger and then get them dirty.

This thread may be the tipping point, I’ve been on craigslist for the past ten minutes thinking about this thread and “just looking” for a Cherokee.

When it comes to the box style cherokees that’s usually how it goes. For some reason you absolutely love them or you hate them. They seriously have a cult following. I’m choosing my Cherokee over a wrangler all day everyday. But I still love wranglers too.

You can probably pick one up for cheap. My buddy bought this was not long ago for $750. 4.0 and transmission both run like a tank of course. Just needed some general maintenance. Already called dibs on it when he sells

 

[12thMan]

^^^^^ wow that thing is clean!!!

Damn you people ( what do ya mean “you people?!?).... I now need to learn more about jeeps. Lol

I’ve got to run down south next week, I mean maybe I can just stop by this dudes place and start looking at things. You know, just to get an idea of what’s out there. (Get samples?)

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/graham-1992-jeep-xj/7122663345.html

 

[Klobberer]

Diff lockers! Real hard to get stuck if you have locking differentials...

 

[Quicksilver-75]

If you buy a YJ, there’s an excellent chance I helped build it. I used to weld those things back in the 90’s right here in Kitchener, Ontario. It’d be hard to find a better constructed frame on any other vehicle.

 

[Darson]

Some advice on Wranglers based on my experience:
- Don't buy a boring colour.
- Prepare yourself if you're used to driving a Lexus, these are relatively basic in comparison but the smiles per mile can't compare.
- Seriously think if you're going to be going offroad a lot as a hobby or just the rare occasion. If you're not going offroad, then a large lift and huge wheels may not be the best choice despite how cool it may look.
- Test drive the 2 and 4 door. I was all set on getting a 2-door but it was far too bouncy for me and I'm very happy with the 4.
- Put a hoist in your garage - best decision I made, makes taking the roof off a breeze.
- Get rock rails or steps - my 78 year old mother complained constantly about getting in and out until I fitted them.

My baby (and babies):