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Does this YJ seem like a good deal?

4K views 69 replies 23 participants last post by  mijeeper80 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm new here. I just got rid of my old S10 daily driver and have been riding my motorcycle while I vehicle shop, I've realized that everything is boring and nothing but a Wrangler will do. I've had Jeeps in the past but they were old Willy's and a big Wagoneer, even a bunch of old VW Thing's, but never a Wrangler. I've been doing a lot of research and it looks like a 91-95 with a 4.0 would be perfect for me but I need a hard top, full doors, and working a/c but without a completely rusted out frame or body which seems trickier to find than I first though.


I've been searching for a few weeks but now I'm at that point where I refresh craigslist every 5 seconds waiting for something new to pop up. I only have about 4 grand to spend which limits me pretty badly but I did find this one, it's a 92 sahara 4.0 with the 5 speed, hard top, full doors, working a/c. It's not a 94-95 so the slave cylinder is internal which sucks but the seller says he just had a clutch kit instealled and power steering replaced and has receipts. He says the frame isn't all rusted out (though I do see some on the passenger side body behind the front fender and a little on the windshield frame) and the only thing it needs mechanically is an exhaust manifold gasket (though until I see it in person I'll assume it's a cracked manifold).

It's got 172K on it which is a whole lot more than I'm used to but I hear these can take it. typically I stick to very low mileage vehicles but it also takes me forever to luck into them and I don't have the luxury of time right now since I'll only be able to ride my motorcycle everywhere for a few more weeks. He says he'll sell it for $2800, I haven't seen it in person yet but I figured I'd run it by the experts and see if they think this one is worth driving two hours to see. Also if anyone sees anything out of place I should pay special attention to that I missed or has any advice that would be great.

Here are some pictures, I think the top one is fairly new but the rest are from when he bought it at auction around 2 years ago, assuming not much has changed what do you think ?







 
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#2 ·
Sounds like a good price if it runs. There are going to be things to fix, but that is pretty much a given with these old jeeps. If you can do the work yourself go for it, if you need to take it in for service, you can't afford it. I've got over 220,000 miles on my 4.0 and it still runs strong. Only thing that puzzles me is that TC drop. What the heck is that shiny extension on the bolt in the bottom picture? The other bolts seem to be normal.
 
#3 ·
I do my own work, but aside from the 2 other jeeps many years ago I'm not much of a 4x4 guy, you said TC drop, if he had to lower the transfer case does that mean this already has a lift on it? I mean I noticed the go kart tires looked painfully small on it but apart from that it looked pretty stock.
 
#4 ·
Pretty clean. Mostly stock but it does have a lift. Interior is very good for the age and mileage. Original paint means body damage, rust is minimal. I'd just want to eyeball it real close. Get it inspected. Compression test. Find another for $2800?

Looks great so far. Looks like it had 33s once. I call that a plus if it was done right.
 
#5 ·
I've been looking for a few weeks and most of the Wranglers around here are 4 bangers. The only other one in the running is a jacked up 91 4.0 with a hard top, half doors and no a/c, it's only got 133k on it, but the u joints are blown out and it's $500 more. But honestly after ten years of having a black truck with black interior and no a/c I vowed to never be without so a/c is a must
 
#6 ·
AC is not that hard to fix. It's a little tricky, but not at all impossible.

I'd worry more about frame and body integrity than AC, because for about 3 or 4 hundred you can basically rebuild the entire AC system.

Personally, my preference is now for the 6 cylinder Wrangler (I had a 4 banging TJ a few years ago, and now have a 94 Sahara) but that's not a deal breaker either. The six is just better for so many reasons, but there are more 4's available generally speaking.

Good luck!
 
#7 ·
in the pictures it seems like some of the underside is fresh spray painted and other parts are not. i wonder what thats all about . hiding rust issues maybe. id say it looks pretty clean for its age, esp inside. so tough to find a decent jeep these days without breaking the bank.
 
#8 ·
reno92 pointed out the shiney bolt thing on the X-member. It is possible that when whomever did the TC drop that the blind nut/bolt in that area was rusty and broke as they removed it. Then they drilled a hole all the way through the top of the frame rail and used a bolt that was too long with a nut on the top of the frame rail to secure the X-member. That shiney thing is a spacer so that the too long bolt doesn't hit the floor.
Plus it looks like the middle bolt on the X-member is missing. There should be 3 on each side (at least mine has 3 on each side).
Just a guess but it might be something you want to check out.
If all else is good and you purchase the Jeep, and what I pointed out is actually the case, it should be a simple matter to procure the proper length bolt and replace the one that is too long.
Please let us know how you make out.
Good Luck, L.M.
 
#9 ·
Luckymac is correct, it's missing the middle bolt on the tc skid and that bolt with the spacer is janky. The missing bolt usually means a bad nutsert; Bad nutserts usually mean rusty nutserts, rusty nutserts usually mean rusty frame.

Honestly, $2800 is a great price and if you can do some work that it's probably a good buy, but do yourself a big favor and really zoom in on the frame around that skid plate.
tap the walls lightly with a small hammer along the length of the frame there, listen for differences in feel and sound. These frames rot from the inside out. Clean looking steel on the outside could seriously be 1/32" thick with piles of rust on the inside. Stick a finger in the vent holes along the side of the frame; you're feeling around for flakes of rust.

Bad frame rot in one small area can easily mean more bad frame rot in the very near future.

See how it shifts into each gear, and see how it pulls from idle to ~4K rpm.

Make sure the TC shifts into 4hi and 4lo.

Ask about the lift, make certain the front and rear axles are still geared the same as each other.
 
#10 ·
Just FYI - the YJ AC system isn't great.

Depending on your location, I think you'll be disappointed if your intention is to run a hard top and full doors with AC in the summer.

The vents are down too low, and the volume of air isn't great. It does blow cold air when functioning properly, but just not enough.

If AC is important, you might want to look at a TJ. But I realize that they will be more expensive.
 
#11 ·
I was originally looking at TJ's but it's almost impossible to find a 4.0 in decent shape around here that still has a frame under it in my price range. I'm intending to give the frame a real hard look, I'll bring my little boroscope with me and fish it up into the frame and look around, tap on a bunch of stuff, this will be my daily driver so I don't have time for it to turn into a full restoration first....perhaps a rolling restoration that still gets me to work.

I know the a/c in YJ's isn't great (had a friend with one in high school) , but it's better than nothing, after 10 summers of showing up to every job interview, dentist appointment, and date dripping with sweat I'll take what I can get.
 
#13 ·
I agree with what was said above, about the t-case drop and the rest. The only thing that I will add is the mounts on the front bumper in the second pic (hood open) are mounts for a tow bar, which means that it was probably towed behind a motor home for a lot of those miles.

For only $2800, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Even if the frame is bad, and you wanted to part it out, you will triple your money.
 
#14 ·
Agreed. That's a cheap price for any YJ around these parts. I'd buy it if it ran decent and didn't have lots of hidden rust.

A couple cans of red spray paint and you have a perfect Jurassic park jeep
 
#15 ·
Yeah for $2800 it's tough to go wrong.

I got mine bone stock for $3100; luckily it hasn't bored me with a lack of rust.

Speaking of which, on second glance, it looks like there's some soft spots/small bubbles at the "JEEP" logos on both rockers, you'll want to nip that rust in the bud before it gets bad.
 
#17 ·
Guaranteed there will be rust behind the plastic pieces on the rockers, running boards.

But a Wrangler for 2800... If it runs good, passes an inspection.. It's a good buy.
You could probably drive it 5 years and sell it for 2800.

Making it a far better buy than a new JKU.
 
#18 ·
2800 for a running driving jeep ?? the ones four double that ive seen are junkyard bait. id see if they would take less just for grins but at that price it may be worth repairs etc
 
#19 ·
I agree with what us said above. If the internal slave is a huge issue you can swap bellhousing and go with an external slave for about 400 to 500 in price. Maybe less depending on how much you have to pay for the bellhousing. Also nut inserts can be found and used to fix the skid plate issues if they haven't been drilled out for about 60 bucks...the hard top and doors are probably worth 1000. Good Luck!
 
#20 ·
Well I went to see it but ended up passing, the frame was in awesome shape inside and out but sadly the rest of it was far rustier than the pictures or the seller let on, the windshield frame was 100% done and the transmission didn't feel great. The search continues
 
#22 ·
It's pretty easy to pass when there's a solid stream of rain water pouring into your crotch from all the holes in the windshield frame ha ha. I might go see a local 4.0 TJ today, the owner says the tc mount rusted and broke but apart from that it's in good shape. It's right up the road so it can't hurt to check it out, I can weld but if it's a big or very complicated fix I'll probably pass on that too. Anyone have any pointers on TJ tc mount rust issues?


Looks pretty nice, I'm not huge of yellow but for $2500 I don't care.

 
#23 ·
It's pretty easy to pass when there's a solid stream of rain water pouring into your crotch from all the holes in the windshield frame ha ha. I might go see a local 4.0 TJ today, the owner says the tc mount rusted and broke but apart from that it's in good shape. It's right up the road so it can't hurt to check it out, I can weld but if it's a big or very complicated fix I'll probably pass on that too. Anyone have any pointers on TJ tc mount rust issues? Looks pretty nice, I'm not huge of yellow but for $2500 I don't care.
That price is really low for a TJ I have never seen a TJ sell for less then 4K. As far as the tcase mount. It's probably talking about a transmoint which are like 30 dollars. If that's broke chances are engine mounts are shot too
 
#24 ·
The seller said " It does have rust, was driven in New England for 12 years prior to being driven down here. Does have a problem with the transfer case mount, transfer case mount has come off the frame. Does run and drive, however I suggest it be trailered from the location due to the transfer case mount."
 
#25 ·
I think the prices you are finding are all going to end up being rusted up jeeps that will need lots of work. These jeeps will rarely sell for under $4-5000. That being said if they run good and you can do the work yourself it may well be worth the very low price they are asking. The nice thing about jeeps is you can basically build one from parts purchased online. Between junkyard jeeps, new full frames online, or the parts needed to rebuild the rust areas you have lots of options.
 
#28 ·
The factory and aftermarket are basically the same. I found mine worked fine when new and charged. I drove my jeep pulling my Jet Ski's to the Colorado river in 120 degree heat, and this is on a soft top. The AC did fine keeping us comfortable, it won't freeze you out, but I was never uncomfortable.
 
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