What should I buy?

[clutch]

Ok, so when the time/money comes I'd like to purchase a YJ. But I dont know what to look for that will help/hurt me in the end. What years were good for the YJ? Do miles really matter? I know I'd like to buy a west coast Jeep because of the nonrust issue. Oh yeah Im 15 now and this is my first post in the forum so hi. Thanks for any advice.

[D4x4Fish]

oh to be 15 again!

Its all about what you like. When I was 15 I was running 427BB chevy in halfton shortbed. Lots of broken parts and empty wallet.

What ever you get make sure its fuel injected. 4cyl or 6cyl. The 4cyl do just fine with an easy foot. But if you want torqe nothing beats the 6cly (stock that is) The 4cly are cheaper than the 6cly. Same thing goes for the Manual tranmission being cheaper than the Automatics.

You want to make a list of what you want and put them in order of what comes first.

4cly or 6cly (Fuel injection)

auto or manual Transmission (Personally I like Manual but Iam thinking about putting a Autotrans in)

Soft top or Hard top (Try and find a hard top, warmer in the winter and they last longer than a soft top)

Full hard doors or 1/2 doors (hard doors are not cheap)

Leaf springs or Coil (4cly TJ with coils almost the same price as a newer 6cly YJ)

Anything from here is up to what you want. I looked for 18 months and bought the 1st CJ I that I looked at in the beginning. (price dropped way down)

There are alot of good deals and bad deals out there.

Welcome to MJR by the way!

[TROOPER]

Petersons 4x4 magazine has a great article on what are the best years of jeeps to own and the not so good years to own (is there such a thing?) they list the pros and cons of each year and list things like engine size axles and gearing all kinds of great info. Im sure if you do a search on their web site you can find the information you are looking for. Just remember to look around there are alot of great jeeps out there and when you are looking take someone who is unbiased to help you pick what you want. I have found that has saved me in the past from making rash or rushed purchases of what i thought was the perfect jeep. just my 2 cents.

[paulhead]

90 or newer YJ with the fuel injection, 6 cyl. Don't get the earlier years carbed or/and BA-10 tranny , you'll surely spend $$ changing out those two items.

[clutch]

Thanks for the help, I cannot wait to buy one.

[DesertYJ]

A little more info:

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/swb/articles/specgrid.htm

[Jerry Bransford]

I'd definitely go with a '91 or newer. It has the stronger Aisin AX-15 tranny and 1991 (or maybe late 1990) is when the more reliable fuel injected 4.0L engine first appeared in the YJ.

[aston]

Good question.

I agree 100% on the 91 YJ or later with 6 cyl and fuel injection. That's not just because I have one

Think about what you want to do with it. If you want to do some serious off-road stuff think about buying one already modified. Many of us have spent a small fortune on our Jeeps that we will never recoup when we come to sell. The buyer wins. However, the down side is that the Jeep may have hard to find damage: cracked frame and such.

Get some Jeep gearhead :yay: to come with you when you think you have found a good one.

[clutch]

Ok, now Im thinking more of going to the XJ, because my brother informed me that the XJs are better for the dunes and mud bogging and stuff, and thats what I'd think Ill be doing more. Another point he said is that I'd be able to fit bicycles in the back of or on top easier than with a YJ. I dont know though, I like both of them.

[jmbrowning]

XJ's are much cheaper to buy used compared to YJ's. Just take a peek in http://autotrader.com . I don't have any numbers to back this up, but I suspect that they have led a very easy life shuttling kids and groceries back and forth. The extra wheelbase and storage are nice too in certain circumstances; you can take your buddies wheeling and still be able to bring the cooler and the recovery gear and the bicycles.

If you can, find the 1986-87 Dana 44 rear axle. Supposedly, all USFS XJ's were spec'd with the Dana 44 axle. Alternatively, the Chrysler 8.25 rearend is felt to be a bit stronger than the Dana 35C. The Ford 8.8 can be used with some modifications. This axle angst may not be all that necessary if you aren't going to be running large tires, lockers, or heavy on the skinny pedal

My wife just loves her XJ...and I like it plenty fine too. I think it'd make a great choice for a HS student build-up.

[sarah]

hey clutch, welcome aboard, i'd like to say consider the "convertible" factor when looking at YJ's vs. XJ's. the doors also come off the YJ much easier than the XJ too. makes for a perfect spring/summer/fall cali day! :2: for bicycles and skis, you can find a rack for the spare tire, i think my thule one was around $120.

[ersatz]

also what is cheaper to lift and what bout unibody damage? these two things make me lean more towards a YJ, but damn i will be honest i love XJ's! also i personally think the aftermarket for a YJ is huge although they were only around for like nine years, and i beleive parts are cheaper, i may be wrong but im just saying from what i notice

[corey]

A YJ is going to be a little cheaper to lift, only because it's all leaf springs. Your not dealing with Coils in the front and control arms as in the XJ and even a TJ. The XJ is a Unibody, so there's no frame. Lots of twist, and you can't put in a body lift if you wanted. Everyone else pretty much covered the finer points of the YJ's drive lines. You can also do a spring over axle conversion on a YJ, and get a lot of lift for a little money, and get the bennefit of not haveing a bunch of rock candy hanging below the axle.

I'd say make a list of Pros and Cons for the YJ and XJ and go with what has the most pros...

Anyway, thats my .02

[clutch]

thanks for all the helping and tips. I think I will make a pro/con list to see what would be better. I think that either choice would be a good one, because with either Im going to lift it and put bigger tires and Ill go from there. Is either one better for doing certain types of offroading? Im guessing the XJ would be better for trails and dunes because of the longer wheelbase, and also would handle better. But the YJ would be good at those as well. Having no doors and no roof would also be a plus is california, wouldnt have to have the AC blasting all the time. I saw soem pretty cheap (3,500) XJs on some sites so that would be a plus instead of paying more for a YJ. I think either would be good.

edit-manuel or auto?

[clutch]

ok, Im back to the YJ. Seeing as I can get 6 inches of total lift for about 700-900 dollers..And its not like it wouldnt be good in the sand and mud.