I'm About To Sell This.........

Qball

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And buy this:


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I want to sell my 2016 JK and buy this 2005 TJ Rubicon from a dealer up in PA. It's a one owner and is an exact duplicate of the 2006 Rubicon I bought new in '06 and handed down to my son. The dealer is going to take some pics of the underside of that TJ and email them to me tomorrow. I just want to make sure it doesn't have severe corrosion from the salt they dump on the roads up there. Hopefully the owner knew to hose off the underside after driving on salt covered roads up there. They're asking $14,900 which isn't a bad price at all considering the condition it is in and the equipped options.

My current 2016 JK is very nice except for one thing that I just can't seem to get past: The engine. I hate the engine. I'm sure it will make someone a nice Jeep Rubicon...... just not me.
 
What is it about the engine @Qball ?
 
What is it about the engine @Qball ?

It's not a bad engine reliability or power wise. It's just that it's a car engine. This new Jeep Renegade pickup that a lot of folks are going bonkers over is going to have, at least for the first year or so, the exact same 3.6L Pentastar engine that's in my 2016 JK. It's a car engine and not a dedicated truck engine like the 4.0L I-6 that is in the TJ.

Jeeps and trucks do not perform well with engines that are tuned for highway use. I can hook up my trailer to my son's TJ, which has 95 less peak horsepower and 30 ft. lbs less peak torque than my JK, load up my 850 lb. Outlander and you cannot tell you are pulling it behind that TJ.

If I do the same with my JK, which I have several times, you can definitely tell you are pulling something and you have to downshift on hills and the fuel mileage drops off much worse than the TJ.

Basically it just sucks when you're trying to do Jeep things and really sucks when you're driving it like a car in the mountains on the highway. The cruise control won't hold and you have to downshift to 5th most of the time on steeper hills. It's not necessary to do so while driving the TJ. They both have the exact same Dana 44s with 4.11 final drive. It's just that the DOHC car engine in my JK doesn't produce good hp and torque until you really rev it. The TJ produces it's peak hp and torque at a much lower RPM which is much more desirable in a vehicle such as a Jeep Wrangler, even on the street.
 
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This is because Jeep made a "brand" that went away from what their original buyers wanted. 99% of their buyers today never do squat with them besides buy expensive coffee. No one buying new Jeeps understands torque, gearing , rear ends, etc. They are fashion accessories, and the company is feeding that demand.
 
This is because Jeep made a "brand" that went away from what their original buyers wanted. 99% of their buyers today never do squat with them besides buy expensive coffee. No one buying new Jeeps understands torque, gearing , rear ends, etc. They are fashion accessories, and the company is feeding that demand.

I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly. I guess that's why there are a crap ton of JKs on dealer's used car lots and not near as many TJs or older Jeep models. It's easy to find used JKs for sale out there. But finding nice TJs is very difficult because true Jeep folks tend to hold onto them. Many of the 99% you mentioned end up trading their fancy Jeep in for a car or something more refined. There's a bubble growing there however. That phenomenon is going to eventually come back to bite the manufacturer, and bite hard. Once the market gets saturated with a particular model of used vehicle, the values start to plummet which has a very negative impact on the sales of the new models at the dealerships.
 
One of the reasons I got rid of my Jeep , Dave. That engine sucked. I shouldnā€™t have to put something in 4L just to take off up a tiny hill pulling a jet ski trailer with two kayaks on it.
 
2B4E2688-C92D-41D6-B1C7-441E19808460.jpeg90437E7E-481C-46CA-9D3E-E08D47C97650.jpeg Iā€™ve got both a 99 TJ and a 18 JK. I use the JK as a toy. Itā€™s nice to drive the wife around the mountains with the top off, but, if I want to go back into good trout fishing holes, I take the TJ.
 
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Had a 1994 YJ with the 4.0 inline, it was bulletproof. Wish I had never sold it, loved that thing. Hope the undercarriage is good shape. Good luck Qball. Not sure what part of PA you're looking at, but they have a 1000 yard range I've been wanting to go check out.
 
Not sure what part of PA you're looking at, but they have a 1000 yard range I've been wanting to go check out.

Chambersburg, PA, just north and across the border from Hagerstown, MD and just above the northeastern panhandle of WV. If the underside checks out okay, I'll hire a transporter to get it down here. I'll do the same as I've done on my other Jeeps and replace the stock wheels and tires first and then do a few other things such as replacing the stock headlights, fog lights, and the radio. If the shocks and steering stabilizer are original, those will be replaced as well. Probably also install some front seat covers and new carpet.

Then I'll check the engine over real good and replace anything necessary such as the accessory drive belt and spark plugs if needed. The owner installed a K&N conical air filter on it with an aftermarket intake crossover pipe. The stock air intake box and crossover will also be reinstalled. Other than the air filter and rear bumper, there doesn't appear to be any other aftermarket items installed on this Jeep. I'm really looking forward to getting another TJ. It was difficult to hand mine down to my son back in 2016 but doing so kept it in the family.
 
So nowā€™s a bad time to bring up liking the new Jeep truck...and not denying that thereā€™s a chance Iā€™d buy coffee that costs more than $1 a cup while driving it?
 
I'll do the same as I've done on my other Jeeps and replace the stock wheels and tires first and then do a few other things such as replacing the stock headlights, fog lights, and the radio. If the shocks and steering stabilizer are original, those will be replaced as well. Probably also install some front seat covers and new carpet.

Then I'll check the engine over real good and replace anything necessary such as the accessory drive belt and spark plugs if needed. The owner installed a K&N conical air filter on it with an aftermarket intake crossover pipe. The stock air intake box and crossover will also be reinstalled.


Yeah, sounds like Jeeps are just great. First thing you do is rebuild it.
 
So nowā€™s a bad time to bring up liking the new Jeep truck...and not denying that thereā€™s a chance Iā€™d buy coffee that costs more than $1 a cup while driving it?


If they would bring back a fuel injected version of the AMC 360 cid pushrod V-8 and slap it in that new Renegade, I'd already have one on order.
 
Well, if the dealer doesn't sell it by then, I'm flying up there Thursday to take a test drive and closer look at this Rubicon. If he does sell it before then, my plane ticket won't go to waist because I can visit my sister who lives in Lancaster. If all goes well and I like what I see, I'll give them a down payment to hold it for me until I can hire a transporter to bring it down here to NC.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that I can score this nice one owner TJ. Nice ones are hard to find and nice Rubicons that are equipped the way I want are even harder to find.

One other item I forgot to mention about my 2016 JK, it leaks in three different places when it rains. It leaks at the passenger side door and down onto the floor mat, (I fixed it once then it started again), it leaks at the front of the roof where the two tops join, and it just started leaking at the top of the rear window seal.:mad:

Looking forward to getting this TJ and selling my JK.
 
Iā€™ve got an aunt that lives in Chambersburg.
 
Well, I'm up here in PA. Just got to the hotel after looking at this TJ. It's a nice one.

The only strange thing is the previous owner put an aftermarket Warn rear bumper that has a trailer hitch receiver, but no wiring harness for the lights. I think he was using it for some other purpose. No big deal, easy fix.

The body and interior is in excellent condition. It also has a brand new soft top. Can't wait to get it home and start personalizing it, i.e., new tires and wheels, etc...
 
Dave, let me know when you are ready to sell the JK, I have a good friend in Ohio that is looking for a nice JK 2 door with a 6 speed.

Will certainly do sir. Mine is very nice and well taken care of. I'll be in touch Daryl.
 
5.7 hemi conversion for the JK!

iā€™ve got a grand cherokee and a chrysler 300 w that engine and the power band is really nice and flat. i think it would be really sweet in a JK.

my wifeā€™s 2007 JK 4-door Rubicon with a 3.8 minivan engine is still cruising along fine even though it canā€™t get out of its own way. it might be destined for Hemi one day
 
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I had some Jeeps in the 70s. A Levi and a Golden Eagle. In 2009 I got back into Jeeps again. I drove it for 5 years without 1 single problem. I then bought a '14. '15, '16, '17, and 2 2018s. I use them for nothing but back and forth to work 40 miles a day and get a great deal of enjoyment outta them.
I was at the Jeep dealer Saturday and noticed that it seems to me that FCA is doing all they can to kill the brand. The 4 cylinder turbo will never be in my shed, nor the diesel. I also noticed there was not one Jeep on the lot under $30K. Bad JUJU!! All Rubicons were over $50K. The base price across the board went up over $3K on all models. This is the cash cow for these folks and they are out to kill it.
With them winning Motor Trend's SUV of the year and the new gizmos they are flying off the lot with very little, if any, discounts. The one I have will suit my purposes for as long as I need a Jeep. I had a '17 converted to a pick up and it was pretty cool. The new one is said to base at $55. No Thanks.
 
It's not a bad engine reliability or power wise. It's just that it's a car engine. This new Jeep Renegade pickup that a lot of folks are going bonkers over is going to have, at least for the first year or so, the exact same 3.6L Pentastar engine that's in my 2016 JK. It's a car engine and not a dedicated truck engine like the 4.0L I-6 that is in the TJ.

Jeeps and trucks do not perform well with engines that are tuned for highway use. I can hook up my trailer to my son's TJ, which has 95 less peak horsepower and 30 ft. lbs less peak torque than my JK, load up my 850 lb. Outlander and you cannot tell you are pulling it behind that TJ.

If I do the same with my JK, which I have several times, you can definitely tell you are pulling something and you have to downshift on hills and the fuel mileage drops off much worse than the TJ.

Basically it just sucks when you're trying to do Jeep things and really sucks when you're driving it like a car in the mountains on the highway. The cruise control won't hold and you have to downshift to 5th most of the time on steeper hills. It's not necessary to do so while driving the TJ. They both have the exact same Dana 44s with 4.11 final drive. It's just that the DOHC car engine in my JK doesn't produce good hp and torque until you really rev it. The TJ produces it's peak hp and torque at a much lower RPM which is much more desirable in a vehicle such as a Jeep Wrangler, even on the street.
Would swapping gears help? A set of 3.73s or 4.11s might help.
 
Would swapping gears help? A set of 3.73s or 4.11s might help.

It's got 4.11 gears. I thought about going to 4.56 but I decided against it. I just like the smaller TJ with the 4.0L better.
 
It's got 4.11 gears. I thought about going to 4.56 but I decided against it. I just like the smaller TJ with the 4.0L better.
Our slug got some 5.13 G2's when the rear end grenaded (thankfully in the driveway) while I was in there we added some arb love as well and new G2 axles to finish it off. Helped quite a bit with the 35's but it's still a mini van motor after all. I forsee a hemi or a small diesel swap in its future for the minion who has started driving her.
 
It's got 4.11 gears. I thought about going to 4.56 but I decided against it. I just like the smaller TJ with the 4.0L better.
6 speed in both? The 4.0 might make more lower end tq. The 4.56 would be an improvement. It just hard for me to believe there is that much difference.
 
Our slug got some 5.13 G2's when the rear end grenaded (thankfully in the driveway) while I was in there we added some arb love as well and new G2 axles to finish it off. Helped quite a bit with the 35's but it's still a mini van motor after all. I forsee a hemi or a small diesel swap in its future for the minion who has started driving her.
Turbo BT4 might be the ticket.
 
6 speed in both? The 4.0 might make more lower end tq. The 4.56 would be an improvement. It just hard for me to believe there is that much difference.

Yep. Both are 6 speed manuals. Driving around town you don't notice much difference. But as soon as you start driving hills or mountains, or pulling a loaded trailer, it's very noticeable.

All you have to do is look at the horsepower and torque curves for each engine.

Besides, that 4.0 liter is a simple time proven OHV pushrod engine. Personally, in my opinion, it's the better engine for a Jeep Wrangler.
 
Yep. Both are 6 speed manuals. Driving around town you don't notice much difference. But as soon as you start driving hills or mountains, or pulling a loaded trailer, it's very noticeable.

All you have to do is look at the horsepower and torque curves for each engine.

Besides, that 4.0 liter is a simple time proven OHV pushrod engine. Personally, in my opinion, it's the better engine for a Jeep Wrangler.
Yes the 4.0 and most all inlines are more reliable.
 
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Just arrived home with it a short while ago. Driving this TJ, and my son's, is a pleasure compared to my JK.

Many don't mind driving the JKs with the Pentastar 3.6. I do however. The only way I can accurately describe the difference between the two is this description:

When driving the TJ, I can fling it around and have ample amounts of torque and make it move with little effort on the gas pedal. The throttle input and corresponding tach/speedo reaction is very linear. It doesn't matter which gear you're in as well.

When driving the JK, it basically feels like it is trying to dig itself out of a hole all of the time, regardless of which gear. The only way to remedy this is to rev the crap out of it and drive around a couple of gears lower than I would in the TJ.

The TJ is just flat out more enjoyable to drive period, from my perspective anyway.
 
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6 speed in both? The 4.0 might make more lower end tq. The 4.56 would be an improvement. It just hard for me to believe there is that much difference.
With the 4.0 engine....4.11 ring&pinion is about right for 33"-35" tires......unless its off road only. You can put around town at 50-55 mph while barely touching the gas. At 70 mph or so it turned about 2500 rpms.
 
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