Sell or upgrade?

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Bgs41

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Joined
Jun 17, 2018
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12
Location
Fort Payne, AL, USA
Hey guys,
I am new to posting on the forum but have read you guys for a long time. Thanks for all the good information. I would have never known the term screaming monkeys without you guys!
I purchased the 2006 jeep below a couple of years ago with 25000 original miles on it. It was bought new by a fellow in Gadsden Alabama with the intention to pull it behind his rv. Unfortunately he got sick and that never happened. It was garage kept and used sparingly. The second picture shows it as I purchased it ( with my baby, love my restored GW) with a couple of mods like the headlights. The photo below shows it as it sits today, with rims and tires off a 14 Sahara. It now has 33 thousand miles registered plus around 4 thousand more pulled behind my rv.
I have a fifteen year old son and plan to let him drive this, but it rides pretty bad with the thirty two inch tires. I just put 2 inch spacers in when we put the tires on and the ride quality suffered greatly.
I am trying to decide between putting in a quality lift to help the highway ride, it sees very little off roading. Or selling it and getting him something easier to drive.
1. Will the old man emu light kit restore the ride quality to factory?
2. What do you guys think it’s worth? It’s automatic with no issues so far. 33k miles. Totally clean car fax. In north Alabama. No rust at all. It truly looks brand new. Hard and soft top are in good shape. The tachometer acts up sporadically but no other issues. I paid just under 19 when I bought it with 25 k. I think I have something pretty unique here with such a low mileage 06 model. What do you guys think?


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the 17" wheels are not helping the ride, too little side wall. I would put a set of Rancho5000X shocks on and the ride should get much better. If your son likes the TJ i would keep it....value is still probably around what you paid for it.
 
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Welcome to the forum! So, you are running a fairly low profile tire, meaning not very compliant over bumps, etc. You can try and lower the air pressure some and see if the ride improves. Ultimately you will be better off going back to the stock 15" wheel and tire combo.
 
The stock 15s looked very good in the second picture...I’d go back to those as the others have stated. Your question regarding the OME suspension system; this is the lift I run paired with the heavy duty shocks because of my bumpers and winch. It gives an amazing ride, and it is light years improved over the stock setup. You can’t go wrong with an old man emu suspension system.
I’d say you could list it for 19.5k and see what happens. This is the right time to sell one of these lol.
 
Okay, okay, keep it for your son and let him fix it.... my eyes are fixated on the non-TJ right there while typing this :( so decide whatever you want to decide.
Now, that (4 door) jeep is so gorgeous through. Is it yours too? That's an icon.
 
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I would love to go back to the stock wheels if it were my daily driver. But my fifteen year old thinks that it looks like a mail jeep with the original rims. I would be open to different rims and tires if that would help. Are the rancho shocks better than the old man emu kit?


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Bgs41 said:
I would love to go back to the stock wheels if it were my daily driver. But my fifteen year old thinks that it looks like a mail jeep with the original rims. I would be open to different rims and tires if that would help. Are the rancho shocks better than the old man emu kit?


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I would go back to 15" and let him learn to love it first. Then he will build it to his likings as he goes on in life.
 
The grand wagoner is mine. I got that years ago from the original owner who I know. It is high mileage at around 175k. But it’s fully restored except for the 360. I have been waiting to rebuild the engine when it gives me a reason, but it just keeps running. I keep it put up and get it out once every couple of months when the sun is shining. It hasn’t seen rain since the rebuild!


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He's a kid. Who cares how it rides. :)

If it's as bad as you say install better shocks. I put some cheap Sensen shocks on mine and it rides great for a TJ. The problem with TJ's in general is the short wheel base and a butt load of un-sprung weight, so there's only so much you can do, however big heave wheels and tires only exacerbate the problem and make it worse. Un-sprung weight hurts both ride quality and handling on a vehicle.

On a side note, I wish my dad had given me something like that when I was that age. I bought a $600 1966 Mustang 289 fastback and set about fixing it up myself.

On another side note, "Hi" from another Alabamian. My wife and I are building a cabin not far from you up on the eastern brow of Lookout Mountain about a mile or so from from Little River Canyon as the crow flies.
 
Beautiful place for a cabin! My first was a 76 international scout. I raised a bull from a calf and sold him to get the money to buy it. Times change. Mom is worried about how safe he is with this thing bouncing around. It’s worth investing a bit more in it for piece of mind.


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Bgs41 said:
1. Will the old man emu light kit restore the ride quality to factory?
2. What do you guys think it’s worth? It’s automatic with no issues so far. 33k miles. Totally clean car fax. In north Alabama. No rust at all. It truly looks brand new. Hard and soft top are in good shape. The tachometer acts up sporadically but no other issues. I paid just under 19 when I bought it with 25 k. I think I have something pretty unique here with such a low mileage 06 model. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

1) The OME kit is an excellent kit. However, I'd personally pair the OME springs with Rancho RS5000X shocks, a they provide the best ride out there for a TJ IMHO. This is coming from someone (me) who has ran OME shocks, Bilstein 5100s, Fox 2.0s, and Rancho RS5000X. The Ranchos are the best riding of the bunch. The wheel / tire choice there probably isn't helping ride quality much either.

2) I paid 20k for my one owner, low mileage (50k) 2005 Rubicon, so I think yours may be worth close to that. A clean TJ with low miles is worth a bit these days for sure, especially if it's rust free.
 
I wouldn't sweat the wheel and tire combo, just make sure the air pressure is right around 28-30psi (a jk is speced to run 32 on that setup and it's over 1000lbs heavier) a spacer kit shouldn't affect the ride significantly except that the shocks are now operating at a different part of the stroke. Longer shocks (Rancho probably) would definitely be a good idea, save the springs for now. Make sure all the bushings and tie rod ends are good. The mileage may be low but the age is still high and rubber degrades over time.

As to the tac going wonky that's usually a matter of cleaning the contacts on the back of the dash. There are lots of threads about it.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
Rance shocks are getting a lot of love. You say I need longer shocks. The ranches come in a size for a standard tj and a size for tj’s with a two to three inch lift. Combined with my two inch spacers which would be best?


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Bgs41 said:
Rance shocks are getting a lot of love. You say I need longer shocks. The ranches come in a size for a standard tj and a size for tj’s with a two to three inch lift. Combined with my two inch spacers which would be best?


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Are the spacers a true 2" or the more common 1.75"? The 2.5" spec'd shocks are too long for anything less than a solid 2" of lift.
 
TJ2 said:
Okay, okay, keep it for your son and let him fix it.... my eyes are fixated on the non-TJ right there while typing this :( so decide whatever you want to decide.
Now, that (4 door) jeep is so gorgeous through. Is it yours too? That's an icon.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one...once I saw that Wagoneer my mind went elsewhere lol...fully restored out here they sell for about 80k (about 56k in your money)....rare as hens teeth too.

As for the TJ change out the shocks for Ranchos...drop the wheel size to a 15 (black or charcoal) wheel and put on a more aggressive tyre...mail Jeep gone and hello lady killer :cool: lol
 
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If I go with that charcoal wheel linked above, someone suggest a good looking tire. Something that looks aggressive but still has a good ride and not awfully loud at road speeds. And what size would look best considering I have the 2 inch spacers in. Thanks for all the input!


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