96 or 97-01???

I just sold my xj 90 and i am ready to get a new one, but the dilema is if i get a 97-01 i going to keep it stock for a while til i get some cash, or get a 96 and get a 4.4 re lift and 33 or 35, and the last option get a vw jetta to save a little gas and get a xj or tj on the future, what can i do about this, i really need your opinions TIA for your opinions

well, imo you shoulda kept the 90...i did the same thing and i hate everything about my 00 xj right now, then again ever vehicle is different so hopfully u'll have better luck than me. I sold my 93 b/c it had a stupid amt of rust underneath...worste decision of my life. So far on my 2000 xj i had to put an extra 700 bux into it for a D/S and SYE to get rid of the vibes and truthfully I STILL HAVE VIBES!!! My 93 i lifted the same height...dindt do a t-case drop or anything and i barely had ANY vibes...so deffinatly if you opt to go w/ a newer xj (97-01) your deffinatly gonna have to wait till u have the extra money to do it all right....as long as you can wait that extra time, then do it. Otherwise, i'd deffinatly buy a 96 or earlier to save the hassle of all the new b/s that comes w/ the 97-01's. Owner of a 99Camaro SS and my 2000 jeep now all i have to say about buyin a jetta is, you may as well buy a civic and get a sticker that says "girlie girl racing" lol , i'm 100% against imports....as for them getting better mileage sure, but every car will eventually break and it will cost you twice as much to fix as opposed to paying the extra couple bux for driving a jeep around...good luck w/ your decision.

Mechanically, the 96 is closer to a 97 than to a 95. The computer is OBD-II and the transfer case has the newer style slip yoke. Therefore, it seems to me that a 96 gets you the disadvantages of a 97, but witout any of the advantages other than OBD-II (if that's an advantage to you). I think I would go for the 97 and newer.

herreraxto said:

I just sold my xj 90 and i am ready to get a new one, but the dilema is if i get a 97-01 i going to keep it stock for a while til i get some cash, or get a 96 and get a 4.4 re lift and 33 or 35, and the last option get a vw jetta to save a little gas and get a xj or tj on the future, what can i do about this, i really need your opinions TIA for your opinions

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id run 35's on a 4.5" lift on stock axles - most BANG! for your buck

also im a fan of the pre ODBII setup - less electrical crap = less electrical crap to fail... - dont run out and buy a carburated 86 though based on my recomendation...

Stick with the 99's and older, you get the HP D30 at least. Other than that get what evers in the best shape for the best price.

By the way, one of my other vehicles:

my friend has a 96, and i have an 01. It all depends on what you want to do with it. If you want a nice dd that has good off road capabilities id go with a newer style. They are more refined and quieter. Id say go newer so you dont have to worry about rust or problems. It is true that the newer xjs have some vibration issues the old ones did not, but you cant have a cadillac that can climb rocks. If you have to wait a long time to put $ into the newer XJ id say buy the 96 because stock xjs suck.

I would go with a 97. Less body creaking in my experience, less interior noise, more refined interior, cup-holders, and nicer outter appearance. I've got a 96, and resent the fact that we didn't wait one more year to buy a jeep

xjj33p3r said:

I would go with a 97. Less body creaking in my experience, less interior noise, more refined interior, cup-holders, and nicer outter appearance. I've got a 96, and resent the fact that we didn't wait one more year to buy a jeep

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I agree. The '97 up are nicer looking but they do have there drawbacks. Since the interior is so nice you don't want to mess it up.

MontanaXJ said:

I agree. The '97 up are nicer looking but they do have there drawbacks. Since the interior is so nice you don't want to mess it up.

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I wouldn't mind, but I keep a rather clean interior anyway. I just dropped some dr pepper on it today, and it looked the same once it dried up.

I have a 96, and I like it infinitely better than my friend's 2000. The interior is plenty attractive, (we're talking Jeeps, not 7 series') it is solid, and I'll be damned if it isn't the most reliable thing on the planet. I think it looks awesome, too, with a few visual enhancements such as lift and wheels.

It's pretty subjective. Here's the bullets that led me to my purchase.

97+ has nicer interior. At least I think it does. I like the old style too, just prefer the newer.

It's a wash on exterior styling - I like the rounder new ones and the older edgier ones. Love the quad lights on the old woodie XJs.

97+ had better engine block. Stiffer, less NVH after the FEA re-look by ChryCo.

97+ has a stiffer unit body. Again, ChryCo relook with FEA. I find this amazing given how flexy the 97+ body is. That being said, square shapes are very hard to stiffen and the greenhouse has no "meat" to it.

00+ has a TJ low pinion front axle.

00+ has distributorless ignition

99+ has revised intake manifold for a little more highway RPM oomph.

97+ is rumoured to require a sye with even low amounts of lift.

IMO the best year in the later ones is 1999 (see above). That being said, I bought a 2001 for myself. Less mileage, planning on swapping in a bench built HP front axle, don't care about the type of ignition, SYE is just a good thing to add regardless of how much lift. Seen too many Jeeps throw a shaft on the trail because of a stupid slip yoke. They weren't even that crossed up.

HTH

r@m