Anybody own a Jeep Wrangler?

J

JamesH

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Jun 25, 2006
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I'm looking to get into a Jeep Wrangler, preferably a 1997-2006 TJ. Any pro's or con's about owning a Wrangler? I live in south Louisiana, so good A/C is a must. How is the clutch when you're stuck in traffic? Overall I'm just looking for something different. I'm driving a Honda Civic right now and as you can imagine it sucks circa. I've never been off-roading before, however I do a lot of camping /backpacking /hiking /canoeing /etc.

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I got an ATV and ohh boy i bet its better than a wrangler.
One minus point though, my girl wont sit with me on it...come to think of it, it aint no minus point, its fucking awesome.
 
Forget the people calling you a douche bag. I miss my jeeps - I had a number of them when I was younger and I even restored an old cj7.

If you don't have plans to off road or you commute alot they aren't the most comfortable vehicles.

My last one was a 95 -- and the ac and heat both had two modes for all intents and purposes. on and off.
 
Fuck you guys. :)

Yeah, I had a Jeep when I was sixteen and just had my license. I think it was a TJ and it was either 2002 or 2003. Forgive me, I'm not much of a car person.

The handling sucks, the power steering is a joke, the cloth exterior is the biggest douche in the world. Oh, and the gas mileage? Fuggitaboutit. Like eighteen if you do nothing. Jack it up and get bigger tires, you're closer to 13-15 MPG. For a tiny little truck/SUV. Say goodbye to your Civic's 40 MPG.

But they're sooooooo much fun!
 
I have a jeep wrangler. With soft top and soft windows. easiest shit to break into, just like opening a tent from the outside. Gets feking cold in winter and feking hot in summer. The material splits easy.

Wicked for off roading, and getting out of annoying traffic james, also never ceases to give brownie for the ladies.
 
If you're looking for something to wheel in, have you considered a 90's 4wd Toyota Pickup/Tacoma? They are great and last forever, not to mention will get better gas mileage than a Wrangler.
 
1997-2006 Jeep Wrangler: Overview - Consumer Guide Automotive

You can't beat the fun factor but I'd think twice as a go-to vehicle. The older four-cylinders can barely get out of their way and then running an A/C load on them on top of that doesn't help matters. 2003 and on had the stronger engines. I'd be wary of buying used in "south Louisiana" (read hurricanes). If you're looking for a good deal I would look in nearby places where there is a strong military population - like maybe Mobile, AL. This is a popular vehicle among younger military types and due to the high turnover of personnel on bases they are always available for quick sale.
 
Never owned one myself, best friend in high school/college had a cj7 ... awesome fun times.

I will be picking one up in the next 2 years though as that's what my daughter has declared her 1st car will be .... she'll get my sloppy seconds.
 
The Jeep Wave: An honor bestowed upon those drivers with the superior intelligence, taste, class, and discomfort tolerance to own the ultimate vehicle - the Jeep. Generally consists of vigorous side-to-side motion of one or both hands, but may be modified to suit circumstances and locally accepted etiquette. Examples of commonly accepted modifications:
  • Top off: One handed wave above windshield or outside body tub
  • Top off during blizzard: Shiver and nod, hands may remain frozen to steering wheel
  • Southern/rural locations: Raise fingers from steering wheel, nod
It's not what you buy, it's what you build and what you do with it.

In keeping with this cardinal rule of Jeeping, categories have been established to account for each part of the equation.
 
I've got a TJ that I've put about 40 or 50k in to over the years, it's more of a buggy/rock crawler than a Jeep. Only thing left original is the motor and the front half of the frame! Been through a hard (through the air) multiple end-over-end roll on the rocks and it is still chugging.

I'd look for a 2000 up TJ (get the 4.0 6cyl, it will last forever if you change the oil and is a MUCH stronger motor than the 4cyl). At 2000 they dumped the distributor in favor of coil ignition which is nice. The 2000+ 4.0s are also a bit quieter and produce a bit more power.

Check the inside of the frames for rust - there are holes you can fit a couple of fingers in. If it was up north, the frame could be fucked. Check under the doors and in front of the rear tires for scaling rust on the inside of the frame.

If you are going to take it off road in stock form, look for one with a Dana 44 rear axle. It's a lot more stout than the Dana 35. Probably won't matter with stock tires, but if you ever decide to go a bit bigger, the strength of the 44 rear end is much superior and you'll have a bigger ring and pinion (both of which can easily fail on a Dana 35 with bigger than stock tires).

You can tell it is a Dana 44 if the fill plug is metal. The D35 has a rubber fill plug.

Most of the off road guys like auto trannies, you end up with more effective gearing at low RPMs due to torque converter slip. If you think you'll get into the off road side of things, go auto. They are pretty cheap to rebuild. 97-02 had an all mechanical 3 speed auto which was pretty reliable. In 2003 they replaced it with a 4 speed (4th gear is an overdrive).

Look for one with lower gearing (higher numerical #). Chrysler can tell you the gearing from the VIN # if you give them a call. Look for one with 3.73 or 4.10 gears - the higher the # the more power you'll "feel" and the better it'll perform off road.

I always thought the AC was fine with the 6 cyl (I know 4 cyls have shittier AC). I turned my AC compressor into on board air (can run air tools off it or air up my tires) though. But it was fine in Florida summers.

My jeep is a trailer queen now, I really miss driving it around. I want to get a CJ5 and swap in an LS1 or something with just a mild lift as a street Jeep.
 
Jizzlobber said:
Really? I thought most would go for the SM465 swap with the low granny gear.
Click to expand...

465 is a great tranny... but its awful hard to work the clutch, accelerator and brakes at the same time. Pretty sure those are most popular with the mud crowd that don't really ever crawl over any obstacles.

For a stock jeep, the auto gives you the lowest effective gearing of the options available

most folks get better gearing by swapping the transfer case with an Atlas or a Stak case. Atlas makes a 4 speed case and Stak makes a 3 speed which gives you a ton of gearing flexibility for just about any condition. I am running a Stak 3 speed which gives me a choice of either a 5.44:1 or 3.05:1 low (I use the 5.44 on the rocks and 3.05 on more normal parts of the trail or when I need wheel speed to get up something).
 
by the way (to the OP) - the "Rubicon" models have a 4:1 transfer case instead of a 2.72:1 which is a shit ton better off road. It is a stronger case than the non-Rubicon case as well.

I think they started offering the Rubicon model in 2004.
 
TLott said:
465 is a great tranny... but its awful hard to work the clutch, accelerator and brakes at the same time. Pretty sure those are most popular with the mud crowd that don't really ever crawl over any obstacles.

For a stock jeep, the auto gives you the lowest effective gearing of the options available

most folks get better gearing by swapping the transfer case with an Atlas or a Stak case. Atlas makes a 4 speed case and Stak makes a 3 speed which gives you a ton of gearing flexibility for just about any condition. I am running a Stak 3 speed which gives me a choice of either a 5.44:1 or 3.05:1 low (I use the 5.44 on the rocks and 3.05 on more normal parts of the trail or when I need wheel speed to get up something).
Click to expand...

Good info. I've run mid 80's Chevy/GMC 4x4 trucks since high school and have accumulated a lot of parts over the years. Most of the parts stuff I've got rid of has been to Jeep builders more than Chevy guys overall - go figure. I may still do a Jeep build some day with my Chevy stuff just cause I've got it, but for now there are very few places in Maine that my old '86 Pathfinder has not been able to take me ;).
 
OH man ... talk about back pain. I hope your young or have a stock pile of pain meds. Seriously uncomfortable. Love Jeeps, I just wouldn't use it as a commuter vehicle.
 
I had a 95' and loved it. Could drive on the beach in 4hi without ever even thinking of getting stuck..The clutch is fine in traffic and chicks love it ..The only real downfalls are using it on the highway(its slow, tons of noise) and the soft top. It will shrink a bit after leaving it off for a while and be a pain in the ass to get back on. I miss my jeep but if I get another it will definately be a 2nd car, its no daily commuter...the 4 door ones out now are pretty dope..
 
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