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Why are YJs so maligned?

7K views 57 replies 34 participants last post by  SSRx7 
#1 ·
Bought a JK in 2007 for the wife. It was parked in a parking deck during the day and in 2 years the top shrank so much we could not drop it and put it back up. Not to mention:
1. Windshield bar leaked and whistled bad.
2. The top leaked at the door corners.
3. Door would pop open in a right turn.
4. When you closed the tailgate, the two plastic clips holding the top would pop off.
5. 13mpg towing a golf cart on a trailer.
6. Could not maintain the speed limit over the Sunshine Skyway bridge.
7. @ 14,000 miles the water pump failed.
8. @ 17,000 miles the front main seal went bad and the dealer asked me how do I know, I said the oil all over everything should be clue.
9. Muffler rusted out.
10. Hood caved in from water when we dipped it in a water hole.

We traded it with 22,000 miles for an Expedition with 78,000 miles on it and the dealer wrote me a check for 9k.
 
#3 ·
This is a very controversial topic. I'm guessing that since you are even bothering to ask this question you miss having a jeep even though your jk gave you so many problems you have been but by the bug and are itching.

If my assumptions are correct then here's my answer to your question. People these days avoid carbureted jeeps like the plague due to drive ability and smog issues. Later yj's were fuel injected so that problem was solved. But.... The fuel injection and diagnostic system used in the yj is very primative and can lead to hellish driveability problems when something goes wrong. Newer tj's have a way better computer/fuel injection system.

Another issue with yj's is that they use leaf spring suspension instead of coils springs like the tj's and jk's. leaf springs ride like tractors and cannot articulate the axles offroad.

Spend some time trolling the yj and tj threads on this forum. You will find a majority of the yj threads are related to fixing problems and the majority of the tj threads are related to upgrading/modding.

If you want another jeep and are trying to keep the cost down consider an early 1997-2001 tj. Most people will also advise to get a 4.0l inline six motor instead of the 4cylinder option. Another nice thing to look for is a dana 44 rear axle instead of the dreaded dana 35.

All of that said. Yj's were kicking ass offroad for a long time before the tj was released and they still have their place. If you want a really low budget jeep to cruise around town and do minor offloading a fuel injected inline six motor yj will be fine.
 
#4 ·
YJs are just misunderstood by anyone that has not owned one. They are not for everyone. You need some basic mechanical knowledge. If you can't turn a wrench, buy a liberty. The great thing about a YJ is the simplicity. I took my first YJ apart when I was 17. Too bad about the torx bolts...not the best idea as they constantly strip.
 
#14 ·
If you can't turn a wrench, buy a liberty.
Oh man I just had to stop and say I completely disagree with this lol. The Liberty's are horrible! Did you know that you have to pull the driveshaft, and unbolt the upper exhaust manifold down pipe just to change the starter? 20 minute job on a YJ, 4 hour job on the Lib.

After working on 2 Liberties for the past 8 years, it'd be the last Jeep I'd buy lol

I agree with most of what he said.... except that leafs do not articulate offroad.

As it stands there are 32 "problem" related threads just in the first page. Made me laugh a littlw
When the TJ's been around as long as we have, trust me, there will be 32+ problem threads in that section lol.

I also think that there aren't as many "hey look at my new mod" threads in the YJ section because most of us take great pride in just the fact that we can maintain and run a 20+ year old vehicle, that can still keep up with the newer Jeeps. Besides what do JK's have to talk about besides all the mods they get? It's not like they limp around like we do haha.
 
#5 ·
Actually the pic above is my current YJ. Before the JK, I had a CJ7, 1980. My YJ drives like a dream for 8.5 inches of total lift and 35 inch tires. In my opinion it is the last of the Willy's DNA and if it was good enough for my Grandfather in France, it's good enough for me!
 
#9 ·
Come on guys, Let me think.... JK's were built from I think 2007 forward, TJ were built "97-2006" and you can't figure out why YJ's built between "86-96" have more posts about fixing problems?:rofl: maybe....just maybe because many of them are over 20 yrs old and like mine have over 200,000 miles :doh: Come back in another 20 years and tell me how those new eletronics in the JK are holding up. At least YJ's are easy to work on.
 
#12 ·
Come on guys, Let me think.... JK's were built from I think 2007 forward, TJ were built "97-2006" and you can't figure out why YJ's built between "86-96" have more posts about fixing problems?:rofl: maybe....just maybe because all of them are over 20 yrs old and like mine have over 200,000 miles :doh: Come back in another 20 years and tell me how those new eletronics in the JK are holding up. At least YJ's are easy to work on.
1987.......2007 window switch on JK was shorted front water dripping on it, that is why I have half doors LOL.
 
#11 ·
just took a quick look on the TJ forum, I see most of the same problems, frame rust, missing, etc. my 87 is ten years older than the oldest TJ and doing great, lets see where they are in ten more years.
 
#19 ·
Sorry for this of topic spin.. But it's too fun to resist

If an emp hits.. Starting your jeep will be the least of your problems.

But hey. Keep filling those five gallon buckets with beans and collecting ammo.

When the next apocalyptic event occurs. Living off the land Native American tribal style will be the only long term way to survive. Cars,guns,houses and stored food are all temporary.

Within 6 months most people will be dead. Then maybe 100 years of clinging onto our old technologies and equipment (guns, etc). But then what?

Energy (fossil fuels primarily), and metal production are the two primary industries that allow the world to function the way it does today.

A wise man once told me "when the trash man hasn't showed up for two weeks its time to head for the hills"

Another favorite quote of mine...

"If I left you alone in the woods with a hatchet and a lighter how long would it take you to build a cell phone" - Joe Rogan
 
#22 ·
Better to teach your neighbor how to hunt and share your food with him so you can work together to survive. Who's going to help you when you slip and break your leg in the woods and can't make it home. Who's going to take care of your family when you get a mosquito bite and die from ****** disease.

Right now.. Overpopulation is the root cause of most of mans problems. Post apocalyptic the pendulum will swing entirely the other way. All that will matter is making as many babies as possible and teaching them how to survive so they can make more babies..
 
#21 ·
Well I think we settle this debate. YJ's rock!!! JK's not as much. I think most would agree that what is lame is the owners of (select model here) put every cheesy after market part sold put on their whatever and never take it out at all. I laugh when i see guys running boggers and have never driven on a dirt parking lot.
 
#28 ·
Maybe they are maligned because they have square headlights? Square headlights look awful...

;)

*runs and hides*
May you forget, but the first Wranglers had square headlights, you guys are the weird ones ;) lol :)
 
#30 ·
Not that it means anything but one of the jeep mags, picked the YJ over the JK as a better Jeep. Less crap to worry about cost to mod, etc etc etc....

That being said, I have owned several TJ's CJ's and most recently 1 YJ.. I like the YJ the most. Sure it didn't have the massive flex the TJ did, but I also didn't have to deal with 8 control arms and all the crap of getting them set correctly. I didn't have to worry about death wobble. By far my yj was one of the best Jseep I have owned in the past 20 years. I only sold it as I needed something with more room, so I got a 4door Jeep. XJ Cherokee. lifted locked and 35k less than a new one...lol
 
#42 ·
-I still miss my old WILLIE :rip:
They have pills for that now ;)


On the topic; I haven't found my YJ to be anymore problematic that any other 20 year old vehicle I've had; if anything, it has been the easiest vehicle to fix of all of them. It' great when you just need basic tools to work on 80-90% of repairs.
 
#37 ·
I like the simplicity of my 90 yj. Yes it is the first jeep I have owned. I think I found the new love of my life "YJ", just don't let my gal pal know ok guy!!
 
#38 ·
They're only maligned by people that think spending 25K is cheaper than turning a wrench once in a while.

I get thumbs up all the time in my 25yr old YJ & it's still more dependable than many new cars. It would be very difficult to find such a low-cost vehicle that will take that kind of beating & then get you home from the trail.
 
#40 ·
^^^That post makes more sense than this thread.

"Maligned"... I don't think that word means what you think it means... are you saying YJ's are evil? Or "Malignant", i.e. cancerous? 'Cause I'd agree with the evil part, specifically when something breaks, then I hate the damn thing, and am dead set on burning the heap the ground in a remote location then burying what's' left in Blackford Creek OR selling the POS, buy a 1989 Purple Geo Metro never to speak the word Jeep again.

Then I fix it and the love affair begins again, so I take it out to a nice steak dinner and a movie, sit in the back row and make out with it.
-JDub

Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Mode of transport
 
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