School me on Jeeps

[Dieselfool]

I don't think i've sen an SJ on the road...

 

[thanatron]

Please tell me you're joking. Don't be one of "those" Jeep owners. Wave back. What does it hurt?

The Jeep wave is a time honored tradition that simply means "I know how you feel, the lousy handling, the bad gas mileage, the questionable transmissions, the leaks, the sqeaks, the rattles, the unbridled awesome of pulling the roof off on a nice day and having 10 million mile of head room"

If it bothers you that much, buy a Suburban or an Explorer, ya yuppie.

I do wave back but I feel stupid doing it.. My wife cannot get into my truck so when we go out I am driving the jeep..

 

[Boats]

No worries then. Thanks for waving back. Nice truck. I love the new body style.

 

[mdram]

as a jeep fan i have to warn you about one thing

jeeps are known for Death Wobble

one reason i say be wary of lifted jeeps, if done improperly you can have issues

 

[protegeV]

as a jeep fan i have to warn you about one thing

jeeps are known for Death Wobble

one reason i say be wary of lifted jeeps, if done improperly you can have issues

My sister even had that problem in her 04 GC...

 

[mdram]

i have never had it, but i saw a wrangler on the highway get it

looked scary as hell

 

[Dieselfool]

both my 91 gmc dually and my 96 ram 2500 had it... it's shit your pants scary...

 

[Dieselfool]

a lift kit fixed the GMC, new poly track bar bushings fixed the Cummins

 

[omegared24]

How is the addition of swaybars and trackbars, anti-lock brakes on the front, and throttle body injection, which is what happened between the CJ and YJ, "old school"?

On the YJ, some "progressive engineer" decided to widen the leaf springs and lower the ground clearance to enhance comfort. Yeah, super old school.

Hell, until the early 90s the YJ wasnt even made in the US, it was made in Canada.

If you need a lesson, I am more than happy to educate you. But I'm pretty sure I've built and owned more Jeeps than you have. Notice that I owned a YJ at one (brief) point:

1962 Willy's CJ-3A (sold)
1976 Jeep CJ-5 V8 (sold
1979 Jeep DJ-5G (sold, but I wish I still had it)
1993 Jeep YJ Renegade (sold, and Im glad)
2000 Jeep Cherokee XJ (gave to my brother)
2006 Jeep Liberty Sport (traded)
2006 Jeep LJ Rubicon (totalled)
2006 Jeep LJ Rubicon (Currently owned)
2009 Jeep JK Rubicon (Currently owned)

We get it...you don't like how the YJ looks and owning multiple Jeep's makes you an expert. That's cute. You should change your name to Jeeps instead of Boats. That would be so cool.

 

[RegularJay]

2 Jeeps in my driveway now, the Wifes DD is an '11 Unlimited with a 3-1/2" lift she loves it top down & doors off as often as weather & circumstances allow! It's nothing like Jeeps of the "old days" remote start, heated seats, Cold A/C, traction control, ABS, & air bags are not what I think of when I think of Jeep. But, its very capable off-road and very competent on road. Not especially economical but the fun factor is worth it. I also have a CJ7 that I built in my garage from the ground up starting with a bare frame. No A/C, No remote start, no heated seats, manual transmission, manual hubs It is nowhere near as refined as the wife's, But an old CJ is what I think of when I think Jeep. I have had several CJ's prior to building this one, I've also had 4 Grand Wagoneers and a 99 Grand Cherokee. I would second others who have recommended a YJ (Wrangler) with a 4.0. Still leaf sprung so it's not especially cushy to drive but simple and cheap to maintain & modify as you see fit. Biggest problem with an older Jeep is rust! Buy the least rusty one you can afford, bolt on a set of 31" BFG's and rock on.

 

[Boats]

We get it...you don't like how the YJ looks and owning multiple Jeep's makes you an expert. That's cute. You should change your name to Jeeps instead of Boats. That would be so cool.

Poke the bull, you get the horns....

Nah, I'm good. Happily I don't define myself by your standards. What's cute is you owning one YJ in the history of ever and basing your entire jeep knowledge on that. Look, snookums, I am sure you're a legend in your own mind. And I am sure that every time you see someone with a jeep that they have put countless hours into building you tell yourself "yeah, I'm totally like them, because I owned a stock YJ". But the thing is, you offloaded your jeep because kids, work, etc. Essentially, you made compromises, but you have the gall to dictate to someone what they should buy as their first foray into the jeep world? You, sir, are a sellout. And worse yet, a hypocrite. I don't claim to know everything there is to know about jeeps, but I know a damn sight more than you. So be gracious, the next time someone who has the scars on their knuckles from years of Jeep ownership even acknowledges your opinion, much less takes the time to poke you in the ribs good-naturedly about it. I jumped into the Jeep pool with both feet, whilst you dipped a toe, and said "whelp, I'm done slumming, imma go buy something practical, because now know everything there is to know about Jeeps". Poser.

 

[Art3]

Well, Matt, what have you learned here? At the very least, I'd say that, while there are a few haters (aren't there always?), generally Jeep owners love their Jeeps. They may never agree whether Real Jeeps have round headlights (or square springs), but they're still gonna wave at each other on the road. Hopefully we'll be waving at you too.

 

[Art3]

Hey my Liberty is rear wheel drive with a part-time transfercase like a proper Jeep. The new Cherokee is front wheel drive

I think there should be some kind of "Trail of Tears" joke about that abomination. When they first came out, I saw one stopped in traffic behind a minivan, and the minivan had noticeably more ground clearance.

Heck, they could have rebadged the Patriot as Cherokee and it would at least look the part.

 

[traveller]

I tried to change the brakes on my wifes 2008 Jeep Liberty a few weeks back... they have the cheap factory 2 piece lugs nuts, it's a 3/4 until the cap falls off. (the first time you touch them with a socket or lug wrench) then they become an 18MM,... well the wheels are aluminum, the studs are steel, and the lug nuts are cheap... that is the proper recipe for disaster... so after work I figured I would knock it out right quick... HA

I started at 6PM, I finally got the wheel off a 10PM



the cheap caps fell off, the cheap nuts broke and stripped, so i'm stuck with 2 lugs that came off, 1 lug that broke off and 2 lugs that are stripped...

so I try knocking on a smaller socket, just twisted the nut,... then the air chisel, then tried a 6x6 block and maul hammer, then the wheel started to get messed up then i just gave up, beat the shit out of it, tried using a cut off wheel the split the nuts, then just wound up using a 1/2" drill and a hole saw to drill around the lugs... SO now I need a new wheel... wife's pissed, i'm furious, and sore as hell...

Lol.

You know, there is beer for those cases. Not to help doing the job, but to enjoy instead.

Good thing you didn't have access to dynamite.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Let this guide you:

Nothing a CJ7 front clip on a YJ frame/tub wont fix. Loved my 93 "RIP" (or actually rest in pieces............)

 

[Jimbob2.0]

i have never had it, but i saw a wrangler on the highway get it

looked scary as hell

Death wobble is overpublicized for the wider track jeeps. When lifting you do have to take care. But I had a 93 for years with about 3" of lift, when I was young. Did stupid stuff in it (including a 60 MPH spin through a median on 270 when some idiot jacked infront of me) no problem. Very controllable. Now back in my teens I had a stock Cherokee (94 I think) that had terrible death wobble issues, go figure but I think there was something else going on with that vehicles suspension geometry because after I rolled it I got a 96 and it had no issues.

Crashed it hard in 2004 when a Dodge ram plowed out of a sunken road right infront of me. I was at highway speed and never made it to the brakes. Walked away, a little neck snap from not having an airbag and a few cracked ribs but considering it took the nose and half the engine out of the Dodge it did well. Of course it was a total demo, frame rails split all the way back, column pushed back but the overall drivers compartment held up pretty well considering it was a full speed partial overlap hit.

Managed to salvage the engine and transmission, they are in my 82 CJ8.

Currently tooling around in a stock 2012 JKU Sport, its comfortable, performs well. Once its paid off and can take my time may look to sell it and trade up for a 2012/2013 Rubicon, since I couldn't find the right rig when I needed to replace my old Liberty (don't get me started on that lemon).

 

[Squaregrouper]

#1- The 4.0 is an AMC engine; not Chrysler. Chrysler kept it after buying AMC
#2- If it doesn't leak fluid, it must be empty.
#3- I had to sell my toy to fund my Bullmastiff's $$$ TPLO surgery
#4- All this talk about "Baby Jeeps" got me to chime in on the thread.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

#1- The 4.0 is an AMC engine; not Chrysler. Chrysler kept it after buying AMC
#2- If it doesn't leak fluid, it must be empty.
#3- I had to sell my toy to fund my Bullmastiff's $$$ TPLO surgery
#4- All this talk about "Baby Jeeps" got me to chime in on the thread.

Sweet family cruiser. And good tips on the 4.0L, they are a tank and basically a shorter stroke bigger bore (for supposed highway drivability) version of the 4.2 (258 for the non-metric crowd). Secret if you are handy combining the two into a vicious 4.6L stoker motor is the ultimate.

 

[Combloc]

I'm partial to simple and direct so a '46 works for me. You might consider one because they can be very practical as a second car. Once you get it "proper" (as in properly put together) it's just a matter of preventative maintenance. Mine is a daily driver:

 

[Jimbob2.0]

I'm partial to simple and direct so a '46 works for me. You might consider one because they can be very practical as a second car. Once you get it "proper" (as in properly put together) it's just a matter of preventative maintenance. Mine is a daily driver:

That's sweet