pm xj ,,hes had a couple
shoe wrote this awhile back....
I have a 97 TJ Wrangler auto ragtop
It has left me stranded and walking twice.
My experience with it:-
They drink fuel, they will not do much better than 18l per 100km. The rag top is real bad as the shape of it is equivalent to towing a parachute.
To agrivate the outrageous fuel consumption they are real slow to full up with fuel. If you leave the engine running while you are refueling it will never get full.
They are way under geared in the final drive at about 3.07 to 1 which means the engine labours all the time further sucking fuel. Stock tire size is 28inch anything bigger like 31inch and it will suck even more fuel.
On any sort of a trip make sure you can get to a gas station at least evey 300km
The engines last forever.
The water pump will crap out at about 100K Ripco have them for about $100
The Radiator will also not last much more than 100k they have plastic ends which are crap
The front sway bar ball joints are wofull and will fall apart on your second or third 4WD trip
The front brake caliper pistons are ceramic and will bind up sooner or later overheating the brakes. a Good fix is steel pistons avaliable from most brake shops.
The three speed auto is a dog of a slush box. Its a decendent of the old mopar 770 box from the 60s. Its Ok but it clunks and does not kick down very well. I grenaded mine with water in it as the breather is poorly located low in the bell housing. Its OK once you extend with a breather hose up higher
I have been sucked in to installing an electronic chip and a throttle body spacer to get more power and less fuel consumption, however both are a waste of money.
The exhaust manifold is gauarteed to crack and leak at anytime.
Apart from the above a TJ is a great vechile and I will drive mine for ever.
v8 tj...luvs the gas......
