[mmmhoss]

I am wanting to buy a YJ 1991 or newer.

I bought a 1988 corvette and regretted not following some advice on it.

You see, on the C4 corvette forum they say to always buy the newest and in best shape C4 corvette you can afford.

After owning my early C4 for some time I realized that they were correct.

I would have been better off with a later model C4 corvette.

Would I be making a mistake to buy late YJ when I could look around and find a TJ?

I am not looking to heavly mod my jeep. Just use it around my small farm and take it on some trails. Nothing too extreme.

Oh yea, I like square headlights as well as round headlights.......they are both so cool......jeep.

[ET48]

Welcome to jeep forum!!

The two major differences between the YJs and TJs are suspension and body. Personally I would never buy a YJ due to the ugly rectangular headlights that were thrown on during those years. But to each his own.

The TJ will definately give you a more modern jeep over the YJ.
TJ has:
newer heating/cooling system
softer suspension
modern full interior

YJ has:
leaf springs that don't flex or ride as nice as the TJ coils
not as advanced heating/cooling system
the dash only seperates it from the old CJ

It mainly depends how much you want to pay, and what exactly you want it for. My vote would be TJ.

[antec]

Originally Posted by ET48

Welcome to jeep forum!!

The two major differences between the YJs and TJs are suspension and body. Personally I would never buy a YJ due to the ugly rectangular headlights that were thrown on during those years. But to each his own.

The TJ will definately give you a more modern jeep over the YJ.
TJ has:
newer heating/cooling system
softer suspension
modern full interior

YJ has:
leaf springs that don't flex or ride as nice as the TJ coils
not as advanced heating/cooling system
the dash only seperates it from the old CJ

It mainly depends how much you want to pay, and what exactly you want it for. My vote would be TJ.

ok well i have both a yj and a tj.
1. the yj flexs a lot better then the tj. (the short control arms on tj's realy limit the travel.)
2. a tj with more then 2" lift will the shorts arms rides like a brick.(with a yj it's at around 4" with a sua).
3. i hate the rectangular headlights to.(i'm doing a cj front end swap on my yj)
4.yes the tj has a more "modern full interior" but you cant get it wet with out a lot of cash to fix it.

[dobslob]

I'll go the other way from ET48. I think the TJ is too much like all of the other cheap plastic American vehicles of their day. The TJ will ride better stock, but nobody in their right mind would leave a Jeep stock and there are many great riding suspension systems available for either. The YJ will likely be cheaper and allows you to use your money to modify it to fit your needs. As far as the heating/cooling system, the YJ heater works great with a different motor and I see no reason to have a/c in a jeep, and I live in AZ. I have never had A/C in any of my Jeeps and have never missed it.

Having owned CJs, YJs, and TJs in the past, I will likely only own YJs from now on. There is just something about them that I prefer. I think that it is because they are as advanced as Jeeps went before they turned into a cheap car. And my current YJ flexes way more than any of my other Jeeps could and rides better than any of them in the past as well.

[94yjstocklook]

really comes down to luxury in a tj where if your looking for a farm rig go with the yj. Probably the biggest downfall to getting a yj is u cant get the better axles that come with a rubicon in the dana 44. This is really only an issue if you start getting into 33inch or bigger tires from what ive seen on here. However, it is much cheaper to modify the suspension and everyone is right about the tj being just another car, they even have airbags. If it was me I'd go with the the yj just because it doesn't have all the unneccesary stuff you would put in a car. Only thing I would suggest is absolutely don't go with the 4cyl. The inline six (4.0 liter) is a great engine that should last 200,000 plus easily. Plus the 4cyl hardly gets any better mileage anyways.

[Dmcastino]

Originally Posted by 94yjstocklook

they even have airbags. If it was me I'd go with the the yj just because it doesn't have all the unneccesary stuff you would put in a car.

Unnecessary stuff like airbags eh? I'm not trying to start a YJ/TJ grudge match, but I had to comment on this. How on earth can you fault a vehicle for having airbags

[Goobersbro]

I wish I had bought a tj......



dont flame me guys please

[Joe Dillard]

Originally Posted by mmmhoss

You see, on the C4 corvette forum they say to always buy the newest and in best shape C4 corvette you can afford.

That's enough for me to shy away from whatever forum you tend to hangout on.

Here's a couple hobby cars that I tend to have parked in my driveway/garage - as long as my YJ isn't already taking up the space.

Yes, my YJ takes priority over either of the Corvettes.





If your priorities tends to lean towards creature comforts, perhaps the YJ isn't your cup of soup.

I highly suggest driving a highly/extream modified version of each & then decide. Till then, who knows if you will be satisfied with either?

[mcmud]

I see that you do very well. As much as I do love a yellow vehicle and have always admired a Corvette, I like the Jeep just a little bit better. SHARP!

[Axl Jack]

Originally Posted by Joe Dillard

Yes, my YJ takes priority over either of the Corvettes.

Notice which vehicle is most easily accessible to get out of the garage. YJ takes priority.

Originally Posted by 94YJstocklook

Probably the biggest downfall to getting a yj is u cant get the better axles that come with a rubicon in the dana 44.

*sigh* Here we go again. Ok, the D44 rear is waaaaay better than the D35 rear. Granted. But most of us YJers dream of the day we do an 8.8 swap.... which is stronger than a D44 rear.

Now, we get to the front end. The D44 front IS NOT STRONGER than a D30 in a YJ. I will copy and paste a post I made a while ago:

Originally Posted by Axl Jack

Why do you say the TJ D44 front is stronger?
• Same shafts as a LP/HP D30.
• Same knuckles, brakes, ball joints as a LP/HP D30.
• HP D30 R&P is about the same strength as a LP Rubi D44.
• HP D30 has better shaft angles.

So, what's the advantage? The only thing I see different is the center diff. I'd MUCH rather build a HP 30 than a Rubie "44". The high pinion more than makes up for the 44s larger carrier bearings.

Just to make this point clear for anyone else that stumbles across this thread.

The high pinion (HP) Dana 30 uses reverse spiral gears. This means that the gears are specifically cut to run in a front axle application and the loads on the gear faces are "optimized". For more detail on what that means pick up a machine design text book at your local library. It's been 6 years since I switched from mechanical engineering to pursue a degree in chemistry so I forget the specifics and don't dare engage in a conversation about this on the specifics.

Anyway, a LP axle drives the gears in the wrong (i.e. weak) direction when used in a front axle application. Some say this is anywhere from 20%-30% weaker than driving the gears in the correct direction.

A reverse spiral gear pair driven in the correct direction are 20%-30% stronger (depending on source cited, metallurgy or specific gears, etc.) than a LP gear set run in the incorrect direction.

Some say the D44 LP is ~20-30% stronger than the D30 LP. A HP D30 would be ~20%-30% stronger than the LP D30.

So, this roughly puts the HP D30 used in a front axle application at a very similar (if not stronger) data point compared to a LP D44 used in a front application.

For most people (note use of word most), the HP D30 is more axle than you will ever need in a front axle. That's not to say the HP D30 doesn't suffer from some more issues compared to a LP D44 (carrier flex leading to diff failure chiefly) but again, very few people will ever encounter that.

In closing, if you really want a D44 up front, you need to get a non-TJ front D44 to really be able to say it has superior strength.

And I'm not attacking you in this instance. Just trying to help some TJ guys (and some uninformed YJ guys) by showing that buying a D44 front out of a TJ is a complete waste of money.

Now.... that all being said I like to keep my eye out on a good deal on an 05 or 06 TJ 4cyl. To be honest, I like my buddy's 4 angry squirrels in the woods better than my 4.0L. Geared to 4.88, they will handle 35's no prob.

[Joe Dillard]

Nicely put.

[dagoober]

Originally Posted by Joe Dillard

That's enough for me to shy away from whatever forum you tend to hangout on.

Here's a couple hobby cars that I tend to have parked in my driveway/garage - as long as my YJ isn't already taking up the space.

Yes, my YJ takes priority over either of the Corvettes.





If your priorities tends to lean towards creature comforts, perhaps the YJ isn't your cup of soup.

I highly suggest driving a highly/extream modified version of each & then decide. Till then, who knows if you will be satisfied with either?

you have my 2 favorite vehicles. jeeps and corvettes

[Fhajad]

Originally Posted by Dmcastino

Unnecessary stuff like airbags eh? I'm not trying to start a YJ/TJ grudge match, but I had to comment on this. How on earth can you fault a vehicle for having airbags

If you can disable them for off road, that's good.

But honestly, I'm not afraid of getting hurt in my YJ at all. The only bad part is if I roll my seatbelt wont hold me all the way in 100%.

[Ironworker709]

In the past 4 months i've had 4 offers to trade even up for TJ's,,,i "used to THINK" i wanted a TJ,until i learned more about my YJ and the capabilities it has over a TJ and alot less luxury JUNK in the interior to deal with.
In my opinion,if you want a luxury jeep,go buy a grand cherokee or brand new JK.
Don't get me wrong,i like the TJ's,even been keepin my eye out for a good deal on one that needs a complete rebuild so i can do it the way i want,but would gut it out and redo the whole suspension too.
I got lucky and got a good deal on mine,I paid 3500.00 for my YJ about a year and a 1/2 ago,have since done alot of work to it myself,no one would EVER pay me enough money to take it off my hands..she's part of the family now as far as I'm concerned

[Deacon]

My TJ has fuel injection. And A/C, which keeps my toes cool on the road or trail.

I've got nothing against YJ's, but I prefer my TJ. It's definitely more modern and hassle-free.