Are J**ps really pieces of s**t?

[Mainfraim]

My question is not to get biased opinions. From a truly unbiased point of view, are J**ps really that bad of a vehicle? My '94 X had it's fair share of problems and spent a lot of time in the shop. Are Wr*nglers built well? Trans? Gas mileage?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[taxx]

Its hard to say. All makes have their lemons. I have known a few people with Cherokes that have been in the shop more than on the road, but have also known people to be pleased with them. A guy next door to my work wheels his wrangler and seems to keep it running well.

If you want to get some views on jeeps from owners go to: www.indyjeepers.com they have a forum and they won't flame you like jeeps unlimeted. Just ask them what sorts of problems they have seen. Not "is your jeep a piece of sh!*".

 

[SaleenEXP]

Every manufacturer has lemons, but Chrysler/Jeep take the cake...

Wranglers do have their problems but not nearly as bad as Cherokee's. I have never seen a vehicle have so many problems and bad quality control. Out of everyone I've met or know at school only one likes his Grand Cherokee and thats b/c it's brand new with only about 1000 miles - let a few more miles on there . Even with only 1000 miles his truck already has lots of rattles while our 5.0 Mounty with 30,000 miles is still tight. I knew 5 people last year that had Cherokee's and they all had new cars when they came back for this semester. Three of them have 4dr 02' Explorers, one has an 02' Sport and the other has a new 4-Runner. They love the Explorers and the 4-Runner is pretty nice too.

My roomate from last year has a 98' Grand Cherokee and within a two months - new trans (4th one), cracked manifold, tranny cooler quit working after the new trans was installed, a lot of electrical problems (takes the key out and sometimes the engine keeps running), for 6 days it would not start and nobody could figure out why, and then one day it started right back up.

Another kid last year had his front axle crack/fall apart on his 02' Grand Cherokee, while driving in the parking lot, only 10,000 miles and the dealer refused to fix it b/c they said it was his fault, after they threatened suit they eventually fixed it but did a shoddy job b/c the front end shook afterwards.

A little off topic but a friends last year had her complete front axle assembly come apart from her 02' Trailblazer and has had her engine replaced twice.

Yet every person I know with an Explorer has no problems and ours never had any.

Explorers and 4-Runners are easily the most reliable and best built.

 

[GaSouthern1]

I had a 96 Cherokee and i beat the piss out of it and never had the first problem. I jumped,raced (i was stupid), got it stuck, hit stuff and it never gave me the first problem. I think that they are great sport utes.

 

[FourXFred]

A buddy of mine has an 89 Cherokee with like 180,000 on it, and i hate to admit it, but it is more dependable than my Ex with 127,000. Its got a 3 inch lift and 31's. We beat the piss out of it off road, and it loves every minute of it. It has never left him stranded (unlike my ex), and has never needed any major work (motor, tranny, etc... unlike my Ex) Also, you really can't complain about a factory solid front axle! But i still love my ex, because it has a little blue oval on the grill which makes it better than a jeep anyday.

 

[410Fortune]

I have seen a Cj_5 get beat to crap and beg for more, went for over 250K miles before somebody finally bought it from my buddy in order to do a frame up resto.

I had a 98 Wrangler Sahara, and that thing kicked ass. 40K miles and not one single problem, tough LITTLE truck. It was her car though so I never really got to beat on it off road.

Wranglers are good vehicles.
Cherokees seem to have lots of problems, but then so do Blazers, Explorer's, and the like....I dont like the unibody crap Jeeps but I would take a Wrangler anyday of the week. ONly problem with the Wrangler is its just too damn small, I mean towing a medium size boat with it is dangerous and where in thew world do you put your camping gear?

Chicks in lifted Jeeps are hot. Nuff said.

the inline 6 is a GREAT engine, they have been building it for many years and it just has so much damn torque for that little Wrangler.... I would think Dana 30 axles are a little weak if you plan to run over 30" tires, the older Jeeps ride really rough, but then so do older broncos or anything leaf sprung. Personally I'll stick with my Bronco....Fords are just plain better. So to answer your question, no there is nothing wrong with Jeep's, they were better when they were AMC, and I wouldnt dream of buying anything other then the Wrangler platform (liberty = cute yute, Cherokee = too much $$$$ and no frame). If you want a Cherokee I would first go drive a Fourrunner and a Explorer.........

 

[Bigcheck1]

i currently own both my ex and a 95 wrangler sahara. the little thing begs for more. i drive it hard and have not had a problem, it has 94000 miles on it as of today and its still chuggin. the only problem is that you can put squat in it. right now i'm trying to find a way to fabricate a snowboard rack somehow. its a softop which presents problems. anyway, i would recommend it to anybody. my ex has had a ton of problems, but i just use it for the winter anyway.

 

[mrboyle]

Like everyone has said there are good ones and bad ones. If you are planning on buying one there are some to avoid. Stay away from '87-'92 Wranglers. They were carbed until '91 and the manual trannys were week. In '93 they changed trannys and went to the "HO" 4.0L engine. Also avoid any Cherokee with a 2.8L V-6. The 2.5L I-4 was a beter motor. If you are looking at Cherokees the best ones were made from '93-'99. I can't recomend any of the Grands. The V-8's were gutless and I hate the full-time 4wd used in the later years. If your looking at an older CJ, remember the CJ-5 can be hard and/or expensive to insure. The CJ-7 is a much better choice, but they are mostly plagued with the late '70's early '80's emission demons.

 

[donkey boy]

Originally posted by mrboyle
Like everyone has said there are good ones and bad ones. If you are planning on buying one there are some to avoid. Stay away from '87-'92 Wranglers. They were carbed until '91 and the manual trannys were week. In '93 they changed trannys and went to the "HO" 4.0L engine. Also avoid any Cherokee with a 2.8L V-6. The 2.5L I-4 was a beter motor. If you are looking at Cherokees the best ones were made from '93-'99. I can't recomend any of the Grands. The V-8's were gutless and I hate the full-time 4wd used in the later years. If your looking at an older CJ, remember the CJ-5 can be hard and/or expensive to insure. The CJ-7 is a much better choice, but they are mostly plagued with the late '70's early '80's emission demons.

That sums it up pretty good. In a nutshell, stay away from the first year of a new model, as you should with all brands. Other than that, they are mostly very reliable vehicles. If you want to hear of every tiny little problems a Jeep ever might have had, check www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/ and you find them all beaten to death.

Me personal experience with my Grand has been excellent. But then, this is what I expect of a vehicle that is still almost new. (44'000 miles in 18 months)

SaleenEXP. I dare to say that the Jeep problems of your friends has more to do with the drivers than with the Jeeps. Unluckily, most spoilt brats (your friends, not you) with new expensive vehicles bought by mom and dad never learned how to take care of a vehicle and what can expected of a vehicle and what only can e done once or in TV-commercials. They would be able to break a tank.

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by donkey boy


SaleenEXP. I dare to say that the Jeep problems of your friends has more to do with the drivers than with the Jeeps. Unluckily, most spoilt brats (your friends, not you) with new expensive vehicles bought by mom and dad never learned how to take care of a vehicle and what can expected of a vehicle and what only can e done once or in TV-commercials. They would be able to break a tank.

True, except my roomate hardly drives it hard or at all b/c gas mileage. He lives in Maine, it was his moms and then she gave it to him. It has around 90,000 miles. He said they had problems with it before but not this bad. His mom had 3 Grand Cherokee's before this that all had serious problems. And after she gave him the 98', she bought an 02' Grand Cherokee Limited and already the 4 wheels drive quit working and the trans has been replaced and fuel pump and it has less than 10,000 miles on it. He can't figure out why she keeps getting them . His dad has a 95' Supercharged Jaguar with like 110,000 miles on it with no problems at all even driving in the winter.

His truck was working fine for a few weeks until yesterday when it stalled 3 times while driving, again . Their trading it in on an 02' Explorer the next time his parents come down to visit Thanks to me

I know the other kids don't really drive their vehicles hard, their not that type - unlike me . But that one girl I know whose whole front axle assemble came apart on her Trailblazer said at their dealership they always have a crapload of Trailblazers and Envoys that have a lot of problems. She hates her truck, but it was basically free b/c her parents own a Chevy Dealership, she wants to get rid of it.....but her dad won't do anything until the end of this semester cause she lives in Tennesee I think.

 

[jasonb]

saw a new rubicon the other day. i wanted it, except it was white..
i'd take a tj any day.. as long as i had the explorer still or a pickup or something that can haul stuff. good wheeler, but extremely impractical vehicle for everyday use IMO.

 

[Robb]

The wife has a 96 Grand Cherokee Laredo............105K, no problems. More than I can say for any Xs I have owned.

Robb

 

[TarHeel085]

the problem ive run into through my Jeep is things are VERY poorly designed in relation to owner access. for instance you cant drain the tranny fluid in my CJ without takin off the body! a real PITA!

 

[Digger196]

My best friend has a 96 GC and has had few problem other than the AC getting broken and getting new rear axel bolts replaced or somthing like that w/ the cover but we wheel farly hard and it keeps up w/ me. i got to say the suspenchen in jeeps are better than X but X's are built solid all over!

 

[Rhett]

Well lets see...

Friend has an 89 Cherokee, 3" lift, Ranchos, 31 x10.50's, 150,000 miles, 4.0 engine, and it runs like a top. He did have to replace ball joints not too long ago though. But I really respect that Cherokee of his, it's a beast, even if it does have that wimpy sounding mopar starter.

Other friend has 94 Wrangler. It has thin sheet metal, rocks mark up the wheel wells. It is a 4-cyl manual but it is pretty peppy. His Wr does pretty well offroad for being stock, I'll give it that. Still, I find Wranglers to be cheaply made, extremely cramped, uncomfortable on the highway, and you get what you pay for. They're fine for a toy, but I wouldn't want one for anything else.

Other friend had (I emphasize had) a 80-something CJ (I think it was CJ) anyway, that thing dropped an axle on him on the interstate. Both tires flew by him, he said, and then he knew he was in trouble. heheh. I laugh only because no one was hurt. It could have been bad. But still, he's the only dude that could have happened to. I don't really hold that CJ against jeeps in general though, since it was an old rusted p.o.s.

 

[Mainfraim]

Well thank you guys for all your opinions. It did help in my choice on what I was doing after the sale of my X. However, due to gas mileage issues I strayed from Jeeps as well. I just bought a 97 Acura CL. Not anything like I"m used to driving, but I love it. Fast, agile, and what's that word.... oh yeah, aerodynamic. I almost couldn't think of it, I'm not used to it.

Thanks again.

 

[blichy]

A friend of mine was the chief engineer on the last Cherokee. His lease vehicle was always a Cherokee, and he swore by them. He would also wheel the crap out of it--granted he only kept them for about 9 months and couldn't do much in the way of modding it, but still ran them hard. He has done a lot of motorcross racing, and drove is Jeep in a similar manner.

One of the bad things about the Cherokee is it is a lot smaller than the Escape in the back seat.

 

[donkey boy]

Originally posted by Mainfraim
.... I just bought a 97 Acura CL ....

Do you need now links to ricer-forums?
I mean, congrats and enjoy your new ride

 

[Mainfraim]

Hm, funny. Ricer forums are no good. I'm actually going to lift it and put 35"s on it.

I hate ricers as much as the next SUV driver, so don't worry.

 

[BigCJ7]

Get a real Jeep......