healthyrx

Hey all! New to the forum. First off I want to say I have read the stickies on buying an XJ- thats not quite what this is about as much as it is a sanity check. You may have seen a similar post on reddit- if you did I have revised my thought process and have some additional details and questions so bear with me.

I have a 2017 ram 1500 that I bought at the height of vehicle prices (last december) because at the time I needed a truck. I dont exactly need a truck anymore but I definitely love having it and will probably miss it dearly. BUT my payments on the truck are ~750 a month. I can afford those payments so thats not as much of the issue as do I WANT to continue making those payments. I am toying around with the idea of buying an XJ and selling this truck to use the XJ as my daily driver. It would at some point be modified slightly while remaining my DD- probably 33s, bumpers and a roof rack. I drive quite a bit however- usually 35-50K miles a year with trips across the country once or twice a year. So with that in mind, am I crazy for considering this swap?

I am decently comfortable working on my own vehicles and I have done extensive electrical work on vehicles before as well as just this past summer I built a TJ for my brother (suspension, streering, cooling, AC/heater core, brakes, de-cockroach the interior, repair 20 years of people using quick splices on the wiring harness. I am more than comfortable on an XJ working on electrical, brakes, suspension, and up to replacing head gaskets on the engine. Anything beyond a head gasket would be uncomfortable for me but I could probably get through it assuming I have the right tools.

I would probably be looking at buying a stock to slightly modified (31s with a small lift) XJ between 98 and 01 (and replace the heads if they are the 331s right away) with 200k + miles.


Before- 97 TJ 2.5./5spd with 204K miles

After- 33s, 4.88s, 3" lift, 19 Gal fuel tank conversion

vroomvroom

If you want a change, sell the truck and buy a fuel efficient car and an XJ. This is assuming you won't be upside down. If you would be upside down by trading or selling, just keep the truck for now until break even and re-evaluate.

While a well maintained XJ could go 35k miles a year, I personally wouldn't recommend it, especially a lifted one running 33s or 35s. There's no getting around it, the XJ isn't as comfortable as a modern car or even your current truck. Nothing you can do to it will change that.

oldnslow

Yes, you are crazy if you try to make a 30plus year old Jeep or really any car of any kind your 35000 mile a year daily driver. Its not even debatable. Maybe if it was a vehicle that you knew the history from day one, like maybe some one in your family owned it from new, then 'maybe'. That said, I have a 94 Corolla that has been in my family since new. I have had it for 200,000 miles. It reads 280,000 on the odometer. Yes, It is my daily driver but I have touched alot of bolts on that car and know it inside and out. But it is only driven about 15,000 per year.

PCO6

@healthyrx If you get lucky you might be able to get 2 XJ's (or?) for your RAM. I'm retired and only do about a third of the number of miles that you do so my situation is a bit different. Everything I do though is in a Jeep, the newest being a 2004 LJ. The other 2 are a 1989 XJ and a 1988 MJ. They're all in good condition and only slightly modified (2" lifts, 31" or 32" tires, etc.) and they pull my small campers (tear drop and expedition). I often have one off the road for planned maintenance or modifications and they've only let me down unexpectedly a few times. As for comfort, I often drive for 7 or 8 hrs. at a time and they're comfortable enough. I'm not that big and I'm not young either (70+) but I find my XJs and the others to be perfectly reliable ... and fun to drive.

healthyrx

Definitely not as worried about the comfort aspect of the driving an XJ- Im more than willing to play around with shocks to find what I want. More concerned with being able to confidently make a cross country trip- like a weekend round trip from TN back home to Fl and back again or a ski trip out west in winter without running into any delays.

Edit: Not minimizing or ignoring the responses saying not a good idea! I am indeed reading those and taking them into consideration! Just wanted to update that I know full well that a jeep rides like a jeep

FlyinRyan

If you pick one up that hasn't been beaten or ragged out to def and do the preventative stuff you should be fine.

Sig220

Lots of good thoughts above! If you do get a XJ for DD and travels, you should carry a good tool/parts box. I had a 90 XJ I pulled from a friend's wrecker yard. Fixed all problems I could find, changed the fluids and then started driving it. First around town and then as my confidence grew in it, I made longer trips. The longest was a 950 mile trip from SE TX to SW CO to hunt elk! On the first trip, I lost a U-joint while in the mountains. Luckily, I had a spare U-joint and with a hammer and a big rock it got changed on the spot. So in the space of 2 weeks, I spent a lot of time creeping up and down the mountain and then about 36 hours on the road up and back.
On the next trip to hunt elk, I was sitting in the XJ warming up with a buddy when he put his window (electric) down to use his binoculars. I noticed it went down really slow and when he put it up watched the volt meter take a drop. I knew then I most likely had a bad alternator. After checking and confirming my diagnosis I found one at a parts store about 30 miles away. Changed it out in the mountains under a temp cover as it was snowing. As we left the hunting area, I noticed it was not charging as it should so I called the parts store and they did not have a second alternator and would not have one for about 3 days.
I needed to be heading home for work. The closest alternator was about 200 miles away on the way home. I added a auxiliary battery and drove on to the next parts store, Changed alternator and started on the next leg of the trip (about 300 miles) and about 45 minutes into it, I watched the volt meter drop, drop, drop. Even though it was snowing, I cut off the heater fan, radio and all other electrical stuff except for my park lights and drove on. Upon arriving, I picked up a battery charger and another alternator and swapped the alternator out in a parking lot. Got a hotel room and charged the battery up and left out the next morning and got home without a problem.
With another XJ, I drove to the beach with the wife around Christmas one year to find it vacant and we had a blast driving and collecting shells. About a 70 mile trip and had no problems. The next day I drove the XJ to the local Walgreens and came out to find the ignition switch had gone out. It finally started and I was able to get it home and replace the switch.

So even if you do your prep your XJ or any older vehicle, you never know when a problem will come to light. You have to be prepared. I own a 96 XJ, now that I picked up as a "problem child" and I bandaged it enough to make it through the fall. I have been working on it since fixing rust spots and leaks and now have progressed to the heater core replacement. It runs well, but having a wet floor and no heat was a pain! Making the repairs will make it enjoyable for the future!. But if I were to have the need to make a 5 hour road trip and was not hunting......I would drive my Chevy Duramax. Lot more comfort, mpg and amenities but less fun!

arto_wa

You should get two of them if you plan on driving 35,000 - 50,000 miles a year in 25 - 30 year old XJ.
I have 200,000 mile 89 XJ as a family backup car/all around vehicle and also a 90 XJ as a source of spare parts, which are needed from time to time.

We have driven the 89XJ about 600 miles total since November 2019 and like I said above, it is just a spare backup vehicle and I like it as such and will keep it!

IE.
Little items taken from my 90XJ: Complete engine, exhaust pipe, window regulators, heater core & fan resistor, shocks etc. etc. the list goes on, not counting the small items bought new from Amazon, eBay etc. like new fuel injectors, fuel tank & pump, exhaust manifold, brake parts etc., the list goes on......


Here is the engine I 'borrowed' from my 90 XJ:

BabyJ

I look at vehicles much like I do shoes. Different ones for different needs. My DD for around a 30 - 40 mile radius is the XJ. Longer highway trips and I pull out the '96 turbo Volvo. Just better suited for that use ( and a lot more fun ).
I have driven my XJ for well over 20 years with very few issues. That includes a few trips from northern AZ, where I live, to the hill country of TX. Never let me down. Of course I bought it from the original owner, and I've rebuilt everything, bumper to bumper, so I really know the vehicle.
However it broke down just about a week ago a few miles from my house, and I'm still working on getting it figured out. So thinking about being 1000 miles from home and dealing with this is something I would personally really try and avoid.
So you could sell the truck, and depending on what you clear on it, you might be able to buy both an XJ and a "road" car. But I don't think I'd just rely on the XJ for the kind of mileage you're talking about.

Wabrown

I’m just throwing in my experience. I have a ‘99 Cherokee 4.0 and a ‘91 Comanche 2.5 that I drive about 20k and 15k annually. We live in a rural area so I drive under 55 mph most of the time. I have rebuilt both engines, and they are very dependable. However, being 24 and 32 years old, I have to do a lot of maintenance and wrenching to keep them both on the road. As the previous members have said i would highly getting a newer, dependable vehicle for backup.
I love both of my Jeeps, but they are noisier and rougher riding than the majority of vehicles produced in the last 20 years. This site is great for information and morale boosting. Good luck!

FireRescue66

Yes I would say crazy.
first I'd like to say what's that micro casem of stuff in the back, not me.
Next id address the fact you don't need to limit your toys, I'm not a little girl I tell my wife.
I have a couple acres of trees in the forest and about 12 vehicles I'll park and own what I want.
Make someone's day and mind you're own business I tell everyone at poker nite...lolAnyway I have a 94 ram slt Laramie with a Cummins 3/4 ton fwd. And a 97 Cherokee Laredo and a 83 Cherokee fire rescue rig. I'm keeping them all.
The one who dies with the most toys in the sand box wins right!

UKXJ

When I got my 1st XJ, a '96, must be 10 years ago now, I did a 500 mile round trip every nearly weekend for the 1st year & did very little apart from oil & filter changes, brake pads & the like. I also took it to Luxembourg for a long weekend which was probably more like 6 or 700 miles.

I replaced it with a '99 (with a 2" lift & Grabber A/T's) which I bought from someone who regularly took it to Spain, so used to extended highway use, although I only took it to the Outer Hebrides (a long drive by UK standards, probably 1,000, maybe 1200, miles altogether, in a week or so) & Essen (Germany) which I think is about 350 miles each way without really thinking about it.

I now have a '98,(also a 2" lift but 31" MT's) which isn't a DD by any means but I did take it to Ireland once, so that's a mad 250-odd mile dash across Wales after work to catch a ferry + about 300 miles the other side. But (possibly spoiled by a flirtation with a 4.7 WJ - which, ultimately, I wasn't sorry to get rid of) last couple of times I've taken it any distance I was very conscious of its shortcomings. While I wouldn't want to be with out an XJ, or 2, the WJ & my current KJ (about which, after a year, I'm still undecided) are much nicer road cars - but that, of course, is not why I have/like Jeeps.

I suppose I've just been thinking out loud, as it were, but while I've been happy to rack up the miles in XJ's, they were younger then (as, of course, was I) & there weren't the more modern equivalents/competition to compare them with. Much as I'd like to tell OP to go for it, it's a great idea he'll never regret, et, etc, on balance, I'm forced to admit my advice would have to be to chop the Ram in against something else more suited to his needs/purpose.

BruceB

I would caution anybody who would purchase a vehicle, plane, motorcycle or boat over 20 years old that would like to use it as if it was like new to be prepared both financially and mentally that you are going to have to invest an incredible amount of time, money and effort to make it safe and reliable.

UKXJ

Possibly, but not necessarily - as age is only one factor (at least so far as passenger vehicles are concerned)