Thinking about picking up a used 97 with the 4.0 liter six with the five speed manual transmission. How reliable is the jeep.. saw the ratings and i was impressed. Anyone with personal experience here? I was thinking about toyota pickup, but have enjoyed my "top down" experience so much in the stook that I think I would like to have it in the daily drive as well.

 

TTT

 

not a wrangler, but my family has had lots of jeeps.

the 4L I6 is extremely dependable. Not sure about the manual tranny. The transfer case in 4WD needs lots of maintenance and breaks (my roomie replaced several...of course he drove in 4WD mode 100% of the time ).

 

The jeep has always received bad reviews with reliablity. The engines (both the 4 and 6 cylinders) are very reliable, but jeeps usually have hardware problems. I have a 94 4 cylinder that has 135k miles and I love it. I drive that when the s is asleep in the winter. I have replaced the rear end on it however. It is a manul that has has no problems. 97 is when they made some drastic changes to the suspension, so they are more civilized know. They are good in the snow but can take a while to get warm. You may want to get the hardtop for the winter. Also, the standard can be very hard to shift when the temps are low. I maybe would get the automatic if I was looking at the 4 liter.

scott

 

I would stay away from the '97 - it was the first year of the TJ. I (technically, my wife) had one and it was the worst Jeep I ever owned. It was fun (all Wranglers/CJ's are), but things went wrong on it frequently.

Good luck,
Ron.

 

I had a 90 and a 97.. both 4 liter 6 cylinders...

Umm.. I would stay away from the 97 too...

In BOTH cases I had driveline problems... AKA< driveshaft poping out. The 97 also had some slight electrical issues... I would own a newer one, but a 98, not a 97.

Also, if you get one in red, and need half doors, let me know, I have some that have seen maybe 200 miles of us in my garage.

 

I was in a Chrysler/Jeep dealership about 3 years ago while waiting on my friend to get his car from the service department. I wandered over to the showroom and was checking out a Wrangler on the floor when a salesman approached. We talked a little and then I made a comment about the large puddle of oil under the Jeep. His response was that ALL vehicles leak oil . . new or not. I couldn't help but laugh at him and remark that Asian made cars RARELY leak oil . . even after 100,000 miles and that a brand new vehicle leaking oil on a piece of cardboard on the showroom floor was not a strong selling point to me. He got red-faced and walked away. BTY, I owned an '83 CJ7 and really enjoyed that Jeep. It was as reliable as any domestic I've ever owned . . .plus, it didn't leak oil.

 

i had a 2001 wranger that i bought used w/ 4k miles... i think i put about 10k on it.... nothing wrong except the check engine light came on and they said it was a bad sparkplug..... and there was a recall on the clutch..... overall mine was very solid and fun.... i even pulled about 3000lbs for 600 miles one day.

 

Yeah, 97 is when they changed to coil spring suspension. I'd stay away from any pre 99. Make sure to get the 4.0. The new TJs have 4 wheel disc brakes and 4 speed auto trannys are optional. I own a TJ and love it. If you love offroading then you'll like the heep. If you aren't into going offroad then I'd recommend something with more "car like" qualities.

 

I have an '04 TJ and I love it. Lots of fun. The Wranglers are quite reliable. I've had mine since Oct. and it seems well screwed together. Had one problem that is not uncommon for the 4.0. Just a drop of oil on the front of the bell housing that I would clean but slowly returned. My dealrship replaced the rear main seal and it's fine now. Also had a driveline noise when letting off the clutch from reverse to first and vice versa. Turned out to be a bad u-joint flange. I guess this doesn't help much with purcahsing a '97, but generally, they're fairly simple and straight forward in terms of working on them. I was also very impressed with the service dep't at Adzam in Bedford Hills NY. The folks there are top notch. Service was really great and they couldn't have been more helpful and courteous. Good luck if you get it and have fun. BTW, way more modding opportunities than the S2000!