New YJ owner - basic maintenance question

[Spitz7575]

Hey there. New YJ owner, an islander from ‘91 with under 30k original miles, 4.0 engine, automatic.

It’ll be used primarily as a summer fun car, and looking to get some advice on where to start with basic maintenance. Low miles and minimal rust, which is awesome.

Where should I start to ensure it’s good to last? Thinking basics like plugs, fluids, etc. overall runs well.

2 main questions:

1) Eventually thinking of lifting. In terms of tires, what size tire is the max that can fit on stock rims? Lift kit recs?

2) the floors are in nice shape, no rust by drain holes. Carpet needs to go. Any luck with lining the floor or is that frowned upon?

Any advice on where to begin would be great. Won’t be climbing rocks - looking for a reliable solid ride for low miles each summer.

 

[machoheadgames]

Great looking jeep.

On stock wheels, stepping up from 215/75R15 to 235/75R15, 30x9.5R15, or 31x10.5R15 are all solid options. 235 shouldn’t rub at all. 30x9.5 might rub the sway bar, and 31x10.5 might rub sway bar and or spring at full lock. 30x9.5 will not hit the leaf at full lock, that’s for sure as I just put 30x9.5 on my stock TJ wheels which are dimensionally the same as your styled steel wheels (15x7 5.25” BS). Whether or not it hits the sway bar depends on if the suspension sags or if you’re flexing it. I had mind up in the air the other day and at full lock the right tire would hit the sway bar. So maybe it’s when drooped. Regardless, any of the rubbing with stock wheels can easily be fixed with a washer under each of the steering stops. It limits turning just enough to stop the rub. No big deal. If you’re buying tires, I really like the Toyo Open Country ATIII. Check them out for a mild street friendly AT. 30x9.5 fits well and still looks good with lift.

For lift options, the only lift I have experience with that I would recommend is Old Man Emu. I had Rough Country 2.5” and BDS 3.5” and I can’t recommend either of those.

With practically any suspension lift, be aware that you may or may not need to either drop the transfer case a bit to help the angles on the short driveshaft, or if it’s severe enough change the rear output of the transfer case to a “slip yoke eliminator” setup which also requires an accompanying double cardan driveshaft. The YJ also has inverted T steering which means the drag link is connected from the gear box to the tie rod. The drag link is pretty flat in stock form, any lift starts to put an angle on it which means the tie rod rolls before it gives steering response. The higher lift you go, the worse that is. It may or may not be tolerable for you and you may not care. Drop pitman arms are sold to help with that, and they do, though they are not dropped as far as most lifts raise the vehicle, so it’s still not back to stock.

You will probably want to ditch the track bars if you lift, or get relocation brackets at minimum if you want to keep them. Reusing the bars with lift requires binding the axles significantly to get the bar to reach after the lift.

As for maintenance, it’s pretty basic. I’d change all the fluids. There are a few minor grease zeros to hit every once in a while, namely the tie rod ends, upper ball joints and front driveshaft slip joint. You might throw in a new set of stock spark plugs and wires if you don’t know when that stuff was done.

I lined my floor long ago and I’ve always regretted it. I much prefer carpet and a painted floor personally. The liner always feels and looks dirty. But mine is sunny day only, so that factors into my decision. I just added carpet back. I hated the liner from the day I did it. Too much heat from the floor and like I said it just feels gross. Also much noisier with a bare floor.

 

[dodgerammit]

Woohoo! Another Islander! I (now) run 15x8 Gambler wheels and did a 1" body mount lift (custom 1" taller body mount-so 1 piece vs stacking) and run 30x9.50s with brand new stock height springs. Also, like you are thinking, I ditched the carpet and used a gray Durabak roll on liner for the inside tub.
You can see what the Durabak looks like on my build thread. I highly recommend it.

Like any classic ride, just do a coolant flush, oil change, etc and maintain it well. Those 4.0s are solid.
The 32RH automatics use ATF+4.
You can do a flush really easily. Torqueflight transmissions don't circulate in Park, so just pop the line from the output side of the transmission and put it in a pan, crank the Jeep, hold the brake and put it into gear and let it run for about 15-20 seconds. Put it back into Park and see how much has come out and put about that much fresh back in through the dipstick fill. Repeat until the fluid is bright red. Probably will go through 4 gallons. Two people can speed the process up, but I did it by myself. (It was therapeutic)

If you have a good set of jack stands, that is a very safe move to use them, though I just held the brake and let it idle like I was at a stop light each time I purged the old fluid.

As far as a lift, having test drove both lifted 2 1/2" springs and stock height, the stock height rode way nicer. That said, I have no idea of what brand the 2 1/2" lift was. Have read good things about OME and the ride, but once I drove a stock height one, I was convinced to leave the one I finally would buy at stock height as well.

And I'm the person who will say delete the track bars either way. They're for a coil-link suspension, not leafs.
Don't confuse that with the sway bar. Keep that puppy on there!

Oh, and Rampage makes a proper GRAY soft top

 

[machoheadgames]

And I'm the person who will say delete the track bars either way. They're for a coil-link suspension, not leafs.

In stock form, I still need to test it out. I haven’t driven mine without track bars at stock height. When lifted, I found that ditching the front made the handling pretty undesirable (to me). I do agree that in general, leaf springs don’t usually have them but then again, leaf springs are usually in the front. CJs didn’t have them but they had a different steering design, essentially crossover so I usually nitpick when people reference those.

Once I’m on the road I’m going to try mine with and without TBs to see how I like it. Definitely agree to keep the sway bar and if needing the ability to unhook, get some disconnects. With lift, the track bars aren’t desirable because of the binding but I didn’t like the handling change….so 6 of 1, half dozen of the other. Annoying pros and cons.

I will say, when I jack up the jeep on stands and mess with the axle, there is a decent amount of articulation with the track bars still attached. They do move in an arc compared to the leaf springs but it’s very minimal. Of course, that gets a lot worse with lift too.

 

[dieselearl]

keep it stock,change tires to the 235s, follow the service book on greases and fluids. it will last a long,long time. it looks as it is. good luck and happy jeering

 

[Spitz7575]

Thanks guys. Sticking stock suspension makes sense for now. Will upgrade the tires to see what that does.

 

[Spitz7575]

Great looking jeep.

On stock wheels, stepping up from 215/75R15 to 235/75R15, 30x9.5R15, or 31x10.5R15 are all solid options. 235 shouldn’t rub at all. 30x9.5 might rub the sway bar, and 31x10.5 might rub sway bar and or spring at full lock. 30x9.5 will not hit the leaf at full lock, that’s for sure as I just put 30x9.5 on my stock TJ wheels which are dimensionally the same as your styled steel wheels (15x7 5.25” BS). Whether or not it hits the sway bar depends on if the suspension sags or if you’re flexing it. I had mind up in the air the other day and at full lock the right tire would hit the sway bar. So maybe it’s when drooped. Regardless, any of the rubbing with stock wheels can easily be fixed with a washer under each of the steering stops. It limits turning just enough to stop the rub. No big deal. If you’re buying tires, I really like the Toyo Open Country ATIII. Check them out for a mild street friendly AT. 30x9.5 fits well and still looks good with lift.

For lift options, the only lift I have experience with that I would recommend is Old Man Emu. I had Rough Country 2.5” and BDS 3.5” and I can’t recommend either of those.

With practically any suspension lift, be aware that you may or may not need to either drop the transfer case a bit to help the angles on the short driveshaft, or if it’s severe enough change the rear output of the transfer case to a “slip yoke eliminator” setup which also requires an accompanying double cardan driveshaft. The YJ also has inverted T steering which means the drag link is connected from the gear box to the tie rod. The drag link is pretty flat in stock form, any lift starts to put an angle on it which means the tie rod rolls before it gives steering response. The higher lift you go, the worse that is. It may or may not be tolerable for you and you may not care. Drop pitman arms are sold to help with that, and they do, though they are not dropped as far as most lifts raise the vehicle, so it’s still not back to stock.

You will probably want to ditch the track bars if you lift, or get relocation brackets at minimum if you want to keep them. Reusing the bars with lift requires binding the axles significantly to get the bar to reach after the lift.

As for maintenance, it’s pretty basic. I’d change all the fluids. There are a few minor grease zeros to hit every once in a while, namely the tie rod ends, upper ball joints and front driveshaft slip joint. You might throw in a new set of stock spark plugs and wires if you don’t know when that stuff was done.

I lined my floor long ago and I’ve always regretted it. I much prefer carpet and a painted floor personally. The liner always feels and looks dirty. But mine is sunny day only, so that factors into my decision. I just added carpet back. I hated the liner from the day I did it. Too much heat from the floor and like I said it just feels gross. Also much noisier with a bare floor.

I think these posts have swayed me from lifting for now and possibly forever. Most riding will be street or beach on occasion.

Did you need to use any washers with the Toyo’s you mentioned?

These them?

New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A/T III 104S C - New | Utires

Buy New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A T III 104S C - New. Price: $. Tires in Stock: 0. Free Shipping. 1 Year Guarantee. 24/7 Customer Service

www.utires.com

 

[machoheadgames]

I think these posts have swayed me from lifting for now and possibly forever. Most riding will be street or beach on occasion.

Did you need to use any washers with the Toyo’s you mentioned?

These them?

New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A/T III 104S C - New | Utires

Buy New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A T III 104S C - New. Price: $. Tires in Stock: 0. Free Shipping. 1 Year Guarantee. 24/7 Customer Service

www.utires.com

Well, I don't want to change your plans for you or scare you away from lifting, I just think it's important to know the pros and cons and potential things to work through. I bought my YJ nearly 11 years ago and it came with 31's on aftermarket wheels, wider flares, and stock height. The 31's looked very stuffed in there which led me to lift mine. In hindsight, for my purposes, I should have found a set of stock wheels, gone to 215, 235 or 30s, and called it done with new fender flares. But I was in high school, and lifts are cool, so that's the route I went. I am picky about things and the handling from the lift always bothered me. The driveline vibes were bad too, though I fixed those with the usual slip yoke eliminator and double cardan shaft.

Not saying you shouldn't lift at all, just saying to think about the factors before diving into that choice. Maybe do a decent amount of research on lifting YJs, watch some YouTube vids and such to get an idea of potential things that may need to be tweaked after.

Another good thing to do is try to have a purpose for the things you want to change. Drive it a bit as is, maybe with new tires and see if there are improvements you want to make to accomplish something. For street and beach cruising, I would think a set of 30's and staying stock would work well.

Yes, those 30's you linked are the Toyos I have. They are very smooth and while they have a mild appearance, they still look nice. I have not driven on the 30's yet, but I have had 3 different sets on my truck.

I can’t really comment on the rub because my steering and front axle are all disassembled currently. So I can’t really test out the steering. I have my front end jacked up and supported by the frame, so the front axle is hanging down. I believe the other day I got a bit of rub out of the right side tire with it fully hanging down and turned all the way in. It wouldn’t be common to have the tire fully drooped like that and worst case, one washer under the steering stop would fix it, so no big deal at all.

 

[dodgerammit]

I second the 30x9.5 tire choice as a perfect cruiser tire. IMO, they look great with a stock 15x7 or 15x8 Jeep wheel of your choice.

I DO NOT recommend the General Grabbers. They came with the Jeep and are new, so they're staying. No issues as far as handling and grip, but they are kinda noisy on the highway and they love to pick up and throw small gravel. That's my biggest gripe. The painted flares are taking a beating. They're the first A/T I've had with this issue. I've ran Kumho AT51s, Yokohama Geolanders, and Falken Rubitreks and not had any problems like this.

 

[machoheadgames]

I second the 30x9.5 tire choice as a perfect cruiser tire. IMO, they look great with a stock 15x7 or 15x8 Jeep wheel of your choice.
View attachment 122698

I DO NOT recommend the General Grabbers. They came with the Jeep and are new, so they're staying. No issues as far as handling and grip, but they are kinda noisy on the highway and they love to pick up and throw small gravel. That's my biggest gripe. The painted flares are taking a beating. They're the first A/T I've had with this issue. I've ran Kumho AT51s, Yokohama Geolanders, and Falken Rubitreks and not had any problems like this.

Have the other ATs you've had been LT models? The 30x9.5R15 is an LT only (high flotation version) size and LT tires have deeper tread than SL counterparts that trucks and other SUVs have. My LT Toyos flung a bunch more rocks than the SL model. Noise is a bit less on SLs as well.

All that to say, most 30x9.5 might have similar complaints. But maybe some are better than others. I had the Grabbers in SL on one of my past trucks and overall I like them but I had some balancing issues later in their life.

 

[dodgerammit]

Both the Rubitrek and AT51s are the 235 tire size on my Wagoneer.
The AT51s are LTs with a load rating of 1900 pounds. They are no longer available and have been replaced by AT52s.
The Falkens (I used to replace the AT51s a few months ago) are listed as 235/75/15T. They have a load rating of 2270 pounds.
The Geolanders are on the Eagle. 215/70/15s and are the most highway oriented tread of the group. Really nice ride and look good with a bit of sidewall texturing at the tread. Perfect for that car, IMO. They areclaimed as a light truck tire as well on websites, but don't say LT anywhere on them. Load is 2900 lbs.
The Grabbers are also LTs, but seem to have the perfect tread gap to grab the small rocks for some reason. Maybe it's just the 30" size that does it? I dunno.

 

[machoheadgames]

I think these posts have swayed me from lifting for now and possibly forever. Most riding will be street or beach on occasion.

Did you need to use any washers with the Toyo’s you mentioned?

These them?

New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A/T III 104S C - New | Utires

Buy New LT 30X9.5R15 Toyo Open Country A T III 104S C - New. Price: $. Tires in Stock: 0. Free Shipping. 1 Year Guarantee. 24/7 Customer Service

www.utires.com

Wanted to come back and add to this. So I have mine back on the ground and steering is actually connected now. It appears that when I turn all the way, whatever tire is on the inside of the turn rubs the leaf spring. Meaning on a left turn, the rear side of the left tire just barely rubs the leaf. The steering stops are at the front side of the knuckles, so the right side limits left turns and left side limits right turns. I am rubbing equally on both sides so I’m going to put a small washer under each stop and call it good.

If you want to avoid all rubbing you can do 235/75R15 instead, but I personally like 30x9.5R15 a bit better. For all stock driveline and such 235/75 might be a slightly better choice from a performance standpoint. It’s just a tiny bit narrower and about an inch shorter which is why it doesn’t reach the leaf to rub.

But adjusting the steering stops is no big deal at all.

 

[machoheadgames]

Picked up two 3/8” thick flat washers ($0.69 each) from Ace hardware this afternoon. I tried some thinner washers first and it was enough to clear the spring but it felt like under some dynamic forces such as harder cornering, it might rub still. So I went with the thick washer which I also felt better about torquing the bolt down on and it holding up long term.

Ended up with around an inch of clearance between the back of the tire and the leaf spring at full lock - perfect. Enough to stop the problem entirely but shouldn’t be noticeable on the road; should still turn on a dime.

 

[TRevs]

2 main questions:

1) Eventually thinking of lifting. In terms of tires, what size tire is the max that can fit on stock rims? Lift kit recs?

2) the floors are in nice shape, no rust by drain holes. Carpet needs to go. Any luck with lining the floor or is that frowned upon?

My 2¢:

I have an LJ with a lift on 33x12’s and it’s awesome. It’s my mountain trail machine. But when I got the YJ I wanted a fun street machine, so it is pretty different from the LJ. It is on the 2.5” lift it came with, and I gave it 30x9.5 Yokohama Geolandars, which have a mild AT tread.

My advice is keep the tires small-ish (31” max) so you’re not underpowered and wishing for an expensive re-gear. Find a mild tread to keep the road noise down.

I like the small lift mine has, but I think stock height would probably be good as well. Maybe just a 1” body lift so you can clear ~30” tires but don’t have to worry about driveshaft angles and vibes.

As far as flooring, mine came with no carpet, bare metal, and I hated it. The metal got super hot (south Texas) and the noise was very bothersome. I got a carpet kit and it was definitely worth it to me. So much quieter and comfortable, especially for the kids to clamber into and around.

If you haven’t already done so, download the appropriate factory service manual and parts catalog from this site and do all the fluids.

Take things apart and look for rust above and below. Rust is the enemy. Seek and destroy.