1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ 4.2L I6 from North America

Summary:

I love it and wouldn't trade it, except maybe for a CJ

Faults:

The water pump need replacing when I bought the car. Seems to be a regular thing as the old one did not appear too old.

General Comments:

I got my Jeep for only 1300 dollars. It passed Maryland state inspection with only another 400 dollars in repairs.

Gas mileage seems to be around 19mpg, but on my trip to OBX I got around 29mpg.

I dislike the YJ dash and square headlights and am looking to retrofit both.

Haven't done serious off-roading and don't plan to because this is my daily driver. However it handles the sand and some tame mountain trails easily with no modifications.

I have heard lots of complaints about the hardtops: awkward, heavy, and so on. It takes two people to put on and take off with relative easy. I even have put it on by myself.

The 300 mile trip to OBX was rough in those seats. But I had plenty of leg room at 6'0".

Be prepared to spend money on your Jeep. Just Empty Every Pocket. I found a steal and with the right friends, owning an older Jeep can be tons of fun.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th August, 2002

3rd Sep 2008, 20:11

The YJ dash is excellent - nothing wrong with the headlights either - If you wanted a CJ, you should've bought one.

Me, I think the YJ is superb!

6th Oct 2009, 14:49

I bought a YJ specifically for the dashboard.

1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ 4.2 L from North America

Summary:

Fun fun fun, nickel & dime repairs, bad MPG

Faults:

Block heater plug blew out.

E-brake was quite faulty.

The carb was absolute garbage. Buy a Holley carb or get a fuel injected Jeep.

The Jeep stalls when it's cold (sub -15 degrees Celcius).

The starter went.

Other small things.

General Comments:

Note that a lot of problems I had with the Jeep were a result of hard, hard, hard offroading. I wrecked my muffler, interior, breather, tires, suspension, and many other things by 'bouncing' her. However, a lot of nuisance stuff would break on its own and I only owned the Jeep for 7000 KM. However, the engine was very reliable.

If you drive a lot, don't buy a Jeep. This thing had HORRIBLE gas mileage. Between 4 to 12 MPG and I drove around 200KM a day, so I had to get rid of it. If I ever have more money, I'd definitely buy another one because they are a LOT of fun, especially in the summer.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th February, 2002