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AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

954 views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  raymo 
#1 ·
AAAHHHHH, i dont know what to get, lol. I got a bunch of different choices in jeeps to get. I have like a 6K limit, which i would like to get one really for around 4,500 so i can do mods to it right away. I could go for the 90 YJ that has a carb and get that for around 4,500 and see how i can do with the carb and if i dont like it upgrade to EFI. OR i could get a 91 EFI for like 6K and hope nothing at all goes wrong for a few years and make no mods for a few years. Or i have one more idea, get a 4cyl EFI, i dont know what year that starts in the YJ series, so if someone would tell me. Another thing im not sure about, is could it handle like 33's or 35's? and can it handle off road and on road on the highway?. Someone please help me out here, im going crazy with all these choices. thanks
andrew

 
G
#2 ·
All I can say is to get what you want out of a Jeep. If you shopping around , have a preference and if one isn't available then wait a little while. A jeep to fit your needs will turn up.

Before I got my cj I was shopping around for a Wrangler and looked at three.

1 '94 wrangler 4.0 Efi auto tranny didn't like auto tranny
2 '94 Wrangler 4 cyl 5spd. the little engine could push adequate power but, Didn't want a 4cyl.
3 '95 Wrangler 4.0 EFI 5spd. Very nice very powerful. Didn't like the price. Salesman wouldn't take less than $11,000 So I said no.

Then an opportunity for a cj turned up and I snagged it. Now I can build it any way I want.

 
#3 ·
yeah, i understand that, wait and one will turn up, but for one to turn up, i need to know what i should look for, i need someone to give me there opinion on what they woudl do if they were me. I dont have much money, and like you i dont want a weak 4cyl. I would like EFI, but thats over my price rangle, and a 90 wrangler 6cyl is in my price range, but im not to sure about the carb, i mean, some people like it, who says i wont. I mean, couldnt i just upgrade to a EFI in a few years. do yo uall think the 90 is the right thing for me? or what? please give me some opinions. thanks
andrew

 
#4 ·
I would get the '91 4.0EFI. I can't imagine that there is that much difference in the price. I don't think it is ever worth it to do the aftermarket EFI on a 4.2l. I like the power and low-end grunt of the 4.2, but I would never spend $2000 to put fuel injection on it. For that much money you could buy a complete 4.0HO engine. So if you can't afford a '91 model then look for any model between 87-90 and get the best one for the money. They are all virtually the same. Try to avoid the Puegeot tranny at all costs. If insurance cost is an issue on the '91 then raise your deductible amounts to lower the premium. By this time next year the insurance cost on a '91 should be the same as the '90 model now. Get the 4.0HO EFI you won't regret it.

Later,

http://home.off-road.com/~tom85cj7/home.htm
 
#5 ·
alright, well, the 91, i cant really find for less than like 6k, so, i think i would get a 90, and then if i didnt like the engine or something id upgrade to a 4.0 or something, or when the engine gives out, so i could by a cheap one with high miles and replace the engine in a few years, you think thats a bad idea?

 
G
#6 ·
If it were " me " with my personal preference, I'd want the fuel injection model 5 spd. But I 'd go ahead and buy the carb'd '90 model but only if I knew that a fuel injection engine could be swapped in. Now I wouldn't be able to tell you if it can be done because I'am new to the Jeep line myself. I'd run the carb'd engine till something happened to it or until you're ready to up-grade. But then again if you're not careful ,the savings you make on the '90 purchase may be equivalent to the cost of up-grading with the fuel injection. " I don't know."


That's just my $.02 cents See now you got me thinking..

 
#7 ·
My '89 YJ is my first car. If I had it to do all over again I would have held out for a '91 or newer with the 4.0 H.O. and 5-speed transmission.

WHY? The BBD carb is a real hassle. You do little fixes to it all the time while on the trail. I was alway spraying my venturi bolts out or doing something else to it. It really sucks when the engine doesn't idle! I spent $700+ upgrading the engine. A new carb was one of the first mods.

Having a manual transmission can save your butt! If the starter or battery dies you can still get it running. This prevents you from needing to immediately spend $$$ to be able to drive.

My Jeep was damned near stock. Discounting the things I needed to replace for reliability issues (the BBD carb, mostly), it was as stock as they get! I did the following to it, and went many, many places that even larger trucks had difficulty going!

*Replaced carb
*Converted to HEI ignition (didn't know about TFI then) for water resistance.
*Built/Installed snorkel. (This is much easier to do on an EFI rig! I had to have parts custom made for my carb.)
*Disconnected sway bar and both track-bars. This made the second-most noticeable difference in off-road ability, and only minimally impacted on-road performance.
*4"-extended Stainless-steel brakelines. Without the sway and track bars I had enough flex to rip apart the stock lines. These work perfectly! My shocks are currently the limiting factor in suspension movement.
*New tires! Brand-new (in '98 I think it was...) 31x10.5x15 Bridgestone MTs on stock rims. These made the biggest difference in off-road performance.

Things I could still do to the stock suspension to improve it:
*Old Man Emu's "Hydro shocks" have the same compressed length, but allow 2" more droop.
*Open the spring-clamps on the leaf packs to allow for this extra 2" of droop.

With the setup I had, my Jeep went many places and surprised many people. I did as well as many of the lifted Jeeps around here, and kept up with many lifted full-size rigs as well! To my knowlege I was the last person to successfully run "the ditch" at Crane Park, and I did it three times that night. My friend's '78 Cherokee on 36s didn't even make it. (It was a real B@LL$-to-the-wall run which I'm sure contributed to the untimely death of the BA-10 tranny....)

However- put me on a steep hill and the engine just quit running /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif Bounce the Jeep hard, and the engine quit running /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif Get an itty bitty piece of dirt into the wrong part of the carb...and the engine quit running /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif There were times I just didn't want to drive my Jeep because I didn't want to deal with the constant engine adjustments.

Swapping to EFI can be done, and for less than the $1500 difference you are talking about. You'll have to get a 4.0 head, computer (appropriate to your transmission- manual or auto), and the wiring harness. Then you have to find out what wires from that harness you actually need and what else can be taken out. Same goes for the wiring harness already in the Jeep. Some of it stays and some of it goes. Dont expect this to be a quick and easy process!
Personally, it scares the hell out of me! Give me a wrench and I'll stand a good enough chance at fixing something, but give me a soldering iron and I'm only going to burn the hell out of myself repeatedly.

Having said all that, my vote is to wait it out until you find a '91+ Jeep (with manual tranny) in the $5000 range. Yank the track-bars and spend the rest on sway-bar discos, 31" Mud Tires (oh hell, get swamper TSL SXs /wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif), and a nice set of tow-hooks for it.

 
#8 ·
Hey, I have another idea, now that you have said what your budget is....

What about a late model CJ7? I've seen those sell for around $3,000 that need a little work. Many times they run badly (due to carb, smog, etc). Either plan on swapping to a 4.0 or buy the MPI kit and 4.0 head. You then would have a great engine (4.2 stroke, with 4.0 head, and efi), a decent 5 speed (assuming you get a T5 (maybe you get lucky and find one with a T176) a great transfer case, and better axles (front axle with manual lockout hubs, rear much larger ring gear/no c clip), plus you get the cool round headlights.

The more I think about it, that's exactly what I would do.

-raymo
4.6 Stroker Scrambler
 
#9 ·
You can get a 91 for less than $6000, you just have to haggle. Instead of looking at the ads in the paper and being discurraged by the price, go look at the jeep anyway. Pick out every little thing wrong with it. If it is a private seller you would be amazed how quick they will lower the price when the thing sits in their driveway for a month and they are still paying insurance on it and the new car they are replacing it with. If it is the used car section of an auto dealer(not independent, but at a new car dealership) If they tell you 6k ---tell them 4800 or nothing. I worked in the prep department of a ford dealer, people would trade in cars for 2 grand and the next day it would be on the lot for 4500 with nothing done to it besides a quick 2 minute wash with a garden hose.

Bring the money you are willing to spend and start knocking down prices. if they don't accept your offer someone else will.

 
#10 ·
Like Jimmy said, don't take the written price as gospel. I found this baby advertised around your price range by an individual and after a couple of days of hard haggling I managed to take it for $2000 less! Many times you have better luck with individuals then with dealers. I was looking around for 4 months until I found this one!


'91 YJ,I-6,2.5" lift,Boomerangs,33s,D30,D35c,Lock-Rights F&R
 

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#11 ·
Best and hardest thing to do... wait until your deal comes around. I was faithfully devoted to the classifieds and the truck trader for almost six months before I actually got mine.

I could not believe that just about any CJ that runs here in Phoenix can command $5000. I waited and made offers, waited and made offers until finally I found it. The seller thought it needed a new rear end because of a clunking noise. But really it was slop in the drive train. I just replaced all mounts, tightened loose axle ubolts and the replaced the wrong ujoints he had installed with the right ones. Runs great. Picked it up for $2600.

Be patient. It does pay!

BigHG
84 CJ7
 
#12 ·
well i could do what raymo said and get the cj7, that is actually what i really want, but the only problem, i would reck that so fast, no power steering and no power breaks, haha, i test drove one and almost ran it off the road 5 times, luckly i knew the guy. I mean, i would so want to do that so bad, but its so much harder than it sounds, replacing an engine, and what abou tthe power steering and brakes, how much does that cost and how easy is that to add, i have to have those. And also, im not positive if i could get it running with a 6K budget, and would my dad let me take a chance like that? i dunno. I just find it that a yj would be more reliable, but if you all convence me that getting a cheap ass cj-7 and putting in a 4L engine(without changing the tranny can be done) and adding power steering and brakes for less than 6K, then i could consider it.

 
#13 ·
Look around and try and find a later cj7, you should be able to find one with power brakes and steering. Then again if you pick one up with manual steering and brakes you will get used to it in not much time.

 
#15 ·
I thought that most of the later CJs did come with power steering and brakes. Mine did, but the steering was too loose so I put in an AGR box ($300) that makes mine drive like a YJ.

Here's another consideration......maybe just replace the carb for now to save money until you can swap engines. My neighbor (93Buff) has a CJ7 that has a carb from Jeeps R Us that is the factory Carter carb and they do some nice things to it to make it reliable. It has really nice smooth power. I think they are http://www.jeepsrus.com

I agree you will need something reliable, but if you can be a little bit patient and wait for the right deal, you could end up with the ultimate Jeep you want. Wait for one with power steering, power brakes, 6 cyl., body/frame not rusted and the rest can come easy....even on a budget. You need to get it somewhat reliable first, then start knocking off the thing that bugs you most. Pretty soon you will have a reliable, easy to drive, capable rig and you will love it and yourself for going through that process.

Swapping in a 4.0 is going be minimum $1,500 out the door, but some have spent up to $3,000.

If you don't find a '91 or newer that you can afford (which is not a bad choice either) I would get a CJ before settling on a YJ with the same carb/smog issues, not to mention the early YJ peogeot tranny, vacuum axle disconnect junk, etc.

-raymo
4.6 Stroker Scrambler
 
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