1997 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L from North America

Summary:

Took abuse like a trooper, and kept on rolling down the road!

Faults:

The exhaust manifold developed a huge crack in it right after I bought it, around the 120,000 mile mark.

The stop on the pull mechanism for the headlights wore out, and the knob came out of the dash at 130,000.

On a completely separate occasion, the wiring for the headlight switch burned out and created a melted mess that left me stranded on the way home at 140,000.

Power steering pump leaked a bit. On average less than two quarts a year, unless it was parked on a slope. Then it would dump it all out at once.

There were some other strange wiring issues, but most of those I blame on the kid I bought it from. He had the back full of speakers, and a home-grown alarm system that had to be ripped out.

General Comments:

The first thing I did when I bought this Jeep was to have it lifted 4" and set it on 33" BFGs, which made for some off-road awesome, but not so great in terms of highway manners.

Its high and boxy design gave it all the aerodynamics of your average barn, and a gust of wind against the side would sometimes cause a rather alarming sway in the lane.

I kept up with regular oil changes and maintenance, and this rig never failed to start and only the one time, with the headlight problem, did it fail to get me home.

Off road it would tear through mud and snow like nobody's business, and it would pretty much crawl over anything you put in front of it. On the pavement it did have poor road manners, but it was zippy and comfortable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd March, 2010

1997 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0 Inline 6 from North America

Summary:

Gotta Love a Jeep Wrangler

Faults:

This car has been very reliable. We had a couple of let-downs back in 2004 where the Jeep would just die on us after driving a long distance. We would drive for about 3 or 4 hours and it would just cut off. Eventually we found it to be the catalytic converter getting hot. We replaced the fuel pump and the catalytic converter.

Other than that, just the occasional light here and there have been replaced.

Now, as for the other things that are WRONG, the electrical system has a mind of it's own. The CHECK ENGINE light has been on for about 4 years now, but we've had it checked by the dealer and there isn't anything wrong. Sometimes the turn signals don't work, sometimes they due (usually they do). The hazard lights don't work at all! The passenger seat is broken in the middle of the back (will lean back on you - hard to describe).

Replaced the speakers two years ago since they had dry rotted. Needed a new speaker system anyway, along with a new radio.

Oh - and it leaks up front sometimes. Can't figure out where the water is coming in, but it does. The water ends up in the floor, not on the seats which is good.

Well, the soft top has dry rotted as well. We haven't put the original top on in years. We use a hard top (bought used - didn't originally come with it), and a bikini/wind-jammer combo in the summer. The hard top we bought has been great!

Paint is wearing - no clear coat on parts of the hood. No rust yet, but it needs a paint job.

General Comments:

Love the Jeep - we'll never get rid of it. It's a great car for the summer or winter, but I don't use it daily. I only drive it about 4,000 miles a year. Very capable vehicle, great off-road. You have to be a Jeep person to really love it.

I miss my Cherokee too - so I think we're going to get another one. That will be a great car for the kids/dogs/etc. Can't fit three small kids in the Wrangler - but they love to ride in it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th August, 2008