Let's talk Jeeps

If I want a small vehicle with 2 solid axles that isn't a 1 ton truck or a g wagon that has been made this millinia Jeeps are the only option right?

Wrangler, Cherokee (01 or older), and 04 or older grand Cherokee.

I am familiar enough with TJ's and XJ's but not that familiar with the grands

What year 4.0 grand Cherokees were plagued with the head cracking issues like the 00-01 XJ's?

I think the head issue was 2000-2001 also, but all the 4.0 in the 99-04 GC had piston skirt issues.  Just get one with the 4.7 and better trans and be done with it.\

An a side note if anyone need a non cracked 1999 head I have a spare, in fact I have the whole motor minus one piston skirt.

Any 96+ 4.0 has piston skirt issues.  99+ WJ Grand Cherokees have the 0331 head issue, but it was mostly fixed somewhere in 03/04.  The 4.7 V8s in the WJ are fairly solid but not perfect.  And don't overheat one or you're likely to do some real damage.  None of the transmissions are bad if well cared for and kept cool enough.  

In reply to rslifkin :

Local dealer has a 5.9 zj I'm going to look at on Thursday.

MrChaos said:

In reply to rslifkin :

Local dealer has a 5.9 zj I'm going to look at on Thursday.

Those are definitely a good pick (and it's not like I'm biased because I own one).  Bigger trans than the 96+ 5.2 ZJs (similar to the 93-95 5.2) and all of the 5.2 / 5.9s are pretty bulletproof engine-wise other than the intake plenum gasket.  

In reply to rslifkin :

Its listed at $5995 which I assume is a little high. It has 123k miles

I bought a 5.2 ZJ last year and (after a lot of work from previous neglect) I'm really liking it. You can plow through my build thread here if you want to.  If I knew then what I know now, I'd have been looking for the 5.9L version and waited for one in a little better shape.  Nice niners can be had for $3000 if you're patient or lucky, and you can buy minty ones for less than $5k.

MrChaos said:

In reply to rslifkin :

Its listed at $5995 which I assume is a little high. It has 123k miles

That's definitely high, but not totally insane if it's in really good shape.  I'd see how much they're willing to come down on the price and go from there.  I've seen them go pretty darn cheap, but also really nice, sub-50k mile ones have gone for north of $10k in the last few years.  

My experience with the "piston skirt issue" in the late 4.0 (I think this also applies to 2.5) is a mildly concerning ticking eventually turns into the piston literally exploding (the #6 plug looked like a grenade went off in there), leaving nothing but the wristpin running up and down the bore. This happened at like 180k miles, their reputation for reliability rides on the older ones. I can't say I recommend them unless you're planning to rebuild it with pistons that don't suck. As much as people bitch about it being replaced by a "minivan motor" in the Wrangler the van motor makes more power and doesn't make a habit of breaking parts in normal use.

If you need solid axles because you are going to climb mountains, you might want to find something with a unibody that isn't primarily composed of rust and silly putty.

I owned one of those buckets.

The cheaper option right now is a 95 YJ Rio Grande. So the 2.5/ax5 combo but it is local.

I really enjoy driving 2.5/5spd Wranglers.. on STOCK TIRES.  To me, they're not underpowered at all unless you make the tires heavier. 

I have 235/85/16s on my 4cyl (2.6L) Montero. That's a ~31" tire in the skinniest width (and probably lightest weight) you can get that i know of. The Montero still drives great. If you're considering upping the tire size on a 4cyl YJ, i'd think about that size.

the 2.5 yj is out. 189k miles and no a/c.  The 5.9 is at the top of the list(also only one on the list)

So I ended up with something with IFS and 422k miles instead of a jeep.  Ended up picking up a super clean 99 land cruiser