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Reliable commuter? Warning: Heep question!

DK5

DK5

1/2 ton status
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The city that rhymes with fun, Saskatchewan
Hi guys, a deal has come up that I'm considering for a winter highway commuter; 2005 jeep tj...

Just wondering if anyone has experience with these rigs, I believe it's the 4.0 v6 manual trans. REALLY low mileage ~30k miles

I've been considering a new wrangler anyway with the new 3.6 vvt but the idea of no payments is also tempting on this older rig...

What says the brotherhood?
 
DK5 said:
Hi guys, a deal has come up that I'm considering for a winter highway commuter; 2005 jeep tj...

Just wondering if anyone has experience with these rigs, I believe it's the 4.0 v6 manual trans. REALLY low mileage ~30k miles

I've been considering a new wrangler anyway with the new 3.6 vvt but the idea of no payments is also tempting on this older rig...

What says the brotherhood?
Click to expand...

One of the most impractical daily drivers I can think of... Hard on fuel, high maintenance


I'd rock it :D
 
Russell said:
One of the most impractical daily drivers I can think of... Hard on fuel, high maintenance


I'd rock it :D
Click to expand...

gets almost the same mileage as the 4cyl version, which is also crap for mileage. But they seem like they never die. I'd get one for a daily or winter beater any day of the week
 
With respect to the '05 TJ, my wife daily drives an '06 LJ (lwb TJ). First, the 4.0 is an inline 6 (v6 started in '07) but as stated it sucks on mpg's. Our Jeep probably gets about 13~14 mpg on city driving, this is with 4.10's & 33's. As for dependability, knock on wood ours has been fantastic, it's got about 40k miles on it and has had no mechanical issues.

I do have to say that we bought ours new so we had no worries about a rough history, etc..
 
I had a 1994, I6, manual trans, 2in shackle lift on 31's, and aside from poor mileage, I loved that little jeep, right up until if flipped in a snow storm in Vermont and I swore I'd never buy another one. Frame damage, body damage, and suspension damage, rolling at maybe 25-30mph. But, both of us in the jeep were fine, despite not wearing seatbelts.

My buddy at work is a HUGE Jeep fanatic, and he said if you're buying, the TJ vintage is the one to look for. (had another friend a few weeks ago looking at one, but she wound up going with a Solara Convertible).

As long as you dont wheel the wee out of it, I dont see why youd have any issues, but economical it aint. :whistle:
 
Who do you think you're fooling around here? :)

If you want beater, buy a Honda or Toyota.....pay basically nothing for maintenance and get great mileage.

A Jeep is too likely to end up as a new 4x4 project. "hey, how about some bigger tires and a small lift kit?".... The exact OPPOSITE result you were going for by getting a beater vehicle.


-G
 
Lots of better highway commuter options that actually get some MPG... but great winter vehicle.

Remember it has flat tappet cam, no off shelf oil in stores is qualified. Jeep has an additive or oil for it. Cam issues are common with non-correct oil, worse then out trucks...
 
eagle mark said:
Lots of better highway commuter options that actually get some MPG... but great winter vehicle.

Remember it has flat tappet cam, no off shelf oil in stores is qualified. Jeep has an additive or oil for it. Cam issues are common with non-correct oil, worse then out trucks...
Click to expand...

Interesting...does, say, Lucas oil additive have the right stuff in it for these motors?
 
?

Needs to have added Zinc and Phosphorous. I use Amsoil 10w-40 fuell synthetic that is clearly marked Zinc and Phosphorous. There is also Brad Penn, or other additives.

It's a must in any flat tappet cam motor if you want the cam lobes to last. More spring pressure the worse it gets.

2006 Jeep TJ 4.0L was the last vehicle to leave any factory with flat tappet cam.

Zinc and Phosphorus was removed from oil for emissions reasons, vehicle manufactures were installing roller cams same time.

What's more important is OUR TRUCKS HAVE FLAT TAPPET CAMS!!! :doah:
 
eagle mark said:
?

Needs to have added Zinc and Phosphorous. I use Amsoil 10w-40 fuell synthetic that is clearly marked Zinc and Phosphorous. There is also Brad Penn, or other additives.

It's a must in any flat tappet cam motor if you want the cam lobes to last. More spring pressure the worse it gets.

2006 Jeep TJ 4.0L was the last vehicle to leave any factory with flat tappet cam.

Zinc and Phosphorus was removed from oil for emissions reasons, vehicle manufactures were installing roller cams same time.

What's more important is OUR TRUCKS HAVE FLAT TAPPET CAMS!!! :doah:
Click to expand...

Bingo. I was asking more for clarification, I read it as jeeps needed a very specific additive. I run Lucas oil additive in my 355, now I know to add it to my girlfriends jeep.
 
Jeep says it needs a specific additive. Your warranty is void for cam failure if not documented service at their dealer or adding their additive.

Their additive is Zinc and Phosphorous in less levels then other additives. I'm guessing just enough for cam and pass emissions? They are also known for weak valve springs that float at high RPM so they cut back on pressure.

I researched the numbers years ago and Amsoil Full Synthetic 10w-40 marked Zinc and phousphours was great for all old engenes. It's all I have in garage for every motor I own including lawn mower. Multiple oil issue solved! Won't hurt roller cams...
 
two options for reliable commuters.

I didnt check, but if you live in the frozen north, a subaru legasy is a great option. available in a sedan or a hatch. AWD, manual trans option, and cheap and easy to work on. Had a friend whos scooby needed an alternator, got the part for 60 bucks, and installed it in 15 minutes or so. I dont much care for japanese cars from a design, ergonomics, and driving feel, but I have thought long and hard about a WRX more than once.

If you live in an area with mild snow, or are one of the few, the proud, the people that can drive in it without loosing their head. I always push my diesel jetta on everyone as the daily driver to beat. Ive owned it for four years, bought it with 126000 miles, it has over 185000 miles now. The only thing ever that went wrong with the engine was a coolant temperature sensor, that cost 20 bucks to fix. I can cruise easily at highway speed, and in fact, have driven faster than the horsepower rating of my car on more than one occasion. semi sustained tripple digit speeds, keep in mind, the car is german, and was designed for the autobahn. you wont win any drag races, but it will absolutely get up to highway speed without any drama. and to be fair, I'm normally one of the faster people on the road durring my commute, unless i'm intentionall driving for "competitive" mileage or am on the interstate. I get 45-50mpg commuting daily, and my personal best on a long range highway drive was 62-65mpg, 931 miles before the fuel light came on, using roughly 14-15 gallons. Its only 90hp, but its 150ftlbs of torque, and im planning on rebuilding the injectors with modern nozzles, worth 25hp, and 50ftlbs, as well as several more mpg at highway cruise speed. that mod only costs roughly 400 bucks in parts and labor. I absolutely ADORE this car as a daily driver. just sucks tailgating at country concerts in it ;) Its available as a hatchback, sedan, or a wagon. stay away from the automatic transmissions, they are junk. but the manual transmissions are absolutely drive around the world reliable. the kicker is you should be able to find plenty for less than $10k, just dont be afraid of a 100k+ mile car. The diesel was also available in the passats of those years, and with a bigger fuel tank, 1200 mile ranges are common.
 
eagle mark said:
Jeep says it needs a specific additive. Your warranty is void for cam failure if not documented service at their dealer or adding their additive.

Their additive is Zinc and Phosphorous in less levels then other additives. I'm guessing just enough for cam and pass emissions? They are also known for weak valve springs that float at high RPM so they cut back on pressure.

I researched the numbers years ago and Amsoil Full Synthetic 10w-40 marked Zinc and phousphours was great for all old engenes. It's all I have in garage for every motor I own including lawn mower. Multiple oil issue solved! Won't hurt roller cams...
Click to expand...

This is both great and scary info for me since we own a Jeep and I've never used an additive. I plan to start using the additive from now on but this makes me wonder about my Dodge 5.9 diesel - should I be worried about using an additive in this motor as well? I've always used the Valvoline "Cummins approved" 15w40 gal jugs.
 
We were leaning towards a jeep wrangler because they are pretty nice now and get decent fuel economy, I just started hesitating when I was thinking of payments when I could have had a TJ for 10k with really low miles. Anyway it sold, so I'm just deciding which way to go. I would like to get something decent (creature comforts) I've even considered buying a new one fully loaded just the way I want
 
The new JKs are actually a pretty nice vehicle! The Rubicon version comes out of the box pretty incredibly capable just as is. They get reasonable mileage these days too, and have lots of jam.
 
You know what I think. That new 3.6L V6 has made the JK a whole different vehicle. If I hadn't of gone back to school I'd probably be buying one right now.

Only problem I see is they're expensive. Even the 07-11 with the 3.8L V6 are expensive. I briefly considered those but decided the lesser mpg (15 tops) and high purchase price (around here decent low mileage ones are 66-75% as much as 2012's and new 2013's).
Also considered a TJ but experience with my buddy's 2002 has me leary of them. All kinds of electrical gremlins and he beats on it but literally EVERYTHING in the powertrain and drivetrain has been replaced except for the engine. Axles, transfer case (he's on his third), transmission, etc. Some was abuse but some was just crappy Chrysler build quality.

It's a damn shame that there aren't more options out there for real 4x4, small, good mpg vehicles that don't cost an assload any more. My six years in Northern Michigan showed me that when there's 2' of snow on the ground, a Blizzard in progress, the plows are MIA, the roads suck anyway, and you have to get to work there's no replacement for a real 4x4. AWD cars and cute utes got stuck 20' further than the regular cars. I love my Suzukis but what they sell now sucks, gets crappy mpg, and isn't cheap. The JK is about your only option in an SUV any more.
 
So I'm thinking about putting 10K down and going with a payment of hopefully 300 or less per month. I've never done a payment plan on a car before. So I'm a little unsure on what to go with, keeping in mind the stealership is always looking to get more $$ from me... I guess the only way to know is to keep shopping around
 
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