As you may or may not know, I'm looking for my first Wrangler. As of last night, I was absolutely set on finding a nearly stock TJ with the I6 and a D44 from the factory. I've since found myself wondering if my parameters are too specific, specifically regarding the last part. Here's a super long-winded reason why:
Since the D44 was just an option in most TJ's, such equipped Wranglers obviously aren't as plentiful as I sort of wish they were. Additionally, the majority of them that I have found, are measurably more expensive than those with D35's in the rear, regardless of if the owner knows what they have. An irritating phenomenon to say the least. Am I being ridiculous by ruling out all non-D44 TJ's in my search and limiting myself to the less easy-to-come-by upgraded ones?
I ask for a few reasons:
--First, the Jeep will be my daily driver and will probably only see the mountains once a week or so, and will be used most often on heavily rutted and somewhat rocky, but manageable trails. I'd like to take it to Moab and the other parks in SE Utah every few months, but will probably be avoiding the more intense rock crawling areas and will focus on less technical runs as my girlfriend will be serving as my spotter most of the time and she has never wheeled before. Might be doing mild hill climbing, but I'm pretty careful my vehicles, even when I put them to the test.
--Second, I'm not building a prerunner, dune buggy, or competition crawler / climber. This thing has to be decent (for a Wrangler) on gas, maintain something that resembles highway capability, and will probably be equipped with 33's or maybe 35's eventually, have an inch of body lift or budget boost, and a couple inches of suspension lift. We aren't talking anything crazy here. A rear locker will eventually happen, but isn't immediately necessary.
--Lastly, and possibly most importantly, from what I've read, it sounds like an eventual upgrade from a D35 to a used D44 or F8.8 isn't that crazy, even considering my mediocre mechanical abilities. Well, as long as I can get a buddy to do the welding portion. Also, I've come across a few rumors that say the TJ OEM D44 isn't really all that tough... or at least not as tough as other 44's.
Whew! Alright, let the comments roll in!
Since the D44 was just an option in most TJ's, such equipped Wranglers obviously aren't as plentiful as I sort of wish they were. Additionally, the majority of them that I have found, are measurably more expensive than those with D35's in the rear, regardless of if the owner knows what they have. An irritating phenomenon to say the least. Am I being ridiculous by ruling out all non-D44 TJ's in my search and limiting myself to the less easy-to-come-by upgraded ones?
I ask for a few reasons:
--First, the Jeep will be my daily driver and will probably only see the mountains once a week or so, and will be used most often on heavily rutted and somewhat rocky, but manageable trails. I'd like to take it to Moab and the other parks in SE Utah every few months, but will probably be avoiding the more intense rock crawling areas and will focus on less technical runs as my girlfriend will be serving as my spotter most of the time and she has never wheeled before. Might be doing mild hill climbing, but I'm pretty careful my vehicles, even when I put them to the test.
--Second, I'm not building a prerunner, dune buggy, or competition crawler / climber. This thing has to be decent (for a Wrangler) on gas, maintain something that resembles highway capability, and will probably be equipped with 33's or maybe 35's eventually, have an inch of body lift or budget boost, and a couple inches of suspension lift. We aren't talking anything crazy here. A rear locker will eventually happen, but isn't immediately necessary.
--Lastly, and possibly most importantly, from what I've read, it sounds like an eventual upgrade from a D35 to a used D44 or F8.8 isn't that crazy, even considering my mediocre mechanical abilities. Well, as long as I can get a buddy to do the welding portion. Also, I've come across a few rumors that say the TJ OEM D44 isn't really all that tough... or at least not as tough as other 44's.
Whew! Alright, let the comments roll in!