Where can I go to find the best deal on jeeps? I've thought about trading in my 2005 ford focus...
Stock jeeps or built jeeps?
Stock=Craigslist
Built= Tennessee Offroad, Hardline Crawlers or Pirate 4X4.
Wait till November thru about February for the better deals on Wranglers...Whichever I can get with my 2005 ford focus
How does offroading ability differ between cherokee vs wrangler?
From my limited knowledge.
TJ's are about as wide as an XJ, but JK's are wider then TJ's. TJ's, JK's, and YJ's are shorter, but the top noise is there at highway speeds. Comparing TJ's to XJ's, they share the same engine for the most part (either the 2.5 4 cyc or the 4.0 inline 6), but suspension parts might be different. JK's have 3.8 v6 engines. I like TJ's for being able to take the top and doors off easily, but I love XJ's for cargo holding ability. Off road, beside the shorter wheel base, about the only advantage TJ's have over XJ's is the automatic transmissions. For down hill sections, the TJ's have a 1st gear while XJ's have 1-2 gear (meaning more braking down hill for XJs). Also off road, TJ's do have a bit more ground clearence, but I would off road an XJ and have a TJ for summer cruising. That being said, TJ's were produced from 97-05. XJ's were produced from 1984 to 2001. 2000 and 2001 XJ's with the 4.0 have the 0331 head that was prone to cracking if they got too hot. 98-99 is widely accepted as the best years for the XJ's. The aftermarket stuff for suspension (lift kits) is pretty big for both the Wrangler and XJ's.
what does xj, tj, jk all mean?
How does offroading ability differ between cherokee vs wrangler?
XJ's have coil springs in front, leaf rear.
Wranglers run coils on both ends after '95 (that the last yr of the YJ- square lights and leaf springs front and rear).
To clear bigger tires on an XJ (or ZJ), one needs to do more lift and or hacking than what would be needed on a Wrangler.
Older inline 6's had crappy crank sensors and exhaust manifolds (cracked).
3.55 gears common to many XJ's.........31" tires and 5" of lift make it a streetable/wheelable combo. I ran mine for years, with no front or rear swaybars.
That might freak some people out............but I didn't think it any big deal, not after many yrs of driving CJ5's.
On an XJ you're gonna need 3" min to clear 31's with trimming, and at 3" you'll need new lower control arms.
I bashed my fenderwells at 3" of lift so put spacers in to get them to 5". Lots better.