Jeep Wrangler Unlimited?

i drive a regular wrangler. i bought it right before the unlimited came out and because of the dogs, i kind of wish i had the extended bed.  are you looking at the 4 door or the more traditional 2 door?  a few thoughts:

i have stock everything except i went out and spent a bunch of money on tires.  i have a 2.5L 5 speed.  that thing will go ANYWHERE.  i mean anywhere.  part of it is my unparalleled driving skills and nerves of steel, part of it is DH's spotting skills, and part of it is the jeep.  the 4LO is unstoppable.  gooood times.

i have a soft top.  it is L O U D.  nothing can prepare you for how loud it is, unless you've done it before.  it will drive you crazy after a few highway hours.  it is, however, easier to manage than the hard top if you plan to do a lot of riding around topless.  which, of course, you do.  additionally, consider interior color.  i have black vinyl, and it's acutally dangerous to sit on in the summer, and not even close to waterproof, as i had hoped.  i carry towels all the time.  i never ever ever have my carpets in, and you can remove the floor plugs to drain the tub if you get a soaking.  also convenient if you have to hose out muddy paws.[]

my one quibble with the unlimited it that it really is a whole lot longer than the original.  the 4 door is really really big, and thus, i don't consider it a wrangler.  if you plan to really ride trails, the length could keep you from getting places that i can go with my shorter bed.

working on a jeep is a pain in the neck.  the oil filter in the 2.5 is all but unaccessible.  i had to replace my master cylinder this summer, and it's only an '01.

i don't know what your experience is with offroading or very lightweight, tippy vehicles, but i would really recommend getting a solid feel for it before highway driving.  especially in the rain.  if you plan to really ride the trails, you're going to have more maintanence issues than if you just daily-driver it.  it gets crap-ass gas mileage as well.  but that's not why you buy one.

i LOVE my JEEP.  LOVE LOVE LOVE.  wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole wide world.  it rides like a stagecoach.  it isn't for people who like a clean, quiet ride.  you will need sunblock in the dash[].  but i could go on and on about how it replaced my need for prozac.
 
ETA you can come borrow mine for a week and see if you can stand it[]

ORIGINAL: badrap
ETA you can come borrow mine for a week and see if you can stand it[]

 
I#%92ll trade your Jeep for the week & you can drive one of my vehicles! Take your pick 04 Trailblazer, 79 Vette, or 06 Ducati Monster. (Please choose the bike, I really hate it!)
 
I looked at the 4 door, but I am concerned about getting it into a space that is to small to get out of. I do prefer the soft top just because it makes things so easy. Who wants to drive with the top on? I had a Wrangler when I was 16 & I loved it right up until I rolled it a few times. My driving skills have improved vastly since then. If I get a jeep, I will be using it for a weekend vehicle that I can take go mudding in & drive the pastures in. I have 2 ½ vehicles that I will use as daily drivers. (The motorcycle only counts as a half) Currently, I am trying to decide if I want a new vehicle or if I should just buy a used one. Honestly, I#%92m going to mess it up pretty quickly, so used may be the way to go. I#%92ll have to look around for used jeeps & compare prices.

if you plan to beat on it, then absolutely, hands down, without the bat of an eye, i say buy an old CJ5.  nice and mechanical, cheap to fix, cheap to upgrade, not such a [][][]-fest if you smash a fender, and you can get a good running one already jacked up and mud ready for 1/2 the price of a new unlimited.
 
let me put it this way:  my '01 has a complex 2-piece front drive shaft.  i broke it.  $500.00 just for the part.  my soft top got a rip in it during an unfortunate miscommunication offroad.  all my attempts to patch have failed highway testing.  new soft top= $900 or so.  all these things would be MUCH MUCH cheaper if i had just bought an old one to begin with.  but i was tired of wrenching on something just to get it to start. 
 
if you're up for a little twist o' the wrench..... screw the new unlimited.  go classic CJ5 all the way.  IMHO[]

The only thing I can say, in my humble experience with autos, do not get the 4cylinder with an auto trans.  It is undergeared and won't get out of it's own way.  In fact, as far as a Jeep goes, I wouldn't go auto at all- 5 speed all the way!

Whether I go with a new or used jeep, I do not want an automatic.  I love being able to grab a gear & go.  Some of the new jeeps are only 2 wheel drive (what's the point in that) so I have to make sure that it's 4WD.  The upside to an older used Jeep is that some are V8's & that just sounds like even more fun.

i would say that each engine size has it's own advantages.  my 2.5 is S L O W and a real pain in the a@@ on the highway.  it is also, however, very very light, which makes it easier to float over mud without burying my front tires right away.  i'm used to bigger engines, though, so it took me quite a while to find the power band and maximize the HP.  as for torque, it has zero.  that can be a big problem when climbing, but the stock gearing has performed suprisingly well.

the straight six is a darn good engine.  a good mix of HP and torque.  i know someone with an automatic 4.0 and it has always done him right.

i see a lot of jeeps with chevy 350's in them, which i find to be blasphemy, but they ARE cheap and relatively easy to build, maintain, and upgrade.

i, too, am strictly a manual tranny girl, BUT a lot of serious offroaders prefer auto for a variety of reasons:  they don't stall if your foot slips (so you don't loose your brakes and steering at a bad time), they don't roll backwards down the hill when you take your foot off the gas, you don't have to have razor sharp foot coordination, you don't burn up the clutch constantly, you can keep both hands on the wheel (safer), and it's virtually impossible to spin the wheels (read apply too much HP).

i would say you can use any engine for anything, as long as you have the right gears in the rear end.   

ETA jeep has a new diesel that's supposed to be really great.  i have no experience with it, however. 

I have never driven the Unlimited but I have had my Wrangler for about 3 years now.  I have the 4.0L automatic with the soft top, Sahara package.
 
There are some things the Wrangler can do VERY well.  I even used it once to pull my big tractor out of the pond.  Never mind how the tractor got into the pond in the first place.  []  There are places on our property that, if you want to see, you either saddle up a horse or you jump in the jeep.
 
What the Wrangler does not do very well is perform as an everyday driver.  The gas mileage is horrible.  At speeds above 45 MPH, the interior noise is so loud that you can't hear yourself fart.  Due to the short wheelbase, on rain or snow slick roads, the thing is scary.  It rides like a log wagon.
 
The only unreasonable maintenance issue I have had was a cracked exhaust manifold.  I replaced it with a header and a performance exhaust system.  It sounds meaner but certainly not the deep throated rumble of a V8.
 
The Wrangler is a utility vehicle and I have a use for it so I will keep it, but its days as my "car" are numbered.

ORIGINAL: probe1957

The only unreasonable maintenance issue I have had was a cracked exhaust manifold. 

 
interesting... my exhaust manifold cracked, too....what year is yours?  i wonder if this is an inherent design flaw.  mine was (thankfully) covered under emissions related warantee, but I WANT A HEADER, TOO!!!
 
p.s.  i KNEW you were cool!  i don't care what shelly says about you!

ORIGINAL: badrap
interesting... my exhaust manifold cracked, too....what year is yours?  i wonder if this is an inherent design flaw.  mine was (thankfully) covered under emissions related warantee, but I WANT A HEADER, TOO!!!

 
I never considered the possibility that it would be covered under warranty.  GRRRRRRR.  I have been told exhaust manifolds are a problem on the Wrangler. 
 
What made a more impressive performance difference for me was the KN air filter.  Expensive for my engine but worth it.

 i don't care what shelly says about you!

 
I wouldn't pay much attention to Shelly.  []  Just this morning, she asked me if I had a picture of myself nude.  I swear on my mother's grave that is true.  Shelly won't lie, ask her.

06 Ducati Monster. (Please choose the bike, I really hate it!)

if you hate it that much, i would be willing to take it off your hands. []

p.s. i KNEW you were cool! i don't care what shelly says about you!

 
Shhhhh…. Sara you were SUPPOSE to keep that JUST between us![]
 
Billy I find this statement VERY hard to believe:
 

the interior noise is so loud that you can't hear yourself fart.

 
 
BUT this particular one I can TOTALLY believe:
 

 I even used it once to pull my big tractor out of the pond.  Never mind how the tractor got into the pond in the first place.  

 
Have I ever told you that you are a SUPER GENIUS!  []
 
OK...yes, I cannot lie..I DID ask for a nude photo...off to go find the request in my email so I can put this comment of yours Billy into perspective for the public to see... 
 

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06
OK...yes, I cannot lie..I DID ask for a nude photo...off to go find the request in my email so I can put this comment of yours Billy into perspective for the public to see... 

 
You can try to spin this any way you wish in the name of "perspective," or whatever but, the indisuptable fact is, you asked me for a nude picture.  I hope you are ashamed of yourself.  []
 
And yes, I am enjoying watching this very much, thank you.

Here is the “nude picture request” situation.  Billy is my photography mentor and has stellar skills with paint shop pro so he helps me out with editing my photos and learning this particular program.  He just taught me to use the “clone” tool (saying I needed to edit out my “ugly” mole…so I won#%92t be so “heinous looking”) THANKS For the never ending compliments BILLY BOY![]
 
I asked for something to “practice” the clone tool on (the clone tool allows you to edit out things in a background… you would actually be able to use this tool to “enlarge” a specific area[])
 
So my “request” was:    
 
Got any nude pics of you that you want to forward so I can practice and can clone out some of the "extra" background around "certain" body parts of yours to enhance them???   
 
AND was meant as a SLAM on Billy…NOT AN ACTUAL REQUEST and he KNOWS THAT! [8D]
 
He responded to me with:
 
Sorry to disappoint you but, no. 
 
To which I replied:
 
Oh PLEASE don't worry about disappointing me...I will find something else to practice the clone tool on...I was just looking for a few pics that needed a lot of work done to "enhance" them!  
 

its ok...you might have not weanted those pictures anyway..

 now if you need nude pics of his wife...just pm me...


[]