Things Chrysler did a great job on with the TJ
- Thread starter PNW_LJ
- Start date
the best engineering is simple. The TJ is incredibly simple. They could have added more features, but each feature is another potential wire to short, problem to cause someone to ditch the car, and they knew who the core customers were.
2nd reason is the interchange of parts. Reusing lots of XJ, YJ, some WJ meant parts were cheaper and easier to find.
Car companies today are more (captive) finance companies than car companies. And it shows.
2nd reason is the interchange of parts. Reusing lots of XJ, YJ, some WJ meant parts were cheaper and easier to find.
Car companies today are more (captive) finance companies than car companies. And it shows.
These are the factory installed recovery hooks that came on TJ's , Ignore the other crap / lightbar. My wife's TJ has these optional hooks.
I need to get some of those. Will the existing bolts work or will I need longer ones?
- Coil springs on all 4 corners
- The U-Channel control arms
- The 4.0 for sufficient torque and ease of fixing
Regardless of what the internet tells you, they did a pretty good job with the steering. Take a peek under the front of a stocker and see how nicely they got it to fit and work well with a pretty good trackbar.
The later gas tank skid is a thing of beauty. Does everything it is supposed to do with the least amount of cost and material possible.
The heater core puts out some heat. Not easy to do in what is essentially a flying tent.
The cooling system is robust and when maintained, works exceptionally well.
The later gas tank skid is a thing of beauty. Does everything it is supposed to do with the least amount of cost and material possible.
The heater core puts out some heat. Not easy to do in what is essentially a flying tent.
The cooling system is robust and when maintained, works exceptionally well.
It’s a mixed bag.
Jeep was circling the drain and Lee Iococca paid $600 million for the company.
I was nearly in tears because at that time -a Chrysler was a horrible automotive purchase; you immediately lost 30% of the value when you drove it off the lot.
You can give them credit for the round headlights but they are the same geniuses who put the square headlights on the jeep. That was brought to you probably by the same guy that developed the “new”
Coke formula.
Realistically, I think it was the best fortune for all of us because they were limited financially and they never were on the cutting edge of design- So the one thing that stayed the same was the overall concept of the platform. High ground clearance with good approach angles, four-wheel-drive and removable top and doors.
The jeep remained a jeep.
I have thought long and hard what would’ve happened had a company been purchased by one of the other companies- I really don’t think you would recognize it today if it still existed.
Then what they really did right was make the interior where you could actually get climate control and ultimately improve the ride and the ultimate move was 4
doors instead of two- As far as sales and marketing acceptability of the Jeep platform.
As far as the TJ- It embodied the basic elements that make the jeep what it is today and it was the precursor of everything you’ve seen since 2007.
The beauty of the TJ is it shares the same utilitarian feel with a better ride and creature comforts- it hit the sweet spot, and it was the last of the lineage to do that. Everything prior to the YJ was pretty primitive.
If you want to go a little further about what they did right it was the Rubicon model. There has never been a production vehicle like it and there may never be anything that will exceed its’ capability.
I don’t love everything about the TJ, But it has enough of the DNA I fell in love with back in the 80s to make me an ardent fan.
I’ll go ahead and add the 4.0 was a good decision although it was not the best power plant that could’ve been put in one....in many respects. People literally bought the vehicle to get that engine. To this day it has a reputation that is legendary. Compared to modern engines it really doesn’t shine with performance numbers but in its prime it was a stellar power plant. Putting that engine in the vehicle at the time was very important because the vehicle needed a known. There had to be something from the original vehicles that carried over and that was the most important thing to the market. Really everything else was a bonus as far as air-conditioning and a quieter and drier interior.
Jeep was circling the drain and Lee Iococca paid $600 million for the company.
I was nearly in tears because at that time -a Chrysler was a horrible automotive purchase; you immediately lost 30% of the value when you drove it off the lot.
You can give them credit for the round headlights but they are the same geniuses who put the square headlights on the jeep. That was brought to you probably by the same guy that developed the “new”
Coke formula.
Realistically, I think it was the best fortune for all of us because they were limited financially and they never were on the cutting edge of design- So the one thing that stayed the same was the overall concept of the platform. High ground clearance with good approach angles, four-wheel-drive and removable top and doors.
The jeep remained a jeep.
I have thought long and hard what would’ve happened had a company been purchased by one of the other companies- I really don’t think you would recognize it today if it still existed.
Then what they really did right was make the interior where you could actually get climate control and ultimately improve the ride and the ultimate move was 4
doors instead of two- As far as sales and marketing acceptability of the Jeep platform.
As far as the TJ- It embodied the basic elements that make the jeep what it is today and it was the precursor of everything you’ve seen since 2007.
The beauty of the TJ is it shares the same utilitarian feel with a better ride and creature comforts- it hit the sweet spot, and it was the last of the lineage to do that. Everything prior to the YJ was pretty primitive.
If you want to go a little further about what they did right it was the Rubicon model. There has never been a production vehicle like it and there may never be anything that will exceed its’ capability.
I don’t love everything about the TJ, But it has enough of the DNA I fell in love with back in the 80s to make me an ardent fan.
I’ll go ahead and add the 4.0 was a good decision although it was not the best power plant that could’ve been put in one....in many respects. People literally bought the vehicle to get that engine. To this day it has a reputation that is legendary. Compared to modern engines it really doesn’t shine with performance numbers but in its prime it was a stellar power plant. Putting that engine in the vehicle at the time was very important because the vehicle needed a known. There had to be something from the original vehicles that carried over and that was the most important thing to the market. Really everything else was a bonus as far as air-conditioning and a quieter and drier interior.
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I went to an old timey hardware store and bought longer bolts for the hooks..
Fully boxed frame.
Rubicon edition was born under the TJ banner.
LJs.
Can be frame and tub swapped in a gravel driveway in eight days and driven the next on a 1600 mile road and wheeling trip.
-Mac
Rubicon edition was born under the TJ banner.
LJs.
Can be frame and tub swapped in a gravel driveway in eight days and driven the next on a 1600 mile road and wheeling trip.
-Mac
There is a succinct list. Good stuff.
You know that also brings to mind they really did a good paint color range as well. (He has a gorgeous red rig)
They produced all the good colors in good quantities with only limited colors like impact orange( that they possibly underestimated) being more sought after because of that.
Lemme tell you that was a rough ride!here's when Jerry knew he had to have one ! That's him in the back seat
Lemme tell you that was a rough ride!
Looks like SuperCross
whoops.
You know those boys were probably lucky the things didn’t have a roll bar.
you know when I see those videos I can’t help but think of the significance of the vehicle- It was really at heart a runabout and to this day still performs that function very well.
Enzo Ferrari said that the only true American sports car was a jeep.
I adored the vehicles from the first time I saw a new CJ-5 Renegade and to this day I have a even stronger passion.
You can say it anyway that you want ....there’s absolutely nothing that compares to a jeep.
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OP
Overall suspension travel is amazing. Very few stock vehicles come close.
I can appreciate the use of Torx where it's sensible. I don't appreciate having to buy and carry both metric and SAE tools.
Blasphemy. I love having a spacious engine bay.
I don't know if others do this, but I do stuff like leave the house in a windowless LJ, in clothes just warm enough to be comfortable with no wind, and then depend on the heater to keep me alive while I'm driving. I swear sometimes it feels like that heater is gonna singe the hair off my bare toes and I love it.
As long as it's a solid axle Jeep . , Patriot , Compass , Renegade , Grand Cherocar need not apply.
OP
Electric windows make little sense without power locks IMO.
As someone born in the 21st century, having manual windows is a novelty I appreciate.
That and the solid axles.
2 more great examples of where the aftermarket options are often downgrades.
OP