Older Jeeps compared to the JK's

Ted

Ted

TJ Enthusiast
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Spokane Valley, WA, United States
So I take it most here are hard core TJ owners? I haven't had any wishes to own a new JK. I did buy my daughter a 2015 Rubicon for Christmas but couldnt find a nice TJ or LJ up here that hasnt been wheeled to hell and back.

I have been offered a trade twice to swap even for a JK , one sport and one Rubicon and have passed. It seems my jeep just does so much better and does it more easily than the JK's. Even when stock I could hang with the seriously built rigs and have way out done them many times. I make them shake their heads.

They are more comfortable but I guess I like the tight cockpit feeling of my LJ. It oges like a mule and I have had people tell me they are jealous of the way my jeep make it all look so easy.

So today if you could pickout any jeep you wanted? What would it be. I will just stick to my LJ
 
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Ted said:
So I take it most here are hard core TJ owners?
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Most of us are yes. However, I still think that all of us respect any Wrangler, regardless of which platform it is (i.e. CJ, YJ, JK).

Ted said:
I did buy my daughter a 2015 Rubicon for Christmas.
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WOW... You're a hell of a nice Dad!

Ted said:
It seems my jeep just does so much better and does it more easily than the JK's. Even when stock I could hang with the seriously built rigs and have way out done them many times. I make them shake their heads.
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There can be no question about it. A stock JK with a good driver will out wheel a stock TJ / LJ with a good driver. There's just no getting around that.

However, if you build both the JK and the TJ up to the same specs, with good drivers, they will be equally as good off-road. The TJ will win out in terms of simplicity though. What I mean by that, is if something breaks on the TJ, in almost all cases it's going to be 3 times easier to fix said problem on the TJ than it would on the JK.

The JKs are modern vehicles with modern wiring, modern emissions, and modern complexities. The TJ is an odd ball. It's one of those vehicles that made it until 2006 while remaining largely unchanged from 1997 when it first came out. That's a very good thing though in terms of simplicity!

Ted said:
So today if you could pickout any jeep you wanted? What would it be. I will just stick to my LJ
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I'd stick with a TJ / LJ, no question about it. I like the idea of a JKU for carrying around the family, but I'm also a DIY mechanic, and I know that working on those new JKs is a headache when compared to how simple the TJs are.
 
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The TJ is the pinnacle of Jeep evolution. Simple, easy to work on, lots of character.

JK's are too close to a modern SUV with a boxy shape. When your heated seat module gives up the ghost and the dealer tells you that part is not warranty and wants $600 for fix...
 
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Being an average driver, and having had multiple TJs & two JKs, I can vouch for the fact that in stock form, the JKs seemed to handle off roading more effortlessly than any if the TJs I have owned. I am no expert, it's just my experience. I would not trade the looks, size, ease of servicing and repair, or the general coolness factor of the TJ for a JK though. As has been said, the TJ is the perfect middle ground between the original Jeeps and the technology-dependant Jeeps of today. Not even sure what the next Jeep designation will be after 2017. I read that that is the last year of the JK.
 
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I've been asked many times by my friends why I don't ditch my '98 TJ and get a new JK. They usually ask right after I tell them about my latest repair fiasco/upgrade plans/maintenance check. They seem to see it all as a waste of time. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when I get it right and everything is running smooth(ish).
Even though JK's are comfortable and capable, my next purchase will hopefully be
eb40b36c3dc46c0c71fe5c1d3e8b69bc.jpg
an LJ.

Sent from my SPH-L710T using Tapatalk
 
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Chris said:
You'll be looking for a while for that combo :D

Good taste though!
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I know, I have seen 1 during my search to date & it was in Louisville, Kentucky. I called about it and the salesman said it had already been sold. It was on their site for only 2 days.
 
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Travis said:
I know, I have seen 1 during my search to date & it was in Louisville, Kentucky. I called about it and the salesman said it had already been sold. It was on their site for only 2 days.
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Not surprising at all. You'll find it, just might have to wait a year or two!
 
Most of the guys I know that wheel a JK hate all the electronic crap that they have. I've seen three leave a run on a flat deck because of a sensor getting wet, and putting it into limp mode. While they have more creature comforts (which I have no interest in), I find that the TJ seats are more comfortable.

I also agree with Chris in saying that a stock JK is more capable than a stock TJ. The brake lock diff tech that the JKs have actually works pretty well. But, it's more electronic crap that I wouldn't want to deal with.
 
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Travis said:
I know, I have seen 1 during my search to date & it was in Louisville, Kentucky. I called about it and the salesman said it had already been sold. It was on their site for only 2 days.
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I got extremely lucky when I found mine '05 Yellow LJR. It's been a few years now but it was in the used car lot of a BMW dealership and the previous owner was the service department manager. It had sat on the lot for 4 months and never showed up on any of the used car aggregators (TrueCar, Cars.com, carguru, etc.).

The '04 Yellow LJ I found for my daughter sat on a lot for ~6 months because they hadn't advertised it as an Unlimited. It wasn't till I went and saw it that I found out it wasn't just a standard Wrangler.

Better lucky than good . . .
 
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Ted said:
First video is a New Rubicon lifted 2.5 inches and 35's. He sold it afew days later I think or the jeep vanished.
2nd video was my lj with no lift but was on 33's. And I did go after the JK.
A bunch of other video doing the same thing if I can just find them.


https://www.facebook.com/janted92/videos/vb.100000175063256/880754651940362/?type=3&theater


https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=887901597891786
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I hate the book of faces...don't have a login and never will. Oh well.

VirtualRussel said:
I got extremely lucky when I found mine '05 Yellow LJR. It's been a few years now but it was in the used car lot of a BMW dealership and the previous owner was the service department manager. It had sat on the lot for 4 months and never showed up on any of the used car aggregators (TrueCar, Cars.com, carguru, etc.).

The '04 Yellow LJ I found for my daughter sat on a lot for ~6 months because they hadn't advertised it as an Unlimited. It wasn't till I went and saw it that I found out it wasn't just a standard Wrangler.

Better lucky than good . . .
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Got a really nice Suburban that way. For less than what the lot paid for it at auction. It sat for a year behind their shop because they never could figure out what they had and what to do with it. It's a 3/4 ton with one ton running gear, a Vortec 454 and all the heavy duty suspension and running gear parts from the factory. The build sheet says it a Z71, that's before they ever started putting the tacky Z71 stickers on Chevy's. There's deals out there, but random luck has more to do with getting them than diligent shopping.
 
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StG58 said:
I hate the book of faces...don't have a login and never will. Oh well.
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The government loves it. I'll bet the NSA, CIA and FBI are all just so happy that people give up their information (and whereabouts) so easily. Makes their job so much easier :D I also love the naive idiots who think that just because their profile is "private" that government agencies can't see it... HA!

Back on topic now.
 
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