Watch This Before Buying a Jeep Wrangler TJ 1997-2006

Gonna correct your mistake buddy, but The dana 44 in a 2007-2018 jeep jk wont fit a tj without modification and is about 5 inches longer in size. The jeep jk (2007-2018) rear 44 axle is a lot more beefy then the jeep tj dana 44. The dana 44 in the tj has the same tubes as the dana 35, but has a 8.5 inch ring gear instead of a 7.62 inch ring gear which is in the dana 35. The dana 44 also has 30 spline 1.31 axle shafts and the dana 35 has 27 spline 1.18 shafts. All the rest of the axles are the same though as a dana 35 and 44 have 2.5 x.25 inch tubes. Forgot to mention the tj 44 has retaining plates on the axle to bolt the axle shaft and bearing into. Dana 35 uses c-clips inside the differential, not a big deal if you have disc brakes but very dangerous if you have drum brakes.

Who else is watching this and already owns a TJ.

1997 TJ owner of one that has 310,000 miles and has been one of the most reliable Jeeps I have ever had.....the Worst was the rectangular headlight 87 YJ, hated that thing!

Cool video. It took me three months to find my '05 TJ Rocky Mtn. Had to have a rust free frame, 4.0L I6, 3.73's, lsd and a Dana 44. It was a lot of searching, but I found my favorite Jeep! I only had to repair the rear main seal and heater core, that's it! By far the best vehicle I've had. I put a modest 2" lift, Old Man Emu coils, 32" KO2's, Currie RockJock tie rod and drag link, Freedom Off Road front lower adj control arms, the rest are fixed Detroit Axle control arms, JKS quick disconnects, Fox 2.0 Shox, Fox steering stabilizer, transfer case drop kit and a M.O.R.E steering box bracket brace. This is by far the best handling Jeep I've ever had on and especially off road, and I highly recommend this build for anyone who is an adventurer, not a rock crawler. The closer you are to stock height and geometry, the better! For me as an adventurer, not a rock crawler, there's no need to ever go beyond 32's and a 2" lift. I went with this set up because very early on getting into off roading Jeeps, I was told by several people who just went from 32's to 33's, they noticed that their rigs were very sluggish and lost that excellent 4.0 low end torque. And once you go to 33's, it's an absolute cash nightmare of chasing your tail getting everything dialed in geometry wise, which most have said, their TJ never rides as well as it did at 32's. If you have good off road instincts and common sense, this is all you need. The aftermarket has been fooling and shaming people for years who keep their rigs stock or near it. They push this false "need" of 33's - 40's with a huge lift to off road, that's pure nonsense! O|||||||O 🇺🇸 Only in a 2 Dr 🇺🇸 '41 - '06

I own a 04 jeep wrangler we have over 400,000 miles on the original motor. This is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. We have owned the jeep for 11 years now. This jeep has no rust on the body or the undercarriage. We will own this jeep till we die.

I have the exact silver LJ Rubicon shown early in the video. love it!!

99 Wrangler TJ Sahara desert sand pearl with a 4.0 , no regrets. 170 k miles and strong as ever. Thinking about a stroker kit and a Currie Dana 44 in the front and a Dana 60 in the rear . Metalcloak fenders with a 4 .5 inch lift with 38 inch M/T tires. All for much less than a new vehicle.

Had my TJ for 80000 miles all hwy they only thing I have wrong at the end of it was the clutch and the radiator got hit with to many rocks. Sold it to my buddy bc he was in the Army at the time and needed a jeep, best jeep ever never had rust or anything. Had 2 inch lift with 33x12.50 on it best vehicle I ever had, Snow rain nothing with stop it, Ice On a hill everyone was sliding around on it so I finally put it in 4 high and passed ten cars trying to make it up a icy hill I just laugh and went on to my job. :)

My TJ is a 97" 131k from Florida. Got her up in Maine 3" lift. Keep my tires pretty low key. 31"x10.5" on 15s. Thing goes anywear i need to.. Havent ever really gotten stuck trailing.. If i do got a hitch winch. And a mount front and back. Love it. And costs nothing. Last part i had to do cost me $20.. Was a caliper that locked up. $20 for a brandy new not rebuilt. $120 for all new shocks as well.. $10 for a balljoint. Did all my seals for like 60 bucks i think

Nice video! I have a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rocky Mountain edition in Patriot Blue. Completely stock with 28,000 miles original owner.

I've got an 04' rubicon with 6" lift, clayton control arms and front trackbar, teraflex shocks, bumpers front and rear, warn winch, on 35x14.5-15 pitbull rockers. I wheel it every chance I get, that thing amazes me every time I'm out.

rust is definitely not a problem in Australia with the TJ and heater resistor is 2 screws and 1 plug very very easy fix and easy to get to

I found this video very helpful. I’ve never been a Jeep guy. Looking at a 2002 SE with the 2.5. I wanted to learn about potential issues that I will likely need to diagnose and repair. This was a great heads up. Don’t plan on off-roading a bunch. So it will remain mostly stock. Thank you for the informative video that touched on a lot of things! Going to pull the trigger on this little guy to keep my 2017 Ram with a Cummins out of the salt. I’ll soak it with some fluid film and run it as a daily driver.

400k! I'm almost there with my 2004. Yeah issues are coming up over the mileage, ac giving out, oil leaks, glady no rust much ( southern NM weather). Last year I had to change out the CPU. Still going strong. 🥺

I bought mine in 1996 as a 1997. I still have it today. I love my heavily modified, daily driven, rough and tumble, Jeep Wrangler. It still has no leaks at all. No longer stock, today, the RMS Stargazer is configured as such: Rear Jeep Wrangler Dana 44 from a 2001 Wrangler rear rotor brake retrofit for the Dana 44 slip yoke eliminator NV3550 manual transmission upgrade from the same 2001 Wrangler Skyjacker 4.5 inch suspension lift Rough Country adjustable track bar Rough Country ball joints New front wheel bearings Rubicon Express front tie rod Passenger's side Chrome Molly axle shaft Aluminum 3 tank radiator with electric fan Smittybilt 3 inch double tube, single hoop, stainless steel front bumper Smittybilt 3 inch double tube stainless steel rear bumper Smittybilt 4 inch stainless steel side nerf bars for steps and protection stainless steel Mopar grill Hella LED retrofit headlights six inch round economy fog lights 5 inch round economy spot lights mounted on the bumper two window hinge mounted 4 inch round Hella LED light pods 52 inch cree light bar Bestop Supertop with glass upper half window sliders all in black diamond 12 meter, CB, 10 meter, and 6 meter Anytone transceiver transmitting 60 watts AM/FM and 100 SSB Hustler 259 centimeter long stainless antenna 35x12.5 R15 Dick Cepek Mud Terrain Tyres on modified Grizzly Rims (Yes, you can weld aluminum) SkyJacker Hydro Shocks 4.11:1 gears on both axles All new wiring, inside and out Kenwood Stereo with USB Lots of switches Love, lots o Love! Everything installed by me.

Just bought a 1997 Wrangler TJ Sahara Edition with >165,000 for my first ever vehicle! Only rust spot is on the hood, and it’s just a small bubble the size of a US quarter. Runs smoothly and the heat is great! Only real problems and downsides are a hole in the driver’s seat, the back window having a lot of scratches, a missing sun visor, and an issue with driver’s side door not opening from the outside. I also have to make sure the front passenger seatbelt makes an audible click, otherwise it wants to unfasten while driving.

I gotta 1999 Jeep TJ 4.0L 6 Cylinder but it’s automatic so could I still overheat from a clutch fan cuz my car overheats in the summer when I leave the car running with the A.C on for a minute

It’s very easy to change rear main seal on 4.0 you don’t need to drop the transmission

2004 Jeep TJ since new. I love this Jeep especially topless 😊 in the ol’ Rio Grande Valley and South Padre. It will probably outlast me.

THANKS SUCH GOOD TIPS AND ADVICE ESPECIALLY “THE DEATH WOBBLE” FREAKED ME OUT! Thanks