Thanks for the reply. Yeah, after some internet research last night (I've always been a VW guy who wanted a jeep so this is all new to me) it seemed the '92s have the family bars. But the pink slip says it's a 1992 and sure enough it has a sport bar, so did they do change it mid-year? Like you said, could have been swapped out by a previous owner.
Hopefully I find someone who wants to switch. From what I've read it's plug-and-play.
Any other "Definitely do this" tips for a new 1992 YJ owner? I saw a video on YouTube in which a guy said you absolutely must replace Leaf Spring Bushings. I'm about to hit up a local Jeep mechanic to have him give it the once-over.
Nah it was a hard 91 vs 92 change. Do you have the 3 holes in the tub floor for lap belts?
It’s not exactly plug and play. The family bar mounts each rear shoulder belt to two spots on the cage (high and low) and one on the tub wheel well wall. The sport bar mounts the two lap belts to a set of 3 holes in the floor. Maybe you have an older tub swapped on. The only commonality between sport and family cages are that center hole in the floor which mounts the buckles for both sport and family lap and shoulder belts. If you have the 3 floor holes for lap belts then I’d say you have an older than 92 tub.
Are your gauges backlit or front lit? Backlit are later and easier to see/read. Older are front lit and don’t look great by now usually. 91 and older speedo is cable driven so it can be a bit bouncy. 92 and later is electronic and very smooth, at least on the ones I’ve seen. Just a few things to look at.
I had a buddy who bought a “93” YJ which was actually a 95 with a 93 windshield. He kept having all the 95 changes and eventually I said something is not right. I checked his firewall VIN tag with his windshield and they were different. This was even more obvious when I noticed his windshield was an off white color from his white tub. Once I checked the tub VIN it came up as 95 which explained the external slave, large rear driveshaft u-joint; large front axle u-joints, and his 95 looking seats etc.
Anyways, just suggesting there may be more info. If you have a swapped roll cage, then going back to the stock roll cage will actually be better. If you truly have a factory sport cage, then you will not be truly set up properly for the family cage, but it can be made to work by drilling some holes and providing some reinforcement at the holes. Making sure your various VINs match (tub, frame, and windshield) will help figure out what you actually bought.
As for must-do’s, the YJ is pretty solid. I would change all the fluids to make everything fresh and known, and not worry about much else. Brakes and other wear items will show as it’s time. The YJ is pretty solid and doesn’t really have very many quirks. By now the issues are all just old age/mileage, and not so much manufacturer defects.
