looking to get my first jeep ???????

[Materdaddy]

:hijack:

Well Materdaddy **POOF** yer 35 is now a 44!

Good thing you noticed that plug! :dunno:

no really, the 35 has an oval cover, and the 44 has some corners on it, kinda, and when Paul told me this for the first time I didn't think it would be so easy to see, but it is. The good thing is that most that are selling their nice stock jeeps don't realize what an upgrade that 44 axle is, and don't jack up the price for it, so I dunno if you want to make a big deal about it when you go to buy, just look under it, smile and move on...

:2:

See, exactly... I should go around telling people ONLY to look for a screw-on fill plug in the cover. Then I may be able to sell my D35 as a D44 to somebody [strike]stupid[/strike] less knowledgeable when I upgrade to a (real) D44 myself. :devil:

[Kodiak Spirit]

:hijack:

Well Materdaddy **POOF** yer 35 is now a 44!

Good thing you noticed that plug! :dunno:

no really, the 35 has an oval cover, and the 44 has some corners on it, kinda, and when Paul told me this for the first time I didn't think it would be so easy to see, but it is. The good thing is that most that are selling their nice stock jeeps don't realize what an upgrade that 44 axle is, and don't jack up the price for it, so I dunno if you want to make a big deal about it when you go to buy, just look under it, smile and move on...

:2:

[squeek]

thanks everyone for the good info, any other good advice i'm listening.

[Roger]

Welcome Squeek,
I'm guessing you are in Ohio, Is that correct? Jeeps on the West coast generally don't suffer body rot from winter road salt. So if you buy an older jeep, check out the rust! I don't know Jeep prices in Ohio, but you might try www.Craigslist.com as a place to get an idea wht $5K will get you.

What is the off-roading like in Ohio? Do you have fairly easy trails or do you guys do rock crawling like here in the West?

[Materdaddy]

You need to know the different shapes of the covers. My D-35 had a threaded filler-plug.
You could start with cheap axles, but it's usually alot more expensive to up-grade them later.

My D35 cover has a threaded screw-in plug now too. It's a stock dana cover too, not like a rockcrusher or anything fancy.

[Old Fart]

I think he meant 91'-93'... and there is one for sale by Tool Pimp, a 91' 4.0 auto black, w/ hard and soft top.... check the vehicles for sale thread...

LOL, I meant to type 91-95 (breathing too much JET-A today). Last few years of the YJ, had a better rear cage (if you carry passengers), fuel injected.

[dadasjp]

Get a 1986 cj-7 with a dana 44 rear-end. Put an injection kit on the 6 cyl. Get a manual. You should be able to stay in your price range and it won't depreciate very much if you take care of it, these models are always selling in the same $6-$8k range if they're decent. Easy jeep/model to work on, tons of parts on the web (like quadratec.com). My first Jeep was an 80 cj-7 into which I transplated a 401 amc. Still the best jeep I've had. A jeep like this will let you find out if this is the hobby for you.

[Kodiak Spirit]

I think he meant 91'-93'... and there is one for sale by Tool Pimp, a 91' 4.0 auto black, w/ hard and soft top.... check the vehicles for sale thread...

[kcruisin]

how do i find out if it has a dana 44 in it?

You need to know the different shapes of the covers. My D-35 had a threaded filler-plug.
You could start with cheap axles, but it's usually alot more expensive to up-grade them later.

[squeek]

Another easy way - D35's have a rubber press in fill plug, D44's _should_ be screw in.

For $5K? Look at 93-93 YJ's with a manual transmission.

WHY A 93 , Any other years i shouldn't be discouraged from looking at?

[Old Fart]

Another easy way - D35's have a rubber press in fill plug, D44's _should_ be screw in.

For $5K? Look at 93-93 YJ's with a manual transmission.

[Materdaddy]

how do i find out if it has a dana 44 in it?

Look underneath for a D44. The pumpkin looks more octagonal rather than round like a D35. Or ask the person selling it.

[squeek]

how do i find out if it has a dana 44 in it?

[Old Fart]

Fuel injection started with the 1991 YJ

[kcruisin]

The 6 cyl is vital, I don't know anyone that's proud of a 4 cyl. Fuel injection is vital when offcamber, that starts at '97, though suspension isn't too important, I'd go to coils if I changed axles.
Note; A D-35 rear axle must be upgraded for off road use, a D-30 ft axle can use some help; For $5k I'd look for a YJ rubican or un-limited with D-44's.