What would be the better years of cj to purchase.
Dependability and ride (road trips)
Thanks
Jeep CJ is one of the worst vehicles on the road for “dependability” “ride” or “road trips”. These are made for off-roading and are a poor choice for any other use.
The newest 4 door Wrangler model would likely be more suited to highway driving. None of the CJ models is well suited to speeds above 55 mph.
This is kind of like asking ‘which is the healthiest brand of butter?’…
So you are deaf, and have no feeling in your rear end and can fix cars like McGuyver, right? A CJ is like running a John Deere tractor on the highway at 65 mph. Loud, hard and unlikely to stay straight. This is why you see so many being towed behind pickup trucks outfitted with serious off-road gear. Great in the boonies, lousy everywhere else.
Ok then
How about A Cherokee.
We enjoyed our Cherokee from about 85 to 95 in Anchorage. I’d want the straight 6, good power, decent mpgs. Just take a careful look for rust, ours had some spots in front of each rear wheel by the time we sold it.
How about A Cherokee.
Did you fix the heater in the Cherokee you had two years ago? I have been wondering if that problem was ever resolved.
I honestly dont remember right now if i fixed the heat or not. Sold it last summer. I know it made heat just not like it should have and yes. I wouldnt own a cherokee without the straight 6. Would be nice to find another H.O.
What years were the H.O. early to middle 90s but anybody know the correct years?
Should have that info (and more) here:
I would not buy a CJ to dirve on the road for anything other than around town. I would by a YJ or a TJ with a 4.0 I6. I would not buy one with the 4cyl why to under powered. I have a 91 YJ with 4.0 high output. Frist thing to do if you get a YJ is take off the air intake tube that go thru the grill. It will suck water. I know, I bent 2 rods because of this. No I was not off at the time. I drive mine 75 on the highway with no problems. I have a 2’’ lift and a 1’’ body lift and I run 15 x 31 tires.
Now if I could find a CJ7 Golden Eagle with the 454, like a buddy ordered new. Now that would be fun.
Old bodyman-are you sure it wasnt a 401?-Kevin
I know it was a 454 Chevy motor. I know he ordered it that way. I also worked on it. It may have been a dealer install. I do know not many were made. It was a real beast. You could brake the drive line just by stepping gas.
I imagine you could,they also made a special edition with the 401 in leiu of the 304 cid V-8(cammed up,wheelies were no problem)-Kevin
@kmccune and @oldbodyman a CJ with a 401 OR a 454 would some kind of beast. I thought only offroad crazies built those! If I remember right, the 401 is dimensionally identical externally so it was a bolt in. I’ve also heard the 454 didn’t weigh any more than the very heavy 401. Either would be quite the mudder. Plenty of torque to clean the treads.
@Mustangman,I always figured a 304 equipped Jeep was overpowered,so you can imagine bolting in some serious V-8 torque,what the result would be-Wow! better watch out!-Kevin
The earlier models caused nauseous feelings in the pit of my stomach trying to drive them at any speed down a bumpy road. The newer models are much better but they still lag far behind anyone after civilized transportation as a daily driver. Why anyone would buy a Wrangler, even the new ones, except for the look at me factor is beyond me. They are impractical and the older they are, the less the were…and did we mention they are generally much less safe driving on the highway ? Jeep offers enough styling cues to mimic the look at me factor while being more practical in their other models. Go for them instead.
fJ s, 4 Runners and XTerras do a much better job of giving you better around vehicles then any Wrangler if you are at all serious about going off round and not bouncing around getting there.
I like @mustangman’s discription ! The new Jeep Grand Cherokees are really awesome…though, along with awesome prices to match.
My 2 cents
I see no reason to put a V8 in a jeep unless your shooting for time through the Mud Bog
The new Grand Cherokee may be awesome but they are UGLY
The larger of Jeep’s CJ 6 cylinders had plenty of torque and adding a Quadra Jet to that engine put it over the top in performance. A large V-8 would usually result in stripped ring and pinions and broken drive shafts while the stock V-8 had less low end torque than the 6 cylinder. If used as it was intended the 4 cylinder was more than adequate, though… As I recall, anyway.