BoxheadTim said:In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Well, I'm purposely leaving the trailer at home.
But based on what I find there I may have to go back the following weekend with the trailer.
Well looking at the calender, that will be the weekend of the 21-22 
In reply to Apexcarver :
She's had a XJ for over a decade before we got here the Range Rover. So a certain familiarity with Jeep chassis dynamics is already present.
I know she's had a 2 door JK as a rental before, can't remember if she ever drove my CJ7.
Thanks for the rest of the suggestions, I'll keep those in mind.
mr2s2000elise said:BoxheadTim said:In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Well, I'm purposely leaving the trailer at home.
But based on what I find there I may have to go back the following weekend with the trailer.
Well looking at the calender, that will be the weekend of the 21-22
<innocent whistle>
As someone who has driven both a 2.5 YJ and a 4.0 TJ between Ohio and Omaha, I can't really offer anything aside from the fact that a six is beyond necessary, as is a hardtop if you don't live in Antigua.
While I have never sat in, much less driven, a JK or JL, my only advice is to make sure you adjust budget for imitation beadlock wheels with MT tread tires, winch(es), an angry grille, and stickers that profess a love of wet dirt or others' lack of understanding regarding your chosen marque. From what I can tell all of that is mandatory?
We have a 2012 JK Arctic edition two door we bought new. Ours is completely stock with the exception of a winch. It has 160k on it and the only repair needed was a passenger side cylinder head issue covered under a factory extended warranty. Routine maintenance has been oil changes, tires, and two sets of brake pads. That's it, it has been extremely reliable and my wife loves it so much we kept it even after she got her G550. Hers is an auto and pretty loaded up with nav, heated seats, three piece hard top, and power everything. We've both used it as a DD in the past, dog hauler, dirt bike towing, and taken trips in it. I highly recommend them.
This is not ours, but same color etc.
JK’s, in my experience, go through 1.5 sets of rear pads for every front set. Weird to have that much rear brake bias. When I came up I was taught that the fronts did most of the work and therefore wore out first. Not these.
A 401 CJ said:JK’s, in my experience, go through 1.5 sets of rear pads for every front set. Weird to have that much rear brake bias. When I came up I was taught that the fronts did most of the work and therefore wore out first. Not these.
This is true. Ours goes through rears faster. Not sure why unless maybe hill descent and/or traction control uses the rear pads.
I believe the rear pad wear can be attributed to the electronic Brake Lock Differential which uses the rear brakes to reduce wheel speed and slippage.
I could feel it working on my 2012 JK in slippery conditions (mud, snow, etc).
I also turned my Hill Start Assist off the first week I owned it. I didn't like how it felt and it wasn't really needed in central Florida.
Well, that didn't go to well. I've been feeling like E36 M3 warmed over for the last few days so had to abort the mission.
OTOH I did find another LJ closer to home that's apparently almost rust free. Let's hope it's not the Northeast definition of "rust free", aka you can still see some particles of paint between the rust flakes.
Well, it looks like this truck might be the NE definition of "rust free" - based on the pictures it's more a case of "no visible frame rust after I POR-15'd over this E36 M3". Yay. Guess it's time to see if I can finally get ahold of the seller of an LJ further south in VA.
Oh, and having a check engine light on so bright you might get sunburn isn't "engine is fine". Different truck but right now it looks like if I keep shopping in the backup vehicle price range I either need to get a MIG welder or a bigger engine hoist. Or both.
My apologies for not reading the whole thread.
I've had 3 TJs, 2 CJs, 1 JKU 3.8, and currently a JK 3.6. Almost all have been kept fairly close to stock. Hands down the JK 3.6 is the best. TJs are nice, but if you drive a TJ and JK back to back you'll easily notice the difference. The TJ feels dated. You'll really notice the extra HP over the TJ and the JK 3.8. TJ frames rust. All of them rust and it's from the inside out. I think they left the factory that way.
I drove to ATL to pick up my current one because it was stock and had both tops. Plus I didn't want the first year of the Penstar so i shopped for a 13+ and ended up with a 13. I can't say how much nicer the JK is with the extra HP. the interior is nice, mine has cloth seats, by full leather and heated options are available. PW, PDL, keyless, all that stuff is available. Honestly this Jeep has so much more stuff than I've ever needed. Because they are still new, there are tons and tons of aftermarket parts, and everything that might break has a DIY fix. My only issue was a temp coolant sensor light, $26 part and a fluid change. And there is a little thing plastic piece inside the oil filter holder that broke on mine. Also pretty common and a -$20 fix. Mine broke cause I was impatient and didn't wait for the Jeep to cool down before popping the filter out and broke it.
With all that said, and as nice as the JK is, I'm more of a CJ guy. Those are by far my favorite ones. So much so that I'm thinking of selling my current JK to go back to a CJ or even and old Willys. (I have another car I can use as a DD) I will miss the comfort and power of the JK but another old CJ is calling me.
In reply to octavious :
The main reason for not going straight for a 3.6 JK is the budgetary concerns - this is supposed to be a backup vehicle for my wife (and me) so I need to keep it this side of $15k, especially as we're also trying to refi our house over the next month or so to take advantage of the much lower rates.
What I'm hoping is that between the backup Jeep and the RR, we can make them last for 2-3 years when Jeep is supposed to come out with full electric drivetrains (if the "announcement" recently in Jalopnik is to be trusted). My wife is the perfect candidate for a full electric vehicle as she only tends to drive locally - maybe a ~100 mile radius if that - but really, really wants a Jeep Wrangler at the same time.
I think the choice right now is really between a decent LJ and an early two-door JK.
Get that refi before the next... 'event'. Coming soon to a global economy near you!
I don't remember which years or even if this ever happened but I would avoid a 3.6/5spd auto combo if they had that. I find that combo manages to make both parts feel bad. It makes it so that you only get the extra 70hp of the 3.6 for like 20mph out of the 70 mph range you're actually going to use on a daily basis.
I may or may not have come back from looking at and driving a very clean LJ that I'm tempted to buy for myself if my wife doesn't want one.
Oops.
Looks like we've just agreed to buy said LJ. My wife didn't like it much until she saw it in person, then she liked it a lot.
Congrats! LJs are awesome. If I were to get another Jeep, I would definitely seek out an LJ.
You know we require pics of said Jeep acquisition 
In reply to stanger_missle :
There'll be a picture or two once I pick it up and trailer it home.
Dragged it home today. It drove on and off the trailer fine 
- yes, I did drive it before buying it. A pic or two might follow.
The ignition switch is a tad temperamental (if you turn it all the way to the stop it won't crank, if you stop just before hitting said stop it'll crank fine), the aftermarket radio has a bad case of alternator whine and all fluids need changing. The brake rotors look a bit worn, too, and the exhaust isn't going to be long for this world.
First step is to address the fluid issue - it's not leaking anything which has me worried it's low on something 
. I'll also have to have another look at the exhaust as the muffler is about to fall apart. Fortunately even a stainless replacement isn't that expensive.
Cant wait for pics
I like LJs. Ive only driven a couple of stock ones with autos. I like their proportions. Congrats!
One of the funny things about the TJ generation that nobody seems to bring up (granted, i dont spend time on actual jeep forums) is that since they made all the interior panels bigger/thicker inside the same size shell, it seems a little more cramped than a YJ. I'm a big fan of 'road tractor' which is why I still like the YJ over the TJ for myself, but the extended wheelbase is tantalizing and of course if ever a scenario existed between a YJ and LJ (for the same YJ money...HAHHHH) I'd take the LJ. 
Teaser picture - got to clean up my garage first before I can poke around the LJ more:
Apparently I either had the shakes when I took it or need to clean the lens of the phone camera. Sorry 'bout that.
In reply to BoxheadTim :
That is a great color! Most if the LJs I see are either red or yellow.
Congrats 
After half an hour rolling around on the damp grass I decided to call the post-purchase inspection "done". Didn't find anything unexpected, but then again I had already poked around the truck before.
The frame has definitely been repainted, but it does seem to be in pretty decent condition nonetheless. There's a little bit of scabbiness inside the bottom of the framerails between the axles, but everywhere else I can get to with my fingers appears to be clean. Oh, and it does have a new roof.
I know it was parked in a damp spot so the axles and other metal items including the outer shell of the muffler aren't in great shape - fair amount of surface corrosion. OTOH parts of it are almost pristine, which is a weird combo. You can see some corrosion on the body but most of it appears to be surface corrosion on the body seams.
Oh, and it has some "issue" with the emissions system .
It'll have an appointment with a wirebrush, rust converter and some paint once the weather gets a bit better. I don't think it has been offroaded a lot to the frame doesn't appear to be filled up with mud. That's a nice change given how many TJs around here need massive frame repairs.
The current plan is to throw a bunch of rust converter at the surface rust, pump a bunch of Fluid Film or similar into the frame and coat the underside of the truck with with wax undercoating.
Assuming the brake lights work - wife's at work so I couldn't ask her to look while I pushed the pedal - it needs one headlight to pass inspection as I think it's got an iffy high beam. Everything else that's relevant for inspection appears to work.
Mechanically it needs an oil change, probably fresh oil in axles and transfer case (gearbox oil looks and smells fine) brake fluid change and probably some new pads and rotors. Given that the brake calipers also look like they've been parked on the seafloor for a few years I may just swap those out, too, especially if I managed to break one or more bleed screws. Oh, and the idler pulley for the serpentine belt also has a bunch of rust on it. Even though it spins fine I'll throw that one out sooner rather than later before it damages the serpentine belt.
I also need to steam clean the interior. When the PO got the truck the roof had been leaking on one of the seats and it ended up a moldy. He cleaned it up OK but the driver's seat didn't come out that great. I have a steam cleaner so I'll try to clean it up properly, if not I'll see if I can find a good used one. I also need to do something about the alternator whine coming through the stereo.
Overall it is a bit of a project. Given the price (a bit less than 10k for it with 146k miles on it) I think I did OK.
stanger_missle said:In reply to BoxheadTim :
That is a great color! Most if the LJs I see are either red or yellow.
Congrats
Thanks. Oddly enough out of the few I found in reasonable distance, the majority were black. The other ones were one yellow, one silver and this one.
Passed inspection after replacing the third brake light bulb. Everything else as it pertains to the WV inspection was OK. The mechanic doing the inspection was either surprised or worried that I may have found the one Jeep around here that didn't need a modified sticker and the special modified inspection.
Looks like I missed one more thing when I initially looked at the car - the heater blower only works on max, none of the intermediate settings work. At least it allowed me to verify that my wife won't have to worry about getting cold if she wants to drive it on a crisp winter's day.
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