What makes me love these Damn YJ's so much?
- Thread starter White J
- Start date
Flyer58
YJ Enthusiast
Fun, inexpensive (lol), easy to work on, really fun.
Gilaguy23
YJ Addict
had jeeps along time. part available, not to bad at times to work on, easy up keep, not bad on tire when used as DD. after i couldnt ride my MC any more i start using wrangler, open air, quite the lady getter, get lot of waves. i going to stop there, my wife just came in. thanks for asking. good luck and safe driving.
Stoopid Jeep
YJ Enthusiast
agree to disagree.
Mechanically, nothing on a CJ is superior to a YJ. I could have bought any Jeep I wanted, I chose a YJ on purpose.
The YJ is the last of the simple jeeps and the only ones that have electronic ignition and fuel injection.
YJ is the last, best, leaf spring jeep.
Gilaguy23
YJ Addict
Truck 4 speeds, Iron, chainless T cases with PTO capability, D 44 rear diffs, NO Chrysler involvement, no electronics to die in the middle of nowhere. Keep It Simple Stupid as they say. 
Just my .02 
Just my .02
Stoopid Jeep
YJ Enthusiast
you're not wrong, my ax5 leaves a little to be desired.Truck 4 speeds, Iron, chainless T cases with PTO capability, D 44 rear diffs, NO Chrysler involvement, no electronics to die in the middle of nowhere. Keep It Simple Stupid as they say.
The ax15 however, I would put against any earlier Jeep gear box.
231 Transfer case is battle tested and proven, I don't have any PTO accessories (nor do I need any)
30 years, 170K miles and still going, I don't have a problem with the electronics. replace/clean-up the grounds and connectors, make sure everything is tight and right, it's a pretty solid system.
I have lost mechanical fuel pumps and other miscellaneous critical parts on old chevys, etc. no machine is immune to mechanical breakdown. given today's fuels I will take MPI over a carburetor every time.
I have vehicles with carbs, they require non-ethanol fuel and that can be hard to find sometimes, not to mention the temperamental nature of carbs, especially when operating at extreme angles and elevations (which I regularly do)
...the 35, yeah, I didn't quite think that one through. there are definitely better rear ends out there.
with the exception of the ax5 and the Dana Turdy 5, I stand by my previous post. The only CJ I'm even remotely interested in is a CJ2A, and that's just cuz its cool.
Truck 4 speeds, Iron, chainless T cases with PTO capability, D 44 rear diffs, NO Chrysler involvement, no electronics to die in the middle of nowhere. Keep It Simple Stupid as they say.
I've had XJs, YJ, 76 CJ5 and still have my 47-49 CJ2A (not sure on exact year it's a mutt as far as parts go and OG data plate is gone).
Objectively speaking, each major step in Jeep models has been better, stock for stock comparing a modern Jeep JL to even a CJ5 or later model 7 is like comparing a biplane to a jet fighter. Electronics from this time frame (90s-early 2ks) are pretty rock solid. Usually when people start blaming them it's due to some other issue like bad grounds but they do go bad for sure. The drop off in aftermarket part qualtiy is seperate from what the original electronics were. This drop off in parts quality has affected old Jeeps too.
4 speeds........workable but not great on the highway. Most of our highwy speed limits around here are 70-75.
Iron T-cases. Great and strong but aluminum housing chain drive t-cases have proven their worth and longevity with most lasting the service life of the vehicle. PTO capability is cool but even when it was common on Jeeps it was a niche use item for those that used their Jeeps a lot on the farm. I still want to get mine setup for a PTO and a small brush hog for Shits and giggles haha.
D44 rear diffs. Yeah those were better for sure. But lets not forget the AMC20 that came on a ton of CJs in the AMC era. The really early Dana axles in the Cj2 and 3 were also kinda meh.
Electronics. Depends on year, much simplified for sure but later year CJs also had their share of electronics that were problematic even when new. By the time EFI had made it's way into Jeeps it was a pretty solid option. I pulled the points from my CJ2 and put an electronic ignitor in there. Works great and not fussing with points/condenser.
Subjectively. I agree they were better. I've pretty much fully rebuilt a few Jeeps from the frame at this point. Would be a much larger proposition for a TJ or the like just in wiring alone. The YJ hits a sweet spot there. Not enough electrics to be over the heads of most people and simple enough you can work on it on the side of the road. What electronic stuff is around that would cause the Jeep to be hard down can typically be in your hand within a day.
Sunsport
Member
I don't disagree. I've got some pretty nice vehicles as well but my Islander is my favorite. So raw - the mechanical nature of it - simple, back to basics, and unique even (where I live there are very few left due to rust). I love the do anything and utility of it too - paddleboard on the roof, no problem, convertible, check, tow a trailer, check, off road, check, groceries, check, backseat, check. I'm also a sucker for Radwood era vehicles and colors.
Agreed. What I love so much about it is it's so analog in nature. Compared to my other modern vehicles, this one you are really in tune with. You have to pay attention to it when driving. It's just a whole different experience. I don't even own a full top for it. I find myself looking for an excuse to need to take it somewhere lol. I love it.
