Newbie TJ Owner

jeepXcore

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
269
Location
Collingswood, NJ, United States
Hey all,

I've loved Jeeps since I was a kid and saw the Jeep Cherokee on that crappy TV reboot of "Land Of the Lost" in the 90's, the appreciation never deminished. However, in high school, I experienced a new found appreciation for Volkswagen Golfs/GTIs. I've been driving them for the past 10 years and am pretty entrenched in the import tuner community.

Currently have a 2013 MK6 GTI that I've done a few common mods to(Stage 2 ECU Flash, Intake, complete turboback exhaust set up, upgraded Audi R8 coilpacks. I love it...but it's awful in the snow with all the torque(282 tq at the wheels in the frontwheel drive car doesn't get you anywhere in the snow). I debated trading it in for a Golf R with awd...but if it 'aint broke, why fix it?. So I decided I'd look into getting a beat up SUV that I wasn't planning on racking a lot of miles on to get to my job in the city 2 miles from my house(Camden's roads are TRASH and I cringe everytime I have to drive my GTI on them) or for if the roads are dicey due to inclement weather.

So this is where I figured "hey, why not satisfy that craving you had to own a Jeep?". I had been browsing on and off for the past couple years specifically for Wranglers, and I finally figured I could afford one in the 9K ballpark. I heard TJ's were some of the best, most reliable generation of Wranglers. I looked at a 2.5L 2000 TJ, but I hated how underpowered it felt. Next, I came across this one:
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A 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4.0L V6 with 87,000 miles on it asking $9,965 for it. It had some pretty pricey modifications(Rough Country Lift Kit, Goodyear Duratrac 33X12.50 tires, a roll bar, hardtop) as well; so my first thought was "...ok, what's wrong with it?" I showed it to my GF's dad who works on domestics, and he saw who the dealer was that was selling it, and he was like "oh, I know those guys, they were my neighbors in Philly, they'll treat you right". So I decided to at least go down and check it out. The guy handed me the keys, and was like "go ahead, take it for a drive, beat the snot out of it until you're convinced". So I did, found some off-road terrain floored in in reverse and drive in 4 low, high and neutral, drove it on the highway and floored it up to 70. I could not find fault with it; the V6 pulled hard and strong, the auto trans shifted surprisingly smooth for a 15 year old
car, no death wobble. Dealer knocked $500 off it because he was friends with my GF's dad. Drove home pretty happy.

Coincidentally, as soon as I got home, we got 2 days worth of snow, so I got to put the TJ through her paces:

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My neighbor also has a newish Rubicon, so that's awesome too :)

I love the thing so far, handled like a champ in the snow. Only thing I had to do so far was get an alignment. Really stoked to enter to Wrangler world!
 
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Reactions: VirtualRussel
Congrats on the purchase man! I love the green / tan color combo, one of my favorites.

Sounds like you got a clean TJ for a solid price!
 
Yes very sharp TJ and you'll find the 4.0 a very reliable , easy to work on engine.
I'm kinda envious, been waiting on some measurable snow so i can wheel in it.....snow wheeling, my favorite.
 
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Reactions: Chris
Very nice, good find.

Good thing thing they marked where to put the fuel, though, that can be confusing...:D

You might want to look into a used 33 x 10.50 size spare tire...that Goodyear GSA is probably the original spare tire...
 
Very nice, good find.

Good thing thing they marked where to put the fuel, though, that can be confusing...:D

You might want to look into a used 33 x 10.50 size spare tire...that Goodyear GSA is probably the original spare tire...
Haha, yeah, I thought the same thing when I bought it. I was like "...what am I supposed to do with that?"

To be fair, the first few times I filled it up I kept pulled up on the wrong since because I was so used to my GTI where the cap is opposite to the drivers side :p`
 
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