Topic: I Hate Jeeps

[Justin Sinclair]

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

[VA_YJ]

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! 

When you buy an engine, make sure you get all the stuff that goes with it - wire harness, ECU, brackets, etc.

[Mozman68]

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.)

[oldjeep]

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

[Hockey1]

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....

[nic99007]

well stan98tj, after reading all of this thread, i'm left with just one question. . .do you feel like this    , sorry about your jeep, good luck getting it fixed

[cromwell]

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.

[GreenBayjeeper]

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!

[stan98tj]

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.

[Android20]

Oviously your Jeeps Engine was not properly serviced or else you would have had no trouble

[cmgorman94]

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.

[damon54]

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.

[neale_rs]

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 don´t 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.

[stan98tj]

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

[Duff5484]

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.   

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   

Duff