91 XJ or 85 Bronco?

[joschmo86]

Let me introduce myself...I am a college kid in Houston who used to run around in the Isuzu crowd. That GM/isuzu crap kept breaking so its been 4 years since I have been knee high in gumbo mud hooking up a tow strap...time to fix that.

My uncle owns too many cars and I have sold my old completed project to fund a new 4x4 rig.

I can get one or the other for $500

91 Cheerokee:
140K miles, Auto, 4x4, 4 door, all power options, 4.0L I6. Runs and drives has an oil leak issue(i believe its the front seal). A/c works too

OR

85 Bronco:
302 V8, 4bbl holley carb, a few engine mods(MSD cam, ect)auto, 4x4, runs and drives alight for the most part. No a/c and has twin torsion bars instead of a Straight axle.

Both trucks have stock suspensions, gearing, wheels, ect. I need to decide which one I am opting for before too long cause my hands are getting all soft and need put to work. I am hoping to use my tax return for a lift and possibly gears/tires on whichever I end up with.

Sorry for not having any pics of them but appearence doesnt matter since they are both stock and in similar shape.



Just for laughs, heres my old 93 Isuzu Trooper RS...was more than i needed to get me hooked on wheelin.

And the truck i just finished up and sold to fund this new toy
85 D150 Custom

Well, let me know what the pros are of the XJ(isnt the cheerokee one?)


I hate being the forum Newb. :hang:

 

[MoparManiac]

I think you'll get 100% of the responses to this post telling you to get the cherokee. I'll list off whatever I can think of.

1. Better mpg
2. Solid Axles
3. Four doors
4. Working A/C
5. 140k miles??? That thing just got broken in
6. All power options
7. Tons of aftermarket
8. All over the junkyard = cheap parts

Anyone care to add?

 

[xjanarchy]

I think you'll get 100% of the responses to this post telling you to get the cherokee. I'll list off whatever I can think of.

1. Better mpg
2. Solid Axles
3. Four doors
4. Working A/C
5. 140k miles??? That thing just got broken in
6. All power options
7. Tons of aftermarket
8. All over the junkyard = cheap parts

Anyone care to add?

.... Its a JEEP

 

[joschmo86]

I remember in highschool(3 years back) a guy had a 97 or so Cheerokee and complained about the front end giving him so much trouble and the lifts were very exspensive and so forth. Now...do the later models have IFS like I have seen so many other car manufacturers switch over to or no?

 

[DOOD]

This is naxja i don't think you will find anyone on here to tell you to get the bronco.

 

[sheeks175]

The XJ is cool cuz its reliable 4.0, and 91 is first year of the HO engine, (like 185-190 hp), everything is good about the cherokee except the axles, I assume you have a D35/30, and the 35 sucks. I would get the cherokee because it is cheaper to wheel hardcore, will probably last longer, and is better for a variety of terrain.
The 302 is very cool though. With engine mods im sure its a blast. I had a 302 HO fuel injection in my 87' GT Mustang. It was fast as balls. The broncos TTB isn't very good though. I guess it depends what you want to wheel. If it is only mud, choose the bronco. Otherwise choose the XJ. :cheers:
-Patrick

 

[Ray H]

The main advantage to the XJ will be how cheap it is to lift compared to the Bronco. I say go with the one thats in the best shape, a good solid foundation to start with.

 

[joschmo86]

I am planning on going with 33's, possibly 35" and just some cheapie steelies. I plan on doing more moderate trail riding, no boulder climbing but I am a little more interested in RTI than flinging mud. I might try and keep this thing street legal as I dont want to use my DD(F150) to tow it everywhere.

The bronco is in pretty rough shape and I know at one time it was a deer lease vehicle opposed to the Jeep spending its life in TX and more than 90% of the time pavment sticken. I know the Jeep wheels nicely cause I drove it to go pull out the Trooper once years back and 4WL was excellent.


ohh, and I came here more so to find info on what to look out for, what the most often mods are, and see what peopel have done with thier production vehicles and I am quite impressed :cheers: I didnt think about posting a poll with only the Xj owners to respond :eeks1:

 

[JohnX]

BTW...don't think anyone mention an answer to your question...so here it is.

NONE of the cherokees came with IFS.

Early ones had a disco axle...not too horrible
The 90's had high pinion D30's COOL!
I think 2000 and later had Low pinion D30...not as good, but you'll live.

 

[Cornflake]

#1 reason to get the XJ and to irritate a few i'm sure......FORD SUCKS!!!!!!

 

[motorcityxj]

well if the price is the same and this is daily driver and wheeler then its a no brainer for me the cherokee is the winner.

If you had money and wanted to do a front end swap on the bronco, or it wasnt DD the poor (er) MPG of the bronco might not matter as much.

The bronco is big on many jeep sized trails.

The only thing a bronco can do that a xj cant is pop the rear top and the bronco can tow more i think also, and its heavier and probably will fair better in a accident, and you can slap a cheap body lift on it. Those are minor advantages though not big ones in my opinion.

 

[mavinwy]

You indicate the Bronco is rough....

I'd opt for the cherokee with fuel economy and ease of a moderate lift (the Ford TTB system os a pain to lift). And in Houston, you'll want the AC. The inline 6 (4.0) is a better engine for moderate trail riding than the 5.0. It produces the torque down lower in the RPM band.

The 5.0 is easier to get performance parts for though.....

Jim

 

[joschmo86]

and you can slap a cheap body lift on it.

I'm wanting to do a 4" suspension on the Jeep and a 2" bodylift...are the bodylifts not cheap/easy like it was on my 02 F150 2wd($140 and took me an afternoon to do alone).

I've been searching on this forum, not used to it I guess but I can't find any write-ups on lift installs and pricing. i dont want to spend alot of money on a fun rig but want a well built 4" kit that fits properly.

I checked out FullSizeBronco.com forum and I just dont think thats what I want. Its cool to have a removeable rear hardtop...but I'd rather have 4 doors and i could always sawsall the rear and cage it if I wanted to. Solid axles and the 4.0L speak enough to sway me the "right" direction. I love I6. One thing I liked about my Isuzu was it was narrower, and I could *squeeze* onto ATV trails.

So, it looks like in a week or so I'll have the Jeep in my driveway just in time for my 21st party1:

The clutch on my F150 just disentegrated after 105K miles, and I reassembled it only for the INTERNAL slave cylinder to fail. So thats is this weeks project, till then I will be riding this thing to and from school/work. :looser:

Good thing I live a few miles from both.

 

[motorcityxj]

I'm wanting to do a 4" suspension on the Jeep and a 2" bodylift...are the bodylifts not cheap/easy like it was on my 02 F150 2wd($140 and took me an afternoon to do alone).



I've been searching on this forum, not used to it I guess but I can't find any write-ups on lift installs and pricing. i dont want to spend alot of money on a fun rig but want a well built 4" kit that fits properly.

I checked out FullSizeBronco.com forum and I just dont think thats what I want. Its cool to have a removeable rear hardtop...but I'd rather have 4 doors and i could always sawsall the rear and cage it if I wanted to. One thing I liked about my Isuzu was it was narrower, and I could *squeeze* onto ATV trails.

So, it looks like in a week or so I'll have the Jeep in my driveway just in time for my 21st party1:

The clutch on my F150 just disentegrated after 105K miles, and I reassembled it only for the INTERNAL slave cylinder to fail. So thats is this weeks project, till then I will be riding this thing to and from school/work. :looser:

Good thing I live a few miles from both.

no body lifts on xjs, grand cherokees, commanders etc. Its a unit body like a car or minivan. Has "frame rails" that are integrated into the body and floor. Forget about body lifts and combined this and that.

Just tell us how large of tires you want to run? We will tell you how much suspension lift will cost.

 

[joschmo86]

Just tell us how large of tires you want to run? We will tell you how much suspension lift will cost.

44" boggers :wierd:

Not reall,y I would think 33" M/Ts would do great, especially since I want to keep it streetable and wont regear immediatly.

 

[motorcityxj]

read 53 guys write up on triming the fenders

part one http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87959&highlight=front+fender+trim

part two
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=90022&highlight=53guy+fender

his write up is the best on naxja. It well explain to you how to trim which will allow you to put 33" on much less lift than the 6 inches you were looking for.

 

[Matthew Currie]

IN stock form, with all sway bars connected, I think you'll find the XJ less prone to rollover than a stock small Bronco. The XJ, with its unit body design, is a reasonably stable performer on the road, with few bad handling habits - one of the few SUV's to which even Consumer Reports applied the word "safe." Of course if you modify it you change things, but it seems a good omen that a box stock one does not need any tricks to make it roadworthy, and even an unmodified XJ will take you some places few others will go.

Old F 150's and their big Bronco derivatives are tough as nails, but hardly an economy vehicle.

If you want an automatic transmission, the AW4 used in 4 liter Cherokees is pretty hard to beat.

If you like straight 6 engines, and appreciate real iron, the 4.0 is the way to go.

 

[Begster]

Having driven both on the road and off the road, I would definitely say the Cherokee. The Bronco is a friggen boat, it sucks down gas. Its our work vehicle so it spends its life on the sand and weekly trips to the gas station. It drives decently offraod, but that thing has had so many troubles. I would definitely say the cherokee, much more comforatable.

 

[rocklandxjer]

go for the chero.

if it were a 60's bronco id say go for it, but an 80's?... the chero is a much better deal

 

[MetViper]

Being the owner of a 78 Bronco and a cherokee, I'd say the Cherokee. The only Bronco's you'd want would be 66-77, or 78-79. After that they were crap.

Jeff