1997 Jeep Wrangler 14 Piece Set Steering & Suspension Kit Review

Look for:

• Post-2012 JK-generation Jeeps, which have the 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6, a 5-speed automated and a nicer interior.
• An original 2004-2006 Unlimited (long-wheelbase, simply 2-door).
• A 2018 or newer JL with the 270-hp 2.0-liter turbo, if the price is correct.

Avoid:

• The three-speed automatic transmission (final year: 2002).
• The last of the 202-hp 3.eight-liter V-6/one-time interior JK years. There's a big deviation between a 2010 and a 2012.
• Anything then new that you may too get a new one.

So, you want to purchase a Jeep Wrangler merely the new ones are but too pricey? We experience yous. Wranglers seem similar they should be inherently affordable, given that they're the closest thing to a street-legal dune buggy that you can buy. Only characteristic creep means that a new JL, while unquestionably the best Wrangler always, starts at $29,790 and can get way more expensive from there, topping $60,000 for a loaded diesel model.

And so the used market is always busy, propped up in part by the iconic Jeep's stylistic consistency—a 2000 model doesn't really wait dated because a 2021 withal looks fundamentally the same. The driving feel and features are going to be far unlike, though, and that's where you might demand some advice. So indulge united states this primer in preowned Wrangler wrangling, in which we try to steer you to a Jeep that's used, but not used up.

1986-1995: The Square-Headlight 1

OK, we know this generation (known every bit the YJ) has its fans, but we'd confine our Wrangler chase to newer models. The YJ, the first with the Wrangler name, has solid front and rear axles like the current Wrangler, but what it didn't have was coil springs. Like the CJ and all its predecessors dating back to World State of war II, the YJ Wrangler rode on leaf springs, front and rear. And if you can avoid driving a short-wheelbase, body-on-frame, solid-axle, leaf-sprung vehicle, yous should.

The One To Get: The adjacent one that followed the YJ, the coil-sprung TJ. But if you must, go with the 180-horsepower four.0-liter inline-vi that showed up in the 1991 YJ. If yous don't, you'll have to live with the earlier 112-hp 4.2-liter inline-six. A C/D test of a 1990 Wrangler Sahara with that engine yielded a 15.4-second time to threescore and a elevation speed of 81 mph.

1997-2006: The Mod Template

Look, what happened to the 1996 Wrangler? Did Jeep get really into grunge and surfing America Online and forget to build it? Nope, it but got defenseless betwixt generations, such that by the time Jeep switched production from the YJ to the new TJ, information technology was already 1996. So they went direct from selling the 1995 YJ to the 1997 TJ. If you find a 1996 Wrangler, y'all tin park it adjacent to our 1983 Corvette.

Anyway, the TJ represented a revolution, in improver to the 4.0-liter inline-six gaining ane horsepower bringing the full to 181, information technology brought four-wheel coil-bound suspension to the game. (It'due south possible Jeep got ahold of some '90s North American Spec Land Rover Defenders and realized that they should at to the lowest degree exist every bit technologically advanced as that.) And then the TJ not only rides improve than its predecessor, but it tends to exist improve off-route, too, with excellent articulation. The interior took a large stride forward, also. Or at least, information technology took a step from the rectilinear 80s into the softer 90s.

And of course: round headlights. Which means that a TJ looks reasonably contemporary, fifty-fifty at present. This is also the generation when Jeep realized that some Wrangler buyers wanted more room, so in 2004 they rolled out a stretched wheelbase version called the Unlimited. Information technology was withal a two-door (the name was after practical to the four-door models) only gained 15 inches of length, ten of which went to the wheelbase. Dorsum seat passengers got some extra legroom, and cargo space doubled. And if you're into towing, the Unlimited rating was 3500 pounds, well above the standard Wrangler's 2000 pounds. This sought-after derivative is known by its devotees equally the LJ.

The Rubicon model debuted in 2003 with the aforementioned basic ingredients it has now: heavier-duty axles (Dana 44s front and rear), locking front and rear differentials and bigger tires. Await to pay more for one of those, with the LJ Rubicon flexing a resale value that might cause you to look for something newer that might well be less expensive.

The One To Get: A 2005-2006 Unlimited Rubicon with the 4.0-liter half-dozen and a half-dozen-speed manual transmission.

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2007-2019: The Popular Ane

Past 2007, Jeep figured out that the Wrangler could go mainstream if it was less painful to alive with and drive. To that stop, the biggest revelation was the four-door Unlimited model, which finally made the Wrangler feasible family transportation. Jeep had shown a four-door Wrangler concept in the '90s, only information technology took them until 2007 to build information technology. Sales numbers took off— two,165,678 were built—and the Wrangler transitioned from a niche off-roader to the ubiquitous sight that it is today.

Inasmuch as at that place's such affair as a Wrangler bargain, it's to be found in the 2007-2010 JKs, which had unlike (read: non as desirable) powertrains and interiors. In the transition from the TJ to the JK, Jeep killed the ancient but love 4.0-liter inline-six and installed whatsoever was handy, which happened to exist a nearly as erstwhile 3.8-liter V-half-dozen borrowed from Chrysler's minivans. It was resolutely adequate, making 202 horsepower and 237 lb-ft of torque. And the interior in those early JKs was likewise all-time described as adequate. But hey, y'all still got the essential Jeep goodness—driblet the pinnacle and remove the doors, and who cares what's nether the hood?

For 2011 the JK got the new, much modernized interior only nevertheless had the sad 3.eight-liter. In 2012, the pushrod 3.8 Five-6 was replaced by the 285-hp DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-vi that'south even so in utilise today—which not only produced a lot more power and made cruising at motorway speeds less of a job, but is considered significantly more than reliable. Compounding the advantage, the 3.6-liter engine came with a v-speed automatic, while the 3.8 made do with a four-speed auto.

The JK was such a hit that they kept edifice it for a couple years even after it was replaced by the current Wrangler, the JL. As a second-hand-Jeep shopper, the chief affair to be wary of with JKs is stupid pricing, which gets stupider the newer they are. We found a used 2017 JK Rubicon with sixteen,000 miles with an asking toll of $39,000. Meanwhile, new 2021 JL Rubicons start at about $42,000. Don't be penny wise and Rubicon foolish.

2018-Now: The JL Era

The JL was an uncharacteristically huge leap for the Wrangler, with Jeep fine-tuning the fun while retaining the Wrangler'southward essential appeal. The doors got lighter and easier to remove and the tops and the soft tops are less of a struggle, with zipper-less windows. The automatic transmission gained three more than gears (for viii) and a new two.0-liter turbo iv-cylinder and 3.0-liter diesel joined the lineup. If y'all're looking at a late JK versus a like (simply maybe less decked-out JL) for the same money, nosotros'd vote for the JL. Only again, if you're looking at a used JL, make sure its toll makes sense compared to a new one. The new ones tend to take incentives and financing deals. Used ones, probably not. A $32,000 machine financed for 60 months at 6.5 percentage is going to add up to well-nigh the same total outlay as a $35,000 one at 2.9 percent. Pay attention to the total numbers, and information technology might turn out the all-time used Wrangler is a new one.

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