tj questions?

dunstan74

dunstan74

New member
My girlfriend is looking into buying a tj, she fell in love with everything about jeeps after doing some trails and exploring in my jk.

Couple of things I wanted to know before we go jeep hunting.

1. What year models should we be looking at? Any changes throughout tj production that would warrant looking for a specific year?

2. Auto or manual 5 or 6 speed? Personal perfrance asside, mechanical whats the stronger\better performing transmission?

3. Any major things to look out for when inspecting before handing over the cash? Like tj specific problems?

4. It will be wheeled and seeing bigger tires so and from what little I do know already a dana 35 rear isnt exactly sought after. Is the dana 44 rear only under rubi tjs or can I find in under another model?

Still on the topic of axles, are all tj dana 30 low pinion?

5. anything that people would like to add that is important to know it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 
The 2003-2004 tj's have a 4 speed automatic trans that is nice. Pick up a Rubicon if you can. Be careful purchasing somebody else's mistakes with bad upgrades that could cause mechanical problems. I really like TJ and it runs fantastic. Of course you want the inline 6 cylinder engine.
 
not a whole lot of difference between years except some trim package options, that i recall.
SE model is usually a 4 cylinder, Sport is 4.0, rubi is 4.0
Majority came with dana 35, only a few came with a dana44 (towing package) which also meant 3.73 instead of 3.07 and 3.55 gears. 4 banger manual and rubi's had 4.10's. 4 banger auto had 3.73
Unlimited's started in 03 and had a dana 44 and a 4.0.
Rubi is front and rear dana 44
all others have a Low Pinion front dana 30 including the unlimited.
You can straight swap in a high pinion from an XJ (avoid a 99 or newer XJ- they had LP 30's)
You can also find dana 44's to swap out if you get one with a d35.
Not familiar if rust is an issue down under, but i would definately check out the frame very closely.
 
pvanweelden said:
not a whole lot of difference between years except some trim package options, that i recall.
SE model is usually a 4 cylinder, Sport is 4.0, rubi is 4.0
Majority came with dana 35, only a few came with a dana44 (towing package) which also meant 3.73 instead of 3.07 and 3.55 gears. 4 banger manual and rubi's had 4.10's. 4 banger auto had 3.73
Unlimited's started in 03 and had a dana 44 and a 4.0.
Rubi is front and rear dana 44
all others have a Low Pinion front dana 30 including the unlimited.
You can straight swap in a high pinion from an XJ (avoid a 99 or newer XJ- they had LP 30's)
You can also find dana 44's to swap out if you get one with a d35.
Not familiar if rust is an issue down under, but i would definately check out the frame very closely.
Click to expand...

What he said.^^^ Also when checking for rust check the floor boards. I found a nice hole in mine after I bought it.
 
dunstan74 said:
My girlfriend is looking into buying a tj, she fell in love with everything about jeeps after doing some trails and exploring in my jk.

Couple of things I wanted to know before we go jeep hunting.

1. What year models should we be looking at? Any changes throughout tj production that would warrant looking for a specific year?

2. Auto or manual 5 or 6 speed? Personal perfrance asside, mechanical whats the stronger\better performing transmission?

3. Any major things to look out for when inspecting before handing over the cash? Like tj specific problems?

4. It will be wheeled and seeing bigger tires so and from what little I do know already a dana 35 rear isnt exactly sought after. Is the dana 44 rear only under rubi tjs or can I find in under another model?

Still on the topic of axles, are all tj dana 30 low pinion?

5. anything that people would like to add that is important to know it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Here is a great buyers guide for the Tjs.. I found it while trying to find out if my hp30 came stock on my Tj.. It's got some great things to look for when buying..

http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1001-jeep-wrangler-tj-buyers-guide/


My ride- 2001 power wheel, 11" plastic tires, upgraded battery, boat sides, custom bumpers, tow hooks, new paint.
 
Thanks for the input everyone, makes searching abit easier now.

A rubicon would be awesome but im not sure if they were ever released over here untill the jk came in? Could be wrong though?

Will definitely look out for the tow package but if we can't find it we'll just keep an eye on the junk yards if any pop up.

Also how many kms (or miles to the majority of you) are expected out of a well maintained tj?

And that article was a really good read, very helpful.
 
the inline 6 is an amazing motor when maintained- my last one had 130k and I considered that barely broke in.
I've seen several reach 250k with no problems.
the 4 banger is a lil different- I replaced one with 100k that had some lifter noise (was easier to swap than fix the lifters to me)
the tranny behind the 4 banger is ok, the tranny behind the 4.0 is much better, auto or manual.
 
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