Question about potential TJ purchase, any feedback appreciated

[K-Po]

Hi Everyone,

I want to apologize if this is in the wrong place, I'm brand new to forums and TJ's. I've done a lot of research through this forum and everything else I can find but was looking for some advice or opinions regarding a Jeep that I checked out today.

It is a 2006 Jeep Wrangler X, 4.0L I6, with a manual transmission. It is a one owner vehicle with 71k miles. The price is $12,800. The carfax shows it was in Florida from 2006 - 2016, and New Hampshire from 2017- 2018. It was serviced regularly every 3k miles. I checked the frame, undercarriage and body for rust and did not find any. I brought it to my mechanic who put it on a lift and took it for a drive. He said it was exceptionally clean for the age and looks like it has been taken care of.

We both had two concerns: there was something pooling on the left side of the engine and underneath the vehicle like around the transmission? It was black when I touched it. My mechanic said he thought it was a valve cover gasket.

The second concern was a clunking noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. I drove it for an hour on the highway and it did not make the sound when in higher gears. It is definitely noticeable though and it happens with the movement of shifting. My mechanic said have the dealership address those issues or come down on the price and get some type of warranty.

At the dealership, their mechanic looked at it and said best case is the clunking sound is just a bearing or bushing and not a huge fix, and worst case it could be something with the shifting assembly. He said best case is the leak is rear main seal or valve cover gasket, worst case is it is a head gasket. We left it as the dealers mechanic is going to look at it Monday and we are going to talk then. Any idea what those could be and how big of a concern?

Sorry for the essay and lack of technical terms I tried to be as descriptive as possible but I am not very mechanically inclined. Does that all sound normal? What do you folks think? I love it and tried not to fall in love but it is exactly what I've been looking to get into for years.

Thanks for reading and any feedback would be really appreciated.

 

[AndyG]

Just knowing the miles , year and history, it’s probably a solid deal, and likely a u joint clunking under load...

These things don’t typically have catastrophic issues at low mileage , but 12,800 is a chunk of change. See if an experienced Jeep guy can check it out...the dealer mechanic definitely is guessing.

Be sure it has no real frame rust.

You are in the right place , and we are glad to hear from you.

AndyG
TJ Forum Welcoming Committee , Seat 3

 

[K-Po]

Thank you for the reply. That is good to hear though and makes me feel better about it. I'll try and do that and also double check the frame. Yeah the price and age makes me really hesitant too.

 

[AndyG]

It’s not a bad deal if it’s nice. 10-12 k is common.

 

[MutantNinjaTJ]

I think $12,800 is a bit high given knocking sound, oil leak, and it's an X model, so it's doesn't have a Dana 44 rear, that would add value. It's good it has low mileage and it's a manual transmission due to some ECU issues with automatics in 05 and 06. See what they say to $10,500, couldn't hurt.

 

[Flivver250]

The Jeep is a solid platform and basically easy to work on. No rust is a plus. I find as much pleasure working on them as driving them. I have replaced every single u-joint, but only a couple were bad. I replaced my 4 ball joints but only one was bad. Plenty of items can clunk, usually it ends up being something simple and obvious. Plan on the rear main seal leaking, it is a common event and not a big deal. The 4.0 is durable and rudimentary. $12,8 is about par for a good one. You would have to travel south or west to find another one without rust. Rust would be my main concern, most other issues are repairable or replaceable. Any pictures?

 

[K-Po]

I think $12,800 is a bit high given knocking sound, oil leak, and it's an X model, so it's doesn't have a Dana 44 rear, that would add value. It's good it has low mileage and it's a manual transmission due to some ECU issues with automatics in 05 and 06. See what they say to $10,500, couldn't hurt.

True, OK. Thank you for the response. I'll see what they say tomorrow.

 

[K-Po]

The Jeep is a solid platform and basically easy to work on. No rust is a plus. I find as much pleasure working on them as driving them. I have replaced every single u-joint, but only a couple were bad. I replaced my 4 ball joints but only one was bad. Plenty of items can clunk, usually it ends up being something simple and obvious. Plan on the rear main seal leaking, it is a common event and not a big deal. The 4.0 is durable and rudimentary. $12,8 is about par for a good one. You would have to travel south or west to find another one without rust. Rust would be my main concern, most other issues are repairable or replaceable. Any pictures?

Nice, that's awesome. I really want to learn as much as I can and be able to work on it. I'm leaning toward figuring out a way to make it work because it was so clean and serviced regularly. If it was just the transmission noise I'd still do it for a little lower price. The leak scared me the most I just didn't want to spend 13k and find out it was like a blown head gasket or something. I don't have any pictures I still have a flip phone and the dealer took the listing down. I should have taken some when I got it checked out, if I check it out again I will try and take some pictures. Is there any way for me to make sure the leak isn't something major? Thanks for the reply.

 

[K-Po]

It’s not a bad deal if it’s nice. 10-12 k is common.

Ok well that's good news then I'm in the ballpark.

 

[cliffish]

Price is a bit high but a solid New England TJ is hard to find. Plan on both the valve cover and RMS to be replaced to stop leak, about $500 to fix (by a shop) so use that as negotiating power, also use the clunk as a tool to lower price. I would try and get for $10,500, but like I said it is tough to find a clean one in the NE without traveling to a dry state.

 

[K-Po]

Price is a bit high but a solid New England TJ is hard to find. Plan on both the valve cover and RMS to be replaced to stop leak, about $500 to fix (by a shop) so use that as negotiating power, also use the clunk as a tool to lower price. I would try and get for $10,500, but like I said it is tough to find a clean one in the NE without traveling to a dry state.

Gotcha true ok that makes sense. Thanks for the advice. I'll see what they say and bring all that to the table.

 

[rubigold]

I think 12.8k is a bit high based off of what I've seen. I'd shoot for around 10k

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I'm just thinking a couple things here.

The valve cover gasket is considerably higher than the head gasket or something. Your mechanic should have a pretty good idea if that leak is something major and where it's coming from then be able to rule out anywhere else unless there is so much black liquid(?) it could be coming from multiple places. Your mechanic should also be able to tell you what the black liquid(?) actually is.

I'm not saying that the dealership mechanic can't be trusted but it's somewhat weird that their mechanic looked at it and came up with best and worse case scenarios but is going to look at it Monday. Is this a new car dealership or all used cars? I'd put a little more trust in the new car dealership mechanic but I've seen them go two different ways.
1) Best case scenario, to keep the sale price higher, then some day it becomes a worse case scenario.
2) Worse case scenario, even if it isn't so bad, that they easily fix to keep the sale price higher.

Two different ways they sometimes try to achieve the same goal.

As for the TJ. A well taken care of one owner vehicle with 71k miles is a really good thing. Spending a decade away from snow and salt is also really good. If you can take it back to your mechanic I'd have him loosen the 6 bolts holding the skid plate to the frame. One at a time. If they screw out a couple turns and the nutserts don't spin with them then you don't have to worry about rust right now and I'd call that really good too.

 

[K-Po]

I'm just thinking a couple things here.

The valve cover gasket is considerably higher than the head gasket or something. Your mechanic should have a pretty good idea if that leak is something major and where it's coming from then be able to rule out anywhere else unless there is so much black liquid(?) it could be coming from multiple places. Your mechanic should also be able to tell you what the black liquid(?) actually is.

I'm not saying that the dealership mechanic can't be trusted but it's somewhat weird that their mechanic looked at it and came up with best and worse case scenarios but is going to look at it Monday. Is this a new car dealership or all used cars? I'd put a little more trust in the new car dealership mechanic but I've seen them go two different ways.
1) Best case scenario, to keep the sale price higher, then some day it becomes a worse case scenario.
2) Worse case scenario, even if it isn't so bad, that they easily fix to keep the sale price higher.

Two different ways they sometimes try to achieve the same goal.

As for the TJ. A well taken care of one owner vehicle with 71k miles is a really good thing. Spending a decade away from snow and salt is also really good. If you can take it back to your mechanic I'd have him loosen the 6 bolts holding the skid plate to the frame. One at a time. If they screw out a couple turns and the nutserts don't spin with them then you don't have to worry about rust right now and I'd call that really good too.

Thank you for the in depth response. Those were all good points and that makes total sense. It is at a new car dealership it is wild what they will do sometimes. I brought it to a Jeep specialty shop and had them take a look and got the OK.

 

[AndyG]

Nice ones go fast. Seen I over and over.

 

[astjp2]

transmission and motor mounts can also clunk when shifting, all easy fixes.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

... I brought it to a Jeep specialty shop and had them take a look and got the OK.

That sounds like good news. When are you taking it home?

 

[K-Po]

I just picked up the Jeep today! Beyond psyched. I got it for $11,500. I took it to Elias 4WD Thursday in Townsend, MA and they checked it out, took me for a test drive and talked with me for about an hour. They had all great things to say and told me not to hesitate buying it. I learned a lot. I will make sure to post a picture tomorrow. Thanks again for the help I really appreciate it.

 

[K-Po]

Not sure how to upload a picture I hope this works.

 

[bobthetj03]

Looks like a nice blank canvas to work with. Congrats!