Need help on TJ purchase

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mdahl2012

New Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
6
Location
Tyler, Tx
So... been out of the Jeep ownership group for a bit now after my last jeep was totaled and want some advice on this purchase. Planning on pulling the trigger on this 06' TJ on 01/09/21. I have looked at the jeep already and besides the surface rust at the front end of the jeep it is a solid frame from what I am able to tell. The rear frame hole where everyone seems to find rust is completely rust free. Downside is this was a trailered jeep to and from wherever it was wheeled and the current owner, a shop in Texas, doesnt know much besides what lift kit, Rubicon Ex long arm kit, and possible 4.10 gears it has as they have not opened the diffs to confirm.

My concerns are if I am jumping the gun to get back into the Jeep ownership with the quoted price of $6,000.

Problems that the shop that has this jeep that it death wobbles at approx. 40mph and if I want to drive it on road are that it has a spool rear locker that keeps it locked at all times. The shop has offered free labor on replacement on this locker to go back to the factory electronic locker and to ensure that it it does not death wobble anymore. The shop says that all they have to do is rotate the axle to prevent this but in my experience that is not the only reason for this.

I would appreciate any advice good or bad towards this purchases. I will say that I am not opposed to a project jeep so long as it is not a huge project to undertake.

Thanks in advance,
Mdahl2012

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I will say that this jeep will not be my daily if purchased. However, I want it to be able to handle highway speeds for the most part so that I do not have to trailer it wherever I wan't to take it to go wheel it at. I have been lurking in this forum for awhile now and thought that it was the most knowledgeable between the different members here such as @Chris , @Wildman even though he seems to not listen to advice from @mrblaine and @pcoplin. While I will not pretend to know as much as any of these great Jeepers I would highly value any input that any would be able to provide.
 
I need to see more photos of this thing especially underneath. I want to see the frame in detail, the suspension, and the steering. Until I see that, I'm not going to say too much other than it's $6000 for a reason. It looks someone didn't care about it at all. Because of that, my guess is that it's going to have lots of things that need to be fixed, more than just meets the eye. I'm also guessing there is rust in places that may not be immediately noticeable just given the way it looks on the outside.

The Rubicon Express long arm lift is a piece of crap and belongs in the trash (sorry to be blunt, but it does). Is it a real Rubicon or not? Have you verified that it has a 241OR transfer case? That's an easy thing to swap out that someone may have taken from it.

My general experience with vehicles is that if they are very, very cheap, they are very cheap for a reason. Sometimes you get lucky and someone is selling it for dirt cheap because they want a quick sale. Other times it's because it has a lot of issues they know about that they might not be willing to disclose.

The general rule of thumb is that if you buy something like this for $6000, you can probably expect to put another 6-8k into it to get it where you want it to be. Of course that's not always true, but I find more often than not it is (and it doesn't just apply to Jeeps).

How many miles are on it? Have you done a compression test or a leak down test?

Sorry, but the price and the condition just instantly raise a red flag in my mind, hence all the questions.
 
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I am not sure it's worth the $6K considering some of other TJ's people have bought in TX over the past few months.

You can drive it on the street with a spool in the rear axle but your rear tires are going to wear faster and it'll chirp sometimes going around corners. The death wobble would be my biggest concern. I'd want to know what parts are worn to make it have the wobble. I wouldn't want the stock Rubicon air locker put back into the rear axle if I was gunna replace the spool. I'd go for either a ARB or a E-Locker if it was me.

I agree with what Chris just said. It's a $6K rig for a reason.
 
@Chris It has 77,xxxK on the odometer and the price was the biggest red flag for me, which is why I turned to this forum for advice. I was expecting much more when I rolled up on it, according to the shop it traded some other toys for this jeep along with another Jeep TJ that was streched but had rust issues throughout the frame, so much that one side looked to be completely replaced and the other almost stock besides relocated the rear spring mount. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of the jeep when I was there of the undercarriage but from brief looks did not seem to be anything to be concerned about from my limited experience. I was of the same opinion of the lift kit before even looking at it from my own research and expected to replace it quickly when funds opened up to do so, and on this note would like some mid tier recommendations on this if that's not an issue while on this subject. Also not have compression tested due to not expecting any issues out of the 4.0 motor which is my own fault but when test driving, approx 20 mph, seemed to be no discernible issues. Again though my own limited knowledge. I did notice, along with the GF that it leaned towards the passenger side throughout the test drive to where they commented that it seemed to be lower on the passenger side. I would assume spring compression but again I have limited knowledge of this.

Thanks so much for the quick response Chris I appreciate any input on this.
Mdahl2012
 
@Wildman According the the shop the death wobble was caused by the PO not rotating the front axle at all when the RE long arm kit was installed.... I had my own opinions of this as there was not a steering stabilizer installed on the Jeep and that my 07' JK needed this to prevent this issue. However, I understand that death wobble is caused by a multitude of problems, but they stated that they would figure out what issues there were and correct this after purchase with free labor from my understanding. During the test drive I felt that there were for sure issues in the suspension that an alignment would potentially help in the long run.
 
Since the lower stock suspension mounts have been cut off for the RE long arm you'd either have to get new mounts welded on or go with something like the Savvy mid arm kit. You could also install someone else's long arm but that is just trading one headache for another.

The mileage on it isn't bad but the condition of how it looks says those have been some HARD miles. I'd go back and relook at it and take a TON of pictures from front to rear so we can get a better idea of it's shape. I'd also ask to be able to take it to another shop to have it inspected. It might cost you $100-200 for that but then you'd have a better idea of any MAJOR issues. Ask them to do a compression & leak down test. Plus I'd want to know what gears are in the axles. If it really is a Rubicon it came with 4.10 gears stock.
And as Chris said it should have a 4:1 transfer case in it also if it's a Rubicon.


Death wobble is caused by worn parts. Ball joints, tie rod ends, uni-bearings, trackbar bushings & suspension bushings.
 
Also since it's an automatic you are going to want to regear it ASAP. It's hard on the transmission to be running those larger tires and stock gears. As Jerry will tell you if those are 35" tires you need to regear it with 5.13 or 5.38 gears.
 
@Wildman Appreciate the input. I was planning, if purchased, the first upgrade would be the gearing I was thinking 4.88 as this seems to be what everyone does for 35" tires, but again I have had limited time to research this. I still wanted somewhat of a good highway drive so that I didnt have to trailer it to and from, but it seems like you are in favor of the higher gears. If I could ask what is your preference for those gears that you mentioned?

I was also told that the Jeep was trailered by the PO to and from and from what I saw was not a very well kept vehicle as they used it as a toy.... evidence was a few dents on the A pillar, grill, and the front bumper. From what it seems the dent on the A pillar caused a nice crack across the windshield as well.
 
If it is really a Rubicon with Dana 44 axles front and rear you should go with 5.38 gears if those are 35" tires. The 42RLE is under geared from the factory and if you read enough threads about it they will all tell you to go with 5.38 gears.

Take it to a independent shop and have them do an inspection for you so you know everything that is wrong with it.
 
No front anti-sway bar or Antirock? Low mileage doesn't matter if a lot of those were hard offroad miles. I'd pass on it for any price. Too many things to fix from day 1. My mint Texas Rubicon was $9500.
 
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