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Would you buy your YJ all over again

3K views 31 replies 23 participants last post by  yj_kev 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So guys I have been working on this YI project (1989 4.2) the past year. Its been alot of fun and its ready to be a daily driver however a buddy of mine is selling his TJ. It is in pretty good condition and hasn't been ridden. I figured that I could sell my jeep and upgrade to the TJ for about 1500$. What do you guys think.
 
#2 ·
With everything else being equal for the year, for a DD, you would probably be happier with a TJ. For ease of working on a toy, and in case of an EMP, keep the carbureted YJ.

$1500.00 would buy some nice mods for your current Jeep.

Good Luck, L.M.
 
#3 ·
That thought comes to mind for me too....Sometimes. I realize I've put a lot of money into it and will never see a return if i sell it so that's why I haven't. I'm kind of interested in getting another rig but still haven't totally 'finished' what I planned on doing to my current one. If you haven't invested too much than go for it. If you got it cheap and can get somewhere close to breaking even and it's worth it too you than just do it. There are things I would look for if I were to buy another but I feel i got a good deal on mine at the time. Bone stock, 90k miles, rust free, 6 cyl for $3500.

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#6 ·
So guys i have been working on this yj project (1989 4.2) the past year. Its been alot of fun and its ready to be a daily driver however a buddy of mine is selling his tj. It is in pretty good condition and hasnt been ridden. I figured that i could sell my jeep and upgrade to the tj for about 1500$. What do you guys think.
Hell yes...i love it...in fact can't wait to get it out...i don't care what some these guys claim about the TJ, or JK and i would gladly like to own one but not mortgage , my next one will be a newer TJ..

But mine is far from being stock, but it comes with some issues . Which i've been working through and getting close.
 
#7 ·
So guys i have been working on this yj project (1989 4.2) the past year. Its been alot of fun and its ready to be a daily driver however a buddy of mine is selling his tj. It is in pretty good condition and hasnt been ridden. I figured that i could sell my jeep and upgrade to the tj for about 1500$. What do you guys think.
I sold my yj 3 months ago, borrowed 2 grand and bought a buddies TJ with the idea that it needed a few things done to it.
The last 3 months I have done nothing but work on the TJ and dump money into it. My YJ was set up great for what I do. DD and some light trails.
My point is: make sure you know what your getting.... And I could have taken the 2 grand, put it in the yj and had one he'll of an awesome jeep without working on it every day.
 
#8 ·
I bought my first YJ in 87. I traded it for a Grand Wagoneer but was never really happy. I bought an 89 YJ in 2000 and kept that until 2013. I now have a JK and keep telling myself I like it.

My YJ was easy to work on, there was plenty of elbow room under the hood, the 258 6 was unstoppable, the dash was basic but gave me the info I wanted like volts, oil pressure and water temp. Sometimes, the fuel gauge even worked. I could pull the plugs in the floor and hose it out after a day on the trails. It was basic, utilitarian and simple. It was a Jeep!

TJs and JKs share very similar characteristics. They have a dash that looks like it belongs in a minivan with plastic trim pieces and carpeting, electric windows, door locks and computers that require a college degree to tinker with and I still don't know my oil pressure or coolant temp. They come with a stability control program whose sensors crap out when it rains, just when you would want it most. I still want to meet the designer who thinks the JK soft top is an improvement over the easy to use canvas cover on the YJ. And it was definitely much easier to get into the back seat of my YJ than the it is on the JK.

Perhaps I am getting older and feeling nostalgic, but I do miss my YJ and am trying to like the JK.
 
#9 ·
I have just put my YJ to rest after 20 years. Bought it new in 94. Was a 95.

Got an Unlimited TJ.

Basically. If YJ unlimited were available, I would have gotten an other YJ. With the 4,0 an ax-15 trany.

But they were never available, so got a TJL and yes, the YJ is still running, but needed frame and body work, and wanted to go back to less lift set-up for more longdistance travel.
 
#10 ·
the main issue with my yj is that its 28 years old. Every time I work on something it takes 3x as long as it should. Prime example: Ordered mirror relocation brackets this week. The ones that hook up to the windsheild brackets. Putting them on should have taken 10 minutes because all it is is removing 4 screws and screwing them back in. However, since those are the original screws they are seized in there really good. So tommorrow im going to have to weld a nut on there and hope that it all works out. If not im just welding the actual brackets on there and saying screw it.
 
#14 ·
Not to hijack this thread any further but... I found this trick for removing torx bolts somewhere on forums or youtube. Take an old T40 bit, punch it into the bolt, then heat it up with a torch. The heat will loosen the old factory locktite, and bolts will come out with a cold T40 in a ratchet, no impact gun needed. I tried a lot of other tricks, snapped a few bits, stripped a few bolts, and invented a few new choice words. The heat trick worked 100% when I had to re-adjust full door hinges and the windshield. No damage to the paint from the heat either.

And back on topic, for me it was either buying a YJ again or no jeep at all. And had to be '91, first year for the renegade, and last year for the sport rollbars.
 
#15 ·
When buying an older vehicle it's always a crap shoot unless you've known the owner and Jeep for a while. You could buy the TJ and sink thousands into it even though it was only a $1500 difference.

That said it is a much newer Jeep than your YJ so it might be nice to DD something a bit newer. I say that but I sold my JKU for a car and bought at YJ as a toy.


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#23 ·
Definitely! I bought it new in '92, and it's the most practical, functional, and utilitarian vehicle I've ever owned.
As time rolls on, and with the OME and 32's, it's becoming a bit of a chore to get into, but sliding back out is super easy. But it's a lot easier for me to get in and out of the YJ than it is to get in and out of a car.
 
#24 ·
That's easy for me to say because I just got mine a 95 Sahara in unbelievable condition, original paint in great shape I believe it was garaged most of it's life I know that was the case of the guy I got it from. I had the money and was looking at both YJs and TJs and living here in Georgia rust is not the problem it was when I had a CJ back in NJ. But living here north of Atlanta there are so many TJs and JKs around I really wanted something different also I work 7 miles from home so using it as a DD is not a problem in fact I love. The rectangular head lights have really grown on me. I loved the looks of my 80 CJ7 Renegade but my 95 Sahara is real special, it's the Jeep I have been wanting for a long time, I would take it over any TJ I was looking at.

David
 
#25 ·
I'd buy mine again with no hesitation. At first I was hesitating because it is in very good shape with a 'lost' title, for a deal that made you ask where he stole it from.
After looking it over and discovering that he did have the registration in his name, I decided to take a chance on it and went ahead and traded him an old tractor attachment that I'd had on Craig's list at $250 for 6 months. A week later he found the title and dropped it off.
So yeah, I wouldn't hesitate at all to buy it again :)
 
#27 ·
I have only owned mine for a week and have worked on it every day checking stuff out and have had a good time. This may end up being a DD since I have a short drive to work. I didn't know the difference in them till I got this one, 89, 258 with 138K. seemed like all the ones I looked at had rust issues and didn't want that. This one has a solid body and strong motor and seems to be a blast to drive. Seems real simple to work also. With all that said and what I have read I would do it all over again.
 
#29 ·
I dunno, 1 week is not enough time for regret to set in. Hell thats not even enough time to see all the booger jobs the po did to it. Took me a year to realize all the bs on mine

I paid 3500 for mine and looking back I woulda gave him 1500 knowing all the cosmetic half assed body work that had been done
 
#28 ·
I have both a '00 TJ and a '88 YJ, and believe me the TJ's have just as many issues with them as the older YJ's do

but I've found that YJ parts are generally cheaper than the equivalent TJ parts are for some strange reason
 
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