Sahara or Rubicon?

[Rubirob]

Hey guys, new too this forum and soon to be a new wrangler owner. I have a 1990 Cherokee larado with the 4.0 line 6. I got my eye on two wranglers at the moment.. they both are manual 5 speed, 4.0 line six. One is a Sahara with 114,000 miles and one is a rubicon with 113,000 mile on it. Kinda ironic there so close in miles. Anyway the guy with the Sahara has already told me 10,000$ is as low as he will go. The rubicon I'm looking at tomorrow and I feel we're gonna be setting around 12,500-13,500$ my question is what one would you guys advice me to get. They are both clean and nearly stock. Seem well maintained. The Sahara has had some work done already (water pump, battery, catalytic converter) I don't know if any work has been done to the rubicon. Oh the Sahara is a deep green, rubicon is a cobalt blue.

 

[Chris]

Assuming they are both rust free (which is the most important thing to look for on these TJs), I would get the Rubicon hands down.

Rubicon's have higher resale value, and you'll come to appreciate the fact that they come with Dana 44 axles front and rear, selectable lockers, and the Rock Trac transfer case. Oh, let's also not forget that the Rubicon has a fixed yoke, which means you won't need a SYE (Slip Yoke Eliminator) like you will on the Sahara if you choose to lift it.

I just look at the Rubicon as paying more upfront, but not having to worry about doing as much to it in terms of mods, as it's already very, very capable from the factory (the lockers make a huge, huge difference off-road).

So if you have the money, no question about it, get the Rubicon.

But again, that's only if the frame is rust free. If it's rusted out, run away and don't look back.

 

[Rubirob]

Assuming they are both rust free (which is the most important thing to look for on these TJs), I would get the Rubicon hands down.

Rubicon's have higher resale value, and you'll come to appreciate the fact that they come with Dana 44 axles front and rear, selectable lockers, and the Rock Trac transfer case. Oh, let's also not forget that the Rubicon has a fixed yoke, which means you won't need a SYE (Slip Yoke Eliminator) like you will on the Sahara if you choose to lift it.

I just look at the Rubicon as paying more upfront, but not having to worry about doing as much to it in terms of mods, as it's already very, very capable from the factory (the lockers make a huge, huge difference off-road).

So if you have the money, no question about it, get the Rubicon.

But again, that's only if the frame is rust free. If it's rusted out, run away and don't look back.

Thanks, this is exactly how I was thinking. I didn't know tho if the extra 2500-3500 is worth it or not. I didn't wanna get a bad deal. I will be looking at the rubicon tomorrow. I will check for rust on it!


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[Chris]

Thanks, this is exactly how I was thinking. I didn't know tho if the extra 2500-3500 is worth it or not. I didn't wanna get a bad deal. I will be looking at the rubicon tomorrow. I will check for rust on it!


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It really is worth the extra 2-3k, I assure you. You could sell the Rubicon axles, lockers, and transfer case for over 3k easily, any day of the week (they go for more than that used).

Here's a good thread to checkout too:
What should I look for when buying a used Wrangler TJ?

That shows some photos of "acceptable" rust and "unacceptable" rust, as well as other things to look for when shopping for used TJs.

 

[BigskyTJ]

Wow dang that blue is good looking and I don't like blue. I vote for the Rubicon its worth the $3000 unless your gunna really build it up as in replacing the axles and such. Or it is a POS

 

[mrblaine]

Hey guys, new too this forum and soon to be a new wrangler owner. I have a 1990 Cherokee larado with the 4.0 line 6. I got my eye on two wranglers at the moment.. they both are manual 5 speed, 4.0 line six. One is a Sahara with 114,000 miles and one is a rubicon with 113,000 mile on it. Kinda ironic there so close in miles. Anyway the guy with the Sahara has already told me 10,000$ is as low as he will go. The rubicon I'm looking at tomorrow and I feel we're gonna be setting around 12,500-13,500$ my question is what one would you guys advice me to get. They are both clean and nearly stock. Seem well maintained. The Sahara has had some work done already (water pump, battery, catalytic converter) I don't know if any work has been done to the rubicon. Oh the Sahara is a deep green, rubicon is a cobalt blue.

There are a lot of Saharas out there with Dana 35 rear axles and no lockers. That and Sahara is just a cosmetic trim package, the Rubicon is a performance trim package that gets stuff that you will likely do to the Sahara especially since both are manuals.

 

[Rubirob]

Yea I'm really hoping the rubicon doesn't have any rust, I don't plan on doing massive amounts of work to this jeep. At least not yet, maybe in the years to come I will add some stuff too it. So the rubicon would be a nicer option already having a good set of features right off the bat. From what I saw on that other recommended thread about rust, is any rust is bad rust. I live in central California so no salting of the roads so fingers crossed lol


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[mrblaine]

Wow dang that blue is good looking and I don't like blue. I vote for the Rubicon its worth the $3000 unless your gunna really build it up as in replacing the axles and such. Or it is a POS

Color is a funny thing. I sold a Rubicon that exact color because I do not like blue vehicles.

 

[JMT]

If they’re both clean, go for the Rubi!

 

[BendLarry]

Rubicon for sure!


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[CodaMan]

I sold my Sahara and bought a Rubicon. And as @mrblaine said, many Sahara's have the Dana 35 rear differential ... Mine did.

 

[JamesAndTheSahara]

I spent quite a bit building my Sahara. Although I wouldn't have done it any other way, a Rubicon starting point would have been a better choice.

 

[ohiopatriot]

Although I wouldn't have done it any other way

 

[JamesAndTheSahara]

View attachment 25265

Are these trademarked by you?

 

[lowranger]

I would go with the Rubicon. Very capable Jeep in its stock form.

 

[Spider56]

What year is the rubicon? I️ also would check for oil leaks. I️t look like a nice one. Good luck


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[mrblaine]

What year is the rubicon? I️ also would check for oil leaks. I️t look like a nice one. Good luck


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Oil leaks are easy, rust, not so much.

 

[CodaMan]

If oil leaks stopped us from owning TJ's none of us would have one.

 

[Rubirob]

Thanks for all the inputs guys, I am now definitely leaning towards the rubicon. I am in college and working full time, so as I said before I'm not opposed to doing work too the jeep in the years to come. However as for right now I would prefer to just enjoy it with less "building" effort haha. So what's up with the oil leaks? Any specific areas that tend to leak? Like I said I got a older 90 Cherokee with the same engine and it has 220,000 and has never leaked


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[Rubirob]

What year is the rubicon? I️ also would check for oil leaks. I️t look like a nice one. Good luck


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It's a 2004, both the Sahara and the rubicon are. They also both have 113,000 (114,000 for Sahara) miles. With that being said I didn't know if the rubicon was worth the extra 3500..


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