Jeep JK or TJ?

[JMT]

My thinking is that the Jeep is much like the AR-15 in ingenuity. Anyone can break it down and fix it. That's necessary in the military. That's what makes them practical, fun and easily modifiable. Pure Genius. Well said Jerry. That link in the chain has been broken with the JK.

 

[WyoDak]

My overall impression of having had a JK in my garage for a couple days is that it's way harder to work on than my TJ is. You can't even just bolt rocker guards up to the rockers, you have to contend with setting threaded inserts into the tub's outer skin (it has two layers) and hope you got them positioned correctly. When I went to look for the engine, I couldn't find it... it was apparently hidden behind/under large plastic things that had to be unbolted first in order to get to the engine.

The headlights don't operate via easy to work on conventional wiring & switch type circuits, there's a computer data bus that operates them. What? On a Jeep?

When I drove the lady's JK to the store & back to pick up something for it, it felt like I was driving a family fan. Its 3.8L V6 reminded me of driving an old underpowered family van. The whole experience was very un-Jeep like.

Maybe I'm just too old but I'll stick with my butt-simple to work on TJ.

I had a four door JK for about a year, regretted buying it almost from the beginning. That V6 was the most underpowered thing I've experienced in a vehicle. My TJ with the in-line six is a vastly superior ride in my opinion.

 

[Jeepersteve71]

Well as I see this has turned into a JK vs TJ discussion I guess I will contribute lol. Maybe next time I'll change the name of the thread. I was really just cracking up at the 4.0L and sport stickers from a TJ. Reminds me of when guys put the Rubicon stickers on the hood and leave the x stickers on.

I personally have had a 2008 and 2011 4 door JK Rubicon.

Pro's of a JK:
1. Wider than a TJ - better on and off road with the wider frame and axles.
2. Fenders are higher from the factor than a TJ and can immediately accommodate larger tires comfortably or not.
3. Interior comfort. Seats feel a little bigger and some extra arm room, leg room, and more storage room never hurt anyone.
4. T-Tops and ease of soft top removal. This isn't so much a "JK" thing but more of a plus of newer better technology that has come out in recent couple of years to make everyone's life easier.
5. Ease of installing and finding bolt on parts (I'm sure our custom "build it yourself" guys will disagree with me on this one).

Cons of a JK:
1. 3.8 lack of power and 3.6 issues.
2. More plastic than I would ever care to have. What is it again? 30% of the JK's are plastic to save on weight for gas mileage?
3. Everything is twice as expensive to modify compared to a TJ.
4. Not easy to work on yourself.
5. JK guy stereotypes. So this is for those "let's buy a bunch of light bars and angry eye grills or a new grill that makes my Jeep not look like a Jeep" guys.

Pros of a TJ/LJ:
1. More steel, little plastic.
2. Easy to work on.
3. 4.0L - need I say more?
4. Multiple decent drivetrain options.
5. Dependable no matter the age. Why else would a 1997 model sell for $13,500 these days...

Con's of a TJ/LJ:
1. Transfer case skid hangs down to low and to be fixed needs a lot of money for SYE, driveshaft, body lift, MML, and skid plate.
2. Max tire hight (without cutting) is around a 35. If you fit 37's with factory fenders. Teach me lol.
3. Narrow/ creature comforts. Though this can be a plus in some ways it is kind of a small interior compared to most vehicles.
4. Sealed beam headlights.
5. Gas mileage/small gas tank. Yeah yeah I know... you don't buy a Jeep for gas mileage but I'm convinced that there is very little you can do to your TJ to get anything better than 15-16 mph.

Overall I think both models serve a purpose and the brand that we all love is still alive. Also looks like it's not going anywhere anytime soon as it is still selling like crazy which is great news. That just means our TJ's resale value goes up/stays strong. Rant over lol.

 

[lovemachine]

Well as I see this has turned into a JK vs TJ discussion I guess I will contribute lol. Maybe next time I'll change the name of the thread. I was really just cracking up at the 4.0L and sport stickers from a TJ. Reminds me of when guys put the Rubicon stickers on the hood and leave the x stickers on.

I personally have had a 2008 and 2011 4 door JK Rubicon.

Pro's of a JK:
1. Wider than a TJ - better on and off road with the wider frame and axles.
2. Fenders are higher from the factor than a TJ and can immediately accommodate larger tires comfortably or not.
3. Interior comfort. Seats feel a little bigger and some extra arm room, leg room, and more storage room never hurt anyone.
4. T-Tops and ease of soft top removal. This isn't so much a "JK" thing but more of a plus of newer better technology that has come out in recent couple of years to make everyone's life easier.
5. Ease of installing and finding bolt on parts (I'm sure our custom "build it yourself" guys will disagree with me on this one).

Cons of a JK:
1. 3.8 lack of power and 3.6 issues.
2. More plastic than I would ever care to have. What is it again? 30% of the JK's are plastic to save on weight for gas mileage?
3. Everything is twice as expensive to modify compared to a TJ.
4. Not easy to work on yourself.
5. JK guy stereotypes. So this is for those "let's buy a bunch of light bars and angry eye grills or a new grill that makes my Jeep not look like a Jeep" guys.

Pros of a TJ/LJ:
1. More steel, little plastic.
2. Easy to work on.
3. 4.0L - need I say more?
4. Multiple decent drivetrain options.
5. Dependable no matter the age. Why else would a 1997 model sell for $13,500 these days...

Con's of a TJ/LJ:
1. Transfer case skid hangs down to low and to be fixed needs a lot of money for SYE, driveshaft, body lift, MML, and skid plate.
2. Max tire hight (without cutting) is around a 35. If you fit 37's with factory fenders. Teach me lol.
3. Narrow/ creature comforts. Though this can be a plus in some ways it is kind of a small interior compared to most vehicles.
4. Sealed beam headlights.
5. Gas mileage/small gas tank. Yeah yeah I know... you don't buy a Jeep for gas mileage but I'm convinced that there is very little you can do to your TJ to get anything better than 15-16 mph.

Overall I think both models serve a purpose and the brand that we all love is still alive. Also looks like it's not going anywhere anytime soon as it is still selling like crazy which is great news. That just means our TJ's resale value goes up/stays strong. Rant over lol.

My mother has a 2010 JKU, so I'm familiar with the lack of power of the 3.8.

But what are the issues with the 3.6? All I know is that in 2012, they were having head issues.

 

[lovemachine]

In my area, you see tons of JK's and JKU's. Actually, you see them more than anything else. TJ's are starting to be very rare around here.

Makes me even more glad to be driving a TJ

 

[Jeepersteve71]

In my area, you see tons of JK's and JKU's. Actually, you see them more than anything else. TJ's are starting to be very rare around here.

Makes me even more glad to be driving a TJ

Same here in DFW. You'll see a TJ here and there but I think I see more YJ's than TJ's lol.

 

[FTI76]

My overall impression of having had a JK in my garage for a couple days is that it's way harder to work on than my TJ is. You can't even just bolt rocker guards up to the rockers, you have to contend with setting threaded inserts into the tub's outer skin (it has two layers) and hope you got them positioned correctly. When I went to look for the engine, I couldn't find it... it was apparently hidden behind/under large plastic things that had to be unbolted first in order to get to the engine.

The headlights don't operate via easy to work on conventional wiring & switch type circuits, there's a computer data bus that operates them. What? On a Jeep?

When I drove the lady's JK to the store & back to pick up something for it, it felt like I was driving a family fan. Its 3.8L V6 reminded me of driving an old underpowered family van. The whole experience was very un-Jeep like.

Maybe I'm just too old but I'll stick with my butt-simple to work on TJ.

On a JK if you want to replace the headlight assembly you need to remove the front grille. Ridiculous.

 

[lovemachine]

On a JK if you want to replace the headlight assembly you need to remove the front grille. Ridiculous.

Holy crap. I had no idea.

 

[Jeepersteve71]

Holy crap. I had no idea.

He is right but it isn't that difficult. Helps that the front grill is plastic too. It's not like it's tied into the frame. Just 6-8 plastic fasteners and it's off.

 

[Chris]

On a JK if you want to replace the headlight assembly you need to remove the front grille. Ridiculous.

No wonder I see so many angry looking JKs

 

[Rob5589]

The TJ is the "Jeep" looking model. The JK has the look but the awful fenders make it look terrible. The JKU is more like a JeepHummerSUV mom mobile. Although I have seen some modded ones that look good; not the ones covered in led's and angry eyes.

 

[Rob80x]

Test drove a '17 JK Rubicon today.
I was kinda surprised. I didn't really care for the Jeep overall. It didn't really feel like I was driving a Jeep. It's almost too refined, and this was a base model with manual locks and windows ect.

Not knocking JK's, it just felt more like driving a car. It was quiet. You couldn't hardly hear the engine. Just seemed weird.

 

[Bird]

I recently rented a 2017 JK and first thing that jumped out was POWER.....no doubt that the 3.6 felt twice as powerful as my 4.0.
Didn't realize there were issues with them.
I would have no issues at all owning a JK as they still hold the Jeep heritage IMO but I'm all about just having 2 doors and feel the TJ still beats the JK in a beauty contest.

 

[lovemachine]

I'd like to have a JKU, and keep my TJ. Never going to happen, but it's a nice thought.

 

[Jeepersteve71]

The goal is to eventually pay off the wife's Renegade and buy either a chevy Colorado, Jeep JK (or JL) 4 door, or the new Jeep truck that is coming out. That way I can keep the miles off the LJ and start doing bigger modifications to it .

 

[Chris]

Test drove a '17 JK Rubicon today.
I was kinda surprised. I didn't really care for the Jeep overall. It didn't really feel like I was driving a Jeep. It's almost too refined, and this was a base model with manual locks and windows ect.

Not knocking JK's, it just felt more like driving a car. It was quiet. You couldn't hardly hear the engine. Just seemed weird.

View attachment 14955

That's what I thought when I drove one. It felt so refined that it reminded me more of driving a car than driving a Jeep. I prefer the unrefined qualities of my TJ.

 

[94c2500]

View attachment 14796 Saw this today at a dealership in Lewisville, TX... something is off but I can't quite put my finger on it....

I test drove a 2010 model before buying my TJ, and by comparison the 2010 felt like an underpowered slug.

 

[Chris]

I test drove a 2010 model before buying my TJ, and by comparison the 2010 felt like an underpowered slug.

The 07-11 models with the 3.8 (minivan engine) are piss poor in the performance department. The later 3.6 engine found in the 2012 to present models is much better.

 

[Rob80x]

The new 3.4 will be another 80 hp over the previous motor! (It's a joke... everytime they make the engine smaller the more power it seems to make lol)

 

[DC0046]

The new 3.4 will be another 80 hp over the previous motor! (It's a joke... everytime they make the engine smaller the more power it seems to make lol)

I have owned both the 3.6 and the 3.8. Like night and day difference between the two.