Best years of jeep wangler

[dumkid]

Why? To be fair I drive an underpowered brick with similar handling to a jeep but I also take it off-road and would buy something else if I had a daily commute. For city driving get a Honda Civic or something, they atleast have stability in corners.

If you're good with coolant leaks and funky electronics (like a jeep) get an old Mercedes or bmw.

 

[dlundblad]

Up to 2004. the 05 and 06 ate cams. no tj's came 2wd

Very interesting. I’ve seen that supposedly that’s any 4.0 after 1999. One was a 2001 or 2002 that the guy blamed the oil on. Was absolutely adamant in the fact that the engine needed a HDEO. Maybe the WJ received something slightly different than what’s in the TJ? My 2003 is vocal, but just fine. Dads 4.0 in his Comache has 1/3 the mileage and is still vocal.

Very interesting too about the TJ never being available in 2WD. Didn’t know that.

 

[dlundblad]

OP, I feel a 2WD would limit your options and be harder to find something you want. If you find one you like, go for it, but they may be few and far between.

Of all the wranglers, I’d avoid one with the 3.8 V6. They aren’t terrible reliability wise, but do consume oil. If you can get passed that, they aren’t bad. Hopefully a 3.8 isn’t the only 2WD you find.

 

[Chris142]

Very interesting. I’ve seen that supposedly that’s any 4.0 after 1999. One was a 2001 or 2002 that the guy blamed the oil on. Was absolutely adamant in the fact that the engine needed a HDEO. Maybe the WJ received something slightly different than what’s in the TJ? My 2003 is vocal, but just fine. Dads 4.0 in his Comache has 1/3 the mileage and is still vocal.

Very interesting too about the TJ never being available in 2WD. Didn’t know that.

mines coming up on 200k. it just gets whatever oil is oñ clearañce

 

[demarpaint]

There are 2WD Wranglers out there, although tougher to find. I'd get 4WD, this way if you don't like it, it should be easier to sell. As far as why buy a Wrangler if you're not going to use it off road? Well people still buy things they want or like even if they aren't going to use it as it was intended to be used. That can be said for many things. This is still America, buy what you want, even if people don't agree. JMO.

 

[Brons2]

Those "Wrangler" things are horrible if you're over 6'2". Literally knees shoved against the dash in my case. I'm 6'7" in case you wanted to know. I realize I'm in the 98-99th percentile, but the Wrangler is literally the worst vehicle on the market for legroom.

I would buy a 90s 2 door Tahoe or 70s-90s Bronco if I wanted an offroad toy. Maybe even an older-ish Chevy 2 door short bed 4x4 pickup with the first gen 5.3 aka Gen III. Best aftermarket support for increasing power in the early LS.

 

[jeepman3071]

Very interesting. I’ve seen that supposedly that’s any 4.0 after 1999. One was a 2001 or 2002 that the guy blamed the oil on. Was absolutely adamant in the fact that the engine needed a HDEO. Maybe the WJ received something slightly different than what’s in the TJ? My 2003 is vocal, but just fine. Dads 4.0 in his Comache has 1/3 the mileage and is still vocal.

Very interesting too about the TJ never being available in 2WD. Didn’t know that.

2005-2006 ate cams because of a difference in the oil pump driven cam sensor that was only on the 2005-2006 engines. The earlier engines don't eat cams unless there is some other lubrication problem like a cracked head introducing coolant into the oil.

 

[dlundblad]

2005-2006 ate cams because of a difference in the oil pump driven cam sensor that was only on the 2005-2006 engines. The earlier engines don't eat cams unless there is some other lubrication problem like a cracked head introducing coolant into the oil.

Makes sense. Maybe that’s what caused the issue then.

 

[AZjeff]

Every 05-06 doesn’t eat the cam. There’s a good aftermarket part that fixes the problem. We daily our wrangler for everything. People either like them or think they suck.

 

[HouseTiger]

If you're expecting the ride of a Cadillac Escalade out of a Jeep Wrangler, I have some swamp land in Southeast Georgia I'll sell you.

The Wrangler is for all intents and purposes a truck, a descendant of the WW2 Willy's MB, the M38, M38A1, the M151s, the CJ, YJ, TJ, JK and now JL. They're body on frame, and have a drop dead reliable 4WD ( IME ). The interiors of YJ and later were a lot more rider friendly than the earlier CJ series, but the essence of the vehicle is that of a utility vehicle for off road.

Yes, they're noisy, especially the rag top models. Yes, they handle like a short truck. Yes, they're cramped compared to your Cadillac Escalade or Ford Excursion. But they're also the most fun you can have with your clothes on . . . I'm on my 4th Jeep: JK, YJ, CJ7, CJ5, and even the M151 in the military, so I have a tad bit of familiarity with them.

 

[meep]

I don’t see an issue with one as a city car. Parking is going to be super easy. They are nimble and have grunt, especially in a manual. Rugged little beastie. You might scavenge 1-2 mpg back by installing manual front hubs if they are available. Even the 3.8 is just fine for driving around - no it’s not the 4.0, but the 3.8 has its own credibility as basically a stroked 3.8 pushrod v6. At least in a manual, it’s perfectly fine. The manuals in these feel good, easy to live with. Love the net/mesh tops!

 

[totegoat]

I've owned Jeeps off and on since 1967 and never had a serious problem with any of them.

 

[MetalSlug]

I was looking at this 14 wrangler at the dealer ship .

What about the new one 2018

 

[jeepman3071]

I was looking at this 14 wrangler at the dealer ship .

What about the new one 2018

Both will have the 3.6L V6. Do you want an auto or manual trans? The 2018 will have the ZF 8-speed which is a great transmission, I can't remember if the 2014 would, but I don't believe it did.

 

[SC Maintenance]

they made some 2wd CJ5’s in Like 1979 due to the oil crisis. So I read somewhere.

 

[jeepman3071]

Why? To be fair I drive an underpowered brick with similar handling to a jeep but I also take it off-road and would buy something else if I had a daily commute. For city driving get a Honda Civic or something, they atleast have stability in corners.

If you're good with coolant leaks and funky electronics (like a jeep) get an old Mercedes or bmw.

My guess is he wants the removable top and doors. Without that I probably wouldn't own a Wrangler.

 

[dumkid]

My guess is he wants the removable top and doors. Without that I probably wouldn't own a Wrangler.

Oh maybe. I don't like sunroofs or removable tops because sometimes they leak and they let the heat in.

 

[D60]

I was looking at this 14 wrangler at the dealer ship .

What about the new one 2018

If you can afford an '18+ JL I'd absolutely do it. As I said, improved aerodynamics, back seat got angled a bit for rear passenger comfort, better doors, mostly Al body to reduce weight, potential LED package, 8sp trans, and they squeezed a bit more power from the 3.6 (285/260tq IIRC). Overall, just more refined than a JK

NOW, if you're looking at the '18 2.0T, well it's up to you if you want a huge battery under the back seat (outside), additional cooling lines piped back there, more complication etc

If shopping JL's '18 thru present, know which engine you're getting as they suddenly went CRAZY with options, and it changed almost every model year. Later years the 3.6 got e-torque. Then there was the ecodiesel, and, well, you'd know if you're looking at a 392 based upon price.

 

[CJE]

I’m putting my F150 up for sale soon . I’m thinking a jeep wangler , I don’t know ANYTHING about it . It’s odd that I want a jeep wangler in 2wd and not 4wd .

What is the best years and which years to avoid , anything I need to know about

Jeep: all the bs of a truck but you can't haul anything with it. <g> I used all mine with a group of trailers - which seemed like it would be a cool versatile thing, but it really wasn't.

Anything since Chrysler bought Jeep has seemed like a train wreck to me. I do agree with the 2wd. Steering is lighter and there's less stuff in the front end to wear out / go bad. The inline engines were better, although the fours were especially slow, but the vee engines got better mpg - I assume because of the cross-flow porting in the heads. Chrysler made a stack of (I think it was 3.7 or 3.8) V6 engines with oval cylinders that would use oil at a tremendous rate. So long as you kept oil in them they were OK - except for the cost of oil - but virtually no one checked the oil often enough so there were a lot of them with knocking bottom ends. Those are likely all gone or repaired by now though I imagine. One of my neighbors had one. Engine scrambled at really low mileage and he said that Chrysler treated him badly over the warranty. So he put a new 4.3 GM engine and transmission in and claimed his was then better than when new. Faster and got better mpg. He doesn't really talk to me any more now that I've sworn off Jeeps. <g>

 

[dumkid]

Jeep: all the bs of a truck but you can't haul anything with it. <g> I used all mine with a group of trailers - which seemed like it would be a cool versatile thing, but it really wasn't.

Anything since Chrysler bought Jeep has seemed like a train wreck to me. I do agree with the 2wd. Steering is lighter and there's less stuff in the front end to wear out / go bad. The inline engines were better, although the fours were especially slow, but the vee engines got better mpg - I assume because of the cross-flow porting in the heads. Chrysler made a stack of (I think it was 3.7 or 3.8) V6 engines with oval cylinders that would use oil at a tremendous rate. So long as you kept oil in them they were OK - except for the cost of oil - but virtually no one checked the oil often enough so there were a lot of them with knocking bottom ends. Those are likely all gone or repaired by now though I imagine. One of my neighbors had one. Engine scrambled at really low mileage and he said that Chrysler treated him badly over the warranty. So he put a new 4.3 GM engine and transmission in and claimed his was then better than when new. Faster and got better mpg. He doesn't really talk to me any more now that I've sworn off Jeeps. <g>

Those 4.3 gm engines were pretty simple and bulletproof.
Besides mpg is less about engine size and more about aerodynamics. A little 4 banger running twice as hard will burn as much gas as a v8 That's just chugging along at 1200 rpm.