What to look for when buying a used Jeep Wrangler TJ??

A few common things to look for when buying a used Jeep Wrangler.

[markwyatt]

'02 TJ inline 6 3 speed slushbox here.

One thing to look for in early TJs is a cracked head between the #3 & #4 cylinders. The production 0331 head was susceptible to cracking, 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 2002+- they redesigned the head with a thicker deck, which can be identified by looking down the oil filler cap. If the head is stamped "TUPY" it's the upgraded head, if there's no stamp, it's the old head. If the crack is not too bad yet an unscrupulous seller will change the oil just before selling it and you won't see coolant in the oil (looks like a milkshake) until you've driven it a few hundred miles. And a small crack is only going to get worse.

Whether the old style head will crack is hit or miss. Some last for the life of the engine while others crack within 30, 000 miles, though it's more common for them to crack above 100, 000+ miles. If you have the old head and are working on it for whatever reason (like valve work or head gasket replacement) and you're over 100, 000 miles most savvy mechanics recommend replacing with a TUPY head or at least magnafluxing the #3/#4 saddle area. An $800-$1, 000 fix.

Another thing to look for is cheap blown out aftermarket shocks. Jeeps driven offroad are hard on shocks so if the seller is a cheapskate he'll have skimped when replacing shocks. I know I'll get some flak here but a good set of shocks costs $500-$800 and is worth it concerning slightly better highway manners, much less shock fade in the washboards and greater longevity. If the rig is grossly overweight with aftermarket bumpers, winch, a ton of parts in the trunk, etc., the springs may have sagged and need replacement too, $400. You can measure the frame rail clearance to determine how much sag has occurred.

If the rig has ABS beware the ABS light. I know most pooh-pooh ABS but I like it in icy and thin sand over rock situations, super steep downhills where your tires are sliding and of course panic stops on pavement. That ABS light could mean a broken wire, chewed up tone ring sensor, cheap to fix, *or* that the ABS computer/hydraulic control module has failed, a $2, 500 repair.

If the rig is old (all TJs are approaching 15-20 years old) with 100, 000+- miles on it with no record of water pump/hoses/radiator replacement negotiate for a $900 bill to replace the radiator, the hoses go soft, radiator gradually clogs up, etc. You'll not notice it during a test drive but when crawling uphill fully loaded with camping gear in 105° windless desert off-roading the red blinking check engine light and the temp gauge pegging at 240° will get your attention. BTW, the OEM Mopar radiator is as good as any aftermarket radiator.

A visit to a shop that has an industrial strength OBD reader is a must. If a reasonable number of intermittent non critical codes pop up that's a good thing. If there's not a single code on record it is suspicious, maybe the seller wiped the rig's OBD records to hide something serious.

Lastly, I shied away from buying a "built" TJ rig with a 4" lift and 35" tires, mongo bumpers, light racks, winch, etc. A quick exam of most home garage builds reveals they're sexy looking, but has the necessary infrastructure required to make them good daily drivers and reliable offroad monsters been done? I'm talking about long arm kits, adjustable control arms, upgraded suspension, upgraded diffs with higher ratios to match the tires, a Cardan rear drive shaft because the 2 door TJ is already at the limit of a reasonable driveshaft angle, beefed up steering, and, if hard lockers have been installed stronger axle shafts and U-joints, etc. A properly built used TJ with a 4" lift and 35+ inch tires with lockers should sell for $30-$40k, not $15k.

After looking at dozens of private and used car dealer TJs locally I bought my '02 from Hertz in 2005 for 13k with 30, 000 miles on it in Hawaii and had it shipped to Long Beach sight unseen. Totally stock with good maintenance records. The only surprise was it would not shift into 4WD; turns out they disabled the shift lever (to protect innocent renters in Hawaii) which was easily fixed in 15 minutes. Since then I've armored up, gone to 31" AT tires, a 2" spring puck lift with adjustable control arms, dumped the side steps for rock sliders, had the axle tubes straightened, installed the factory LSD, beefed up the steering with Heim joints and installed a tranny cooler and deep pan tranny pan. Yep, a few thousand dollars but now it's quite capable when moderately off-roading and reliability is rock solid. I like it even though it's not a show queen in the parking lot, a feature considering how many 4 door JKs are stolen around here.

[cjweisenbach]

I didn’t know Dale Jr did Jeep reviews. Thank you sir

[Miohunter]

Beautiful Jeep you got there!!! Another one is the cracked exhaust manifold!!

[stephenbrown]

That's a good looking wrangler. Love the color and stance.

[PokeFamSaga]

Really appreciate this video. Looking to buy a used 03 Wrangler this week and wanting to cover all my bases. This helped a lot with knowing what to look for.

[richfarfugnuven]

Bedliner actually traps moisture against your frame. Next time, use POR 15 or rust oleum rust converter and then a good paint like black rust oleum...

[TallGuyTJ]

Very useful info, thank you! Saved me some hassle when I noticed an 04 TJ had a rear main seal leak and valve cover leak. I moved on.

[joejarrell]

I've watched a bunch of content on things to look for when buying a used Jeep. Most of them are pretty good. But, yours was very good. You didn't get too far off into the weeds about off-road stuff and told the basics of what people need to be looking for.

[streetstomper]

great info man. I just picked up a 98 Jeep TJ and cant believe how much I am falling in love with it already. I did just post a video on my channel about it if your interested in having a look.

[foxygrandpa]

Easily one of the most beautiful Jeeps I’ve seen. Thank you very much for the information.

[MBdrummer]

Dude, your Jeep is absolutely bad-ASS! That’s my dream Jeep right there. Im looking an an 05 Rubicon LJ next week and ill use these tips. Thanks man.

[MrPanzerDragoon]

Thank you so much for this basic video. I hope to get a Jeep in my life time. It's been a childhood dream to own one since I was 5. I am not 40. 😞

[sirvilhelmofyonderland]

Rear mail oil seal, exhaust manifold, valve cover leak, rear hatch door hinges, floor boards, , im on my way to buy a 2005 Rubicon, I built a 97 tj, I’ll make sure I look at rust issues, good video

[brolim.]

Those method wheels are 🔥 love the setup, exactly what i want

[RollForever]

TJ is 100% where it’s at. My pick of the bunch

[jukeboxheros]

looking at 04 lj 140k on it this week, thanks for the heads-up. yours reminds me of my 06, soo clean. keep that baby brother.

[BikePsych]

Very clean TJ!!! Hope to get mine to that level when I find a good one.

[jorgezamarripa]

Definitely, you are helping me to buy the best one on my possibilities, thanks for this video !!

[Yipping_Yeti]

Check for tub rust under the carpets in the cab....

[Soothsayer-rsnb]

If a TJ has a solid frame everything else can be overcome. It's a boxed in frame which means it's super strong but also means it holds dirt and moisture. In addition, make sure the torque box on the body will rot before the frame but that is repairable.