4bangerjp.com
General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: stan98tj on January 21, 2008, 04:19:52 PM
-
well, i loved them actually, used to...until i finally bought one and realized what unreliable, poorly built hunks of crap they really are. bought a 98 tj for $5500, runs for a week and dies. needs a new engine which will run me about 3k after all the work is done. shoulda seen it comin when i read up online on the opinion polls which boasted about 65% customer disatisfaction with their jeeps. i read all the horror stories about the money pits they were and the endless problems and i told myself, that won't be me. i always loved these vehicles but the bottom line is that they are what they are, poorly built, unreliable chrysler products....if i had the money i woulda bought a defender 90 lol
and i type all this as i ready myself to purchase a new engine for it, partly because its worth about $700 right now, partly because my pride is crushed, and partly because somewhere deep down i believe maybe, just maybe this can work...of course i expect a multitude of problems in the future. But maybe by then ill be able to afford a defender...cant go wrong with them, they won 20yrs worth of camel trophies afterall.
-
Don't know what to say, other than I currently own 2 jeeps with 130,000 miles on one and 170,000 on the other.
You want a POS that eats parts, then the defender is a great choice.
-
I'm sure yours was an isolated case of bad luck. Jeeps last a long time and are fairly reliable despite the thrashings we give them. Hang in there and you just might come full circle to likeing Jeeps again.
-
Seeing as it's a '98 and you bought it for $5500, you had to have known there could be problems. New, that Jeep should have cost over twice that. $3000 is still a small price to pay for buying used.
So how'd it die? Punched a hole through the cylinder wall? I'd imagine if it was the rings you'd have noticed the smoke when you bought it.
Either buy a new or reman block and rebuild it or find a NOS engine from Omni-Ada and drop it in and have many trouble free miles.
-
As far as Landrovers go they are for ever breaking pieces of junk. I remember when I worked for a British leyland/ rover dealer in Holland some people bought a new landrover to travel through the Sahara. The new pieve of junk broke so much they sold it after 6 months bought a Volkswagen bus and took their changes with that in the sand.
British cars and reliability never went real well in the same sentence
-
Hmmm, join a Jeep forum to bash the Jeep you just bought? :asshat: Sorry you got such a bad deal but you got what you paid for. I bought mine with 56K on it for $15,000 and it's got over 80K on it now with no problems. Routine maintenance is important. Maybe the p.o. Didn't take care of it. Get it rebuilt and take care of it and I'm sure your mind will change.
-
ok my family has
cj2a (no motor in it but 4.3lv6 in garage waiting for time to install)
49 cj3a
90 yj (mine)
97 grand Cherokee
2003 grand cherokee
2006 tj rubicon
2008 jk rubicon unlimited
and we have had praticaly no problems with any of them. except the cj3a after we had it 3 inches over the floorboards with water and didn't change the oil fast enough :uhoh: th yj has 159k on it and the 97gc has 160k and both have had nothing but rutiene matinence to them. you must have gotten a fluk. and usually they are money pits because you cant stop putting more upgrades on them.
-
well, i loved them actually, used to...until i finally bought one and realized what unreliable, poorly built hunks of crap they really are. bought a 98 tj for $5500, runs for a week and dies. needs a new engine which will run me about 3k after all the work is done. shoulda seen it comin when i read up online on the opinion polls which boasted about 65% customer disatisfaction with their jeeps. i read all the horror stories about the money pits they were and the endless problems and i told myself, that won't be me. i always loved these vehicles but the bottom line is that they are what they are, poorly built, unreliable chrysler products....if i had the money i woulda bought a defender 90 lol
and i type all this as i ready myself to purchase a new engine for it, partly because its worth about $700 right now, partly because my pride is crushed, and partly because somewhere deep down i believe maybe, just maybe this can work...of course i expect a multitude of problems in the future. But maybe by then ill be able to afford a defender...cant go wrong with them, they won 20yrs worth of camel trophies afterall.
Sorry for your trouble, but that can happen in any used vehicle purchase when the vehicle wasnt check out well beforehand.... and sometimes , even when it is.
Ask for help, or sing your sad song somewhere else. Ive been pouring $$ into Jeeps for 20 yrs, sometimes out of 'need', but mostly out of 'want'....
We (I) do it because we like it. Its supposed to be FUN, and its definitely not an investment...
YMMV
-
BAN!!!!!.....I'm sure that there is another site somewhere that this guy can wine about his problems on, I'd rather listen to people who really have a serious desire to be a Jeeper that some guys who just wants to complain.
:ban: :ban: :ban:
-
BAN!!!!!.....I'm sure that there is another site somewhere that this guy can wine about his problems on, I'd rather listen to people who really have a serious desire to be a Jeeper that some guys who just wants to complain.
:ban: :ban: :ban:
X2. He can go here: http://www.landroverforums.com/ (http://www.landroverforums.com/)
-
sure, ban me lol. i don't care. i still love em and always will. but loving a car as a kid and dreamin about it is far different than owning one. and i did the research before hand and i knew they tended to be money pits and i knew many people complained about multiple problems..but i still bought one cause i loved em...and i still do, otherwise id of towed it to the guy who i bought it from set it on fire and left it on his lawn...instead im buyin it a new engine....and as for rovers....well i cant argue with 20 yrs straight winning the camel trophies....an event jeep tried for the first time and failed...but thats really not important. it's getting a new engine and im ready for more problems (by the way, the #4 piston blew-thats what started this) and i decided to vent...cause being a student doesnt allow me to spend much money here and there so i guess there was a bit of desperation somewhere in my comments...take it how ya want
-
I'm guessing that being a student means you can't afford a Land Rover! So you went bargain Jeep shopping :nono: Shame on you! My 2000 Tj has 113k on her and still Blue Books for $8000. ($5000 for your purchase and $3000 for a new engine=$8000 :blbl:) Sounds like somebody new exactly what they were selling and you researched the wrong data! Complain some where else, like at a" I got screwed by the guy who sold me a rig he never took care of " forum! I think that there are support groups out there for people like you. :finger:
-
Please correct me if I'm wrong here but it sounds like you bought a Jeep that sounded too good to be true only to find out that it was. Then you replaced the #4 piston without finding out what the problem was that caused the lean condition in that cylinder. Then you took it to a dealer to get an engine swap done? And you're mad at the Jeep?
I think it's time to step back and take a good look at how you got to this point and the decisions you made and stop blaming the Jeep.
-
to respond to jesse-james: when you have a half inch hole in the top of your #4 piston and the spark plug to that cyl is blown apart, i think it is a clear indicator to replace it. no one could tell me the cause of it. dealerships and mechanics checked all sensors and it all came back good. they even thought the fuel pump was shot. but in the end the jeep dealership looked at it for a day and found the compressions to be way under norm and fuel pump/sensors to be just fine. engine needs to be replaced. and i plan on replacing it. but the jeep only has 85,000 miles on it...sorry if i expected the engine to last a bit longer.
-
The fact that the dealership didn't find a reason does not mean that one doesn't exists. It's like spontaneous human combustion. Nobody can pinpoint a reason for it but it happens... doesn't it? I don't think your Jeep experienced spontaneous (without a reason) cylinder blowout, did it? :confused:
-
oh and to all you folks whose blood boiled after reading my comments: you should be pissed. i just trash talked something everyone here is passionate about. but many of you are forgetting that i too love the brand..enough that i poured a lot of my hard earned money into buying one. im not some dude who owns a honda who happens to come on this site and trash talk a jeep i saw on the side of the road...im a jeep fan who is merely venting about MY jeep and the problems i had with it. most of you here are writing about YOUR rigs and you all seem to have very nicely built rides, but i dont have that kind of money right now, so excuse me if i got rippin mad when my dream ride and (to me) massive investment sh*t the bed! some of you act like you have never been in such a position, never been stranded on the side of the road, never been told by the mechanic that it's totalled and never had to ask yourself...now what, how the hell am i gonna pay for this and the other crap i have. if anything im a bigger, more passionate fan then the lot of you (albeit a bit stubborn) cause i did the research and read the warnings about the jeeps but i loved em so much i bought one knowing that i wouldnt have too much cash on hand should something go wrong...but i didnt predict the whole engine. some of you act like your jeeps were made by masters of the trade and have never broken...well mine comes from the real world, where they break, and cost money a world where there are more reliable cars out there but a world that has guys like me who say screw it and buy em anyway. and as for all your anti-defender/land rover comments...well facts are facts as ive said before...and i guess watching my neighbor drive away day after day in his 87 range rover without any flaws and twice the miliage my jeep has kinda irritates me..especially seeing him do it on the day ur ride craps out
sorry for the long post
-
to respond to jesse-james: when you have a half inch hole in the top of your #4 piston and the spark plug to that cyl is blown apart, i think it is a clear indicator to replace it. no one could tell me the cause of it. dealerships and mechanics checked all sensors and it all came back good. they even thought the fuel pump was shot. but in the end the jeep dealership looked at it for a day and found the compressions to be way under norm and fuel pump/sensors to be just fine. engine needs to be replaced. and i plan on replacing it. but the jeep only has 85,000 miles on it...sorry if i expected the engine to last a bit longer.
Just so I understand. You had a piston blow apart, and then you replaced it with a new std sized piston (didn't have the cylinders bored out). Is that correct? If you indeed replaced a blown up piston without boring the cylinder, it's not too shocking that your compression is bad.
-
You are still ignoring the fact that you bought a vehicle for less than Blue Book value in "Fair" condition and now are surprised that you have to sink money into it. And again I will say that it doesn't matter what type of vehicle it is, if it wasn't properly cared for before you got it then it is to be expected.
BTW - I am also curious how you felt qualified to replace the bad piston, yet you take it to a dealer for service.
-
Sounds like your neighbor takes care of his ride!! Ever ask him what his maintenance bill is like? I don't care what you drive, vehicles cost $ to keep them running. Whether it be oil changes at correct intervals or replacing worn out components, it gets expensive. My Dodge costs $150.00 every time I change the oil (every two months). I think the take home message here is that it's not the Jeep you hate but maybe you're piss poor decision making that has got you all fired up!! :twofingers:
-
to respond to jesse: i honed out the cyl walls and replaced the piston...when the starting problems continued and my friends and i were left scratching our heads i took it to a dealership to have them throw it on the diagnostic computer and have someone who is really used to jeeps work on it.....and the end result is it needs a new engine..and as for "fair" condition, the vehicle only had 85k on it, no rust, ran smooth, shifted fine, no squeaks or noises...just as clean as you would want a vehicle i suppose...and then the piston went and now it needs an engine...i dont think i made piss poor decisions, i may have been had, but it wasnt blatently in need of work, in fact it seemed not to need any work. either way, i dont want to let it go, nor is it worth selling..its getting a new engine and we'll see how long it lasts this go round
-
The price you paid should have been a sign that it needed work. I've been there myself and got screwed in the end just like you. Suck it up, fix it or trash it... either way use it as a learning experience and make your next vehicle purchase a little more carefully.
-
to respond to jesse: i honed out the cyl walls and replaced the piston...when the starting problems continued and my friends and i were left scratching our heads i took it to a dealership to have them throw it on the diagnostic computer and have someone who is really used to jeeps work on it.....
Fair enough, but at that point a rebuild is in order. Patchwork just doesn't cut it. I was more questioning the fact that if you took it out to have the block honed why it didn't get rebuilt at that point and why a dealer is replacing the motor at the tune of 3k when you can do the work.
as for "fair" condition, the vehicle only had 85k on it, no rust, ran smooth, shifted fine, no squeaks or noises...just as clean as you would want a vehicle i suppose...and then the piston went and now it needs an engine...i dont think i made piss poor decisions, i may have been had, but it wasnt blatently in need of work, in fact it seemed not to need any work. either way, i dont want to let it go, nor is it worth selling..its getting a new engine and we'll see how long it lasts this go round
And that is my point, blue book is about $7000 (depending on options) so that should have thrown a flag to look very closely at everything. People generally don't sell thing overly cheap out of the kindness of their hearts.
Now don't take this wrong. I am not trying to sit here and laugh at a guy for getting taken, I just want you to understand it was not the fault of Jeep that you are in this predicament. It was simply not taken care of and had hidden problems. That said, I do understand your need to vent. I have needed to many times in the course of owning my rig.
-
Now don't take this wrong. I am not trying to sit here and laugh at a guy for getting taken, I just want you to understand it was not the fault of Jeep that you are in this predicament. It was simply not taken care of and had hidden problems. That said, I do understand your need to vent. I have needed to many times in the course of owning my rig.
Well said! I think that maybe I came across a little rough. Being a fellow jeeper maybe I should have been a little more understanding of the situation. Apologies to stan98tj!! We've all been there. in my case was a Pontiac. Good luck getting your rig back to working order.
-
Fair enough, but at that point a rebuild is in order. Patchwork just doesn't cut it. I was more questioning the fact that if you took it out to have the block honed why it didn't get rebuilt at that point and why a dealer is replacing the motor at the tune of 3k when you can do the work.
If I had to guess, I'd say that someone did it with the motor in the jeep and used a drill mounted hone. No machine shop would do a real cylinder hone without checking the bore and disassembling the whole engine before machining.
-
Well said! I think that maybe I came across a little rough. Being a fellow jeeper maybe I should have been a little more understanding of the situation. Apologies to stan98tj!! We've all been there. in my case was a Pontiac. Good luck getting your rig back to working order.
I got screwed last year myself. As I posted on here, I picked up a YJ that looked pretty good for 3K. I got it home and it was a mess. I ended up taking a huge hit in the wallet and sold it for 500.00. Lesson learned. Next time you can bet I'll be crawling over the vehicle with a flashlight and a magnet.
-
I've had to replace 4 of 6 u-joints (front axle among them), rear seat belts, rear seat mounts, PCM, rebuild the AX-5, many dash bulbs, steering shaft, a motor mount, front axle seals, oil pressure sensor, rear exhaust manifold stud, battery, a few tie rod ends, thermostat, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting right now. My YJ also has rusted floorboards. Amazingly, besides the PCM replacement, it has always run very well (only 85,000 miles) and when I redid the valve cover gasket, saw that it has no sludge up there. I think the previous owner used it pretty hard but did regular oil changes nonetheless.
-
I think the actual take home message here is to inspect what you're buying and if it sounds to good to be true it probably is! Also around here used car lots are now called "Previuosly Owned" dealers, mostly because (I think) that the American public as a majority view vehicles as disposable items. When the vehicle gets past warranty it's time to trade it off! The problems generally start there because the vehicles haven't been properly maintained. These problems inheriently get passed to the budjet minded consumer looking for a "good" deal on a "cool" ride! :rant:
-
Find a "junkyard" 2.5L and swap it yourself... no where near $3K. :fish:
-
to all who have read this post and left pissed off or even sent me pissed off emails....dont worry im not (and never even thought) of scrappin it or trading it in for a honda or anything like that. it will run again with a new engine and all. i basically see it as having its first massive heart attack, but it will live. but im not appologizing to her or any of you for the nasty names i called her when she finally crapped out. i admit i let slip "shoulda had you built in japan" accidentally when i was slammin the throttle while turning the key to try and get her to start and maybe that comment was a bit harsh.....boy i hope i didnt start another riot when the lot of ya read that comment.
thanks garydubf for actually seeing this post was more frustration than harsh tongue lashing...had to get by the "what the hell am i gonna do now and how the hell am i gonna afford this" stage
-
Find a "junkyard" 2.5L and swap it yourself... no where near $3K. :fish:
Sounds like you had a bad stroke of luck. I agree with finding a used engine. I have seen them go for 200$ around orlando. Or you could order a short block for alot less than 3k if you feel better about that. Alot of folks don't like the 4 banger and will toss a perfect running engine for a V-8 swap. I would definately recommend researching what is available before I would choke up 3k. Good luck.
-
I know how you feel about the whole money situation I believe it happens to us all sooner or later.. Right now I have books and tuition due at about $600 and in dier need of new tires and my clutch just went out today, and to let you know that I work for min. wage at $5.75 an hour.. I do have mom and dad to help a lil but they can't afford to help much since there are three of us in college also..Shit happens and you find a way to get through it...But I love my jeep and like you, ever since I was little I was always like "daddy I want a jacked up jeep when I get older" well I have the jeep just not the "jacked" part yet but it's to come..Hope everything goes well for you, and you can see the true joy and fun of owning a jeep......All the best
-
I've got a good bud who runs a wrecker service. He has an impoundment lot with vehicles that were never picked up and wrecks that he got by waiving the recovery fees. He a Jeeper so he saves all the Dana 60's, chevy 350 V8s, Explorer 8.8s, and of course Jeeps. Talk with the local wrecker operators in your area, they may be less expensive than junk yards. If you don't know how to evaluate the condition of used parts, then find $omeone who does to help evaluate. The odometer in the wrecked vehicle gives you an idea, and stay away from anything that has oily residue in the exhaust. If possible, run the engine before you buy it. Most important - don't get in a hurry! :brick:
When you buy an engine, make sure you get all the stuff that goes with it - wire harness, ECU, brackets, etc.
-
My rig was $8,000 with 65k miles on it....bone stock though...outside of the alternator squeaking like a mofo every day this winter, it runs great (I may just suck it up and throw a mean green in there.)
-
Mine was $600 + the 5 37" IROKS on recentered H1 rims and a dana 60 rear from my old jeep. So about $2500 my cost
-
i replaced two trannys, the engine and everything that goes with it. all in the same year. my first lesson was read ALOT about doing the work yourself. im not a gearhead by any means. but i do pretty well for a girl. we have replaced damn near everything on my heep with the exception of seats and wheels. but i wouldnt trade her for anything! jeep, just empty every pocket....
-
well stan98tj, after reading all of this thread, i'm left with just one question. . .do you feel like this :stick: , sorry about your jeep, good luck getting it fixed
-
stan98tj - Sorry you got a POS. I have a 97 that I bought new and in the 12 years I owned it and being in the military I have drove it on three different continents. I only have had to replace the following, a starter, an alternator, a water pump, and the radiator. So for something you can being unrealiable I would have to disagree. I believe you picked a vehicle that the previous owner failed to maintain and then found someone to pawn off their problems to. Fix it, enjoy it and move on.
-
Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience right off the bat.
I get the need to vent, but to use such an inflamitory title for said venting doesn't garner much sympathy.
As for jeepers having problems, I've never heard anything of the sort. With the exception of one guy my brother in law knows, who used to work at a stealership. He hates Wranglers. I think that's cause he hated working on other people's Jeeps though, cause he never could give me a good reason.
I've had my 98 for 8 years, and I've put 70,000 miles on her. The only real problems I've had have been of my own making.
Hope that new engine works for you mate!
And welcome to the forums! A better resource doesn't exist!
-
fear not. took off the head yesterday and readied it to be sent in and inspected. i suspect the detonated piston must have cracked it some where or screwed the valves up. After 2 months of hardships and 3 different mechanics, i think i have the problem pinpointed. In the end ive come to grips with the fact that if it needs a new engine, im just gonna have to bite the bullet on it and throw one in there. but maybe (hopefully) this is just a valve job. soon she'll run again and when i change a few odds and ends (maybe a few bucks left over for a 2inch lift-shes sitting on 31s now) then i bet my next thread will read I love my jeep. but she still deserved all the harsh names i called her.
-
Oviously your Jeeps Engine was not properly serviced or else you would have had no trouble
-
You shouldve just bought a honda. They're cooler than Jeeps anyway, plus they're louder and flex better than a stock YJ. Haha. Sorry about your troubles. I know the feeling, My Jeeps broken right now too. I certainly can't afford it and I'm waiting on warranty crap to hopefully get worked out. My Jeep broke 5 days after christmas, and I just now got the parts together to fix it. Take your time, fix it right, and I promise you there will be years of trouble free enjoyment ahead. As mentioned before, Jeep stands for Just Empty Every Pocket, so get ready, lube up, and enjoy the F'ing that a Jeep gives your wallet, you'll learn to enjoy it. :biggrin:
-
fear not. took off the head yesterday and readied it to be sent in and inspected. i suspect the detonated piston must have cracked it some where or screwed the valves up. After 2 months of hardships and 3 different mechanics, i think i have the problem pinpointed. In the end ive come to grips with the fact that if it needs a new engine, im just gonna have to bite the bullet on it and throw one in there. but maybe (hopefully) this is just a valve job. soon she'll run again and when i change a few odds and ends (maybe a few bucks left over for a 2inch lift-shes sitting on 31s now) then i bet my next thread will read I love my jeep. but she still deserved all the harsh names i called her.
Sounds like your mechanics suck. I try to do as much as I can myself. The mechanics around here are a bunch of tards. They actually thought I was gonna pay 700$ to get my radiator and thermostat replaced. Even the idiots down at the tire shop forgot to tighten the lugs when I got new tires. Point is I think most mechanics are full of s***t and if you want it done right you gotta research and do it yourself.
-
I also end up redoing at least part of any job I have a mechanic do on my Jeep. Funny thing is I only check up on them with the Jeep. With other types of cars I just accept it as they deliver it (I donīt like working on regular cars, only Jeeps) and it seems to be ok for the most part. This implies that most cars are running around all the time with incorrect repairs.
-
head is cracked...buyin one from clearwater in FL for 250..she'll be running again soon. Now ill have to hunt down what caused the head to crack..but at least there is a light at the end of this tunnel
-
Very sorry to hear about you having a big problem right out of the gate like this. Its not fair to say Jeeps are bad though, because they are not. The first few years after the TJ's were introduced there seemed to be a number of people experiencing a similar problem that stained Jeeps reputation forever, which is not fair. The problem was that the some heads on the 4.0L were defective and either ended up with warping(why many blew head gaskets left and right) or just failed, ultimately blowing the motor.
I had a 97 4.0L that I really pushed to it's limits both on and off road and I never had any issues except dealing with the gas prices due to my heavy foot. :smile:
I think you just got the short end of the rope in a situation that could have happend to any one of us. I hope you stay with Jeep and wish you luck.
And to those of you who are considering buying a Land Rover, remember one thing......
The first prototype Land Rover made was on a Jeep Chasis 8)
Duff