Anybody daily drive a Jeep?
 

At some point when my beater car dies I've considered picking up a Jeep Wrangler as a driver and also so I have something to go off road with. Obviously I wouldn't mod it out too far (a friend recommended just doing 2" bushings and larger tires) so it would be mostly stockish. Having said that, does anyone have any opinions on how reliable they are, whether I should look at a 4cyl or 6cyl, if some years are better than others, etc?

I'd probably be looking in the 10k or under range when the time comes, so we're definitely talking used. Thanks for any input!

I daily drove mine for nearly 12-13 years. I'm a Jeep kind of guy and loved it. You need to test drive one and see how you like it, they're nothing like any other car or truck; they have a unique feel to them.

Some random pro/cons.

Mileage ain't too hot in any model I'm aware of. (They're very heavy, geared low, and not exactly aerodynamic.)

They're pretty loud on the freeway, especially with a soft top.

Soft tops are okay in CA. If you get a one with a hard top, I rather strongly recommend one with a factory hard top, not an aftermarket hard top (like I have). They're just not (or at least weren't) OE quality for cealing at all.

4 cylinder is OK, if you keep tire size quite close to stock (small) and don't plan on towing anything. My tires are 31.5x15 (modest by off road standards) and I either need to regear or have more power to use 5th (OD) in most typical freeway situations.

I don't know what the price differential between a 4 and 6 is on the used market, it may be a fair bit, but you may want to lean towards the 6. But this doesn't really matter for recreational off roading because the gearing goes down so far that even the lil 4 banger can do just fine (as you recall).

Automatics are definitely more convenient for off roading. I enjoy the challenge, but in tight spots, your feet may be doing quite a lot of dancing in a stick.

If they've been mechanically maintained, they are tough as all hell. Mine jumped off cliffs, was submerged under water and ran through a tree. . . still ran. They are simple as can be, basically a chunk of steel. Mine is a 91' which still had the ancient AMC designed 2.5L 4 Cyl.

Mine has leaf springs front and back. They are basically unbreakable, but obviously ride a bit hard and aren't setup for as much travel as some of the later coil spring models.

If you're going to do much off roading, obviously LSD is going to be helpful (if not an outright aftermarket locker). But it isn't the end of the world. Mine's an open diff I've done lots of fairly gnarly off roading.

I've personally never met a person who got a Jeep and then hated it. I think most people have an idea of what they are, get one and find out that is indeed what they are.

Ugh, I've been keeping my eyes on the market, but I can't decide what I want to do?

For a good 6cyl 97+ Jeep I'm looking at between 6k-10k depending on miles. My daily commute is 19miles round trip, but I'm thinking the Jeep may not be a great daily. I think it will go through tires quickly and get crappy mileage. I really want one, but I'm honestly not sure it's the best option and I feel like I should make a more responsible choice maybe :(

I'm not doing anything until next year at the earliest, but it will be tough come decision time.

wow pics of your Jeep Ben

Don't worry about tires. As long as you get ATs then you should get at least 50K out of them. If you do not go too mig the price is not bad.

You know, I need some pics. But here you can see my Jeep, Ron's Explorer (94cobra69ss396), Ron's brother Phil's (Throttle Crazy) Land Cruiser, and couple other built jeeps doing various off road activities. Enjoy.

http://motorgen.com/vid/showgallery.php/cat/523

I doesn't really go through tires any faster than anything else unless you get soft agressive tires. ATs like I have, which are plenty suffecient for basic offraoding last years. Your trip is reasonaby short, not like you're puttin on tons of miles.

<Unsolicited Advice>
I'd drive the beater until it just quits period. I'd even string it along for cheap if I could. With a kid on the way I'd be stashing cash crazy time, you just don't know what's coming down the river. You've got the Cobra for fun, and things like Jeeps, etc. will always be around. In just a couple years Jack will be old enough to go wheel'n and then might be a good time. :huh:
<end>

The 4cyl Mopar motors have freeze plug issues. The I6 is stout.

Wait until the baby is about 18 month old before you start wheelin. By then he'll be strong enough to handle the bouncing around. If you want a good all around offroader look at the Cherokee. They have a coil four link front suspension so they ride really nice on and off road. Plus there are tons of aftermarket suspension kits available at reasonable prices as well as upgraded drivetrain parts. They also have plenty of room without being too big. This is what I like so much about the Explorer. And as long as you don't go bigger than 33's the Dana 30 should hold up fine with stock axles. This is the same axle I used in the front of the Explorer. Mine came out of an '88 and I installed 4.56 gears, an ARB air locker and I'm still running the stock axles on 33's.

Like Adam said get the 4.0 and not the 4 banger.

Get the V6 & Auto.

When I used to have my Ranger i saw sooo many times where the guys who said how great stick is while offroading, get stuck due to that transmission.

Oh yeah, and slap on a set of 33x12.5 BFG T/A KOs on it and you'll be set for tires.

I totally agree. I will drive the beater until it dies, I just think probably another year is the most I could hope for :surrender:

The 4.0 in the Jeep is an Inline 6.

It certainly was in my era (91), but wasn't there a V6 later on, a Daimler motor? Maybe it was a diesel???

It was an I6 until 2001. I'm not sure about after that.

V6, I6 whateverrrr

haha

Actually it makes a huge difference in a 4x4. I6 engines tend to make a lot more bottom end torque and are very smooth. Just ask Throttle Crazy about his old I6 in the Land Cruiser. He would lug it down to 400rpms on the rocks and it would just keep going. No bucking or stalling out.

Mercedes, BMW, what's the difference? They're both German. :smack:

I have heard the same. I would definitely go with the I6. As for the beater, if it lasts another year I'll definitely have problems come smog time. I can't imagine it would pass, it's definitely less emissions friendly than the Cobra :leaving:

Are those expensive problems or just a tune up? Even a new cat (one on that car riht?) might not be very expensive. :huh:

You just need to find a more "lenient" shop... I know i'm going to have to eventually


I'm cool with Mercedes/BMW.. so long as its AMG/M... I would take any of them!

I'm with C55, I've driven stick trucks and autos in the sand. Def go auto if you plan to offroad. And BFGs are good offroad tires, you can prob score a set with wheels on craigslist very cheap. You can prob score some Maxxis tires real cheap, and they'll last a long time, but they don't grab worth a crap.

I'm driving around the 4L I6 this week, very good motor. The one I'm driving has 144K miles on it, no issues so far. Very good torque for a 6 cyl.

Are you driving a Jeep?

Yes, but not what you're thinking. Driving my friend's Cherokee this week, it has the same motor. Awful gas mileage though, burned through about $20 in 2 1/2 days just around town. Reminds me of daily driving the Vette.

Did you check on that Jeep parked on YL?

Nah, I don't live over there anymore and I haven't been that direction lately.

Stick vs auto is all about preference. I've driven both on various terrains and can say I like a stick for some and an auto for others. An auto is easier to drive in sand, mud, and on loose dirt hill climbs but a stick is better on rocks (because of the lower first gear) and when decending hills. If you ask Throttle Crazy he would probably say he prefers to drive stick (he also has an auto in his Jimmy) but overall I prefer an auto as well.

I hate burning clutches, makes me cringe. Even launching my Vette, as much as I love sticks in sports cars, with enough hp I'd want an auto.

Never been rock crawling... seriously. Just for a bit in a Toyota 4x4. It was fun. Kind of scary when one tire is 3 or 4 feet off the ground. I'd want a serious cage and maybe some arm straps even.

Most people who drive a stick with stock gearing ride the clutch when rock crawling. I don't happen to be one of those people. I just let the truck stall and then start it back up again. I put about 50,000 miles on my Toyota driving in traffic, four wheelin and prerunning and when I pulled the trans out the clutch still had about 70% left.

Nice, I'm one of those people who would rather sacrifice a motor mounts longevity and pop the clutch a little early too.

When do you smog---I may have an out for you if your can't pass.:motorsmile:

I know a guy too actually, I just don't want to spend $150 to smog a car that I bought for $500 originally :lmfao:

About the same price from my "guy".:rolleyes:

But you will spend $8-10k on a new (used) car. :huh:

I had a dream that I was driving Sean's beater last night... so strange. It was thoroughly rusted, the front end was wrecked and tweaked, and it idled so rough the car rocked back and forth violently. :wtf:

I'm sure Ben will find a way to make this sexual. :surrender:

Sean, why won't the car smog? It's FI so it can't be an AFR issue. If it burns coolant, run it without coolant while it's smogging! Just unhook the lower radiator hose and fill it back with only water. If it burns oil, run it with gear oil or diesel oil, something thick as crap that won't burn.

I drove a Ford (the most reliable American manufacturer :rolleyes:) with a bad internal coolant leak. It was having trouble starting because the spark plugs were getting soaked with coolant, so we drained the coolant, it fired right up and stopped smoking! Drove that sucker air cooled for about 10-15mins at a time without issue.

Sometimes a weird dream is just a weird dream. In your case . . .

Could be O2 Sensors.

If the 02 sensors are jacked the car would run in safe mode, pull timing and possibly run more rich, but still should be in air friendly territory.

Sean,

I haven't been on here in a while, I wish I had caught this thread at the beginning. Here's some of my advice after daily driving/owning a '98 TJ Wrangler for a year:

Buying considerations:

I4 vs I6:
I have the 4 banger and it really doesn't bother me. The only time I ever wish I had the I6 was driving through Colorado and having to downshift to 3rd on some gnarly passes.

For off-roading, engine size is almost trivial. If something is too steep for 4-Hi, then I drop it into 4-Lo and make quick work of it. Like Ben said, tire size should be your main consideration for engine size.

Tranny:
Simply a matter of preference. You already drive stick, I think having manual jeep adds to the experience.

Other stuff:
There are a lot of stupid Jeep owners out there that do stupid stupid mods. When searching to buy, try to find one on the lower end of your price range that is close to stock. You'll get to build it up yourself and it's really rewarding. Every time I work on my jeep I find something stupid the previous owner did. Try to avoid this by buying from a Jeep owner who is older and possibly selling to buy another Jeep; search forum classifieds.

After you bought it:

Wait to mod it. Go off-roading with it a few times and then you'll know exactly what you want to do with it. Find out if you like rock crawling, mudding, hill climbing or whatever. I jumped right into modding my jeep and since I'm on a limited budget, I haven't done things that I wish I had done in retrospect.

Let me know if you want to go off-roading sometime. I'll even let ya drive. :thumbs_up:

Here's your Jeep-
www.earthroamer.com

Now I know what to drive to my missile silo conversion. :nuts: