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Looking tomorrow at a '98 TJ

895 views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  wordsmyth 
#1 ·
Low miles for the age. Owner says everything works except for a cranky window zipper. The report is that the maintenance has been consistently done.

Carfax says it has had eight, yes, that is 8 owners.

But -- no issues reported. No accidents, no warranty claims, nothing.

I own another car (BMW Z3) that had several previous owners and it was and is in great shape.

So I plan to take a flashlight and ground cloth and crawl under the TJ, and generally go over and under it thoroughly and do my best to check it out.

It's presently sitting at ~ 93,000 miles. The present owner has owned it twice and knows the two people who were owners 4, 5, & 7. (IOW, he is owner 6 & 8).

I am somewhat mechanically astute but Jeep is a whole new adventure to me.

Any insight on what I should ask or look for will be appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance,
Rick
 
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#3 ·
LOL. Yeah.

As it stands, I still have my first box of Craftsman tools that my mother gave me in 1974. In February that year I came home on leave from MCAS Beaufort and bought a '70 Chevrolet. The next month on my birthday she gave me the set of tools and said "son -- if you are going to own that car you are going to need these tools."

My mother was a wise woman.

Since then I've accumulated enough in tools and boxes and the various and new supporting electronic and digital stuff that my sons in law are already planning for my demise. :drinks:

Tongue in cheek aside, I'm not a master tech by any stretch of the imagination but I'm hoping to focus every smidgen of mechanical intuition I can muster on this thing. The price is right -- provided the vehicle is worthy.

We'll see!

Hey -- if nothing else I can name her "whore" because a bunch of people have had a ride already...

:thumb:
 
#5 ·
for us to give you more info and advise as you requested you'd need to tell us what model it is, what engine, what transmission, what options are on it, and the asking price.

there is a huge difference between a 1998 SE with zero options and a 1998 Sahara loaded to the max.
 
#6 ·
Oops! My bad - I should have thought of that.

'98 Sport, 6-cyl, 5-speed, cruise, ac, and that's about it. Tire are OEM specs. No lift or aftermarket rims.

It is basically stock except for an aftermarket radio.

KBB puts the private sale price at $9,106.

The asking price is $8,500.
 
#7 ·
First of all, Roll Tide.

Yeh, a couple more details will be helpful for sure. I have a feeling you're looking at a 6cyl, so that's good. From under, you'll be able to decifer which rear end you have, you're wanting a D44. Google images will help, but the D30 is round and the 44 is not.

Since you're down there.... rust may or may not be an issue. Looked at one that lived up in Dothan it's whole life and it was mint underneath, then I looked at one GS/Orange Beach area TJ and it looked like it came from New England (where I currently reside).

Basically, I'd be looking for any rot on the frame and the body mounts. You can read and image search what we're talking about, but basically in front of the rear wheels and the control arm mounts are problem areas on the frame. I'd also be looking for leaks of any sort, and any damage that can be seen. The one I looked at in Dothan way back when was certainly "enjoyed" in the woods, and while it had no rot to speak of, it was thrashed pretty hard. If they wheeled hard or beat on it bad, you'll be able to tell. If you can, bring a code reader to read any codes it may have (or if it has a CEL - check engine light on). 93K is nothing for a 98', so if it was a weekend toy (which it most likely was) it was either babied or wheeled - you'll know right off the bat.
 
#9 ·
Google images will help, but the D30 is round and the 44 is not.
.
What a dubba.... Gotta pay more attention to my typing early in the morning. D35 rear. I'd probably pass if it's the D35.

4Jeepn: good call. Tick tick tick tick of the exhaust manifold..... But OP, it's very easy to replace in a couple hours, and fairly cheap. Use it as negotiating power, but I wouldn't pass on a clean TJ for that.

All in all, if it's CLEAN, 4.0, D44, and not beat to hell for a good price, I'd use the nit picky stuff as leverage.
 
#8 ·
price will vary.....I would think more around 6-7k would be in line due to age of the jeep.. around here we see 04's going for 10-11k and 03 rubicons in the 10-14k range depending on miles. Also my guess is it has a dana 35 rear axle(round plastic fill plug).. and if you plan to wheel it you really want to find one with the dana 44 axle(metal square fill plug)

Known issues for that year are a crack in the exhaust manifold at the location all the down pipes merge... make sure the HVAC controls work on all settings and all fan speeds.
 
#10 ·
Thank you all for the feedback - it was helpful. When I queried the owner he looked and it's the round plastic plug.

In terms of purpose and back-story, back in 2010 I rode a dual sport motorcycle on a 5,000 mile round trip from Alabama to the Rockies and back. Around 2,500 of the miles were on state maintained dirt roads, forest service roads, and farm land double track between southern New Mexico and Yellowstone. We got on the CDT outside Silver City, NM and got off at the northeast gate of Yellowstone (Silver Gate, MT). From there we meandered our way back to Alabama.

I don't have immediate plans to do serious off road but in two years I'll do a month long retirement trip out west. The plan is to do it this time in a 4x4 so the Dana 44 is desirable. I would rather spend a bit more up front and not have to do a lot of pre-trip mechanicking on the vehicle.

The upshot is that I elected to pass on that particular '98 Wrangler. Thanks again. :thumb
 
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