wife wants a Jeep

[LittleHorse]

Not to start a war on the durability of the D35, but it all depends on the person behind the wheel.

I'm sure you're right, to a lot of people, including myself, it's probably just peace of mind.

In my case the D44 was the only option since that's what comes in the long wheelbase Wranglers.

And I hope you're not planning on using the TJ to save gas... stock, you'll get 20 on a real good day.

20 is better than anything I've had since I sold my Miata a year ago, and the Civic my wife had when we got married. The '02 5.4L F-150 I just sold got 15, stock, on a real good day. My stock Bronco II has been averaging 17.5 though at least part of that is likely due to the fuel injectors being completely shot.

but yeah, I don't have any illusions of saving gas with the Jeep. With 33's I'll be surprised if it matches the mpg of the F-150. That's why I'm likely going to sell both my Bronco II's and get a modestly sporty 4 door car of some sort. Maybe a 90's Subaru, 6 cylinder BMW 3 or 5 series, or Taurus SHO. I'd prefer something smaller but we're talking about making a baby or two in the next two years and I'd rather play musical cars while I still have money.

 

[gcfishguy]

I'm sure you're right, to a lot of people, including myself, it's probably just peace of mind.

In my case the D44 was the only option since that's what comes in the long wheelbase Wranglers.



20 is better than anything I've had since I sold my Miata a year ago, and the Civic my wife had when we got married. The '02 5.4L F-150 I just sold got 15, stock, on a real good day. My stock Bronco II has been averaging 17.5 though at least part of that is likely due to the fuel injectors being completely shot.

but yeah, I don't have any illusions of saving gas with the Jeep. With 33's I'll be surprised if it matches the mpg of the F-150. That's why I'm likely going to sell both my Bronco II's and get a modestly sporty 4 door car of some sort. Maybe a 90's Subaru, 6 cylinder BMW 3 or 5 series, or Taurus SHO. I'd prefer something smaller but we're talking about making a baby or two in the next two years and I'd rather play musical cars while I still have money.

I know what you mean on peace of mind. First thing I did when I arrived to look at the new-to-me TJ that I bought was look under the back end, hoping for a 44.

And I just noticed that 20mpg comment might have seemed snarky....if so, not my intent!

 

[Jason]

20 MPG out of a 4.0l Jeep? Good luck. I wouldn't be shocked if it was closer to 14 since that's what the 3 I have owned got.

 

[gcfishguy]

20 MPG out of a 4.0l Jeep? Good luck. I wouldn't be shocked if it was closer to 14 since that's what the 3 I have owned got.

Ouch...I kept track of mine (99 TJ, 2" lift, 31's) and always got 18-20, normal driving. Speedo/Odo were off with stock tires but was bang on with my GPS after I went to 31's.

Mileage was drastically reduced when driving around with one or the other brake caliper starting to seize...which was about half the time..hehe

 

[pillen140]

we get 16-17 city or highway... doesnt matter.


and thats with cruise control on the whole time. with a 4.0 and an auto.

 

[LittleHorse]

And I just noticed that 20mpg comment might have seemed snarky....if so, not my intent!

eh, I didn't really read it that way anyway so we're good.

we get 16-17 city or highway... doesnt matter.


and thats with cruise control on the whole time. with a 4.0 and an auto.

On my F-150 I always did better without cruise control...but that may be because of how hilly it is around here. It would always downshift up hills, sometimes all the way down to 2nd (at highway speed!) and that 5.4 would roar the entire way up the hill at 3k+ RPM, sucking gas like crazy. So I usually just drove without the cruise and let it lose some speed on the way up and gain it back on the way down.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

eh, I didn't really read it that way anyway so we're good.



On my F-150 I always did better without cruise control...but that may be because of how hilly it is around here. It would always downshift up hills, sometimes all the way down to 2nd (at highway speed!) and that 5.4 would roar the entire way up the hill at 3k+ RPM, sucking gas like crazy. So I usually just drove without the cruise and let it lose some speed on the way up and gain it back on the way down.

Ditch the od and leave the cruise on in really hilly country. With stockish tires mine was really hard pressed to downshift more than once. Now with 255/75-17's it will downshift twice more often but still not on every hill. With the OD off, it takes a heck of a hill with my tractor in tow to downshift twice. I haven't pulled anything with my bigger tires... I kept the older ones until I regear.

3.31 cogs, came with 235/70-16's, ran 255/70-16's for most of the time I have had it.

My brother's '97 4.6 was a horrendous gear grabber until it put duals on it, even with oversize tires (255/70-16 to 26570-17) it isn't as bad as it was with factory tires and stock exhaust. My exhaust helped a little too.

Running 255's my truck would get 18-19mpg hwy, his would get that on the interstate. Oddly mine would get about 16-17 on the interstate just like his did on the highway.

 

[LittleHorse]

drove it home on Monday/Tuesday.

I was actually surprised at how nice it drives. Really tight, doesn't wander all over the road like I expected, etc. It does let you know you're on solid axles if you hit a big bump.

The clutch pedal travel is LONG. After putting 800 miles in that in a day and coming back to my Bronco II, the BII clutch feels like a brake pedal.

I got 20mpg from Columbus, OH to Indianapolis, 17mpg from Indianapolis to St Louis, and 19mpg from St Louis to Springfield, MO. Indiana was pretty hilly so my mpg took a hit for that stretch.

Interior is typical Chrysler - where most car makes simulate leather with thinly padded vinyl, Chrysler simulates leather with leather-textured hard plastic. I was a bit perturbed at driving for 11.5 hours and not having any sort of armrest on the door panel. Resting my arm on top of the door panel only worked until I got sore where the bone in my elbow rested against the hard plastic, and of course the center console lid is hard plastic as well.

The "Premium" 7 speaker stereo has a lot of volume but the mixing is weird, can't seem to get the bass and treble at levels where it sounds right. Interestingly it blends better with the top down.

Wind noise with the soft top isn't really noticed below 65-70, but once it starts, it gets loud pretty fast. Headed into the wind at 80 it roars pretty good. A hard top will definitely be a strongly considered future purchase, but I'm working on getting a more highway friendly car so I may just deal with it and not use the Jeep much for long trips.

Engine/exhaust is almost silent, and like every other inline 6 I've owned, silky smooth. Having driven my Bronco II with it's 90dB drone at 2800 RPM a quiet engine is sooo nice, so I have no plans of modifying the exhaust.

Hopefully it was just a learning curve but the soft top is a fair PITA. Of course my last convertible vehicle was a Miata where all it took was a single latch at the windshield header and sweep the top down with one arm, still sitting in the driver seat - about two seconds. So I'm a little biased, but I will say Jeep could learn a thing or two from Mazda about an easy fold soft top. At any rate I won't be raising and lowering that thing real often...I cleared a spot in the garage so I can keep it away from the stray cats while the top is down.

Options it came with are the "Sunrider" which allows you to fold back the part of the top just over the front seats. It's pretty cool looking and kinda like t-tops, it would be good for cool weather where you want to be in the sun but out of the wind, but for 90° you want the wind and less of the sun so it'll probably be October before I use that feature much.

It's got factory sidesteps which I'll be taking off. Partly for the ground clearance but also because they just don't seem to be that useful. I find it easier to step straight into the tub when getting in, and straight to the ground getting out - and the side steps are more in the way than anything for both of those actions. Wife agrees, so they'll be coming off. They are kinda handy for getting into the back seat but the rock sliders I have picked out have a step tube (above the bottom of the body) that will work well for that.

First mod plans are a 3" lift, Cragar Soft 8's and 33x12.5R15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. Next a bumper with tire carrier for a full size matching spare, then rock sliders, then probably a 1" body lift with motor mount lift and tuck the gas tank up with the body.

Being a long wheelbase I'm tempted to get some die-cut vinyl stickers and do a throwback to the scrambler...maybe put a "TJ-8" logo on the right rear corner and "Scrambler" along the side of the hood like where the Rubicons have their label.

 

[pillen140]

i bet you have the soft top down ten times faster after you do it twice! lol. i just bought my gf a 3.25" rough country lift kit.... you will be tempted! its so hard not to want to lift them!

 

[LittleHorse]

oh it will definitely be getting a lift.

Probably by the end of September it will have the RC 2.5" suspension lift, a 1" body lift, and 33's.

The top is going up and down a lot faster now...it helped to look at one in the parking lot at work and see how he had his all folded up and whatnot. With as hot as it's been though, this week I've just been zipping out the windows and leaving the rest of the top up to keep me in the shade.

 

[pillen140]

rc makes a 3.75" kit, that is a 2.5" suspendsion lift and a 1.25" body lift you might be interested in. the body lift its nice though, because if you wish to get a center skid plate that doesnt hang down as far, you must do a body lift, and a motor mount lift.... so youre already half way there.... i think it was about $389 on the rc website. I got the 3.25" kit, which is the 2.5 kit, but with 3/4" spacers as well. comes with the track bar lift bracket and swaybar links as well, and that was $369.

 

[Sighman]

I would highly recommend a 4 inch lift. If you ever decide to go to 35's you will need the clearance to avoid fender rub in off camber situations. Also be aware that with a lift you might need a T-case shifter relocation bracket to stop binding. You might also consider an SYE kit if you do the lift to keep the rear drive train in alignment. I guess like everything else if money is not a problem you can do it right the first time but on a budget checking out what other "jeepers" do is the way to go. At least where I live they tend to be a good group of people that will make great deals on used parts when they upgrade. I wish you a luck with your new Jeep, go have fun!

Si

 

[LittleHorse]

rc makes a 3.75" kit, that is a 2.5" suspendsion lift and a 1.25" body lift you might be interested in. the body lift its nice though, because if you wish to get a center skid plate that doesnt hang down as far, you must do a body lift, and a motor mount lift.... so youre already half way there.... i think it was about $389 on the rc website. I got the 3.25" kit, which is the 2.5 kit, but with 3/4" spacers as well. comes with the track bar lift bracket and swaybar links as well, and that was $369.

I looked into that combo but RC's 1.25" body lift is not compatible with the 6 speed manual transmission. I haven't figured out why yet, but I've seen other companies that list different part numbers for the 6 speed. So I'll in essence be doing the same thing, just will have to get the body lift from another manufacturer.

I would highly recommend a 4 inch lift. If you ever decide to go to 35's you will need the clearance to avoid fender rub in off camber situations. Also be aware that with a lift you might need a T-case shifter relocation bracket to stop binding. You might also consider an SYE kit if you do the lift to keep the rear drive train in alignment. I guess like everything else if money is not a problem you can do it right the first time but on a budget checking out what other "jeepers" do is the way to go. At least where I live they tend to be a good group of people that will make great deals on used parts when they upgrade. I wish you a luck with your new Jeep, go have fun!

Si

I've been all over the jeep forums and learned up on the SYE and everything.

There is a huge jump from a 2.5 to a 4" suspension lift in terms of "extras", for example the SYE goes from an optional addon to a requirement, rear track bar relocation bracket changes to a rear adjustable track bar, the factory alignment cams can't correct caster and pinion angle so you start getting into adjustable upper and lower control arms front and back...I can do a 2.5" lift "right" for the amount of money I want to spend right now, whereas the best I could do with a 4" lift would be less than ideal. I'd rather start with the 2.5" and add the extras one by one, and one day if I decide I need a 4" all I'll need is the lift.

 

[Sighman]

Sounds like a plan, been there and had to do it all and heck yes it gets expensive! I run a 4 inch lift and 1 inch body lift and all the add ons you mentioned above. I was not trying to state that you were doing it wrong (sorry for implying that), as with the trucks here one thing leads to another and we never seem to stop tinkering!

 

[LittleHorse]

Sounds like a plan, been there and had to do it all and heck yes it gets expensive! I run a 4 inch lift and 1 inch body lift and all the add ons you mentioned above. I was not trying to state that you were doing it wrong (sorry for implying that), as with the trucks here one thing leads to another and we never seem to stop tinkering!

oh I didn't take it that you were saying I was doing it wrong...I'd rather do a 4" lift right now to be honest but the amount of money that would take is just more than I can do right now and more than I could talk my wife into (easier if I do it a stage at a time!). It's not that I'm poor by any means but I've got other stuff that's pulling $$$ out of me right now too, like my house needs a roof and I've got a Harley that I'm always wanting to buy stuff for...