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Jeep Wrangler TJ ???


1515Art

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The final straw broke last night on my trusty suv and I parked it and walked away... Sort of, sold it for parts to a friend, no way I would feel ok selling it to someone as a driver although don't get me wrong, I got 222000 miles out of it and the engine and tranny are still strong... Just the rest of it was junk and I didn't trust it anymore going into the wilderness.

so, I've got my eye on a very clean 2006 jeep rubicon slightly built 3 1/2 inch lift winch bumpers other goodies with only 19000 miles, $23000 b/o. Guy bought it as a toy, didn't use it but a couple of times and then his daughter put most of the miles on it. Looks like new and I like this model because it's the last one jeep made without all the electronic junk I keep reading complaints about and the same stuff that ruined my Mercedes suv (Daimler/Chrysler) electronics, too close to the jeep electronics for my blood.

any thoughts?? Price seems a little high to me, but the jeep is nice.

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Too much. The '06 has the legendary "Iron Maiden" 4.0L Straight 6 if memory serves. I'd offer $17,500 with a ceiling of 19k. The 4.0 is very easy to work on, great low RPM torque but has a couple quirks compared to the newer 3.6 and 3.8L.

Things to look into on the I6 - check the coolant both in the radiator and overflow. If there's any rust walk away. The 4.0's can have a hard time keeping cool on the trail so any goop in the water jackets can make things worse.

Also check the curb idle. The IAC and TPS are quick to fail on these Jeeps, as is the NSS in the AW4 (but I would guess this Jeep has the AX15 5 speed). These are all easy fixes but can give you some room to bargain.

If it's really a Rubicon it should have Dana 44's front and rear with steeper gearing. You can tell these from the 35 and 30 that vanilla Jeeps have by the shape of the pumpkin.

With the 3.5 lift and 4.0 you are looking at 13/16 mpg city/hwy if you keep your foot out of the gas.

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Thanks tom, 19 is what I was thinking and luckily there are a few to choose from that look good down to the 15k range, but none with such low mileage. He didn't buy this one to drive, just was a toy he used a few times with his friends then he got tired of it and his daughter drove it a little here now and then, so it wasn't used much but did not sit for Years either.

This is what it's got;

With the Rubicon option, this Jeep came from the factory with Dana 44 axles with air lockers, front and rear, 4.10 gears and 4-wheel disc brakes. Upgrades I have done include:

-Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex system with adjustable tubular trailing arms and a double cardan rear driveshaft.
-Currie "Currectlync" bullet proof steering system.
-American Racing steel "D-hole" wheels, 16x8, including spare.
-Pro-comp X-Terrain 285-65R-16 tires, including spare.
-Garvin Wilderness rear bumper system with optional trail rack, can carriers, and more.
-Garvin Wilderness front bumper system.
-Warn 9.5 ti winch with synthetic winch rope and aluminum fairlead.
-Kilby dual battery tray with 2 Optima yellow top deep cycle AGM batteries.
-sPod auxiliary electrical source system with air gauge.
-Griffin high capacity aluminum radiator.
-Derale auxiliary transmission cooler.
-Poison Spyder Customs Rocker Knockers.
-Rockmen corner guards.
-Warn gas tank skid plate.
-Skid Row engine, transmission and radiator skid plates.
-Riddler high capacity differential covers.
-Smittybilt neoprene seat covers (all seats are like new).
-Bestop Safari top (in addition to the factory hard and soft tops).
-Bestop upper and lower soft doors.
-Lange "Quick Top" hard top retainer system.
-Noah all-weather car cover.
-And more.......

pretty much everything I was looking for, I'll need to sell my boat as the jeep won't tow it... But I'm not using the boat that much anyway and it should sell easy.

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6 minutes ago, 1515Art said:

Thanks tom, 19 is what I was thinking and luckily there are a few to choose from that look good down to the 15k range, but none with such low mileage. He didn't buy this one to drive, just was a toy he used a few times with his friends then he got tired of it and his daughter drove it a little here now and then, so it wasn't used much but did not sit for Years either.

pretty much everything I was looking for, I'll need to sell my boat as the jeep won't tow it... But I'm not using the boat that much anyway and it should sell easy.

I believe the TJ's are rated to tow 3k lbs with the AW4 (which this sounds like it has since it has the tranny cooler). Mostly due to wheelbase--- pulling isn't the issue but stopping/handling is. How much does your boat/trailer weigh?

Since it sounds like it wasn't driven much definitely check the coolant in the rad. If left to sit too long you can get rust in the coolant which can make for unpleasant surprises when you're givin' 'er hell in 4LO.

The 4.0's last to 300k miles easy, and there are some on the road with 500k plus without a rebuild. Easy to work on and it sounds like the rest of the goodies are top-notch. Good luck Art, hope you end up with it at a fair price.

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Thanks tom, I'll definitely keep an eye on the cooling system and the other items.

i really love my boat but it's heavy, a Grady white 208 over 5000# with fuel and gear, but it tows very easy with my old ml500 with a 7500# tow rating. This boat is small enough for 1 person to handle but will go anywhere 82 gallons of fuel will last, lots of electronics, electric down riggers, crab pot puller big live well and fish boxes, luckily I stole it a few years ago when the boat market was dead, so I should have no problem getting my money back as these are pretty well sought after fishing boats... As boats go

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I would make sure they didn't do any deep water crossings and didn't change out the drive train fluids with that said with all of those aftermarket upgrades I would offer 19K but would pay 20k if all checked out.  I had five jeeps in my time but always drove my Toyota's.

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Hate to say it but if I was looking for a med/small sized vehicle I'd probably go with a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 or the 4 runner.  One of my buddies  used to own 4 machine shops in the bay area and has spent his life working on engines....he is now semi retired and only rebuilds airplane engines. He drives his Tacoma up to the same areas you venture to....but rather then looking for gold he is looking for Bears. He and his son do have their souped up Jeeps but that is only for their trips into the Rubicon. They tow their Jeeps with their big trucks then head up hill for the off road fun. For a trip up to the gold country and back home hassle free the Toyota would be hard to beat.

strick

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Drove south to salinas a little over an hour and checked out the jeep. It looked great the engine was spotless and sounded great... The suspension felt a bit sloppy to me, but I've never driven a lifted jeep before so that could be normal. He said he thought there might be a little vibration in the front drive shaft, I didn't feel it but the ride was rough enough that it would be tough to tell without knowing the vehicle , tires needed replacing and it needed the front brakes redone. All things easily fixed I'd guess,but I wasn't in love withe the way it drove although I'm sure it was more my not being used to driving a lifted jeep.

This jeep has done the rubicon twice, that also gave me a little concern some of the miles may not have been easy:huh:, i offered 18k he declined and I bumped my offer to 19k... The best he was willing to go was 21k so I figured it was better to walk cause I didn't feel comfortable going over my offer, knowing I will easily fall in love with something else, Chuck the Toyota is on my list and I may end up going that way after all.

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a good lift on a wrangler makes it feel soft on the road, but the articulation off road makes up for it. toyotas ain't what they used to be. :smile:

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