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.