School Me On 4-Door Wranglers

[Unimog]

I'm considering buying a 4-door Wrangler in the next year or so. It will be used to flat tow behind a motorhome. It will likely see 90% road miles, so it needs to be a little bit comfortable. I'm not opposed to a rubicon or something. It would be nice to have lockers and better axles, but it will likely only see mild off-roading, so unlikely it will run more than 33's. I'd prefer used, but would consider new if there is a great reason!
It's been years since I've actually owned a jeep - I had a CJ5 and CJ7 back in the day. I rented a JL last year with the 2.0 turbo and was quite impressed with the whole rig other than the trim package was horrible. The only other impression I have is I used to wheel a lot with friend who had an early JK. He was constantly complaining about how gutless it was and wouldn't even maintain highway speeds, but it was running 37s.
What drivetrains should I stay away from? What are the major differences between the JK and JL, and what are the major differences between packages? Feel free to just point me to good info on the web. The "car and driver" type magazine articles I've found so far are really useless from a real information standpoint.

 

[gijohn40]

I had a 18 JK with the 3.6l but traded it in for a 2020 JLURD and even though it has the diesel I can tell that the JL series was built with heavier parts and such to start with. I only needed 2 inch of lift to fit 37 inch tires on it without rub. I would suggest finding a used JL with the options you want and go from there. I think you will find the comfort in the JL far more advanced then the JK. I drove the JL with the 2.0 turbo and it was ok for around town, but it lacked the get and go on the freeway to pass cars. Where as my diesel just moves!

The 3.6l in my JK was starting to make the ticking noise (bad lifter system) at only 30k miles. So if you look at one with a 3.6l make sure there is no ticking noise!

 

[Unimog]

A diesel JLUR would be perfect! I'm guessing they are still somewhat rare beasts. That is amazing that you could put 37s on it with a 2" lift!

 

[Greg]

Stay away from the '07-11 Wranglers, they had the low power 3.8 and auto transmission with terrible gear ratios.

Starting in '12 the Wrangler got the Pentastar V6 and better 5 speed auto. They had some teething issues with headgaskets, so I'd avoid the '12-13 years.

The JK's after that were pretty reliable and had minor known issues.

If you can afford a newer JL that's definitely the direction I would look at.. The Jeep engineers took all the best features of the JK and kept them and built a much better all around vehicle with the new JL.

The 2.0 Turbo engine is pretty amazing, but there have been some people that have had issues with the electric generator after wheeling all day at low RPM and draining the battery that supplies power to the electric motor.

A JLU with the 3.6 Pentastar and 8 speed auto would be the least problematic and most reliable and should be fairly easy to find out of all those choices, IMO. They have been available for a couple years now and shouldn't be too difficult to find what your looking for used, if that's your preference.

Far as packaging, the Sahara might be a better fit for your needs. If you don't really need lockers and a 4 to 1 transfer case, I think the Sahara is one of the better packaged vehicles. I am not sure if leather seats are standard on that one or not.

 

[DAA]

A JLUR fits 35's nicely with no lift, too. It's an advantage to the Rubicon trim. It includes higher front fender openings. This one is my Wife's, bone stock on 315's on the factory wheels.

- DAA

 

[my4thjeep]

All the above information is spot on. I had a 08 JK 4 door Rubicon with every option since 11/2007. It had a hard time getting out of its own way on stock tires. I can't image if it had larger tires. I had the 6 speed manual and pretty much starting day it would never stay in 1st when starting out. I put 198k on it and had no issues other than the typical JK complaints like see through oil pan that always leaked etc.

I purchased a 2021 Jeep Wrangler L Rubicon with the eco diesel about a month ago and I love it. Everything seems to be designed more heavy duty and off road friendly than any of my previous 6 jeep wranglers over 28 years. The gas mileage has been great even with a brand new motor. 3 tanks at 24 mpg mixed driving. The diesel produces an insane amount of torque. The interior is the best yet. I am enjoying modern convivences like phone integration, heated seats and front and rear cameras.

I added a 3 inch Teraflex lift with Falcon3s and 37 inch tires but apparently Teraflex is suffering from covidproductionitus and there seems to be a 8 week production delay plus however long it takes to get here from China.

 

[Hickey]

The 8 speed auto is an incredible transmission in the JL. The JK has an awesome 5 speed auto, but that 8 speed puts it to shame. Your friend who couldn't maintain speed in his JK probably had the 4 speed auto or maybe hadn't regeared it for the large tire. I just drove home from Moab yesterday and set the cruise at 82 mph. It held that speed all the way across the Swell on I-70 with 37" tires and 4.88 gears.

 

[Unimog]

The 8 speed auto is an incredible transmission in the JL. The JK has an awesome 5 speed auto, but that 8 speed puts it to shame. Your friend who couldn't maintain speed in his JK probably had the 4 speed auto or maybe hadn't regeared it for the large tire. I just drove home from Moab yesterday and set the cruise at 82 mph. It held that speed all the way across the Swell on I-70 with 37" tires and 4.88 gears.

I rented one with the 8-speed auto and a 2.0. It wasn't a powerhouse, but it didn't have any problems on the freeway at 70-80. The transmission was absolutely perfect! It always had the right gear.

 

[zmotorsports]

For what you'd spend on a newer JLU and still end up with a somewhat anemic V6 but the much better equipped 8-speed, my personal opinion would be to find a good clean early JKU and swap in a Gen IV LS engine with 6-speed auto. You will be near the cost of a later model JKU or even JL and have a nice ride for many years. More than enough power and decent economy, for a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a phone booth anyways.

2007-2011 model years had the 3.8 liter engine with the 42RLE turd of a transmission but the rest of the Jeep was pretty solid. In 2011 they upgraded the interior to the new style, which my wife fell in love with and why we bought a 2011, and then the 2012 on up had the 3.6 liter Pentastar with the much better WA580 five speed auto transmission.

I flat-tow our 6.2 liter LS powered 2011 JKUR behind our coach easily even on 37" tires. I have approx. 33k driven miles on the LS powertrain now and the Jeep just turned over 126k miles overall plus another approx. 40k flat-towed miles and it is still performing perfectly and is a solid daily driver/weekend wheeler that is more than capable of an off-road vehicle. Interior and body have both held up well with no issues other than a few minor items that as with any vehicle. All items get addressed immediately and is still a very dependable and reliable vehicle that I would put up against anything a decade newer.

Mike

 

[OCNORB]

Btw- the 2.0L turbo can be found without the electric generator and battery. Our ‘20 JL has the 2.0L turbo and 8-speed without the extra complications and weight of those systems.

I’m fairly impressed with the power and it’s getting around 25mpg with 32” tires.

 

[Unimog]

Btw- the 2.0L turbo can be found without the electric generator and battery. Our ‘20 JL has the 2.0L turbo and 8-speed without the extra complications and weight of those systems.

I’m fairly impressed with the power and it’s getting around 25mpg with 32” tires.

Pretty sure the one I rented didn't have the electric generator. It did turn off the engine when stopped, but as soon as you let off the brake, it started the engine. I know that can be disabled, but sounds like yours.