School me on Jeep XJs

[sixstringsteve]

Ok, so I'm a toyota guy at heart. My wife just totalled her 4Runner ('98 limited with only 70). She's fine, as is the other driver. But we need a replacement. I expect insurace to give us $10-12k.

I've never owned a jeep, but I respect them. I'm thinking of picking up an XJ/ZJ/?J for my wife as a DD, but I don't know a thing about them. I assume some years/models were more reliable than others. I don't want anything with tires bigger than 33's, and stock tires are just fine.

What I want: reliable, safe, fun, DD, decent MPG (13-20 is considered decent). Since she has bad luck on the road, I'd like dual airbags, so I'm guessing that's a '96 or newer. I need a reliable one that won't be in the shop all the time. Can some of you XJ guys educate me on what the best year/model would be?

 

[Greg]

Don't do it!

We had an XJ for awhile, the previous owner beat it up pretty bad and we knew that before we bought it, but it had constant problems. If you can find a good one that has been taken care of, they can be great vehicles.

 

[Toad]

Honestly going from a 4-runner to an xj will suck. XJ are noisy, the suspension makes tons of noise. They seem to fall apart. Maybe because they have all had the crap kicked out of them.I have been in a few that havent been that bad. They have been well maintained and never offroad.

Sorry about your 4runner and more impotantly your wife. Good to hear everyone was ok.

 

[sixstringsteve]

haha, you know I'd rather have a certain fzj 80

 

[sixstringsteve]

what about a stock xj with less than 100k? Hard to find, but there are a few out there. If they fall apart, I want nothing to do with them. But if they're just noisy and a little less comfortable, I'm ok with that.

That being said, I'm used to getting 300K+ out of my toyotas. Is there an XJ that I could expect that out of?

something like this?
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=3583526

Are there certain trannies that go bad, or other issues I should know about?
I'm not set on an xj, I just thought it was a viable option. She needs something with 4 doors, 4x4 or awd, decent mileage, and sits a little higher so she's safe. She drives through a lot of snow. I just thought it was worth looking at an xj.

 

[Tacoma]

For $10-12k, you can find a good '97 FZJ with the lockers and whatnot.

I will never get another XJ. Smaller than you think, no frame, and the mighty 4.0 was mighty anemic with a family of 4 and some suitcases in the back. I was not impressed.

But, they're cheap, and there are tons of mods out there to prop them up. I wouldn't do it though. And you're not gonna get 300k out of them without 3 or 4 of the Catholic saints riding shotgun at all times.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I can't find an fzj with less than 180k. While I'm sure they'll run to 250k, I'm not sure how much longer they'll go after that. Maybe I need to start another thread on high-mileage fzj's. I'm starting to see a trend here. Maybe I'll stick with the tried and true toyota platform.

I'm open to ZJs, and the like as well.

 

[krany]

dont get me wrong, i loved my xj and it did great offroad but as soon as it left the road it sucked. the 4.0 is a nice little motor unless you have it loaded any towing much with it like a small boats out of the question. driving it down the road you can hear the unibody creak,its even worse off road, mines been fairly beat off road. and if you get over 250k out of a 4.0 thats lucky. mine made it to 220k and died. one thing i loved about it is everything was so simple to work on. granite ive never tore into yota axles before but they Dana 30's 35's 44's 8.25 or w/e is in the model your getting are all extremely simple. one thing i recomend is when looking for a xj look for one with the "factory to package" it will come with the bigger 44....my .20 cents

 

[Dominic]

Want to trade your Taco for a built Zj lol?

 

[sixstringsteve]

No thanks, I don't want anything built, I want a nice daily driver for my wife. Thanks for the offer though dominic.

But I am willing to trade my taco for the right daily driver plus cash. I'm thinking fzj80, 4runner, or something along those lines.

 

[1993yj]

If you are looking for a DD why an XJ? Why not a ZJ instead?

 

[OrvisKrawler]

I'm open to ZJs, and the like as well.

I love my ZJ, you can get them for fairly cheap, look hard and you can score one thats been taken care of and is in great shape, V8, leather, climate control, auto everything, rear disk and rear coil suspention, more interior space, I really dont know why anyone would choose an xj over a zj... you've seen mine, Im into it just under 6k including the purchase of the ZJ, with the money you got from the insurance you could do a WJ though too

 

[sixstringsteve]

If you are looking for a DD why an XJ? Why not a ZJ instead?

I'm open to ZJs. I'm open to pretty much anything quality.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I love my ZJ, you can get them for fairly cheap, look hard and you can score one thats been taken care of and is in great shape, V8, leather, climate control, auto everything, rear disk and rear coil suspention, more interior space, I really dont know why anyone would choose an xj over a zj... you've seen mine, Im into it just under 6k including the purchase of the ZJ, with the money you got from the insurance you could do a WJ though too

Dude, I love your ZJ too. What is a WJ? Like I said, I'm a Jeep NOOB

 

[OrvisKrawler]

wj - zj

 

[sixstringsteve]

Ok, school me on WJs too. That red one is sick. Bigger than I need, but now I know what a WJ is. Do the WJs have a frame?

 

[OrvisKrawler]

no still unibody constuction, but for what you are planning on using it for I dont see why that would be a problem, plus there are plenty of kits out there to beef it up if you do decide to build it up

 

[sixstringsteve]

my main question is for reliability with wj/wk/zjs. ANy known engine/tranny problems? Is it unreasonable to expect 250k without any major repairs?

 

[OrvisKrawler]

Honestly I dont know anyone that has put that many miles on one, mine has 188000 and has never had any major work done on the drive train, I dont see why it wouldnt last to 250000 if its taken care of and all the pm is done when it needs to be, but sometimes sh*t happens, you never know

 

[N-Smooth]

if you decide to look at xj's, 99 is the best model year imo.

reasons:
-most have the 29 spline 8.25 rear end
-better intake manifold
-airbags
-obdII
-the interior is nicer
-the last two years have the stupid pre-cats and the motors supposedly have more issues

get an auto and drive the crap out of it, they are fun. of course i love them, but my buddy got one for his wife and she loves it... she hardly lets him drive it.

wj's are nice too, i love the 4.7 but i've heard they have some overheating issues or something you might want to look into.