From: Todd O'Connor <todd@taligent.com>
Subject: Re: #^#^# Jeep Wrangler Experiences WANTED
X-Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 14:33:54 GMT
Organization: Taligent, Inc.
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d3
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 21:33:18 GMT


I own a 1989 Jeep Wrangler Sahara and really like it. I've also owned
earlier
CJ's and there are differences and reasons for owning each style. The CJ's
are modified much easier for off-road whereas the Wranglers are much more
civilized, not to say they don't hold their own off-road because they do.

Some of the options you should look at:

ENGINE:

By all means go with the 4.0L fuel injected I-6.  With some 180+
horsepower
it puts my 4.2L 258 I-6 to shame. The fuel injected I-6 is so tempting I'm
looking at swapping mine out by next year. The fuel injection is very very
nice in the higher altitudes and when rock crawling. You'll need the I-6
if you want to put on larger tires.

TRANSMISSION/DRIVE TRAIN:

If you're going to do any off-road driving and don't want to sink big $$$$
into aftermarket parts right away opt for the 3.54:1 gear ratio with
Trac-Lok (limited-slip) rear. Stock gears are 3.07 and are great for
highway
but if you put on larger tires you'll really be working the clutch and
engine
much harder than need be. I've had problems with 2nd gear especially in
cold
weather. Synchros could be going?

TIRES:

I have 30x9.50/15's on the Jeep alloy wheels. That is the largest size
that
will fit without too much rubbing. I have seen 31x10.50/15's on Wranglers
but
they are mounted on aftermarket rims with smaller backspacing, ie. the
wheels stick outside of the fender flares. If you go with 31x10.50/15's
and the
stock rims you will rub the tires on hard turns and possibly on the fender
flares when bottoming out the suspension.

STABILITY:

Fine. You'd really have to do something stupid to roll a Wrangler. It can
be
done and I've seen the results but with the longer wheelbase and wider
track 
width the stability is there (at stock height). If you put on a 2"-4"
lift kit
you've just raised your center of gravity and you have more chance of 
rolling it.

THEFT:

No problems so far but I don't keep anything of value in the Jeep. When
the
hardtop comes off everything else comes out.

BODY:

Not the best quality control from Chrysler. Paint runs, spot weld marks,
loose
nuts and bolts all over, etc?. I've seen and owned better. My feeling
is that Chrysler is building the Jeeps the same or worse than before,
letting
the name Jeep sell itself, and charging more. In my opinion Chrysler is
the
worse thing that happened to Jeep.



IN CLOSING:

Test drive one for a good while. If you can borrow one do so. Jeeps take
a special
kind of owner. It is not your everyday, comfortable, runabout. They have
a stiff
suspension, drive like a truck, have heavy clutches, and have small
storage capacity.
They have come a long way since my fist Jeep and it's still the vehicle of
choice for me. Mine is my daily driver and I do spend time off-road with
it. I've
changed tire sizes, gear ratios, added locking differentials, am running
synthetic
lubricants and have had a blast all the time. I see you're at Apple. I'm
right next
door at Taligent. Stop on by and we can talk some more.


-Todd O'Connor
Newsgroups: rec.autos