Just curious to know, anyone here who is into Jeeps? Let say off roading, mud runs etc?
I, myself love’s to modifying trucks. I own a Jeep XJ and it’s my current project truck, my most current mods is a set of Toyo tires and a 3-inch lift kit. I’m getting ready for this weekends mud run. So who else here would like to share some stories and current mods with their rides?
Since the OP is looking for personal experiences, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
How about past tense. I had an XJ from 2002 throught 2011, than a WJ from 2011 to 2016. I absolutely loved the road feel of them. The XJ was a the Up Country edition in a beautiful forest green, the WJ was an Overland with heated leather and real wood. I loved the Quadra-Drive transfer case.
What I didn’t love is that you couldn’t go the grocery store without wondering if you were going to break down. The XJ was tolerable since it only left me sitting twice, with an overheated radiator at 150,000 miles, and a bad alternator at 230,000,
It would need anywhere between a couple of hundred to $1000 or so in repairs a couple of times a year. Which was tolerable, but eventually it developed major holes in the body and floorpan, and I got a WJ. The WJ would need that amount in repairs seemingly every other oil change. A car should be able to go 250,000 miles without needing major drivetrain work, but at 130,000 miles the WJ needed the upper engine rebuilt after the radiator failed without triggering an over-temperature warning. I had it done, then at 180,000 it the transmission started throwing trouble codes and slipping. Before I could get it rebuilt the engine rod-knocked itself to death in a Menards parking lot. Did I mention it had death wobble too? Nothing like going over a bridge and your car feels like it’s going to launch itself over the side. (By contrast the XJ never scared me and the engine and tranny were running like clockwork until the body started to literally fall apart)
I now own a RAV-4. It has all the fun of the over-sized station wagon that it is and I had to get the bare-bones model to be able to afford one. But now I can count on getting where I’m going.
I’ve owned three Jeep Wranglers: a black/white '92, a black '98 and a black/red 2001. The last two were Saharas. The difference in ride between the 92 and the others was like night and day. With the '92, you had to wear a hardhat to drive down a gravel road. I took it to Africa with us, and it served us well. Ended up selling it to a Japanese contractor when we left.
I like Jeeps/off roading.
But I haven’t had a Jeep. I’ve been muddin in a friends p/u and my own motorcycles. Just can’t afford a 4 wheel off road toy.
If I had the money, I’ve always dreamed of a big block 4 speed cj5.
Was AMC’s 401 any good?
We’re just getting started - picked up an 18 Willys Wheeler edition.
Got a '73 Commando, AMC 360 out of a Wagoneer. Real piece of junk, actually. Electrical nightmare, horrible build quality (the doors close sometimes :rolleyes: ) and would leave me broken/stranded pretty often. The transmission finally went out, and it was cheaper to buy a ratty XJ than fix the TH400.
The XJ isn’t so bad. Jeep made some pretty good improvements in the 17 years since the Commando.
The vacuum bullshit to lock the front axle is whack, but I corrected that with a couple washers and a spacer.
Got Cepek Extremes (pretty weak-ass tires, really. Got a puncture from Grease-wood.), about 3" of lift, all kind of crazy home-made mods.
I drive it almost every day, strictly off-road. It does pretty well and hasn’t broke down yet. I bought it with over 200k on it, and the electrical system was kinda tore up and the interior was ratty. But for very little, got it serviceable (I use it to take dogs out in the desert/mountains) and have a good time.
Went from completely stock and tore up to where it is now for a net of almost exactly $1000 (including the purchase for $560 and a 6" Subway sandwich). I sold the garbage Kenda tires and wheels, got a big rebate on the Cepek’s and got some free wheels. Single most expensive investment was for a lift kit off Craigslist.
Some pics here. Second pic in top row is most recent: bob smith | Flickr
I’ve owned 4 Jeep Wranglers, all 2 door manual transmissions. The first thing I do after getting a new Wrangler home is to remove the back seat. I wrap it in a tarp and put it in the shed. Then I put a piece of carpet remnant in the back. That’s where the dogs ride. I rig the passenger seat to accept our bird’s travel cage, that’s where he rides. My Wranglers are one man vehicles, but I like them.
My first acquaintance with a Jeep was my high school buddy’s '47 Willys bobtail. His dad picked it up new from Army surplus, and my friend build a wooden cab to mount on it, which made it terribly top-heavy. In 1965, it still had the original 16-ply military tires mounted on split rims. It was dangerous to drive, but man did we have some fun times in it.
I currently own a '72 CJ 5 with the 304 V8. I blew out the radiator two years ago and haven’t had the time to get it back up and running. Last year i took our Jeep Grand Cherokee on a class 4 trail but had to stop when it turned to a 5. I did that twice getting back to my hunting spot.
Right now I’m really excited for the Scrambler to get released next year and the diesel engine and Ill probaly sell my CJ and trade in the grand cherokee to buy it.
07 JKU Rubi – keeps me happy 
. It replaced my 07 JKU X which burned last spring (probably catalytic converter) 
.
I started (but gave away about a decade or so ago) The CJ2A Page. Does that count?
Might get around to installing the second, back-up battery and an isolator this week if the weather is too shitty to ski. The parts just sit there and look at me.
I have a 2016 two door Sahara, manual transmission with a soft top. My dogs both have seatbelts so they are safe when the top is down. I friggin’ love my Jeep. I upgrades my bare-bone 2013 Sport (which we named Ernie Mangoes, due to his bright mango colour). New one is Stitch, and it’s blue.
I also have a 15 year old daughter that is chomping at the bit to drive it.
I love Jeep Wranglers for their diversity, and for just being so darn basic. Read one article from Consumer Reports which often puts down Jeeps for a variety of reasons, but admitted when it comes to off-road, they are hard to beat. In CO, where I’m at, a good portion of the miles are off-road. Wouldn’t use it for a regular driver on the highway. I like mainly the top configurations of the Wrangler. I have the hard top, t-top, soft-top, bikini-top, or just go topless. Also, doors are so easy to take off, and if you prefer, remove the windshield. Went with the 2DR since they are so much easier to manuever with their shorter wheel-base.
I highly recommend a rack, since Wranglers are not noted for their cargo space.
FWIW, if one is interested in buying one, seriously investigate by a good road test to see if you have any tire wobble and other alignment problems. Even standard Jeeps can have this problem, look up death wobble, but it is noted more on custom builds, and some have it more severe than others. Every single one I drove had some, but I was looking at custom Jeeps with the bigger wheels and tires and lift kits. Some are noticable almost immediately that something isn’t right. Other’s need more time. Certain bumps can sometimes set it off. Mine is so sporadic, I missed it on the test ride. Nothing so severe that it was uncontrollable, but it still gets your attention. Wobble is so common on custom Jeeps, many try to sell you on the point that this is just normal. I kind of doubt that, but still a bit of a newbie to Jeeps.
Had a 92 Cherokee and loved it for the most part. I put in the factory skid plates, upped the tires to 32" Pirelli Scorpions, and QRs for the front anti-sway bar which drastically improved the articulation. Planned mods were 3 inch Rough Country lift, 4.7 L stroker kit, uprated axles and locking diffs. Unfortunately, I had to trade it in when my marriage went blooie and I needed a more fuel efficient vehicle.
My 911 was a little impractical, so I bought a 1999 Cherokee. I’ve had it since new, and it’s just a couple hundred miles away from a quarter-million miles on the clock. It did its job, and it did it well. Moving to Washington would have been harder without it. Even with all of those miles on it, it still runs strong. The Deep Amethyst paint and the grey cloth upholstery are still in great condition. (Well, there’s that small liquid latex spill on the cargo area carpet.) But I no longer need it. It sits in the driveway and gets started occasionally, and sometimes it gets driven. But The Missus has her RAV4 and I have my Prius. The Cherokee is patiently waiting.