What's it like living with a Jeep?

I've had a DD Jeep since 2000ish.

I've got some info to add but I'm on my phone so I will come back when I'm on a comp.

I would love an early Bronco. My dad had one when I was a kid. They have all but disappeared up here though. The XJ is more live able as a DD, the one I had at work wasn't bad but as a toy I'd prefer a an open Jeep.

Since "JEEP" is a brand name an they have several models, you can get them with all the amenities of Cars.

I had a 2002 Liberty KJ which was quite comfortable on trips. Good a towing my race car. Lousy gas mileage.

of course ha rules out all the ruggedness of CJ's and Wranglers.

flatlander937 wrote: Whatever you do, get one with a D44 rear axle. The rear will have a 3/8 square fill plug just like the D30 front, if the rear has a rubber fill plug its the crappy D35 which is known for spectacular failure when offroaded, plus known for eating spider gears with normal use.

First off, sweet Jeep.
I know everyone hates on the D35, but I've put who knows how many hundreds of thousands of miles on D35s with tires up to 33" and LOTS of wheeling with never a problem. I've had limited slips in a few of the D35s I've had, but I've only had lockers (detroits only) in my 44's. If you change the fluid and wheel like you have brains, the D35 will last a long time.

DrBoost wrote:

flatlander937 wrote: Whatever you do, get one with a D44 rear axle. The rear will have a 3/8 square fill plug just like the D30 front, if the rear has a rubber fill plug its the crappy D35 which is known for spectacular failure when offroaded, plus known for eating spider gears with normal use.

First off, sweet Jeep. I know everyone hates on the D35, but I'be put who knows how many hundreds of thousands of miles on D35 with tires up to 33" and LOTS of wheeling with never a problem. I've had limited slips in a few of the D35s I've had, but I've only had lockers (detroits only) in my 44's. If you change the fluid and wheel like you have brains, the D35 will last a long time.

I agree, but in the used market most people don't even know what they have(the people who just buy Jeeps to look cool in the summer time) so there's usually very little price difference in my experience all else the same.

I rebuilt axles on the side for a long time, I've seen a LOT of D35s that have had failed carrier bearings due to spider gears adding material for metallic goop diff fluid. Buying used, you have little idea what kind of maintenance has been done. If its like most, the fluid has never been changed.

To make the D35 last for decent offloading you'd spend a decent amount just to match D44 strength.

I also speak from experience, I didn't plan on doing ANY of that ridiculous crap to my Jeep... But when I did start wheeling it I was relieved to find I got a D44.

Bonus was I sold my D44 for $1000 to go toward the 60/70 build :)

D35 you're lucky to get $150 for last I checked.

And thanks! :) I had too much time and money into it, only to realize I enjoyed it more on 33s. Doing again I'd stick to 33s, put a Toyota 8in rear diff in(for crazy clearance), stick to Savvy armor(aluminum light weight), build my own flat belly skid, 1.25in body and MML, and maybe 1.5-2in lift, but cut the frame to recess the LCAs flat for clearance with a custom mid-short arm setup.

Also one more 02/03 split difference is the steering box. 03+ uses a Mercedes steering gear which you can't easily rebuild. It's a stout box, I tapped mine for hydro assist and if it was just leaking externally, you could probably source a seal or cut your own paper gaskets. It is super easy to disassemble compared to the 02-earlier Saginaw units.

https://youtu.be/9O-GMYDhU48

flatlander937 wrote:

That just needs to be on this page. And every page about Jeeps.

In reply to flatlander937:

Quite the impressive rig you have (had?) there! Lots of blood, sweat, and tears into that build, I'm sure. I don't foresee myself doing much modding (yea I know, Just Empty Every Pocket) for at least a few years. I would rather spend the mod budget on my Camaro and a stock TJ will be more than enough to keep me amused off road, for at least a little while anyways.

Regarding the steering box, are you saying the pre 03 is more desirable because it can be rebuilt, or the post 03 is better because it is more stout? What about gear boxes? The interwebs are telling me the 6 speed in the 05-06 is not as reliable as either the NV3550 or AX-15, but there seems to be conflicting opinion as to which of the 5 speeds is the better box.

Also, just as a kind of funny aside, on my ride down to the dealer in York on Saturday I sure felt like I was seeing an awful lot of Jeeps on the road and wasn't sure whether I should have taken that as a sign from God, or if it was something akin to confirmation bias, where I had Jeeps on my mind and was just noticing every single one. Well, as it turns out, I was indeed seeing an unusual number on the road as a result of this occurring just a few miles away:

http://www.quadratec.com/showcases/pajeeps/

Wish I would have known about this beforehand, oh well I guess...

How about a first generation 4Runner, that's not completely rotten? Might require travel.

Also, a K5 Blazer. I was this || close to being a Blazer driver before I got my Jeep.

I can speak for the early steering boxes, they all leak, all of them, the seal around the pitmarn arm shaft. You can rebuild them, replace seals, and decrease the leak, but 9 times out of 10, it'll be leaking again (maybe not as bad) in 6 months. New doesn't exist anymore, so you take a gamble on a reman or junkyard unit and hope it'll last a little longer. V8 Durango steering boxes are a common bolt in upgrade for a quicker ratio if you think your darty lifted Jeep isn't quite darty enough.

I've got a lovely spot on the driveway from Muffin's steering box leaking. No amount of Lucas or BlueDevil has been able to alleviate.

Have quart of power steering fluid on hand, will travel.

Sidebar question about Wranglers - In a stock, non-lifted Wrangler, how bad would it be towing a 17' sailboat that weighs maybe 1500lbs loaded and on the trailer? Would an Unlimited (older 2dr, not the 4dr) be enough better to warrant the price hit? I just can't shake the idea of a DD jeep....

bigdaddylee82 wrote: How about a first generation 4Runner, that's not completely rotten?

Wait, that's a thing? I thought rust came standard from the factory on those

There actually was a pretty clean one for sale semi-locally up until about a week ago that looked to have has some money put into it, but the seller was asking a quite a bit (IMHO) and had one of those ALL CAPS EVERYTHING DON'T ASK ME QUESTIONS OR OFFER ANYTHING BUT MY FULL ASKING PRICE NO PUNCTUATION ads on Craigslist. I refuse to deal with those kinds of shiny happy people if I can avoid it.

Also, I would totally rock a K5 Blazer, as my inner redneck has had a crush on them for quite some time. The problem with Blazers is that they only come in 2 flavors in my neck of the woods: totally rotten and dragged out of a field they should have been left in or lifted 9+ inches with 44" super swampers. Neither option appeals to me for this vehicle's intended purpose, but that's not to say I would turn my nose up at a clean one.

The other issue with both of those trucks is that they kind of hit an "un-sweet" spot in terms of price. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am looking to finance pretty much whatever I buy, unless we're talking sub $1000 or so, to avoid having much of a cash outlay at the moment. I won't get any further into my reasoning for this, but when I can finance at 1.5% through my credit union it makes sense for me on a number of levels. Said credit union is pretty wide open in terms of what they are willing to finance, even classic vehicles, with no age or mileage restrictions. The catch is book value has to be at least $3000, so anything worth between $1-3k is pretty much out.

So here's a question:

As I understand it, ALL TJs equipped with the Dana 44 rear got an LSD. So is it fair to assume the converse, that if a TJ is equipped with an LSD it MUST have the Dana 44? Or could the 35 be ordered with an LSD as well? Trac-Lok is the LSD right?

There's one Jeep located a couple hours away that has my interest and I just punched the VIN into a website that returns me the build sheet with all options. The build sheet shows the Trac-Lok differential, but makes no mention of the Dana 44 and actually lists the Dana 35 amongst the standard options.

Sorry to hijack but I've been searching for days

There's a post on here where someone - SF1? Maybe? Enumerates the various differences in XJs over the years. I remember reading it and thinking wow, that will be helpful if I'm ever shopping for an XJ - now I'm shopping for an XJ, and I can't find the damn post!

I had an old 94 XJ way back when. Custom front and rear bumpers with a front winch, custom made rock rails, 4" lift, 33's and a rear locker. It was awesome offroad, I could follow way bigger rigs and when it was really hot, stay in air conditioned comfort

We have an 07 4 door Wrangler Unlimited. Less power from the 3.8 than the 4L but the 4 doors, removable roof and doors make the thing awesome. If the minivan 3.8 ever goes it will be getting a definite V8 swap.

Out of the two, I would take the JK just because the unibody of the XJ was a huge problem to work around and corrosion is an issue. Honestly, I would buy a 2wd Unlimited and start from the ground up if I was going to get serious about making an offroader.

In reply to Furious_E:

Trac-lok was available in the D35 too. For a stock-ish Jeep, having a D35 isn't a deal breaker, sure the D44 is stronger, but if you're sticking with ~31" tires I wouldn't let the D35 keep me from buying the Jeep. Besides the OE Trac-lok is only a little better than an open diff. There's eleventymillion companies that sell kits for sticking a Expolder 8.8 under the rear of the TJ, it's stronger than the D44, and has more aftermarket support.

cmcgregor wrote: Sorry to hijack but I've been searching for days There's a post on here where someone - SF1? Maybe? Enumerates the various differences in XJs over the years. I remember reading it and thinking wow, that will be helpful if I'm ever shopping for an XJ - now I'm shopping for an XJ, and I can't find the damn post!

First 3 posts: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/swanks-xj-cherokees/92266/page6/

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

Exactly.

Thanks a bunch

In reply to Furious_E:

Thanks! Yeah if was fun while it lasted. I'm finding I like building more than actually doing anything. The problem is that's the expensive part.

https://youtu.be/sq46UdnLHdQ

That's basically it about the boxes. 02-earlier is technically more desirable but the 03+ is strong so I wouldn't let it be a deterrent, just plan on a $400 steering gear if it fails.

The NV3550 was used behind the 318 V8 Dakotas and I think Rams as well FWIW.

The AX15 is derived from the Supra IIRC.

The NSG370 is used behind Isuzu NPR diesel box trucks.

All 3 are good. I wouldn't let any be a determining factor to buy/not buy. Just make sure the shifter doesn't feel like you're stirring a bowl of sloppy shiny happy people and the clutch starts engaging a bit off the floor like it should.

My NV3550 took plenty of no lift shifting to second. On 40s. Without puking itself out. Yes it chirped 2nd gear. 5.86s had a lot to do with it.

So finally at a computer... I've DD'd a Jeep variant since 2001ish. In that time I have had CJ, TJ, KJ, JK, and another TJ. I've had everything from lifted monsters to stock. Since most of the folks here have covered everything, I'll only add a few things. My first suggestion would be to try and find the stockish Jeep you can. This means if you do decide to mod it, you can do it your way, and not deal with someone elses hack job.

If you are looking at a Jeep, and when you say Jeep people picture a Wrangler, so CJ, YJ, TJ, and JK. The JK will be the comfiest on the road. The TJs aren't bad, but if you are just using it as a road car then the JK is nicer and usually has more features. But with JKs and TJs they can both be had with A/C. I say this because if you have fulldoors and a hard top and don't want to take get caught in a summer rainstorm it is nice to have a/c. The ride of the TJ is rougher than the JK but not as bad as the springs on the YJs and CJs.

Gas mileage even on stock 31's sucks. 6cyl is about 15/16 a gallon. With the 4cyls doing about the same. Highway the 6cyl will cruise all day, while the 4 banger feels anemic and down on power at the first hint of an incline.

Jeeps for the most part are the Lego cars of the 4wd world. Parts are at every FLAPS, and anything aftermarket can be found on CL for cheap. And like others have said the aftermarket forums are great. Thankfully most of them separate out the "Will these tires fit without a lift?" questions out from the rest of the forum. But if there is anything you ever have a question on, or something breaks and you need to know to fix it, I can assure someone somewhere else has done it and it has been addressed.

To me the Jeep charm never wore off. When I didn't have a Jeep I always wanted another one. My kids love the Jeep and love to go for rides with the top on or off. My only complaint for long trips is lack of space, but I have a 1942 Willys trailer I use to haul camping gear and bikes when we do the long ones.

Jeeps are like any other car group though, you will have your extreme "Jeep or die" guys all the way to the "I bought it cause it was cute."

Here is mine but it now sits on stock wheels. Same tires though

I wanted a Wrangler-class Jeep for about twenty years. Recently I noticed that feeling has passed, and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, I'll mention the ZJ's again. Very very decent DDs, easy to work on, and lots of supply available at good prices. Most of them were in the hands of suburbanites who couldn't cop to a minivan, but treated their ZJs like one, so they are in good shape.

Competent for mild/moderate off-roading. The main complaint is that the brake calipers are ish, so you need to get some "green" pads.

Heads up on the ZJ/WJ Grands: they have TINY wheel wells. Takes something like a 4" lift to fit 31s unless you do some cutting.

The c-clips like to let go in the D35s which then lets the axle walk out of the housing. One more reason to make sure you've got a D44 back there.

Also, some of the early 90s Cherokees could be had with a 8.75" rear if you got the tow package.

Rusty's Offroad is a good place for parts too. They have a really cool orange XJ as one of their shop vehicles.

Less power from the 3.8 than the 4L

You mean the same power and 1000 more lbs. Got it.

Everyone is in denial about how much of a fatass a JK unlimited is. I mean, if you value what the weight gets you, that's fine!

Personally, i actually enjoy the 'im driving a tractor on the road semi-fast!' novelty of wranglers and so i actually prefer the primitiveness of the yj to the tj. I guess if i wanted a 2dr wrangler that was reasonably comfortable/quiet-enough on the highway (hard top, hard doors) and didnt plan to put big tires on it i would save myself about 5k (vs a TJ) and buy an old 2dr Montero, which i did. But i still want a YJ Wrangler. Now that i have a Montero any Wrangler that coexists with it will just NEVER wear its doors or top and the Montero will never be bigger than the 32s that are on it. You know, so they don't overlap too much. But my locker budget will be WRECKED!

Well the super clean 5 speed XJ I was looking for when I first started seriously considering Wranglers finally popped up on Craigslist.

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/5135504416.html

While the whole no-top-no-doors aspect and the rugged simplicity of the YJ/TJ really appeals to me, this one may be hard to pass up. Haven't driven one of these yet though, so we'll see if it presses the right buttons.

If that thing is clean i would try really hard for $3500 and jump on it.

I think the major (and EXTREMELY similar) late 90s interior updates of the XJ and TJ lend themselves a little better to the 'actually enclosed' nature of the XJ, whereas i dont appreciate the changes quite as much in the TJ (and the thick interior panels seem to 'shrink' the interior of the TJ more noticeably).

I honestly think a later XJ is a fantastic vehicle in a lot of ways. Slightly less crude in appearance and way less crude in experience vs an earlier one. The interior updates helped them a lot. I've owned 4 early ones and no later ones although i've worked on and driven plenty of them.

You can still take the doors off! There's a somewhat easy-ish mod for it.

Well the XJ is a no go. No rust, pretty clean, drove well, but the heat blew cold and as, I understand it, a heater core replacement requires removal of the dash and steering wheel. Also, the seller claimed it had never been off-road and I'm not sure I believe him, as there were areas of undercoating that appeared to have been scraped off and some remnants of dried mud underneath. Makes you wonder what else he isn't telling you.

Anyways, the search continues...

In reply to Furious_E:

I'm quite confident that our XJ had never been off roaded before we got it, but it too has patches of undercoating missing. I think that's just in their nature. I pressure washed the underside and engine bay after replacing the valve cover gasket that had been leaking for years, and if I wasn't careful the undercoating would come off in sheets. It's just a Craftsman, homeowner style, gas powered pressure washer, not some industrial super high pressure washer.

I spent over 6 months searching for the right XJ, kissed a lot of frogs to find that prince, so to speak. When it was all said and done, it was still about 1/3 frog once I got it home and discovered some issues I had originally overlooked and/or were lurking behind body body molding.