[mognet]

I've never owned a Jeep before and starting last year I went with a buddy on a trail and have been wanting a Jeep ever since. I've begun looking around for a Jeep and am pretty sold on a TJ between 03-05 however my only issue now is whether or not to get a Sport or a Rubicon.

Looking around online, there seems to be a lot of discussions regarding the D30/35 setup in the Sport and there seems to be enough people around who hate either the D30 or the D35. Almost all of them seem to state to start saving to swap to D44's.

My goal is some milder trails and off-roading. I plan to never be in a position where I may roll the Jeep as this is going to be my daily driver as well. I expect that I will stick with 31" tires, perhaps 33" at the most and probably a small lift of 2". My concern is that I don't want be replacing the D30/35 at all, whether it be that one blew out or that I'm upgrading to protect my vehicle. If I need to change them out at some point, then I'm going to just go the route of starting with D44's on my Jeep and not worry about it.

My question is will the Sport be enough for the setup/light offroading I have planned or should I be waiting for a Rubi to appear on the used market out here (which is a pretty slow market).

Thanks!

[InfernoGirl]

Welcome to the forum!

First, D35's are pretty good as they are, but if you plan to wheel alot, they may give you problems. Some Sports have the D44 option, so don't exclude sports on that fact alone. Know what to look for and you may find yourself a bargain. With only 2" lift, it is not recommended to go over 32" tires. It can be done, but you loose a lot of flex room. Gearing and engine size will dictate how much you love/hate bigger tires/heavier wheels.... Look at that too when purchasing. Good luck with your purchase. Read the Jeep bootcamp thread and you will learn more than your head can handle...

[Deacon]

Yeah, there's a ton of good information out there. But the important thing is to be prepared to want "more" all the time, whether you actually need it or not. The temptation to go bigger, with a bigger lift, bigger tires, to be able to do a little more, etc, will be pretty big if you're wheeling--especially if that's what got you into it in the first place.

You have nothing to worry about with a D30 or D35 based on your description of what you think you'll be doing with it. Lots of people run and wheel the crap out of a D30 with 35" tires. I have 35" KM2's, and I run a D30 in the front with a full-case locker and a S35 in the rear with a full-case locker. The S35 refers to a D35 that's had Superior's Super35 kit installed (with C-clip eliminator, though you can get it without if you wanted for whatever reason), which replaces the stock axle shafts with beefy 30-spline 4340 chromoly versions and will work fine for 35" tires. 37's are more iffy, but hey.

Basically, if I were going to do it all over again myself, I would've gone with a Rubicon if I could afford it (I didn't know enough to care at the time), and probably a Rubicon Unlimited in particular (LJ, a factory-stretched TJ). If you don't see yourself going really big (say 38's or bigger and stretched or something) any time in the foreseeable future, then you'll basically get the most capable factory 4x4 out there. Going non-Rubi makes sense if you're going to just replace all the running gear anyway, but the Rubi comes with so many things that you don't realize make a big difference in not only capability but in durability and money savings. The fixed yoke on the transfer case is enough to save you a good 500 to 800 bucks right there when you don't have to install a slip yoke eliminator. The 4:1 (in 4LO) transfer case is brilliant when doing pretty much anything that would require 4LO in the first place, and it's just plain beefier. The D44 in front and rear is a much nicer starting point if you decide to go big at some point down the line. The fact that they come with selectable lockers front and rear is huge as far as capability (and saves you another $1600 or more), and that they act as limited-slips when not locked is beautiful. Basically, they're just already the way you'd want it where it can do more than you sound like you even think you want to do (just wait) without having to go through all the expense I've gone through.

That said, only you really know yourself and how you feel about these things. If you're truly not worried about going big and really getting into rocks and such, then something with a D30/D35 will be just fine (and cheaper). If you think you might, but maybe not, then yeah, keep an eye out for a Sport with a D44 rear. If you want to be "done" until going hardcore sometime down the line, then a Rubi is a great choice and, I suspect, holds up its resale value very well.

[Alex74012]

rubicon!
cuz i have one

[mognet]

Thanks for the replies (even Alex74012's detailed response haha).

Knowing my personality once I start hitting the trails, i'll want to do more and more so I'm fairly certain i'll be Rubicon hunting. Will let you know if I land one.

[RogueSpear2023]

If you can afford a Rubicon get one when I estimated the price difference to build a Rubicon from a sport it was between 5-7K. The Rubicons are much better for reasons listed above, but only the rear is a limited slip when unlock the front is open when unlocked, also you get 4.10 gears from the factory 31s from the factory, and stronger drive shafts with 1330 u-joints instead of 1310s. If you can't afford a Rubicon get a sport or Sahara with a D44. As far as regret I have never regreted paying the 3k extra I paid to get a Rubicon over a Sport, I am one of those people that always wants more and I know I would have the 3K in upgrades in a sport to make it more capable, and still wouldn't have a Rubicon.

[Deacon]

Yeah, it's a regret of mine that I didn't hold out for a Rubi. Ah well, now my rig is well and truly mine, though, having poured more of myself (and my money) into it. Built not bought? Maybe... I can see both sides of that argument.

[DezertTJ]

definatly get the rubicon! I was looking for a wrangler for over a year and I thought all i could afford was a sport,x, or sahara. but i came up with a bunch of money cause of waiting so long and found an awesome deal on a rubicon. All the bonus parts have helped me through everything. i've wheeled with a open diff 2 door jk and the lockers were an absolute life saver. so if you find a rubicon, GET IT!

that is all

[tkatc]

I had the same dilemna....I eventually went with the Rubi. I had a 98 Sport before though and had no problems with it. I was not nor am I now a hard core wheeler but I think you really have to pound on em to break em bad. The final fact that drove me to a Rubi was the 4.10 gears....i knew I would be lifting it with bigger tires and didn't want to have to re-gear it right away....we'll see if I was right about that coming up in the next several weeks.

[mognet]

I've reached the point now where it is time to go Rubi shopping. However, I've been perusing various forums and I've seen a lot of comments similar to this:
"Is there any other Rubi besides and '05? =)"

I can't find any big differences between an 05 and 06 at all. There's an 06 around my area which I'm debating on taking a look at. Can anyone tell me if there is a particular reason why I've seen so many comments about the 05 being the one to look for? Thanks.

[OneLoud]

I think in '05 or '06 they started putting the six speed manual in them and also you could get the LJ Rubi's in the later models. I got my first Jeep a few months ago and am VERY happy I landed a Rubi.

[mognet]

Thanks for the reply, but I'm curious more if there were any new changes in the 06 that weren't in the 05. I cannot find any documentation stating there is, and it's quite possible I'm just reading too far into some comments, but it seems like I ran across a lot where people suggested the 05 specifically instead of the 06.

[OneLoud]

I really don't know...both would still be the TJ so they would have the same 4.0 and gearing and everything...the only thing I can think is that maybe the '06 has the 6 speed manual and the '05 has the 5 speed, but I don't know what year they made that change. Are you looking for an auto or a manual? Also I dont' think they added the pushbutton swaybar disconnect untill you got to the JK's.

[mognet]

For those interested I found some info. The only real change I was able to find was an oil pump recall that affected most 05's. All of the other big changes people can come up with were between 03/04 and 05/06 such as the transmission moving to the Mercedes 6-speed.

Thanks all for the replies (and for the record, I'll be going Manual)