If you've got a stick and the 3.07 gears you'll notice when you want to go up a hill slowly and you're in 2H or 4H that it's a bit of a PITA unless you're in 4LO. 3.07 is just too fast to crawl.

4LO is amazing, though. I'm not sure I even want to re-gear anymore now that I've gotten used to how the XJ likes to roll. I rarely ever stall or make those stupid kinda mistakes where you hit an obstacle faster than you wanted cuz you let the clutch out too fast. Don't do much lurching, either.

I wish I had some video of what I was doing this weekend, but I was wheeling with just me and my dog. Driving over felled trees on paths that were going up steep hills, kinda flip/roll territory. I found a really awesome spot to put this treestand though.




I've yet to smell my clutch burning. In my manual 2wd F150 that was a common occurrence trying to get to some of these spots.

 

I have grown to really love my manual XJ. When looking for an XJ I went through the extra effort and used a lot of patience because I wanted a manual.

I would say Auto or manual both have their strengths. I enjoy the manual off-road and I don't have to drive in heavy traffic so I am happy with mine for sure.

 

Quote; QuickNDirty: 4LO is amazing, though. I'm not sure I even want to re-gear anymore now that I've gotten used to how the XJ likes to roll. I rarely ever stall or make those stupid kind a mistakes where you hit an obstacle faster than you wanted cuz you let the clutch out too fast. Don't do much lurching, either

With stock tires (no more than 30") you are ok wheeling it w/3.07 gears, but going taller than that you won't believe the difference swapping gears will make. (even if you swap axles to 3.55 gears from a auto XJ. For most of us probably the easiest and cheapest way to up-grade your rig). Going up to 33"s I want to re-gear up to 4.56 gears so that I maintain both a good highway/trail riding rig.

When I bought my XJ the P.O. put 33"s on it and it still had the 3.07 gears in it. Boy what a dog in every way especially on the trails. Hence swapping axles to gain 3.55 gears. Went down to 31" tires and it's almost perfect. Also I had a Dana 35 now I have a 8.25

 

Probably a bit to late to your question but another perk to having a jeep other than 01 would be the 97's was the last year Chrysler had the ability in the jeeps to read the computer codes without the code readers. If you turned the power on twice it would display error codes on your tachometer. Although this is a minor advantage to having a different year than 01 from prior mentioned perks.

 

That's a good point. I just wish there was an easier way to clear the codes. But it is nice to read them that way.

 

Manuals got really rare in the late model XJs. It's definitely uncommon to find a 2001 with a stick. They even discontinued the 2.5L in that year.

Insofar as the OBD versions, the OBD-I and OBD-II 4.0Ls basically work the same way behind the scenes. The real difference is that OBD-II adds a downstream O2 sensor and uses a very standard and CHEAP to read diagnostics interface. Why anybody would waste their time with vague codes told by a blinking light when you can get the PCM to tell you what's wrong in detail - and get live data readout for less than $10 if you have an Android device - is beyond me. The only system that's actually simpler is Renix.

 

I have 4.56 gears and 33's in my 99 XJ with the AX15. I love it on the trails. I much prefer the 5-speed on the type trails that I use this Jeep on. Having the ability to engine brake going down hill is awesome. Highway driving with that setup is perfect.

For serious rock trails, I prefer my other Jeep with the auto.

 

This is music to my ears. As I bought a set of axles Dana 30/ Dana 44 with 4.56 gears and ARB lockers front and back. I plan on running 33's BFG KO-2s when I get them installed for next spring. I'll be pulling a trailer and I figure the gearing will be closer together when picking the right gear to climb those mountain passes.